Special finds at a book sale ....

Last weekend, my church hosted its annual Fall Festival, including a bake sale, craft fair, and holiday shopping.  I organized the book sale in the basement ... and I found my own treasure among the donations!

Carol Umberger combines her love of history, romance, and God in a quartet of powerful stories set in 14th-century Scotland during the reign of Robert the Bruce, Scotland's great hero king. CIRCLE OF HONOR won RWA's Golden Heart Award. Carol is also an Air Force veteran!

Speaking of Air Force vets, here's Merline Lovelace with Mary Balogh and Suzanne Barclay in THE GIFTS OF CHRISTMAS:

These talented authors will sweep readers away to a special world where three wise heroes discover that love is the most precious gift of all. "The Gifts of Christmas" is an enchanting historical Christmas title that will captivate readers and transport them to another time and place as they indulge in the seasonal delights of the Christmas holiday in Regency, Elizabethan, and medieval England and share in the discovery of unforgettable love. Stories include Balogh's "A Handful of Gold", Lovelace's "A Drop of Frankincense", and Barclay's "A Touch of Myrrh". 

Keeping with the Air Force theme, Rita Clay Estrada was an Air Force brat and RWA founding member:

The last thing she remembered was the ocean... the storm... the man!

Against all odds, lovely Parris Harrison had been caught swimming in the wild and turbulent surf only to wash up on the shore of Cape May lying in the arms of the most gorgeous hunk she'd ever seen. But Thomas Elder was not only devastatingly sexy, he was also certifiably insane - dressed in outlandish clothes straight out of a gangster movie, he insisted the date was 1929!

Horrified to discover that Thomas was absolutely correct, Parris set about surviving in a dangerous era filled with glamorous flappers eager to seduce her man, and vicious mobsters bent on giving them both cement overshoes. Together, she and Thomas would defy them all, to create their own intimate interlude in time.

Have you found any special treasures at book sales?  One randomly selected commenter wins a book choice from my convention stash.  Comments are open through Sunday, November 20, 10 pm in Baltimore.  I'll post the winner on Monday, November 21.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City

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

Wednesday's Warriors - Navy Tour and Literacy Signing

Last Wednesday, before the RWA Annual Convention kicked off, we searched for SEALs ...

Join Navy veteran Cathy Maxwell, Navy spouse Anne Elizabeth, and Air Force veteran Kim Lowe for a driving tour of Navy Base Coronado. We’ll drive by historic sights such as “Camp Trouble,” where Naval aviation was born. We’ll walk in the footsteps of the first commander’s wife, Wallis Warfield, who later became the Duchess of Windsor. Today, Navy Base Coronado is a consortium of eight installations providing support for 16 helicopter squadrons, two fixed wing squadrons, two aircraft carriers, four SEAL Teams, and Navy Expeditionary Combat Command squadrons. Our tour will give you a glimpse of military life with a retired Navy SEAL as our narrator.

I thank those who made this possible - Heather Ashby, AJ Brower, Anne Elizabeth, and Cathy Maxwell. 

USS Theodore Roosevelt
Public Domain (link)

The highlights include ... 

- We drove by the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71)

- We watched helicopters hover over the flightline.

- We noticed decoy coyotes on the flightline to keep the birds away.

- We wiggled our toes on Breakers Beach.

- We spotted the current BUD/S class repelling over the sand dunes along the Silver Strand.

- We stopped at McP's Irish Pub for refreshments; the pub is owned by former SEAL Greg McPartlin, author of COMBAT CORPSMAN.

On Wednesday night, RWA hosted its annual Literacy Signing, raising over $39,000 for literacy programs (and over $1M as a cumulative total for the signings). RWA donated several boxes of books to the USO - thank you!

I thank my sisters in arms - veterans turned authors - Heather Ashby, AJ Brower, Megan J., Merline Lovelace, Anna Richland, and Tamara W. for boxing up the books for our military families.

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 your favorite beach - Breakers Beach reminded me of Barking Sands on the Navy's Pacific Missile Range on Kauai.

2. Comments are open through Saturday, July 23, 10 pm in Baltimore.

3. I'll post the winner on Sunday, July 24.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Barking Sands 

May is National Military Appreciation Month - Aloha to Merline Lovelace

Today is the SOS America Military Tribute at the RT Booklovers' Convention.   Our guest speaker is Merline Lovelace.  From her bio,

After 23-years in the United States Air Force, Colonel Merline Lovelace hung up her uniform for the last time and launched a second career as a writer, basing many of her tales on her own experiences in the military and on her travels around the globe.

Her works have won numerous awards, including the Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA. Merline is especially proud to have been named Oklahoma’s Writer of the Year and the Oklahoma Female Veteran of the Year.

Merline in Vietnam ...

HER UNFORGETTABLE ROYAL LOVER has been nominated for RWA's RITA award for contemporary romance/short:

Undercover agent Dominic St. Sebastian never expected to be dubbed a duke. The resulting media frenzy puts his name in the headlines and his undercover career on hold. And it's all the fault of his cousin's dowdy research assistant Natalie Clark, who dug up the information…then showed up on Dom's doorstep with a case of amnesia! 

So why is Dom suddenly finding her so unforgettable? Could it be that Natalie isn't what she seems? One thing's certain: their undeniable magnetism is about to take them on a royally wild ride!

Mahalo, Merline, for your service to our country!  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. What do you know about Oklahoma?  Have you visited the Sooner State?

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 Merline and her books at merlinelovelace.com. 

Other books in the Duchess Diaries series ... 

Celebrate Little Victories - USAF's 66th Birthday

The United States Air Force celebrated its 66th birthday on Wednesday, September 18.   The USAF was born from the National Security Act of 1947, creating a separate service for aerial warfare from the Army Air Corps.

Off we go into the wild blue yonder,
Climbing high into the sun;
Here they come zooming to meet our thunder,
At 'em boys, Give 'er the gun! (Give 'er the gun now!)
Down we dive, spouting our flame from under,
Off with one helluva roar!
We live in fame or go down in flame. Hey!
Nothing'll stop the U.S. Air Force!

Merline Lovelace, Air Force veteran and romance novel legend, offers her thoughts on this special celebration:

Can't believe our Air Force is 66 years young. Or that I was part of it for a third of those years! Actually, if you count the time my dad, my husband and I all served, we've got a total of 73 years in Air Force blue!!!!

I loved my time in uniform. I was so proud to wear the uniform - even in the dark days of the VN war, when the protesters and draft dodgers would throw blood at us and call us baby-killers. Thank goodness those days are gone and America welcomes their military home with open arms.

My all-time favorite assignment was as the Support Wing Commander/Base Commander of Eglin AFB, in Florida. I had all the support functions - the hospital, military police, airfield management, civil engineers, fire & rescue computer systems, logistics, personnel, etc - plus a test wing, a TAC fighter wing and Special Ops wing all located on my base. It was nonstop, 24/7, and I loved every moment of it!

It's almost as fun now to craft novels featuring men and women in uniform. My 90+ novels have included Roman centurions, Athenian trireme captains, cavalry troops, U-2 pilots, and NOAA's hurricane hunters, to name just a few. And I'm particularly excited about the new series I'm doing with Lindsay McKenna featuring men and women in Special Ops. The first book in the COURSE OF ACTION series comes out in November of this year.

Merline
merlinelovelace.com

Mahalo, Merline, for your service!   Do you know anyone who has served (or is currently serving) in the USAF?

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City