Celebrate Romance Every Day: SOS Aloha 6th Anniversary Finale - A Blog is Born

I shared the events leading to SOS Aloha at this link, link, and link. I created SOS Aloha while living on Pearl Harbor in March 2010 as a means to stay connected to Romanceland.  At the time, snarky blogs dominated social media - I did not want to create a forum where snarky remarks would be directed at military families.  To date, I have had no snarky remarks. 

Instead, I received enthusiastic support from authors, publishers, readers, and other bloggers.  Romanceland embraced every call to action to mail cards to deployed personnel - thank you!

I tried to register SOS America, sosamerica.blogspot.com, in honor of the charity sponsored by Kathryn Falk, the owner and founder of RT Bookreviews Magazine. But that name was already registered. I amended it to SOS Aloha, sosaloha.blogspot.com. 

Along the way, other bloggers helped me cultivate my craft:

- Terri from Bodice Ripper Novels (link) taught me how to insert images and links.

- Mary from The Reading Reviewer (link) encouraged me to write reviews

- Dani from Ramblings from the Chick (link), Kati from Romancing Rakes for the Love of Romance (link), and Kim from Book Obsessed Chicks (link) created a community of mutual support.

I also thank the readers for being a part of this journey!

The turning point for SOS Aloha came in September 2010 when Rhonda Penders, Editor-in-Chief of The Wild Rose Press, contacted me to donate books to my blog.  Since I lived in Hawaii, I suggested she mail them to Mary in St. Louis to reduce the shipping cost (Mary would then send the books to winners after we spotlighted the author on my blog).  We were not expecting Rhonda to send over 200 books!  I contacted all the authors for an interview ... and viola, SOS Aloha grew by leaps and bounds!  Thank you, Rhonda, for that boost!

I am giving away a book choice from one randomly selected commenter. To enter the giveaway, leave a comment to my question,

1. If you started a blog, what would you call it?

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

3. I'll post the winner on Sunday, April 3.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City

PS Check out my other blogs:

- Aloha On My Mind, a travel blog with local interest and international culture: alohaonmymind.blogspot.com.

- Aloha Author Assistant, a helpful guide for authors where I reward readers for their feedback:  alohaauthor.blogspot.com.

I always welcome guest posts from authors and readers to any blogs!

Celebrate Romance Every Day: SOS Aloha's 6th Anniversary (part 1) - Romance blossoms in the Netherlands

Limbricht Castle (Kasteel Limbricht)

Public Domain (link)

Six years ago, I created SOS Aloha while living in Hawaii.  Yet it was an other overseas assignment which introduced me to romance.  In 2002, we moved to the Netherlands when my husband received an assignment to NATO's Joint Forces Command Brunssum (link).  I found myself in the perfect storm to spurn my interest in historcal romance novels:

- We lived across from the Limbricht Castle, a medieval home complete with a moat, tower, and modern duck pin bowling alley!

- I enjoyed afternoon tea with the British Delegation.

- Military families jumped aboard Ryanair to visit London, Dublin, and Edinburgh - home of castles, castles, and castles!

Shortly after our arrival, NATO troops deployed as peacekeepers to Kabul, Afghanistan.  The international staff adopted an orphanage in Kabul and asked the America Spouse's Club to collect donations. So we rolled up our sleeves, cleaned out the long neglected thrift shop (link), and sent boxes with clothes, blankets, and toys. We also received an anonymous donation of $1500 to purchase a generator for the orphanage.

Once the dust settled, I looked around the thrift shop to see what was left - books written in the English language. One paperback caught my eye with its blue cover and tartan sash:

Journey with Cathy Maxwell to nineteenth-century Scotland...a land of romance and dreams. There, away from the stifling ballrooms and idle gossip of London, a debutante hopes to find a life she could only have imagined...and a noble Highlander discovers that the truest love of all awaits him in the form of an unexpected bride-to-be.

After consuming every historical romance from the thrift shop shelves, I moved onto the Army's library where I discovered romantic suspense from my fellow Floridian, Heather Graham:

When private investigator Dane Whitelaw discovers he is being set up to take the fall for the murder of his former lover, Sheila, he teams up with Sheila's best friend, Kelsey Cunningham, to discover the truth.

I also cultivated a friendship with the manager of the Stars N Strips bookstore.  She raved about Bertrice Small:

There has never been a woman like luscious, raven-haired, hot-tempered Skye O'Malley. She is the courageous seafaring captain of her own mighty fleet, and intelligent enough to win a battle of wits with Queen Elizabeth herself. Follow along as Skye O'Malley is swept up in a journey filled with romance and passion that takes her from glittering Ireland, to lush Algeria, to the heart of London in pursuit of a unique and eternal love.

I would later meet Cathy, Heather, and Bertrice once we moved back to the US ... Cathy is a Navy veteran, Heather has participated in a USO tour, and Bertrice's beloved husband, George, was an Army veteran from the D-Day Landings in WWII.   

How did you discover romance?  One randomly selected commenter wins a book choice from my convention stash. Comments are open through Saturday, March 12, 10 pm in Baltimore.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, March 13.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Next week:  SOS Aloha's 6th Anniversary (part 2) - An Old Fashioned Tea Party with Military Spouses and Romance Authors.

The Tea Party by Frederic Soulacroix