Don’t Be Easy – Guest Post by K.M. Fawcett, Author of Captive

I’m delighted to welcome fellow Liberty States Fiction Writers member K.M. Fawcett here today. Congratulations. K.M., on the release of your debut paranormal romance, Captive.

Thank you, Babette, for having me on your blog today. I always tell my martial arts students the first step to self-defense is common sense. An attacker fears two things: getting caught and getting hurt. That’s why they look for an easy target. Don’t be easy. J

• Be aware of your surroundings.
• Walk with your head up and with a purpose.
• Look confident.
• Park in well-lit areas
• Have keys in hand before going to your car.
• Protect your personal space

But what do you do if you are attacked?

1) Posture. Posturing is making yourself appear confident, strong and intimidating to your attacker so they lose their will to fight before the confrontation even begins. It is both a fighting position and attitude.

Perhaps you’ve seen someone who was about to get into a fight stand a little taller, puff out his chest, stick out his chin, shout, swear or flat out take a fighting guard. This is posturing.

2) Voice. Our voice is so important to self-defense that martial artists have a name for it. Kiai (Kee-eye). This spirit shout has a few purposes:

• It helps draw attention to our situation. Someone may come help or call 911.
• It can scare our attacker.
• It tightens our muscles to prepare us to take a hit.
• It fires us up. (Don’t athlete’s do this before games? “Come on!” “We got this!” “Go [insert team name here]!” Of course they do.

You might recognize a kiai as the “hiya” from old karate movies. However, it can be any word or sound that you want to make. Swearing counts. Or shouting, “Fire!” or maybe for a child, teaching them to scream, “Stranger, stranger, 911!” It doesn’t matter what sound you make. Just make noise.

3) Fight Back. Fighting back doubles the chances that the assailant breaks off his attack. Remember the two things criminals fear? Getting caught and getting hurt. There’s more than one way to stop an attack. The important thing is stopping it.

4) Weak Targets.  No matter how much someone trains or lifts weight, there is nothing they can do to increase the strength of their weak targets – eyes, throat, groin. Fingers to the eyes, a punch to the throat, or a knee to the groin may be enough to make the attacker stop or flee. At the very least it will shake them up so you can continue to defend yourself or escape.

These are only a few tips to help you protect yourself. If you’ve never taken a self-defense class, I urge you to take one. It could be the single most important thing you do! If you have taken a self-defense class, take another one. Repetition, repetition, repetition will help you fight back with confidence and effectiveness.

In the following excerpt from my debut paranormal romance novel, CAPTIVE, my heroine demonstrates how she defended herself.

Addy glanced around the dimly lit room—if you could call it a room. Actually, it looked more like a ten-foot box. There were no doors. No windows. Nothing.

Except for a miniature fireplace and logs centered on one wall, the body pillow bed in one corner and a large terracotta flowerpot in the opposite corner, the room appeared empty.

She crept to a wall and drew her hand up, down and across it, searching for a hidden doorknob or lever.

“If you’re looking for me, I’m over here.”

She jumped and spun to face the stranger but was tripped up by her hangover and stumbled into the wall. Righting herself, she tried for a casual smile but knew it didn’t pass for anything more than a nervous tic.

When the room stopped spinning, she noticed he had propped himself up on one elbow. His dark, shoulder-length hair and sleepy eyes enhanced his wicked attractiveness. He made no attempt to move closer. Of course, he made no attempt to cover himself, either, and his sheet had slid further down.

She forced herself to look at his eyes. Eyes that shone eerily in the dark like a cat’s. Eyes that appeared emerald.

Odd choice for colored contacts.

“Come here.” He lifted the sheet with one hand and patted the pillow bedding with the other.

Her heart rate revved as she stared at the parts of him beneath the sheet. “I…uh…I…umm.”

“Skittish little thing, aren’t you?”

The only way to stop gawking was to squeeze her eyes shut. “Who are you?”

“You don’t know?” His voice oozed disappointment.

Apparently they had gone through this already. So why couldn’t she remember? What else couldn’t she remember? “Did I—? Did you—? Did we—?” There was no polite way to ask if (a) she’d given herself to him under duress or (b) he’d violated her while she was unconscious.

“Mate?”

Okay, that was one way. Odd word choice but it sufficed. She nodded.

“No.”

She relaxed.

“Not yet.” There was no menace or presumption in his words. He spoke them casually, matter-of-factly, as if they’d already discussed sex and concluded they’d sleep together. When had she given him that idea? Her head ached trying to remember.

“I’m sorry. You seem like a nice guy, but I can’t…you know…do this.”

“Oh. First time, huh?”

“What?”

“Though judging your age, I wouldn’t have pegged you for a virgin.”

“Excuse me?”

“Relax.” The sleep in his voice gave the word a husky sexiness. “I’ll make sure you enjoy it, too.” He got up and strode toward her, eyes hungry and body very ready to make good on his word.

If her pulse was a car, the turbo just kicked in. “Stop right there,” she said, and he did. The surprise was evident on his face. With a body like his, he probably wasn’t used to rejection.

“Woman, this won’t work unless we’re closer. Much closer.” He winked.

She turned back to the wall, frantically feeling for that doorknob. But it was too late. He was behind her, towering over her. Sweeping the hair off her shoulder. Brushing his lips down the side of her neck.

A tingling sensation slid down her spine. “Stop it. I’m warning you.”

“I understand your hesitation,” he said between kisses. “But it’s going to happen sooner or later.”

Like hell it is. She pivoted around and kneed him in the groin.

Have you ever taken a self-defense class? Do you feel you are more prepared now than you were before?

~K.M. Fawcett

Blurb:

AN IMPOSSIBLE JOURNEY

The last thing Addy Dawson remembers is a blazing inferno and freezing river water overtaking her lungs. When she awakens, Addy finds herself on a strange, alien planet, trapped in a cell with no doors, no windows– and to her horror– a naked warrior who claims to be her mate.

AN UNDENIABLE PASSION

An alpha gladiator, Max is forced to breed and produce the finest specimens for the Survival Race, a deadly blood sport created by the alien rulers of Hyborea. To rebel means torture-or worse-yet Max refuses to become the animal his captors want him to be. But their jailors will not be denied, and soon Addy and Max find themselves unwilling players in this cruel game. Pushed to the limit, they will risk everything for the chance at a life free from captivity. And though fate brought them together as adversaries, Max and Addy will discover that when they’re together, there’s nothing in the universe that can stop them.

Captive (The Survival Race) is available at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Captive-The-Survival-Race-ebook/dp/B008GYISBK/ref=pd_rhf_ee_p_t_1_78K0

And Barnes and Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/captive-km-fawcett/1111301606?ean=9781455546480

Bio: K.M. Fawcett was a born romantic. At six years old, she would beg her parents to take her to a restaurant with, “Soft music and candles” where she could drink Shirley Temples and twirl on the dance floor. As she grew, her desire to be whisked into a romantic adventure by a knight in shining armor also grew – to the point of annoying her friends and family. When she received A Knight In Shining Armor (a novel by Jude Deveraux) for her eighteenth birthday, she fell in love…with the romance genre. ♥ Now K.M. writes sci-fi/ paranormal romances, and enjoys stories filled with adventure and strong, kick butt heroes and heroines.

K.M. holds the rank Sandan (3rd degree black belt) in both Isshinryu Karate and in Ryukonkai (Okinawan weapons). She and her husband own Tenchi Isshinryu Karate Dojo in NJ where they teach karate, weapons, and self-defense.

Please visit me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/km.fawcett‎

Twitter: www.twitter.com/KMFawcett

My Blog: Attacking The Page blog: www.attackingthepage.wordpress.com

My website: www.kmfawcett.com