May is National Military Appreciation Month - Aloha to Susan Stoker

Breaking News! I am now posting pictures from the RT Booklovers' Convention on my travel blog, Aloha On My Mind, at this link. 

Susan Stoker co-hosted a SEAL themed table at the SOS America Military Tribute.  From her bio,

Susan Stoker has a heart as big as the state of Texas where she lives but this all American girl has also spent the last fourteen years living in Missouri, California, Colorado, and Indiana (Kim's comment - clear indicated she is a military spouse). She is quite the romantic and even met the love of her life on "Hotmail classified" before online dating and sites like match.com even existed!

Susan loves writing but her true passion is adopting dogs from rescue groups and shelters. Susan and her husband have had a total of nine "rescued" dogs since 2000 including a variety of basset hounds and bloodhounds. She has recently branched out and adopted a basset/terrier mix who acts more like a terrier than a basset (i.e. digging, eating a couch and being hyper). If you love romance and want to help her support adopting great dogs, be sure to check out her work!

Learn more about Susan and her books at stokeraces.com.

Mahalo, Susan, for your dog rescue efforts!  Susan is getting ready for the release of PROTECTING JESSYKA on July 7: 

Kason “Benny” Sawyer was the last single man on his Navy SEAL team. He loved his teammates like brothers and respected each and every one of their women. They’d all been through hell and they deserved their current happiness. But seeing the love between his friends and their women made it tough to be the odd man out all the time.

Jessyka Allen had a good life, until it wasn’t anymore. Finding herself in an impossible situation, with no noticeable way out, her job was an escape. Working at the small Bar and Grill put her in contact with some wonderful people, who Jess figured couldn’t ever understand what she was going through.

Being a SEAL, Benny thought he knew the true meaning of teamwork and friendship. But Jess would show him that everything he thought he knew about sacrifice, trust, and love, paled in comparison to what she brought into his world.

Protecting Jessyka is the 6th book in the SEAL of Protection Series. It can be read as a stand-alone, but it’s recommended you read the books in order to get maximum enjoyment out of the series.

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. Leave a comment about dogs - do you have a favorite breed? My family favors cats ... but we like any dogs that love to play! 

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

Wednesday's Warriors - Susan Stoker and SEAL of Protection

Susan Stoker is one of the participating authors for the SOS America Military Tribute at the RT Booklovers Convention in Dallas (link).   She joins us for a cozy chat to celebrate the release of PROTECTING SUMMER, Book 3 in her SEAL of Protection series.  From her bio,

Susan Stoker has a heart as big as the state of Texas where she lives but this all American girl has also spent the last fourteen years living in Missouri, California, Colorado, and Indiana. She is quite the romantic and even met the love of her life on "Hotmail classified" before online dating and sites like match.com even existed!

Susan loves writing but her true passion is adopting dogs from rescue groups and shelters. Susan and her husband have had a total of nine "rescued" dogs since 2000 including a variety of basset hounds and bloodhounds. She has recently branched out and adopted a basset/terrier mix who acts more like a terrier than a basset (i.e. digging, eating a couch and being hyper).


Kim:  We love travel here at SOS Aloha! Can you share a favorite sight, sound, and smell from Missouri - California - Colorado - Indiana?

Susan:  When we lived in Missouri, my husband was a Drill Sergeant, so the sight of the "cattle car" slowly making its way onto post always made me laugh, because I knew the Privates inside had NO idea what was going to be unleashed on them by the Drill Sergeants as soon as they crossed onto the base. 

When we were in California, we were stationed at Ft Irwin in the Mojave Desert. One of the favorite things we did was a hike to the top of the "mountain" on the post. You could literally see for miles and miles in the desert around us. It was absolutely beautiful. 

Colorado was an interesting post for me, because Mr. Stoker was stationed in Korea while I lived in CO. Living in Colorado Springs was, of course, beautiful, but the best memories I had of there was getting to travel to South Korea both Christmas Breaks. It's such a different culture...and it was great to see him after six months of being apart. 

And lastly, after Korea my husband was moved to Kentucky (yes, I was still in Colorado because that's where we THOUGHT he'd be moved after his stint in Korea was over). I was able to get a job in Indiana. While we still lived apart, at least we were only 4 hours apart instead of 10 (Colorado to Kentucky). One fun memory I have from that time was on my birthday, Mr Stoker hid my presents all over Lexington, and I had to read clues and go hunt them down. 

The bottom line is that every place was different...Moving gives you a new perspective on yourself and the world around you.

Kim:  What have you learned from frequent moves that you can apply to your writing career?

Susan:  Patience. I think every author would like to become an overnight sensation with their first book...but as many in the industry say, "It's a marathon, not a sprint." Things don't always go as planned and it's best to "go with the flow". I try to do that with my writing as well.  The other thing I think I've learned is not to buy into drama. Being in the military, and living on various Army bases, drama abounds...and that was BEFORE Facebook appeared on the scene! So I try to keep my head down, be polite, and just write.

Kim:  Who or what helped you along the path to publishing?

Susan:  I was proof reading for a small publishing house and when I realized what I'd written "for fun" in my spare time was just as good, or better, than what I was proofing, I decided to jump in feet first. As my husband says..."Susan, you've been preparing your entire life to be a romance author." He's right, I've been reading romances since I was in middle school! But the bottom line is the most helpful people have been the readers I've met and talked to. They have encouraged me by telling they have enjoyed my books and helping give me the confidence to keep writing and publishing.

Kim:  Tell us about your books - what inspired them?

Susan:  I'm not sure I can point to one thing and say "THIS" inspired me to write...I have a good imagination (when I was little I'd spend hours in the backyard pretending I was Wonder Woman, then pretending I was the damsel in distress who had to be rescued BY Woman Woman lol) and I just use what I think up in my head to make a story. Writers tend to write what they like to read, and I've always been a sucker for that "strong woman needs to be rescued" story. That theme repeats itself in a lot of my stories.

Kim:  What's next for Susan Stoker? 

Susan:  I'd love to say a movie deal, but I don't think that's what you meant! HA! After my SEAL of Protection Series, I have a law enforcement series up my sleeve. I've already written the first two books in the series and the first book is slated to come out this fall (2015). After that I have plans to start on a firefighter series. I have also dipped my toe into writing erotica..under a pen name. It's a whole different thing to write than romantic suspense, that's for sure! Then...who knows!

Mahalo, Susan, for your service as a military spouse!  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 anything in which you have "jump in feet first".   Each assignment gives me the opportunity to "jump in feet first" to a new community.

2.  Comments are open through Saturday, March 28, 10 pm in Baltimore.

3.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, March 29.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Learn more about Susan and her books at stokeraces.com.

Check out my posts for "Getting Ready for RT Booklovers Convention" on my travel blog at this link and link.