May is National Military Appreciation Month - Aloha to Elizabeth Essex

I met Elizabeth Essex at the Library of Congress' What is Love? Romance in the Digital Age (here, here, here, and here). Elizabeth was featured in the documentary, Love Between the Covers, at this link.   She shared her long distance relationship with a critique partner who lives in Australia.

Elizabeth is co-hosting the "Battle of Trafalgar" table at the SOS America Military Tribute (link). From her bio,

Elizabeth Essex is the award-winning author of the critically acclaimed Reckless Brides historical romance series. When not rereading Jane Austen, mucking about in her garden or simply messing about with boats, Elizabeth can be always be found with her laptop, making up stories about heroes and heroines who live far more exciting lives than she. It wasn’t always so. Long before she ever set pen to paper, Elizabeth graduated from Hollins College with a BA in Classics and Art History, and then earned her MA in Nautical Archaeology from Texas A&M University. While she loved the life of an underwater archaeologist, she has found her true calling writing lush, lyrical historical romance full of passion, daring and adventure.

Elizabeth lives in Texas with her husband, the indispensable Mr. Essex, and her active and exuberant family in an old house filled to the brim with books.

Battle of Trafalgar By William Lionel Wyllie
Public Domain (link)

I want to be an underwater archaeologist!  I wonder what we would find in the waters off Cape Trafalgar?   Mahalo, Elizabeth, for entertaining readers with military men.  From A SCANDAL TO REMEMBER, 

For too long, Miss Jane Burke’s father has taken advantage of her painstaking research. Heading to the South Seas to make her own name as a scientist despite the crew’s insistence that a woman aboard is bad luck, she isn't prepared to be championed by a handsome ship’s officer who rouses longings inside her as wild as any storm…

For Lieutenant Charles Dance, a post on His Majesty’s survey ship Tenacious is just one more dutiful rung on the ladder of his career. Even a headstrong bluestocking on board is less troubling than the ship’s drunken captain—and the ferocious gales that drive the ship off course. Stranded on a remote island, passion blazes between them as hot as the sun, but it’s Jane’s love Charles wants forever…

A modern HMS Tenacious
Public Domain (link)

May is National Military Appreciation Month. For the month of May, I am giving away one grand prize of books and swag from the authors featured this month (link). Plus five more commenters - one for each branch of service - wins a book choice from my convention stash. To enter the giveaway,

1.  Do you have interest in archaeology?   I was fascinated with King Tut as a child.

2. Comments are open through Sunday, May 31, 10 pm in Baltimore.

3. I'll post the winner on Monday, June 1.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Learn more about Elizabeth and her books at elizabethessex.com.

Aloha to Linsey Hall and The Mythean Arcana - BRAVING FATE, SOULCERESS, ROGUE SOUL

Weird Things I’ve Found Underwater

Thanks for having me, SOS Aloha! Since Hawaii is an island state, I thought I’d talk a little bit about something very relevant to islands – water. I’ve spent a lot of time freezing my butt off looking for old stuff underwater. Before I was a writer, I was an underwater archaeologist. I worked primarily on shipwrecks lost in very cold water. We’re talking water with ice on the surface. Yikes. I blame romance novels for getting me into that cold water.

When I was in high school, I read everything that ever featured Fabio on the cover, and if you’ll recall, those were often historical romances in exotic settings that featured brave and adventurous heroines. Somehow, this combination led to me hanging out at the bottom of a lake and freezing my butt off while trying to decide if I was looking at a bit of old tree or a ship timber (a surprisingly common problem amongst underwater archaeologists).

In my time as an archaeologist, I’ve found some pretty strange things underwater. Some of the really cool artifacts include a Phoenician comb that was more than 2,000 years old and a gramophone with records from a Klondike Gold Rush shipwreck.

But the really strange things are my favorite. Unexploded WWII bombs and porcelain teacups were common in Plymouth harbor and refrigerators in Lake Huron (really – how do those get down there?). But by far, the strangest thing I’ve ever found was a gym bag full of liquor bottles and a stolen charity box from a church. Fortunately, the liquor and the charity box were found off the coast of the Scilly Isles in the UK and it was a tiny community, so the locals remembered when it had been stolen and were able to return it to the appropriate church. We assume that after committing the theft, the thief got nervous and dropped their loot in the shallow water of the beach and planned to come back for it. We archaeologists beat them to it. We never found the Medieval shipwreck we were looking for, but at least we solved part of a mystery.

My conscience compels me to mention that everything I’ve ever found underwater was turned into the appropriate people, whether it was a museum assigned conservation duties or a university research lab. History belongs to all of us, and I truly believe that artifacts belong in places where they can benefit humanity. As much as I would love to put some of those finds on my bookshelves, they’re better off where they can be shared with the world.

Eventually, I figured out that as much as I love history and archaeology (and finding weird things underwater), I love romance novels more. After a while, the stories happening in my head became more interesting than what I found underwater. I started writing my current series – the Mythean Arcana – while I lived in Plymouth, England. I dived on shipwrecks in the day, but every night, I found myself staying up late crafting a world that I couldn’t get out of my head.

The result was the three books that released on November 10th: Braving Fate, Soulceress, and Rogue Soul. They are adventurous paranormal romances set in modern-day Scotland that draw in elements of the history that I love and the paranormal elements I can’t help but include.

What I found in the surf on Sand Island

Braving Fate, Book 1 in The Mythean Arcana

In a world of chaos, a warrior queen is reborn

Bookish academic Diana Laughton has been having terrible dreams. Dreams of battle, dreams of blood… dreams so vivid she's living them both day and night. When demons and portents invade her quiet life, she wonders if she is going mad. Or if perhaps she's remembering a past life she had no idea existed…

In the midst of betrayal, he must protect her

Immortal Guardian Cadan Trinovante loved and betrayed Britain's warrior queen Boudica two millennia ago. Now he is tasked with protecting mortals whose lives affect the fate of humanity. His latest assignment is Boudica herself, reincarnated and reborn into a woman with no idea of her past or her fated future. Though in the sexy form of Diana Laughton, it's possible Cadan has once again met his match…

Thrown together in a shadowy world that exists alongside our own, Diana and Cadan must not only fight the demonic forces that want Diana dead, but also a past and a passion that has lasted centuries. To succumb to seduction could be fatal. But as evil from the underworld unites against them, their only hope could be each other.

Soulceress, Book 2 in The Mythean Arcana 

A man desperate to save his soul

Three hundred years ago, Warren sold his soul in exchange for the safety of his people. He lives immortal and inhuman, a life in the shadows, hiding his secrets. Until now, when he finally has the chance to reclaim his soul after three centuries of suffering…

A woman forced to live as a renegade

Esha is a soulceress, an immortal who drains the magical powers of others. Shunned by everyone she meets, she’s a rogue mercenary who hunts evil for a living. The only man she cannot harm is Warren, whose secrets intrigue her and whose body sparks her desire…

An evil power that can destroy them

Esha is the only person who can help Warren reclaim his soul. But what begins as a simple quest soon becomes a deadly battle, one in which choices will be made and secrets revealed that could tear them apart. As Esha and Warren uncover their passion, they must defeat the evil forces unleashed against them before time runs out…

Rogue Soul, Book 3 in The Mythean Arcana

It's her last chance at freedom...

Andrasta, Celtic goddess of victory, has fled the cold, sterile wasteland of Otherworld for the steamy South American jungle. It's only a matter of time before the vengeful gods catch and punish her - unless she can convince the man she betrayed two thousand years ago to help…

And only her enemy can save her

Born in Otherworld to the life of a god, Camulos went rogue centuries ago. He's living on the banks of the Amazon, boxing in bare-knuckled fights. The gods believe he's dead - until Ana finds him. Ana, the woman who gave him nothing but trouble, and the woman he could never forget…

Even the gods have secrets

Thrown together, Ana and Cam must evade the wrath of the gods and a return to the living death of Otherworld. But as they flee through the jungle - and as their passion ignites - they find themselves at the heart of an ancient secret. One that could kill them both and extinguish their souls forever...

Linsey Hall is the author of the Mythean Arcana, a sexy paranormal romance series. Before becoming a romance novelist, Linsey was an underwater archaeologist who studied shipwrecks in all kinds of water, from the tropics to muddy rivers (and she has a distinct preference for one over the other). Her books draw upon her love of history, travel, and the paranormal elements that she can't help but include. Several of her books may or may not feature her cats.

linseyhall.com
LinseyHallAuthor@gmail.com
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GoodReads: link

Linsey is hosting a special giveaway at this link.

A heart from Sand Island