Historical Trivia ... and late birthday wishes

I enjoy historical trivia ... on this day:

In 1910, Theodore Roosevelt becomes the first U.S. president to fly in an airplane. He flew for four minutes with Arch Hoxsey in a plane built by the Wright brothers.

In 1942, during the Battle of Cape Esperance, United States Navy ships intercept and defeat a Japanese fleet on their way to reinforce troops on Guadalcanal and destroy the Allied airfield.

In 1984,  Kathryn D. Sullivan becomes the first American woman to perform a space walk during a mission aboard the Challenger.

Speaking of air and space, I missed the Air Force's 69th birthday on September 18 during my blogging break.  I set aside a box of books to giveaway to celebrate the youngest service within the Department of Defense - these authors are connect to the Air Force as veterans, spouses, brats, or parents. 

Delores Fossen, THE MARSHAL'S JUSTICE
Lorraine Heath, WHEN THE DUKE WAS WICKED
Shirley Jump, WHEN SOMEBOYD LOVES YOU
Merline Lovelace, THIR TIME'S THE BRIDE
Catherine Mann, SHELTER ME
Crista McHugh, TELL ME TRUE
Pamela Palmer, A LOVE UNTAMED
Tracy Solheim, RISKY GAME

plus the anthology WAY OF THE WARRIOR with Suzanne Brockman, ML Buckman, Anne Elizabeth, Lea Griffith, Catherine Mann, Kate Serine, Tina Wainscott, and Julie Ann Walker.

I am giving away the above books to one randomly selected commenter from all posts in October.  to enter the giveaway,

1.  Leave a comment about airplanes, space travel, or the Air Force - do you know someone who flies an airplane?  Would you like to go up into space like Wolowitz from the Big Bang Theory?  Do you know anyone connected to the Air Force?  Or do you have your own historical trivia to share?

2.  Due to shipping costs, this giveaway is open to US residents only.

3.  Comments are open through Monday, October 31, 2016.  I'll post the winners on Wednesday, November 2.

We celebrate the US Navy's birthday on Thursday, October 13 - 241 years strong!

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Missing Man Formation

Monday Night Romance - Animal Welfare Week

Monday Night Romance continues on USA Today's Happily Ever After (HEA) Blog at this link - we are celebrating football mascots in honor of Animal Welfare Week. 

While living in Hawaii, we attended the Pro Bowl twice at Aloha Stadium - the mascots proved to be more entertaining than the game itself.   Arg, I can't find my pictures of the mascots in Aloha shirts!

We love the mascots because we love animals!   I enjoy animals in romances .... 

I'm proud of my fellow military spouse, Catherine Mann, for her work with rescue animals (link), 

Catherine and her flyboy husband live on the Florida coast where they brought up their 4 children – and still have 5 four-legged, furry “children” (aka pets). Catherine is an active volunteer with her local Humane Society, serving on their Board of Directors and fostering puppies and special needs dogs (she stopped counting at a hundred). She recently checked off a major item on her “bucket list” by completing the hands-on training for the Florida State Animal Rescue Coalition. 

I became a recent fan of Diane Kelly.  From her bio (link),

A former tax advisor, Diane Kelly inadvertently worked with white-collar criminals. Lest she end up in an orange jumpsuit, Diane decided self-employment would be a good idea. Her fingers hit the keyboard and thus began her “Death and Taxes” romantic mystery series. A graduate of her hometown’s Citizen Police Academy, Diane Kelly also writes the hilarious K-9 cop “Paw Enforcement” series.

Check out my review of PAWS ENFORCEMENT at this link.

Ronie Kendig draws upon military life to write the Breeds Apart series featuring military dogs (link):

An Army brat, Ronie Kendig grew up in the classic military family, with her father often TDY and her mother holding down the proverbial fort. Their family moved often, which left Ronie attending six schools by the time she’d entered fourth grade. Her only respite and “friends” during this time were the characters she created.

It was no surprise when she married a military veteran—her real-life hero—in June 1990. Married more than twenty years, Ronie and her husband, Brian, homeschool their children, the first of whom graduated in 2011. Despite the craziness of life, Ronie finds balance and peace with her faith, family and their Maltese Menace in Northern Virginia.

Mahalo, Catherine, Diane, and Ronie, for your human hearts! Can you recommend any romance books with animals?  One randomly selected commenter wins a book choice from my convention stash.  Comments are open through Saturday, October 11, 10 pm in Baltimore.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, October 12.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City

We rescued Zsa Zsa in Hawaii ...
or did she rescue us?