Aloha to Tracy March and A SHOT OF RED

Did Someone Say Vacation? 

by Tracy March

I love to experience new places, so I’m always up for travel and adventure. Eager for excitement, I’ve flown in a stunt plane, snowmobiled on the Continental Divide, ziplined in the Swiss Alps, and been chased by a bull in the mountains of St. Lucia. Fun times in some of my favorite vacation destinations!

I just adore the craggy Rockies, and the little Western town of Crested Butte—the wildflower capital of Colorado. Surrounded by ranches and bordered by mountain wilderness, the historic little mining town has a storybook main street lined with colorful Victorian buildings. One of my favorite restaurants there has been open for more than a hundred years, and the only entrée they serve is to-die-for fried chicken! Delicious after a day of awesomely scenic hiking through Aspen groves, with wildflowers blooming on the mountainsides. Purple. Red. Yellow. Basking in the bright sun under an electric-blue sky. Vacationers can kick back in a restored miner’s cabin, or spoil themselves in a local B&B that offers bikes to ride around the idyllic little town. 

The islands are a great escape, too. I’m partial to St. Lucia, where the people are so welcoming and kind. Their words lilt from their mouths with a melodic accent, and their smiles are totally genuine. My husband and I stayed in a villa called Paradise, and we didn’t need convincing. We were quickly captivated by the island’s lush mountains and rainforests, and its cocoa and banana plantations. Forget that a bull on the loose chased us when we were on a walk high up in the hills. That only added to our adventure. Besides, there are plenty of magical places to relax after outrunning a bull! Private coves hide black-sand beaches, and azure waters lap at the shore. It’s a picture-perfect place for romance. 

I’m also wild about Switzerland—especially historic Lucerne. Set at the edge of the snowy Alps, countless swans swim in the lake at the center of the city. Covered footbridges festooned with flower boxes span the lake that’s bordered by a tree-lined promenade. Centuries-old buildings are painted with murals, colorful shutters hung at their windows. Clocks housed in Rapunzelesque towers chime every hour, but the oldest clock in the city does the honors. It’s allowed to chime a minute before all the others. Up on nearby Mount Pilatus, there is ziplining with a view, and a breathtaking aerial gondola ride to the peak. You can come down the same way, or take the world’s steepest cog railway all the way to the bottom. As if that isn’t enough to entice you to visit Switzerland—there’s chocolate! Swiss chocolatiers have fountains overflowing with decadent chocolate, and nearly any chocolate treat you can imagine. Mmm… 

It’s hard not to be romantic about vacations to awesome places, and sometimes I fall hard. Then I want to write books about all the special places I’ve been. Now I’ve got a long list just waiting for their stories, and even more trips planned. If only I could write as fast as I travel!

What are some of your favorite vacations spots, and what do you like best about them?

Mahalo, Tracy, for sharing your travel adventures with us! Tracy is celebrating the release of  A SHOT OF RED (link):

After fleeing DC following a one-night stand that had her reeling, biotech company heiress Mia Moncure has thrived working with a humanitarian aid team administering vaccines in Haiti. When the United States is threatened with a flu epidemic, Mia’s grandmother demands her return to unveil a new flu vaccine for Moncure Therapeutics. She arrives to find that her ex-boyfriend, the company’s PR Director, has died in a suspicious accident in Switzerland that Mia soon suspects was murder.

Determined to reveal a killer, Mia heads to Switzerland, where she’s threatened as she discovers a plan to infiltrate the vaccine for nefarious purposes. Desperate for backup, she turns to sexy Gio Lorenzo, Communications Director for her mother, a high-ranking senator—and Mia’s one-night stand. While negotiating their rocky relationship, they race to uncover a deadly scheme that could ruin her family’s reputation. But millions of people are being vaccinated, and there’s more than her family’s legacy at stake. Mia and Gio struggle to discover the truth about the scheme and their feelings for each other, but it just might be too late.

Award-winning author Tracy March writes romantic thrillers influenced by her interest in science and politics. She also writes lighthearted romances inspired by her real-life happily ever after.

Always up for travel and adventure, Tracy has flown in a stunt plane, snowmobiled on the Continental Divide, ziplined in the Swiss Alps, and been chased by a bull in the mountains of St. Lucia. She loves Nationals baseball, Saturday date nights, and Dairy Queen Blizzards—and rarely goes a day without Diet Coke and Cheez-Its.

Tracy lives in Yorktown, Virginia, with her superhero husband who works for NASA. They recently spent two years living in Washington D.C., and enjoy visiting often—especially when the Nats are in town.

To learn more about Tracy and her books, check out her social media:

Website: tracymarch.com
Blog: tracymarchbooks.blogspot.com
Twitter: twitter.com/Tracy_March
Facebook: link
Goodreads: link

Tracy is hosting a special giveaway at this link.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City

 A touch of red in Hawaii could be flowers ...
... or Pele, the volcano goddess.