Aloha to the Maryland Romance Writers (MRW) Fourth Annual Online Auction

The Maryland Romance Writers (MRW) are hosting the Fourth Annual Online Auction:

This auction benefits the Maryland Romance Writers (MRW) chapter of the Romance Writers of America (RWA) and its programs which promote excellence in romantic fiction and advance the professional interests of career-focused romance writers. To learn more about MRW, visit marylandromancewriters.com.

Check out what I donated:

Social Media Review from Popular Romance Bloggers (link):

Three bloggers, Kim Lowe (SOS Aloha Book Blog), Danielle Gorman (Ramblings from the Chick), and Kimberly Rocha (Book Obsessed Chicks) will independently review the winner's digital imprint - author website, social media, and author pages - to offer their feedback to the author's branding, reader appeal, and overall cohesiveness. Kim Lowe will compile their feedback and offer a one hour consultation.

Military Appreciation Gift Set (link):

US Flag flown over the Air Force Memorial (Arlington, VA), Air Force lanyard, Army Magnet and Pin, Coast Guard Tote Bag, Navy SEALs DVD, NSA Ballcap, NSA logo golf balls, Pearl Harbor Map, Pentagon Magnet, and Military Ducks

Pacific Rim Gift Set (link):

Hawaiian souvenirs (Aloha Pencils, Flower Hair Clip, Silk Lei, Slippahs magnet), Mount Fuji Magnets, Pearl Harbor Map, Jake Shimabukuro coozie, South Korean Magnet, USS Missouri "Mighty Mo" Golf Balls, and Military Ducks

Always Alba - A Sample of Scotland (link):

Albannach CD and bottle coozie,Brass "buck" decoration, Doune Castle leather bookmark (film location for OUTLANDER and MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL), Historic Scotland coffee mug, and vintage photographs from Victorian Scotland.

The auction ends on Monday, October 23 ... check out all the items available at this link.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Next week ... the Baltimore Book Festival!

RWA Recap (part 2) - Love is in the air!

For this year's conference, RWA added a blogger track to run concurrent with the Librarians Day on Saturday.  I estimate 30 bloggers participated, with half being at the conference all week.  We enjoyed a Meet in Greet with authors, a round table discussion among ourselves, a panel with editors on what's coming to Romanceland, and then the Librarians Day Luncheon with Brenda Jackson.  She wowed the audience with her humor, humanity, and sincerity that reading brings us hope.  I encourage you to check out #RWA17 on Twitter for quotes from Ms. Jackson.

The bloggers were invited to enter the "Readers for Life" Literacy Signing 15 minutes before the 3 pm  start time.  As I made my way to the ballroom hosting this event, Tina Dick from Germany (and recipient of RWA's Vivian Stephens Industry Award, link), approached me in the hallway.  She reported that the Goody Room contained at least 20 boxes of Harlequin books leftover from the publisher's signing.  The Goody Room was ready to close and the hotel staff planned to trash the books and other items in the room.  My thrifty self kicked into gear.  I called out to those in the room, and even those passing by, "Give me 5 minutes for the military."

Everyone within earshot grabbed a box and took it to the bellhop stand for storage.  After the Literacy Signing, I borrowed a car from Danielle Gorman and donated the books to the Shades of Green, a military resort on Disney property. We also gathered up the baskets left behind for Danielle to take to Goodwill.  My duty was done.

During the Literacy Signing, I spotted:

- couples of all ages standing in line to meet the big names such as Kristan Higgins and Sylvia Day. 

- a long line of women in mobility carts waiting to meet Jill Shalvis.  She stepped away from her table to take a picture with each and every one of those readers.

- three generations of families walking up and down the aisles to meet authors. Kate Pearce, featuring her Morgan Ranch books, had "sheriff's badges" on her table.  She graciously gave one to a young boy as his mother and grandmother perused her books.  Hmm, I wanted one of those badges!

- As I chatted with Geri Krotow, a severely disabled woman in a heavy wheelchair was pushed by a friend to Geri's table for the WRW Scavenger Hunt.  It is obvious that the specially made wheelchair was difficult to maneuver in the crowd, but the friend was determined.  We asked the disabled woman who was her favorite author. She responded, with some challenge, "Lynn Raye Harris."  I thought to myself, that is true friendship.

I later bumped into Lynn and asked her if she met this reader. She replied that she did ... and we both dabbed our eyes as they began to tear.  It is the hope that romance delivers that makes meeting fans like all of those I described that much more fulfilling.  It is the reason why I support Romanceland.

Lynn, left, and Debbie, right

After the signing, I scurried over to the Italian restaurant at the Swan Hotel to enjoy dinner with Debbie Mason and friends. Thank you, Debbie, for a delicious dinner and fabulous conversation!

On Sunday morning, I took one last walk around the Boardwalk. I had some bread leftover from the previous night's dinner.  I stopped to feed it to some birds.  Most grabbed the crumbs and flew away. But I spotted two birds together - maybe siblings, maybe lovers, maybe friends.  As one bird grabbed a crumb, that bird then fed it to the other. 

And that, dear readers, is love.

I am giving away a swag pack from RWA17 to four randomly selected commenters from the posts published in the month of August. To enter the giveaway,

1.  Let's chat about birds - do you have a favorite? When we lived in Hawaii, I often spread out bird feed for all of the colorful (and tiny) birds to eat in my backyard.  But I was most intrigued by the Pacific Golden Plover, aka kōlea, who is revered in Hawaiian culture.  Hawaiians believe it is the plover who guided the early Polynesians to the Hawaiian islands.

2. Comments are open through Thursday, August 31, 10 pm in Baltimore.

3. I'll post the winner on Friday, September 1.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Pacific Golden Plovers
US Fish and Wildlife Service (link)

Aloha to Blog Tours, Community Outreach, and Positive Energy

Aloha!  You probably noticed that I have posted a series of blog tours for the past few weeks.  I signed up for the blog tours after spending the week at RT with Danielle Gorman from Author's Pal.  She has such positive energy as an author assistant.  I not only wanted to support her ... but also introduce you to a wide range of romance authors and new releases. 

I admit it is easy filler for my blog ... as my life has been a challenge of late.  I'm juggling several family issues yet I did not want to give up on my blog here at SOS Aloha.

Three weeks ago, I attended "Wine, Women, and Word" with the ladies from my church.  I thought it was a Bible study. Instead, the host leads a discussion of issues that relate to our spiritual growth.  This month's host read a passage form Debbie Macomber's ONE SIMPLE ACT:

Debbie Macomber invites us to live with open hands, offering who we are and what we have to others. When we do so with an eager sense of expectancy, lives—including our own—are changed in ways we never envisioned. All it takes is one simple act.

Debbie shares vignettes from her life (and others) on how to use simple acts of sharing, caring, and forgiving to improve our own lives.  The host then gave me her copy to read.  Indeed, Debbie is a practicing Christian and quotes from the Bible.  But she references just plain common sense you would expect from any religion - be kind to one another.  

Most of my coworkers know I volunteer in the community. One coworker mentioned that she was moving into a small home and wanted to donate household items to military families. Last Saturday, I recruited my college son to help transport the items from her home to Fort Meade.  We took three car loads of household items to the Enlisted Spouses' Club (ESC) Thrift Shop (which raises money for student scholarships) and the Meade Attic (which gives household items for free to the lower ranks of all services).  

During our second trip to Fort Meade, I watched a young mother unload a double stroller from her car.  She then transferred a toddler and baby from the car to the stroller.  As she walked towards the Airmen's Attic, I informed her that it was closed; that we were only there to drop off donations in the collection bins. I subsequently invited her to my friend's house since she had baby and toddler items available.  I could see that the young mother was hesitant ... but it was a military base.  I was not a virtual stranger.  So the young mother followed me back to my friend's house - she stocked up on children's books and even took home a bouncy seat.  

In the end, my son and I:
- helped a friend clear out her house
- donated items to the Thrift Shop to raise funds for military families
- donated items to the Airmen's Attic to assist the lower enlisted
- enabled a young mother to pick out children's books for her family 

On our way home, I treated my son to Chick Fil A.  We even brought back chocolate shakes for hubby and younger son who volunteers for roadside clean up with his scout troop.  

For a few hours, I found satisfaction that I could help others, thus distracting me from my own problems.  Those problems are still present in my life, but the problems don't seem so daunting after all. 

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

1. What do you have planned for the upcoming holiday weekend?

2. Comments are open through Sunday, July 9, 10 pm in Baltimore.

3. I'll post the winner on Monday, July 10.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City

RT Recap Day 2 - Catching Up with Friends

On Tuesday morning, I enjoyed breakfast with Rae Latte, a book blogger in the Washington, DC, area.  Check out her blog at this link. We chatted about her first RT convention last year in Las Vegas ... and what she expected this year in Atlanta. I loved her enthusiasm for all things romance!

I later met KC Bateman (link) for morning coffee.  KC is a British ex-pat now living in the US ... and writing historical romance.  She charmed me with tales from her alter ego as a fine arts appraiser and on screen antique expert for British reality television shows.

I lunched with my roommate, Danielle Gorman, a book blogger who created Ramblings From This Chick (link). She is also an author assistant at Author's Pal (link) - an assistant I recommend!  After lunch, we took the skywalk to the Marriott ... where scenes from the second Hunger Games movie were filmed.

We joined the growing crowd for the first workshop of the week - RT Advantage with Liz Berry, cofounder of 1001 Dark Knights (link). Liz was spot on with her advice for authors - published and aspiring - to make the most of the RT Booklovers Convention. Thanks, Liz, for your guidance!

After hobnobbing in the lobby, I walked over to the Hard Rock Cafe with my sisters in arms - Navy surgeon Tamara W. and Air Force Veteran Julie Day (link).  I was among those who are good with their hands!  Multi-genre author Sara Humphreys (link) stopped by our table to chat.

For this week of recaps, I am giving away a sampling of books and swag from RT. To enter the giveaway,

1. Have you visited any movie or TV locations? Naturally, I toured several locations for Hawaii Five O. And H50 came to Hickam AFB multiple times ... I even spotted LL Cool J at this link for a crossover episode with NCIS: LA.

2. Comments are open through Monday, May 15, 10 pm in Baltimore.

3. I'll post the winner on Tuesday, May 16.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Atlanta Marriott