A couple of months ago, we did a short feature on Suzanne Brockman, and we dwelled on the more human and romantic side of SEALs as opposed to the hard-core macho man we always read about. Just recently, I came across another author who chose to go into military romance writing. Let us meet Marliss Melton.

It might have helped that, in a way, Marliss is very much the military girl. She spent most of her young life traveling and discovering the world as the daughter of a foreign intelligence officer. She has been to Laos, England, Nova Scotia, Puerto Rico, Korea, Aruba and Bermuda, among others. College was spent not in your usual US Ivy League Schools, but amidst the culture and romance of Ecuador. Visiting museums in Paris, following tigers in Northern Thailand and riding elephants in Laos certainly lent credibility to the cornucopia of words that can only be called Melton’s literary genius.

Most of her characters are actually inspired in part by her present husband, Alan, himself a Navy veteran. His commanding manner, New England accent, and yes, even bald head, among others, make its way into her books. While life may be sweet now, Marliss also had her share of heartache. She lost her first husband, also a military man, to a tragic accident – an experience that also became a source of literary inspiration for her.

She does her research through libraries, videos and the internet – and reading other authors. Her books are verified by friends in the SEALs, such as Navy SEAL Commander Mark Divine, with whom she sometimes consults even before she puts her ideas to paper. It helps that she lives close to Virginia Beach, where the SEALs are “beached”, that one may say that she is herself part of that small community. Her books are even on display at the Navy UDT-SEAL Museum.

With her life experience, writing about SEALs and romance is certainly a perfect fit for Marliss Melton. Check out her various titles, such as “Don’t Let Go”, and “Too Far Gone”, published last October.