Celebrate Canada Week - Aloha to Julie Rowe

The Canadian flag at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic 

Image by Jared Grove (link)

Julie Rowe and her fellow residents of Fort McMurray, are resilient. Julie, in particular, remains cheerful despite the fire. She is participating in one of the panels I coordinated for the RWA Annual Conference (link):

The Joy of Writing (WRITER’S LIFE)
Anne Elizabeth, Kim Lowe, Cathy Maxwell, and Julie Rowe

Best-selling, award-winning, and perpetually positive authors share how they savor their passion for writing while navigating the pitfalls of the publishing industry.


From her bio,

Julie Rowe’s first career as a medical lab technologist in Canada took her to the North West Territories and northern Alberta, where she still resides. She loves to include medical details in her romance novels, but admits she’ll never be able to write about all her medical experiences because, “No one would believe them!” A double Golden Heart finalist 2006, Julie’s writing has appeared in several magazines such as Today’s Parent, Reader’s Digest (Canada), and Canadian Living. She currently facilitates communication workshops for her local city college. Julie enjoys hearing from her readers. You can reach her at julieroweauthor.com.

Kim: What is your favorite sight, sound, and smell of your part of Canada?

Julie: I love the sight, sound and smells of the Rocky Mountains! There’s nothing like the clean, crisp scent of pine trees, the sound of birds and rushing water and the sight of the peaks covered in snow.

Kim: Can you share a unique Canadian saying or slang that resonates with you?

Julie: I’m sorry. I say it all the time and don’t even realize it. My kids tease me about being sorry for everything, including the weather, bad traffic, political unrest in foreign nations and the plight of Syrian refugees.

Kim: What would you recommend a reader to see, eat, or drink to enhance their travel experience to Canada?

Julie: If you could only do one thing, I would recommend flying into the Calgary airport, driving to Banff and having High Tea at the Banff Springs Hotel. 

Banff Springs Hotel, October 1929

Public Domain (link)

Juile's recent release is VIRAL JUSTICE ...

As a general's daughter, Alicia Stone has fought twice as hard for everything she's earned in the military. A Special Forces consultant with black belts in three martial arts, she's as strong as her surname implies. No one dares call her Alicia—no one but Colonel Robert Maxmillian, head of the Biological Response Team.

With Alicia at his side, Max must lead the team into northern Iraq to investigate a virus—or is it a weapon—killing the area's population. Charged with guarding his body, she can't help wanting his hands on her body. Max would be the perfect fling. But he demands more.

The heat builds between them, but danger quickly follows. As the two get closer to the source of the virus, they'll have to risk their future to outsmart a scientist with nothing to lose.
Book three of Biological Response Team

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

1. How do you take your tea - hot or cold? Milk or lemon? What flavor?  I prefer hot green tea!

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

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

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Aloha to Julie Rowe and DEADLY STRAIN - Book 1 from the Biological Response Team

Julie Rowe is a dynamo - she is a long standing supporter of military families.  Julie is always smiling at conventions.   She generously shares her knowledge of Twitter.  Julie has authored a wide range of romance books.  From her bio,

Julie Rowe’s first career as a medical lab technologist in Canada took her to the North West Territories and northern Alberta, where she still resides. She loves to include medical details in her romance novels, but admits she’ll never be able to write about all her medical experiences because, “No one would believe them!” A double Golden Heart finalist 2006, Julie’s writing has appeared in several magazines such as Today’s Parent, Reader’s Digest (Canada), and Canadian Living. She currently facilitates communication workshops for her local city college. Julie enjoys hearing from her readers. You can reach her at julieroweauthor.com or on Twitter @julieroweauthor.

Julie is celebrating the release of  DEADLY STRAIN - Book 1 from the Biological Response Team:

Major Grace Samuels, a trauma surgeon deployed to Afghanistan, spends her life helping her fellow soldiers overcome disease and combat injuries. But her own wounds are harder to heal. Wracked with guilt over the death of a fellow soldier, she finds comfort in her only friend and appointed bodyguard, weapons sergeant Jacob “Sharp” Foster.

Sharp feels more for Grace than a soldier should, more than he wants to admit. When the team discovers a new, quick-to-kill strain of Anthrax, he tries to focus on the mission to find its source. He knows he can help Grace defeat her demons, but first they must defeat the deadly outbreak.

Sharp is Grace’s most loyal ally, but in close quarters, he starts to feel like more. She can’t watch someone else she cares about die—but she might not have a choice. The closer they get to finding the source of the strain, the closer it gets to finding them.

View of Band-e Amir in the Bamyan Province of Afghanistan
Referred to as Afghanistan's Grand Canyon
Public Domain (link)

DEADLY STRAIN is next in my reading queue and looking forward to it! I am giving away a digital copy of DEADLY STRAIN to one randomly selected commenter. To enter the giveaway,

1. Leave a comment about Canada - what do you know about about our Northern neighbor?  I know Canada has gorgeous landscapes!

2. Comments are open through Saturday, June 20, 10 pm in Baltimore. 

3.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, June 21.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Moraine Lake in Banff National Park
Alberta, Canada
Public Domain (link)