Celebrate Little Victories - Learner's Permit, Eagle Scout, and RITA Nominations

We have several victories to celebrate!

1.  My oldest received his learner's permit last weekend ... I shared our adventure with the Maryland Vehicle Administration (MVA) on my travel blog, ALOHA ON MY MIND, at this link.

2.  My oldest and I attended the Baltimore Area Council's (BAC) annual reception to recognize the 2013 Class of Eagle Scouts.   I am grateful to the BAC for included Andrew even though he completed his Eagle Project in Hawaii.   His project was the Hickam Heritage Trail at link, link, link, and link, which started and ended at the Hickam Library.

3.  RWA published its nominees for its annual RITA awards at this link.   Congrats to all the nominees!

Two nominated books appear on my best of 2013 at this link.

Paranormal Romance

The Devil’s Heart
by Cathy Maxwell
HarperCollins Publishers, Avon Books
Lucia Macro, editor

Historical Romance

Plaid Tidings
by Mia Marlowe
Kensington Publishing Corp., Zebra
Alicia Condon, editor

Both novels are set in Regency Scotland and feature Alba's "magic".   I am rooting for both to win their categories!

I have an extra copy of PLAID TIDINGS to enchant you.  To enter the giveaway,

1.  Leave a comment about the RITA nominees - who are you rooting for?

2.  Comments are open through Saturday, April 5, 10 pm in Baltimore.

3.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, April 6.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Best of 2013 (part 1) - Historicals

Aloha!  We celebrated Boxing Day by visiting the Montpelier Mansion - check out my photos on my travel blog, ALOHA ON MY MIND, at this link.  

I offer you my top 13 books from 2013 ... or least the first six which happen to be historicals, my favorite genre.  They are numbered in chronological order of release date in 2013:

1.  Jennifer McQuiston's WHAT HAPPENED IN SCOTLAND (Avon)

Link to my blog post.
Link to my review on Goodreads.

2.  Cathy Maxwell's THE DEVIL'S HEART (Avon)

Link to my blog post.
Link to my review on Goodreads.

3.  Shana Galen's TRUE SPIES (Sourcebooks)

Link to my blog post.
Link to my review on Goodreads.

4. Mia Marlowe's PLAID TIDINGS (Kensington)

Link to my blog post.
Link to my review on Goodreads.

5. Anne Cleeland's THE DAUGHTER OF THE GOD-KING (Sourcebooks)

Link to my blog post
Link to my review on Goodreads

6. Susanna Ives' WICKED LITTLE SECRETS (Sourcebooks)

Link to my blog post
Link to my review on Goodreads

I am giving away a print copy of PLAID TIDINGS (courtesy of Kensington) to one randomly selected commenter.  To enter the giveaway,

1.  Do you have a favorite historical from 2013?

2.  This giveaway is open to all readers.

3.  Comments are open through Saturday, December 28, 10 pm in Baltimore.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, December 29.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City

The Avon Affair - Road trip with Cathy Maxwell, Lady Margaret Chattan, and THE DEVIL'S HEART

The Hawaiian phrase of the day is:

No kekahi o kakou ka pilikia malaila pu kakou a pau.

Should one of us get in trouble we will all go that way.

Lady Margaret has lived in the shadow a family curse:

When a Chattan male falls in love,

strike his heart with fire from above...

Her older brother, Neal, fell in love with his childhood friend in LYON'S BRIDE (link).    Margaret hoped her second brother, Harry, could reverse the curse in in Scotland.  Instead, he fell in love, too, in THE SCOTTISH WITCH (link).   So now it's time for Margaret to take matters into her own hand in THE DEVIL'S HEART, available April 30 from Avon Romance:

New York Times bestselling author Cathy Maxwell continues the her popular historical romance series, the Chattan Curse, with The Devil’s Heart.

Lady Margret Chattan, one of the most desirable women in all of England, has no interest whatsoever in marriage. When her brother’s lives are put in danger, she travels to the Scottish Highlands, intent on saving them. There she meets Heath Macnachtan, who is trying to find out who murdered his own brother. Together, they team up to investigate the powerful curse that is behind the deaths, but instead find themselves falling in love.

Exceptionally entertaining and charming, The Devil’s Heart mixes a well-crafted love story with complex characters and pulse-pounding adventure.

Glenfinnan on Loch Shiel

Before Margaret can take a stand, she has to take a road trip in a 1824 coach with her maid, driver, coachman, valet, and four armed outriders.  The coachman estimates it will take three to six days to travel from Glenfinnan to Loch Awe.  Today, it would take two hours via Fort William and Glen Nevis (link to Google map).   Two hours gives me just enough time to read A DEVIL'S HEART.   

But a six day coach ride allows me to read Cathy Maxwell's entire library of 24 novels and 6 novellas in anthologies ... so I would jump in the coach with Margaret!

Kilchurn Castle on Loch Awe
Image by Peter Gordon (link)
Posted per Creative Commons Licence (link)

THE DEVIL'S HEART is now on sale for preorder:

Amazon Kindle:  $3.99 link.

Amazon Mass Market Paperback:  $4.98 link.

B&N Nook:  $3.99 link.

B&N Mass Market Paperback: $4.98 link.

Book Depository $5.99 link.

(free world wide delivery)

I am giving away a copy of THE DEVIL'S HEART - winner's choice of ebook or paperback - to one randomly selected commenter.  To enter the giveaway,

1.  Leave a comment about road trips - how do you entertain yourself?  Read a book?  listen to music? Watch a movie?

2.  This giveaway is open to all readers.

3.  Comments are open through Saturday, March 30, 10 pm in Hawaii.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, March 31.

Mahalo,

Kim in Hawaii

To learn more about Cathy and her books, check out her website at cathymaxwell.com.

The Avon Affair Continues with ...

A Tasty Read
Rusticating In The Tropics
Toot's Book Reviews
The Book Queen's Personal Book Palace
Romancing The Readers
The Book Cellar
Blithely Bookish
The Romance Reviews
Tempting Reads