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!

Aloha to Weekly Winners, Beach Blanket Bingo, and Christi Caldwell

We have winners from last week's posts - Dani, Denise, and Sharlene win a book choice from my convention stash.  Please send your mailing address to sos.aloha@yahoo.com.

I am also a winner - the RT Booklovers Convention (link) selected my proposal for a beach party in Atlanta!  My cohost will be Kimberly Rocha from Book Obsessed Chicks (link).  Our theme is BEACH BLANKET BINGO, inspired by the 60s movie of the same name (link).  I plan to dress as Frankie Avalon and Kimberly as Annette Funicello.  We will, in fact, play book cover bingo.  

We invited 20 of our favorite authors to host a table ... and I will introduce you to those authors between now and next May (it will be here sooner than we expect).  Kimberly recommended our first author - Christi Caldwell:

USA TODAY Bestselling author CHRISTI CALDWELL blames Judith McNaught’s “Whitney, My Love!” for luring her into the world of historical romance. While sitting in her graduate school apartment at the University of Connecticut, Christi decided to set aside her notes and pick up her laptop to try her hand at romance. She believes the most perfect heroes and heroines have imperfections, and she rather enjoys torturing them before crafting them a well deserved happily ever after!

Christi makes her home in southern Connecticut where she spends her time writing her own enchanting historical romances, chasing around her feisty seven-year-old son and caring for her twin princesses in training!

Christi recently celebrated the release of THE ROGUE'S WAGER, Book 1 in the Sinful Brides series ...

London, 1821

Lord Robert Dennington, the Marquess of Westfield, has long reveled in the freedom afforded him as the ducal heir. He knows he must someday do right by the Somerset line, but he’s in no hurry to give up his carefree existence.

Helena Banbury is a bookkeeper in a gentleman’s gambling club, adept at analyzing numbers and accounts but helpless for lack of influence. She’s never belonged among the nobility on the gaming hell floors, but neither does she feel completely herself among the men who run the Hell and Sin Club, despite the fact that they are family. The once-illiterate girl from the streets wants more than the gilded walls her protective cage can offer.

When Robert mistakenly enters her chambers one night, Helena is forced out of her predictable life and thrust into the glittering world of Society. Will the charms of the marquess prove more perilous than any danger she ever knew on the streets?

Christi's favorite beach is Bald Head Island, NC (link).

Bald Head Island is a two-mile journey across the Cape Fear River from Southport, North Carolina and the site of Old Baldy, the state’s oldest standing lighthouse, circa 1817.  You can reach this subtropical island only by passenger ferry or private vessel. Amid the island’s 12,000 acres, you’ll find 10,000 untouched acres of beach, marsh and maritime forest preserves and intimate neighborhoods that respect the natural beauty of the surroundings.

"Old Baldy" Lighthouse
Released to Public Domain (link)

What's your favorite beach?  One randomly selected commenter wins a book choice from my convention stash. Comments are open through Sunday, November 13, 10 pm in Baltimore. I'll post the winner on Monday, November 14.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Bald Head Island marina with "Old Baldy" in the background

Released to Public Domain (link)

Valentine's Day, Romance Cheerleaders, and Weekly Winners

Happy Valentine's Day!  My husband and youngest son spent the night aboard the USS New Jersey, giving me a day to myself.  That's love!

Kimberly Rocha from Book Obsessed Chicks (BOC) featured me as a romance cheerleader - check out my interview at this link.  Let's share the love - I'll giveaway a book choice from my convention stash to one randomly selected commenter.  I'll post the winner next week here at SOS Aloha. Thanks to Kimberly for the nomination - she's the team captain of romance cheerleaders!

We have winners here at SOS Aloha ...

Celebrate Romance Every Day - RWA, Joy of Writing, and RomVets

- Karen T. wins a book choice from my convention stash.

Aloha to Laura Trentham and A BRAZEN BARGAIN (Spies and Lovers Book 2) - Book Review

- Denise L. wins a book choice from my convention stash.

Aloha to Willa Blair and SWEETIE PIE - Book Review

- Di wins a book choice from my convention stash.  

From my travel blog, Aloha On My Mind (link),

- Sharlene wins a book choice from my convention stash.

Winners, please contact me at sos.aloha@yahoo.com with your mailing address.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Love is .... a malasada from Leonard's Bakery!

The Staying Power of Romance Novels

Last week, as I was driving home from a book store, I heard a GEICO commercial on the radio, "GEICO has more staying power than a romance novel cover model".

Oh, GEICO, you don't know romance readers!

GEICO is an acronym for Government Employees Insurance Company.  It spends millions on advertising; many of its commercials are humorous and somewhat irrelevent to car insurance.  GEICO was founded by Leo Goodwin after working for USAA, an insurance company founded by (and for) military officers. Goodwin applied USAA's business model to GEICO, thus demonstrating the military's staying power. 

GEICO may poke fun of romance cover models ... yet military heroes dominate them.  In fact, several reservists are cover models, including Jeremy R.  He attended the SOS America Military Tribute last year at the RT Booklovers Convention. Jeremy is currently deployed to Djibouti, Africa.  Thank you, Jeremy, for your service!

Image by Kimberly Rocha

GEICO has employed several spokesmen in its advertising campaigns, including Maxwell the Pig. He's confident in what he can do with GEICO apps, even as he vacations on the beach. Romanceland has its own Maxwell - Cathy Maxwell, the beloved author of historical romance from Avon Books. What's not to admire about an author who believes "loving well is the greatest adventure of all." Cathy penned 31 novels and contributed to five anthologies - now that's staying power.  Most of her cover models are heroines ... perhaps the heroines are inspired by Cathy's can do atttitude.  Did I mention that Cathy is a Navy veteran?  Thank you, Cathy, for your service!

Book 32 is available May 31, 2016

One of my favorite GEICO commercials features a camel wandering through an office asking, "What day is it?  Hump day!"  I've never ridden a camel ... but romance author Diana Cosby reenlisted in the Navy atop a dromedary!  Ultimately, Diana retired as a Navy Chief and I share chief humor, 

Real Chiefs believe that in the Navy every day is a holiday, every meal is a feast, every payday is a lottery and every muster is a family reunion.

How's that for staying power?  In her second career, Diana penned 9 medieval romance novels with more to come.  Thank you, Diana, for your service!

Diana Cosby, left, reenlists in Tangiers

I hum along to the GEICO's commercial with New York hip hop duo, Salt-N-Pepa, singing "Push It" to the businessman in the elevator, the pregnant couple at Lamaze class, and the exasperated dad mowing his yard. Romanceland has its own "push it" duo - Kimberly R. (right, below) and Janet R. (left). Kimberly is the founder of Book Obsessed Chicks blog, book club, and annual BBQ (link). Janet is a dedicated reader who has never met a romance conference she didn't love. Together, they are an enthusiastic pair who have recommended so many keepers to me. They have also faithfully supported military families through SOS America.  Thanks, Kimberly and Janet, for your infectious smiles!

Do you have a favorite GEICO commercial? Or a favorite cover model? One randomly selected commenter wins a book choice from my convention stash. Comments are open through Saturday, January 30, 10 pm in Baltimore.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, January 31.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Celebrate Little Victories - WRW Reader Luncheon

Back in August, we bought a home and moved across town. Ah, home ownership!  It's a older home in an excellent school district for our youngest son who is a high school freshman. Alas, it will be at least 4 years before we consider moving back to Hawaii.  Maybe it's a dream ... but one can only hope.

I have been caught up in cleaning out the house that sat vacant for 6 months.  But a chance came last week for me to take a break and enjoy Romanceland.   Kim from Books Obsessed Chicks (link), her side kick Janet (link), and breakout author Stacey Agdern (link) drove down from New York for the WRW Reader Luncheon (link).   Attending authors included:

Anne Barton
Christi Wagner Barth
Caryn Block
Karna Bodman
Meredith Bond
Joanna Bourne
Terri Brisbin
Linda Acorn Budzinski
Robin Covington
Avery Flynn
Solara Gordon
Cristin Harber
Madeline Iva
Lavinia Kent
Harper Kincaid
Kimberly Kincaid
Eliza Knight
Geri Krotow
Sally MacKenzie
MK Meredith
Cat Miller
Deborah Munroe
Wendy La Capra
Tamra Lassiter
Mackenzie Lucas
Hope Ramsay
Rachel Rawlings
Sarah Robinson
Lynne Silver
Shari Slade
Elisabeth Staab
Delancey Stewart
Tracy Anne Warren

I sat with Sally MacKenzie and MacKenzie Lucas ... a tongue twister!  Our table also included two readers from Harper's Ferry and one reader from Baltimore.  The atmosphere was crackling with excitement which only Romanceland can deliver.  

Kim, Janet, and Stacey stayed overnight with me, giving us a chance to gab like sorority girls!   On Sunday, we ventured to Washington, DC - check out pictures from my travel blog at this link and link.

I am giving away a book choice from my convention stash, including books from Sally MacKenzie and Mackenzie Lucas, to one randomly selected commenter.  To enter the giveaway,

1.  Which author would you want to meet at the WRW Reader Luncheon?

I chatted with Joanna Bourne, who was wearing a lovely Aloha shirt! 

2.  Comments are open through Saturday, October 24, 10 pm in Baltimore.

3.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, October 25.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Lucky wants to meet Joanna Bourne ...

Weekly Winners

Washington crossing the Delaware River
Public Domain (link)

I am a winner for spending time with fellow blogger Kimberly Rocha - we were guest speakers for the New Jersey Romance Writers monthly meeting.  

We have winners at SOS Aloha:

Jenna Sutton's ALL THE RIGHT PLACES

- Kim H. wins a print copy.

Julie Rowe's DEADLY STRAIN

- Jane wins a digital copy.

Siera London's CHASING AVA

- BN100 wins a digital copy.

Winners, please claim your prize by sending your mailing address to sos.aloha@yahoo.com.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Washington rallying the troops at Princeton.
Public Domain (link)

Celebrate Little Victories - Liberty States Fiction Writers' Create Something Magical Conference

Last weekend, I took the train to New Jersey for the Liberty States Fiction Writers (LSFW) Create Something Magical Conference.   The two and half hour train ride was a wise decision as Mother Nature decided to celebrate the Spring with snow.  It was beautiful to watch the countryside blanketed in white fluff ... and I was thankful that I was not driving in it.

Upon arrival at the conference hotel, I took a quick nap before joining Kimberly Rocha from Book Obsessed Chicks.  She coordinated a big table for readers, bloggers, and authors at the Kona Grill ... gotta love the restaurant name!   Kimberly is an enthusiastic blogger who brings the romance community together ... I enjoyed meeting three readers and one aspiring author new to me.  I also chatted with Wendy LaCapra, who is celebrating her debut release, LADY VICE.

Chocolate Dessert

On Saturday morning, I played Scattergories with Jennifer L Armentrout, Cat Johnson, and Elisabeth Staab - my team came in second place with our ability to list many places starting with the letter N.   

Sylvia Day  gave an inspirational speech during lunch, noting that our fear holds us back from success.   During lunch, I sat next to Ruth A Casie - I enjoyed stories from her world travels. 

Following lunch, Sylvia hosted a cozy chat with readers.   I asked her to share what she learned as an Army linguist that helped her with her writing career.  Sylvia answered, "Teamwork".  Thank you, Sylvia, for your service!  

I also attended the Reader/Author mixer, giving readers the opportunity to meet authors and complete a "scavenger hunt" of sorts.  During the mixer, I chatted with Holly Bush - a historical author new to me.  And ... I won a Kindle Fire XD! 

We ended the day with a dance party hosted by Kimberly ... Damon Suede is the Dancing King! 

On Sunday morning, I attended Family Feud with Damon, Sara Humphreys, and Judi Fennell.  I left Damon speechless with my answer to one question ... you'll just have to ask him! The conference ended with a pizza party and fond memories of Romanceland.

I am giving away conference swag to one randomly selected commenter.  To enter the giveaway, 

1.  Leave a comment about your favorite "game" - Scattagories?  Jeopardy?  Family Feud?  Something else?

2.  Comments are open through Saturday, April 4, 10 pm in Baltimore.  

3.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, April 5.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City 

Blue Hawaiian

Celebrate Little Victories - RWA Conference Panelist

The RWA National Conference invades Times Square in New York City from July 22-25.   The conference hotel is the Marriott Marquis, opposite the Armed Forces Recruiting Station.   Featured speakers include (link):

- Barbara Freethy

- Julia Quinn

- Nalini Singh

- Jude Deveraux

- Lisa Kleypas

... and me!  RWA accepted my panel proposal, A Tale of Two Bloggers - Candid discussion of how to promote your book (and have a life):

Bloggers are called the online gatekeepers to readers. Two book bloggers, Kimberly Rocha and Kim Lowe, offer their perspective on what works (and what flops) in promoting romance books and author brands. We’ve posted reviews and we’ve hosted blog tours. We’ve hopped over to other blogs for cross promotion. We’ve participated in launch parties on Facebook and character chats on Twitter. We’ve seen it all – the good, the bad, and the ugly – on social media.

We have also attended industry events – RWA National Conference, NJRW Conference, Barbara Vey’s Readers Luncheon, and the RT Booklovers Convention. We’ve attended panel discussions about marketing, only to find that authors miss the main ingredient – what readers want. We know what readers want because we are readers. We interact with readers every day as “trusted advisors” through our blogs.

We created a Power Point presentation to highlight the indispensable aspects of promotion – author website, social media, and face-to-face interaction. We will use the presentation to guide the discussion, giving us the flexibility to engage in a lively discussion and answer any questions from authors. 

My partner in crime is Kimberly Rocha from Book Obsessed Chicks (link).  What out New York, here we come!   

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

1.  Leave a comment about what you think is a good way to promote a book to readers - blogs tours?  guest posts?  author interviews?  excerpts?  giveaways?   Facebook?  Twitter?  Pinterest?  something else?

2.  Comments are open through Saturday, February 7, 10 pm in Baltimore.

3.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, February 8.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City

NY Guardsment on duty during Thanksgiving in NYC
in front of a book store no less!

Celebrate Little Victories - Kimberly Rocha, Book Obsessed Chicks, and My Book Crave

Celebrate Little Victories is a special feature I host on Saturdays to appreciate the joy in my life.   Today I celebrate Kimberly Rocha - she has endless enthusiasm for romance books!   I met Kimberly at Lora Leigh's RAW (link).  Actually, we didn't meet but we bumped into each other at the dance party.   Here she is line dancing at the Western Roundup:

We actually met at the NJRW Conference one month later - we sat at the same table for lunch.  It was then I realized we both attended RAW.   While Kimberly was taking pictures of fabulous authors, I was ogling the delicious dessert:

I joined Kimberly for dinner along with several readers and authors, including Cathy Maxwell and Elizabeth Hoyt. Kimberly's enthusiasm was infectious ... we laughed through dinner.

I briefly chatted with her at the start of the RT Booklovers' Convention in New Orleans ... the crowds swallowed us up!

We finally hooked up at the RWA National Conference, finding each other in the same lines for publishers signings. We also chatted in the lobby in between workshops.  I enjoyed watching Kimberly work the crowd - she had many a fan girl moments.  Then again, Kimberly is a positive force in Romanceland.   She is the founder of Book Obsessed Chicks (link) with a review blog and book club (that has expanded to several cities).   Kimberly is also working with MyBookCrave (link). Her hard work has paid off with a new column at Romance At Random to share her love of Western Romances (link).   Congrats, Kimberly!   

I thank Kimberly for being a joy in my life!   Do you have any friends who share your passion for romance?  One randomly selected commenter wins a book choice from my convention stash.  Comments are open through Saturday, August 16, 10 pm in Baltimore.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, August 17.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City

A country truck to honor Kimberly ....