Kicking off Memorial Day weekend with HAWAII FIVE O and BATTLESHIP

Last night, as I worked out on my exercise bike, I enjoyed a rerun of Hawaii Five O - He Moho Hou (New Player),  I previously reviewed this episode at this link. The secondary story line featured Kono reuniting with a nemesis from her teen surfing days - Rosey Valera.  As H50 fans know, Kono blew out her knee, thus prompting her to attend the police academy. Rosey's path was not so rosy - she joined the Army, deployed to Iraq, and lost both legs from a roadside bomb.  She is now living among in a homeless camp as she struggles with her demons.  The producers avoid the "Kono can fix everything" plot. Instead, Rosey makes it clear to Kono that she has to work this out on her own.  Yet Kono extracts a promise from Rosey. The closing scene features Kono taking Rosey surfing on a modified board.

The scene reminded me of AccesSurf, link, a nonprofit organization with the vision:

In following the spirit of Duke Kahanamoku, AccesSurf continues to be a pioneer in the advancement of adaptive water sports, ocean recreation, and therapeutic instruction for people with disabilities throughout the state of Hawaii and worldwide.

AccesSurf hosts wounded warriors each month. Thank you, AccesSurf, for caring for our military!

Once H50 was over, I was channel surfing until I landed on FX broadcasting BATTLESHIP. 

I LOVE THIS MOVIE.

Granted, it was the last 30 minutes as the young sailors and the old salts navigate the Mighty Mo to save Oahu from an alien invasion. They receive a helping hand from wounded warrior Mick Canales who stumbles across the aliens during his therapeutic hike in the Waianae mountains,  Mick is portrayed by real life wounded warrior Greg Gadson (link) who, like his character, lost his legs in Iraq.  My family share a mutual friend with Greg - my children have met him at our neighbors' home.  Indeed, Greg demonstrates that he doesn't need legs to be a successful officer, husband, father, and motivational speaker. Thank you, Greg, for your service!

Today Americans kick off Memorial Day Weekend.  From usmemorialday.org,

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in service of the United States of America .... Memorial Day was borne out of the Civil War and a desire to honor our dead. It was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11. 

“The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land,” he proclaimed.

As we honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice, I also salute the military personnel who have made other sacrifices - time away from families, service related injuries, and the struggle to overcome emotional scars of war.  Thank you for defending my freedom.

My oldest son and husband at the
Margraten American Cemetery in the Netherlands 

I am giving away a book choice from my convention stash.  To enter the giveaway,

1. What are your plans for the Memorial Day Weekend?  My family is planting perennials around our house!

2. Comments are open through Sunday, June 4, 10 pm in Baltimore.

3. I'll post the winner on Monday, June 5.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Aloha to Kirsten Lynn, CHOCOLATE COWBOY, and Gorgeous Wyoming

Reminder: I have a special giveaway for Military Appreciation Month at this link.

Memorial Day Weekend kicks off the summer travel season. Navy historian turned romance author Kirsten Lynn joins us today with gorgeous photos which inspired her latest release, CHOCOLATE COWBOY.  Bonus: the hero is a Marine.

MOMMA’S PLEASE LET YOUR BABIES GROW UP TO BE COWBOYS…AND MARINES!

First, thank you Kim for hosting me today and for all of your wonderful support!

Hello! My name is Kirsten Lynn and took to heart the saying “write what you know,” combined it with what I love and so I write Western and Military romance. All roads lead to Wyoming in the majority of my stories, even my Marines and SEALs tend to end up spending some time in the Cowboy State.

In my most recent release, CHOCOLATE COWBOY, Gunnery Sergeant Jared Worrell returns home to Ten Sleep, Wyoming at the request of his mother. For a man who wanted to be an active duty Marine until the day he took up a new post at heaven’s gate, he can’t muster up any enthusiasm for returning to small-town Wyoming…until he meets Lucy Thomas. Lucy is a photographer and through her eyes, Jared can finally see the beauty of his home state.

Like Jared, I left my home state of Wyoming to work with the Navy and Marine Corps as a historian in Washington, D.C. Unlike, Jared, I have always appreciated the great beauty of this wild country, and I was more than ready to move back and soak in the wide open spaces. Like Lucy, I love taking pictures of Wyoming and thought it would be fun to share some of the pictures I took while writing CHOCOLATE COWBOY for inspiration.

So come on and join Jared, Lucy, and me on a trip over the Bighorn Mountains and around Ten Sleep, Wyoming. (PSA: My photography skills aren’t as advanced as Lucy’s)

We’ll start where the story does on the “main street” of Ten Sleep.

There are as many stories as storytellers as to how the town got its name. One story says the name Ten Sleep came from the Indians' reference to a ford across the creek, on the old Bridger Trail, as being 10 days (sleeps) journey from Fort Laramie in the southeast or Yellowstone to the west. The other story relates to a large Indian camp on the Platte River near the present site of Casper, Wyoming, which was known to the early trappers as the Old Sioux Camp. To the north, near the present site of Bridger, Montana, on Clarks Fork River, was another large and well-known Indian camp. They both were important crossroads of the nation and trails led from them in all directions. Half way between the two was Ten Sleep. The Indians measured distance by the number of sleeps - which was 10 - between the two camps.

The land around Ten Sleep is gorgeous and was a major source of contention between the cattlemen and sheepherders during the late 19th Century. Today the land is still some of the finest ranch land with many spreads passed down from generation to generation. Jared’s family was one of these. I couldn’t resist capturing a few shots of some information for the Worrell family ranch.

Throughout the story, Lucy visits some of the most beautiful places in Wyoming and I try to bring places like the Tetons and Wind Rivers to life and paint a picture for the reader. I could share hundreds of pictures, but for today I’ll limit the pictures to the mountain range near and dear to my heart, and nearest Ten Sleep. I’ve driven over the Bighorn Mountains a hundred times as I visit various areas of Wyoming, but they never grow old and I always have stop for pictures. Their beauty is why I set the majority of my stories in the basins and valleys around them. 

There are two highways over the mountains. One will lead you over the mountains and to Ten Sleep. In summer the mountains dress up in their finest. 

But there’s always the rugged beauty.

And then we reach the bottom and Ten Sleep Creek.

We can’t take a tour of Wyoming without a picture of cows. J Since Red Angus are featured in CHOCOLATE COWBOY, and for good reason since they’re a popular breed, we’ll end this brief tour with a two bovine who weren’t camera shy. 

I hope you’ve enjoyed this tour. I tried to choose those photos that would give you the best peek at the area.

Before riding off into the sunset, here’s the blurb to CHOCOLATE COWBOY:

GySgt Jared Worrell wanted one thing—to live and die a Marine. He’s made a good start at the first and come close to the second more times than a man should. One call from his mother changes all his plans, and he’s headed back to Ten Sleep, Wyoming. The Reserves feed his need to be a Marine, but what does a man do the rest of the year in a town so small it doesn’t even have one stoplight? His mom has the perfect solution; Jared should use another talent and become the town chocolatier. He’s just recovering from that bomb when she drops another…

Lucy Thomas fell in love with Ten Sleep when her parents fulfilled their dreams of owning their own ranch. Now Lucy is living her dream of photographing Wyoming from its landscape to its people, but she’s never really felt a part of the small town where everyone has known everyone else forever. Turning the doorknob to her friend’s house brings her face to face with a man whose arms she’d love to call home. He’s a Marine, cowboy, and chocolatier...how can a woman resist?

Coming home never tasted so sweet.  I’d like to giveaway two e-copies of CHOCOLATE COWBOY. Just tell me what’s your favorite chocolate treat?

Thank you for stopping by! 

Kirsten Lynn

Learn more about Kirsten and her books at kirstenlynnwildwest.com.

Mahalo, Kirsten, for sharing CHOCOLATE COWBOY with us!  To enter the giveaway,

1. Answer Kirsten's question - what's your favorite chocolate treat?  Mine is Heath Bar Crunch!

2. Comments are open through Saturday, June 4, 10 pm in Baltimore. 

3. I'll post the winner on Sunday, June 5.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City