Welcome to the October issue of the SOS Newsletter! First, I have a special request ...

Veterans' Day Project: The US and European Nations celebrate Veteran's Day on November 11 in remembrance of WWI, "the war to end all wars". All hostilities ceased on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. Veteran's Day honors all who served in the military. To honor our veterans, I request readers send a postcard to:

Veteran's Day Project
236 Mercury St.
Honolulu, HI 96818

I will display the postcards in the USO lounges at the Honolulu International Airport and the Hickam AFB Terminal. You can include any special message on the left side of the postcard. I welcome postcards from your family, friends, school children, church groups, etc. Meanwhile, we have an action packed October ...

October 1, 2-3 p.m. EST: Avon Books Romance Radio - Pamela Spengler-Jaffee will interview Cathy Maxwell (Navy Vet and NYT bestselling author) about her upcoming release, The Earl Claims His Wife. You can ask questions by calling (347) 826-9686 between 2-3 p.m. EST. You can listen to the interview at:
www.blogtalkradio.com/RomanceRadio/2009/10/01/Cathy-Maxwell-THE-EARL-CLAIMS-HIS-WIFE

October 3, 3:30 pm EST: US Navy Midshipmen vs. US Air Force Falcons. Live from Annapolis, this fall classic will be aired on CBS. Go Falcons!

This football game is played every other year in Annapolis (the alternate year in Colorado Springs). I attended the game on October 6, 2001. When we spotted older aircraft in the flyover, we realized the newer aircraft had deployed in response to 9/11. The War on Terror began the next day in Afghanistan. We still have troops in Afghanistan, so let us pray for their safe return.

October 8, 1 PM EST: Cathy Maxwell will kick off her own radio show on Romance Radio; she is interviewing another NYT bestselling author Heather Graham on her upcoming release, Unhallowed Ground:

www.blogtalkradio.com/RomanceRadio/2009/10/08/Heather-Graham-on-Unhallowed-Ground-with-Cathy-Maxwell
October 13, 2009: The US Navy celebrates in 234th birthday! The US Navy was born when George Washington took command of three armed schooners to intercept British supply ships near Massachusetts. 234 years later, the US Navy developed into a robust naval force, including carriers, submarines, cruisers, destroyers, frigates, plus aircraft for attack, transportation, surveillance, and rescue.

The oldest ship still commissioned is the USS Constitution, docked in Charlestown, Massachusetts. She was one of the six frigates authorized by the Naval Act of 1794. Today, the crew wears traditional uniforms from the War of 1812, where she defeated 5 British warships, thus gaining her nickname, Old Ironsides. You can tour the ship and visit its museum on your next trip to Boston, www.ussconstitutionmuseum.org.

The newest ship will be the USS New York, an amphibious transport dock ship of the San Antonio class (LPD 21). The USS New York will be commissioned in NYC on November 7, 2009. This ship is forged from steel recovered from the World Trade Center. To learn more about the USS New York, log onto www.ussnewyork.com. Thanks to Steve and Kathy from Fairway Pizza in Palm Harbor, Florida (www.fairwaypizza.com) for the information about the USS New York.

To celebrate the Navy's birthday, let's give away some books by Navy veterans, spouses, and Seal-lovers!

Navy Veterans:

- Diane Cosby, www.dianacosby.com, His Woman and His Captive
Diane served as a Navy meteorologist from 1978-1996. She is featured on the cover of Texas Living (July/August issue), www.texomaliving.com. Congratulations!

- Geri Krotow, www.gerikrotow.com, A Rendezvous to Remember
Geri graduated from the Naval Academy and served in Naval Intelligence from 1982 - 1995. She is now a Navy Spouse in Moscow, Russia. Look for Geri's article in the October issue of Romantic Times, "Obama Does Romance" (she presented President Obama with her book during his recent visit to Russia). The article is also posted on her website.

- Cathy Maxwell, www.cathymaxwell.com, The Earl Claims His Wife Cathy served in Naval Intelligence from 1976-1982. Her service continued as a Navy spouse and Navy mom .. and now a mentor to other authors.

Navy Spouses:

- Anne Elizabeth, www.anneelizabeth.net, Operation: L.O.V.E - A Romance Anthology. Anne recently married her own hero, a retired Navy Seal. She also joined the RT team as a columnist for comics, manga, and graphic novels. Double congratulations!

- Julia Justiss, www.juliajustiss.com, From Waif to Gentleman's Wife
Julia's role as a military spouse foreshadowed her future writing career. During her husband's assignment in Tunisia, she wrote the newsletter for the American Embassy. From her website, "Before leaving Tunis, she fulfilled her first goal: completing a Regency novel." Historical readers are glad she fulfilled her goal!

- Marliss Melton, www.marlissmelton.com, Next To Die.
Marliss' website has an emotional Heroes page of real warriors. Her website also links to Freedom Quilts, www.freedomquilts.net. Its founder, Betty Niel son, honors our fallen soldiers by presenting a Freedom Quilt to their families. Thank you, Marliss, for your tribute to our heroes.

- Tara Nina, www.taranina.com, Operation L.O.V.E - A Romance Anthology
Tara was a military "brat" and married a Navy veteran. She continues to support military personnel through community service. Tara, Anne Elizabeth, and C.H. Admirand visited wounded warriors and their families during the RWA National Convention. Thank you, Tara, Anne, and C.H. for your heartfelt support!

Navy Seals: Four NTY bestselling authors write about the hardbod heroes:
- Suzanne Brockmann, www.suzannebrockmann.com, the creator of two series of Navy seals, Troubleshooters and Tall, Dark and Dangerous. She also mentors other authors. Thanks, Suz, for your support!
Everyday, Average Jones (paperback)
Hot Pursuit (MP3-CD)
Into the Fire (paperback)
Into the Fire, Extras for Readers and Writers (booklet)
Extra for Writers, Going Deep with Point of View (booklet)

- Sandra Hill, www.sandrahill.net, Down and Dirty and Rough and Ready.
Sandra is the author of the time traveling Viking Warriors who become ... what else? Navy Seals! Her books set the "Laugh Out Loud" standard!

- Lora Leigh, www.loraleigh.com, Dangerous Games.
Lora has a fleet of fans who attend her Readers' Appreciation Weekend (RAW), aptly titled Sinners and Saints. Hmm ... I wonder how Lora describes herself?

- Christina Skye, www.christinaskye.com, To Catch A Thief.
Christina is an avid knitter, Chinese linguist, and the creator of Draycott Abbey, which serves as the locale for hot Regency Historicals and hotter Navy contemporaries.

October 31: I offer you a few thrilling treats for Halloween:

Kelley Armstrong, www.kelleyarmstrong.com, Made to be Broken
Allison Brennan, www.allisonbrennan.com, Fatal Secrets and Killing Fear
Eileen Carr, www.eileencarr.com, Hold Back the Dark
Laura Griffin, www.lauragriffin.com, Thread of Fear and Whispers of Warning
Linda Howard, Death Angel
Brenda Novak, www.brendanovak.com, Trust Me
Karen Rose, www.karenrosebooks.com, Die for Me

Guest Blogger - Please welcome Julie from North Carolina:

Those Enduring Heroes…who are yours? With a lot of authors moving to paranormal and magical themes in their romance these days, I have to marvel at the tried and true romantic heroes who endure as favorites. Cowboys, emergency personnel, law enforcement guys from beat cops to undercover detectives, military men of all branches. These guys don’t make an impact by time travel or have a bad day because they are a werewolf caught in a full moon. No, these men earn their muscles and brains by hard work and challenges we can barely visualize. They are real. They are MEN, yes, every letter capitalized. For me, these heroes, whether contemporary or historical, are more than “just real”, they are the bedrock of our nation and, for me, my romance reading.

Just published books echo my feeling that we are still looking for these guys on our bookshelves. A new line by Harlequin entitled CODE RED comes to mind. The heroes are police and emergency personnel caught in rescue situations. A friend of mine, Brenda Minton, has written a contemporary cowboy series (His Little Cowgirl, A Cowboy at Heart and others to come) but her September release entitled Rekindled Hearts features, you guessed it, a policeman. Military men are returning home to all sorts of romantic situations in trade and series books. These men are part of the reason romance writing has increased over 30% this year.
Look at your book shelf and see who resides there. Who are your enduring heroes and why?

Peace, Julie

Thanks, Julie, for your blog. Julie is a frequent contributor to the Romantic Times Message Boards (www.romantictimes.com). I welcome your feedback to Julie's question - who are your enduring heroes? I offer some books about enduring heroes:

- Christy Reece, www.christyreece.com, Rescue Me
The hero and heroine are covert operatives for Last Chance Rescue Enterprises.
- Bella Andre, www.bellandre.com, Wild Heat
"He's a hotshot firefighter addicted to risk." Hmm, I think I could get addicted to him!

- Lynsay Sands, www.lynsaysands.net, Single White Vampire
A funny paranormal, the hero is a vampire turned author who romances his editor. The book includes a glimpse of the Romantic Times' Booklovers' Convention. Kathryn Falk is featured in several scenes when the hero considers her veins for dinner.

Veteran's Perspective: Veterans remain my enduring heroes. I continue the excerpts from George Small, WWII veteran, about his reflections on war:

"War is the adventure of a million little people caught up in situations they never imagined, don't entirely understand and can't control. History scholars boil it down to massive political, cultural, and military movements so it appears as an intelligent and logical series of events (which, believe me, it isn't). Somewhere down the line they lose the human element. So I have included all these little things in my story because they happened, and they are human, and they give a lot better idea of the atmosphere and feeling of the time that you will get out of a historical account of major event."
We'll learn more about George's experiences in next month's newsletter. George is married to the NYT bestselling author Bertrice Small, www.bertricesmall.com.

Book recommendation - We have a "god" theme this month:

From Diane in Florida, Oh.My.Gods by Tera Lynn Childs: "Kim sent me a bookmark for this book. After reading the book description, I was very interested in getting this book. I am huge fan of Sherrilyn Kenyon and I like how she writes of the gods in today’s culture and Tera Lynn seemed like she was writing the same way. Even though this book is for young adults, anyone would like this as it is very well written. And everyone will relate to the high school dynamics! Tera Lynn writes a great story of a girl going to school with other kids descended from the Greek gods. The story is modern and has a great pace – there is plenty of dialog and enough descriptions to let you picture the scenes without pages of descriptions. I really enjoyed reading Oh.My.Gods and look forward to reading more from Tera Lynn." Editor's note: Tera Lynn Childs’s Oh.My.Gods won RWA's 2009 RITA for Best First.

From Andrew in Safety Harbor, The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, "This book grabbed my attention. It introduced me to Greek mythology - the gods are living in the modern world and creating havoc for mankind. I also read the other books in the series and look forward to the movie release next year." Editor's note: Andrew is my 7th grade son and nepotism rules.
Thank you, Diane and Andrew, for your book recommendations. Readers - please submit your reviews to me!

Goodbye, Florida! I say goodbye to Safety Harbor, home of the historic Espiritu Santo Springs. The "Springs of the Holy Spirit" were named by the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto during his search for the Fountain of Youth. Today, the springs now serve the renowned Safety Harbor Spa (www.safetyharborspa.com). For those who collect cookbooks, I am giving away several copies of Florida Recipes compiled by the Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit, www.holyspirit-florida.org.
If you want any of the books identified for giveaway, send your top three preferences (and mailing address) to sos.america@yahoo.com. I ask readers to send an email to the authors (via their website) to thank them for their donations to SOS.

Hello, Hawaii! The children, cats, and I fly to Honolulu on September 29. My husband has moved into a townhouse on Hickam AFB and unpacked our household goods. So I'll be ready to write the November newsletter, celebrating the Marine Corps' birthday and Hawaiian delights. Until then, happy reading!
Kim Adams
SOS Military Liaison

SOS is Support Our Soldiers (SOS) America Inc. - a 501(c) charity registered with DoD's "America Supports You" network, www.ourmilitary.mil. SOS was established by Kathryn Falk, Lady of Barrow and CEO of Romantic Times. Lady Barrow also created the SOS America Country Retreat, including the Soldiers' Cabin, at her ranch in Alvin, Texas. To learn more about SOS, log onto www.sosamericainc.org.