Aloha, mai ka Pepeluali
puke SOS America!
Welcome, here is the February newsletter for
SOS America!
February is named for the Latin term februum
– purification – when the Romans
engaged in their annual Spring bath. In Finland,
the month is called helmikuu, meaning "month
of the pearl". When the snow melts on tree
branches, and freezes again, it creates pearls
of ice. I prefer to think of snow pearls rather
than smelly Romans, so let’s give away
some “snow books”.
- Baby Its Cold Outside, Anthology from Jennifer
Greene, Merline Lovelace, and Cindi Myers
- Winter Heat, Anthology from Vicki Lewis Thompson,
Jade Lee, Anna DeStephano
- It Happened One Night by Lisa Dale, www.lisadalebooks.com
January 30 – Lt Dan Band: We don’t
have snow pearls in Hawaii, but we have patriotic
stars! On Saturday, Gary Sinise and the Lt Dan
Band treated Hickam AFB to a fabulous concert
sponsored by the USO. Called the “Bob
Hope of our generation”, Gary has toured
as a personality with the USO since 2003. During
his first tour, military personnel recognize
him as Lt Dan from Forrest Gump. Thus, he fused
his music hobby with his goodwill missions by
creating the Lt Dan Band.. You can listen to
their performances on their website, www.ltdanband.com.
Gary stars as Detective Mac Taylor in CSI:NY,
www.cbs.com/primetime/csi_ny. In honor of Gary’s
selfless dedication to military personnel, I
offer you “thriller books”:
- Allison Brennan, www.allisonbrennan.com,
Original Sin and What You Can’t See
- Jan Burke, www.janburke.com, Kidnapped
- Kate Carlisle, www.katecarlisle.com, Homicide
in Hardcover
- Andrew Gross, www.andrewgrossbooks.com, The
Blue Zone and The Dark Zone
- Rita Herron, www.ritaheron.com, In a Heartbeat
- Tami Hoag, www.tamihoag.com, The Alibi Man
- Linda Howard, Death Angel
- Lisa Jackson, www.lisajackson.com, Absolute
Fear and Wicked Game (with Nancy Bush)
- Lisa Scottoline, www.scottoline.com, Dirty
Blonde
- Mariah Stewart, www.mariahstewart.com, Mercy
Street
- Anne Stuart, www.anne-stuart.com, Silver Falls
February 1 – Farewell Hickam AFB: On
February 1, Hickam AFB joined Naval Base Pearl
Harbor to create the Joint Base Pearl Harbor
Hickam (JBPHH). The separate bases have been
neighbors for over 70 years and weathered the
Japanese attacked together on that infamous
day. JBPHH is not the only joint base –
can you name others? The first five readers
to provide a correct answer will win a special
patriotic treat! Ready, set, Goodsearch!
February 4 – the USO celebrates its 69th
Birthday! Founded in 1941, six organizations
came together under one umbrella to support
US troops: the Salvation Army, National Catholic
Community Service, National Travelers Aid Association,
the National Jewish Welfare Board, the YMCA,
and the YWCA. Today, the USO operates 140 centers
around the world … anywhere the US military
deploys, the USO follows. How can you help?
- Donate to the USO, www.uso.org or
- Click on www.goodsearch.com – designate
USO as the charity to benefit from your web
searches (I use Goodsearch first, then cross
reference with Google as necessary).
In honor of the USO’s birthday, I offer
you Holiday Ops, “It’s a pleasurable
duty charged with love.” Holiday Ops is
an anthology from authors with military connections:
Lori Avacato, Lia DeAngelo, DC DeVane, Anne
Elizabeth, and Tara Nina. Thanks to them for
their tireless efforts to support military families!
February 14 - The Chinese New Year: The Chinese
Lunar Calendar in 2010 brings us the Year of
the Tiger. Tigers can be suspicious, adventurous,
sensitive, and emotional. Famous Western Tigers
include Marco Polo, Ludwig van Beethoven, Karl
Marx, Queen Elizabeth II, Dwight D. Eisenhower,
and Marilyn Monroe. Learn more about the Chinese
New Year from www.theholidayspot.com/chinese_new_year.
To celebrate the Chinese New Year, I offer you
books from romance authors with Chinese Heritage:
- Jade Lee, www.jadeleeauthor.com, The Dragon
Earl and The Concubine
Check out Jade’s website for fun facts
from family legends.
- Sherry Thomas, www.sherrythomas.com, Not
Quite A Husband and Delicious
Check out Sherry’s website to see how
she learned English..
February 14 – St. Valentine’s Day:
Valentine is the name of several martyred saints
from Ancient Rome. Historians know little about
the St Valentine who we celebrate on February
14. The name Valentine is derived from the Latin
term valens - worthy. To celebrate St. Valentine’s
Day, I offer you worthy historical romances:
- Elizabeth Boyle, www.elizabethboyle.com,
Tempted by the Night
- Anna Campbell, www.annacampbell.com, Captive
of Sin and Tempt the Devil
- Kathryn Caskie, www.kathryncaskie.com, How
to Engage an Earl, How to Seduce a Duke, and
The Most Wicked of Sins
- Nicola Cornick, www.nicolacornick.com, The
Scandals of an Innocent
- Meredith Duran, www.meredithduran.com, Bound
By Your Touch
- Caroline Linden, www.carolinelinden.com, A
View To A Kiss
And worthy contemporary romances, too!
- If This Bed Could Talk, Anthology Liz Maverick,
Kimberly Dean, and Lynn LaFleur
- Rachel Gibson, www.rachelgibson..com, I’m
in No Mood for Love, Not Another Bad Date, Tangled
Up in You
- Jennifer Greene, www.jennifergreene.com, Where
is He Now?
- Susan Mallery, www.susanmallery.com, Hot on
Her Heels, Sweet Talk, and The Marcelli Princess
- Christie Ridgeway, www.christieridgeway.com,
Not Another New Year’s
February 16 – Mardi Gras: Perhaps the
most popular French words in the US, Fat Tuesday
is the one last “hurrah” before
the Lenten Season. To celebrate Mardi Gras,
I offer you the “laugh out loud”
Cajun romances from Sandra Hill, www.sandrahill.net,
Pearl Jinx, Wild Jinx, Red Hot Cajun, Tall,
Dark, and Cajun.
February 22 – Where are they now? In
2007, several authors attended the Old Fashioned
Tea Party hosted by the Fort Meade Spouses’
Club, thus igniting my interest in romance reading,
writing, and publishing. Three years later,
they continue to support military families through
the SOS newsletter. I offer you books from my
fabulous friends:
- Diane Gaston, www.dianegaston.com, Gallant
Officer, Forbidden Lady
Diane’s father served in the Army, so
she understands the challenges of military life.
- Christie Kelley, www.christiekelley.com,
Every Night I’m Yours and Every Time We
Kiss
Christie was on the verge of being published
at the Tea Party. Four books later, she’s
on her way.
- Sally MacKenzie, www.sallymackenzie.net,
The Naked Baron
Sally’s Naked series delighted the traditionally
conservative military spouses.
- Cathy Maxwell, www.cathymaxwell.com, Four
Dukes and a Devil (anthology)
“Tinker, tailor, soldier, spy”,
Cathy has done it all, including Naval Intelligence.
- Mary Jo Putney, www.maryjoputney.com, Chalice
of Roses (anthology)
Mary Jo lives in Baltimore with numerous book
awards, Celtic dragons and purring cats.
- Tracy Anne Warren, www.tracyannwarren.com,
Four Dukes and a Devil (anthology)
Tracy also shares her home with spoiled cats
and many book awards.
- Rebecca York, www.rebeccayork.com, Dragon
Moon
Rebecca generously supports the SOS Military
Mixer at the RT Book Lovers’ Convention
Hawaiian Author honors J.D. Salinger: Michael
Little, member of RWA’s Aloha Chapter,
posted a blog to remember J.D. Salinger on www..hawaiireaders.com.
Michael also inspires the chapter to reach higher,
beyond the low hanging fruit, for the better
tasting treat. Check out his blog dated December
21 at www.hawaiireaders.com for a lesson in
inspiration.
Hawaiian Folklore: Pele, the volcano goddess,
plays a significant part in Hawaiian folklore.
She is hot tempered (hence her connection to
volcanoes) and plays the villainess is this
love story retold by S. E. Schlosser from www.americanfolklore.net
Ohi'a and Lehua loved each other from the moment
they first saw each other at a village dance.
Ohi'a was a tall strong man with a handsome
face and lithe form. Lehua was gentle and sweet
- her beauty was the talk of the island. From
that moment, there was no other woman for Ohi'a
but Lehua. Her father gave his only daughter
gladly into the keeping of the strong young
man, and the young couple lived quite happily
for several months in a new home Ohi'a built
for his bride.
Then one day the goddess Pele was walking in
the forest and spied Ohi'a at work. Pele was
smitten by him and engaged him in conversation.
Ohi'a spoke politely to the beautiful woman,
but did not respond to her advances, which infuriated
Pele. She was determined to have this young
man for herself, but before she could renew
her efforts, Lehua brought Ohi'a’s midday
meal. When Ohi'a saw his lovely wife, his face
lit up with love, leaving a fuming Pele to stare
in jealous rage at the young couple. Dropping
her human disguise, the goddess became a raging
column of fire and struck Ohi'a down, transforming
him into a twisted ugly tree. Tears streaming
down her lovely face, Lehua begged Pele to turn
him back into a man or else turn her into a
tree, as she could not bear to be separated
from her beloved. But Pele ignored the girl,
taking herself up to the cool heights, her anger
satisfied.
But the gods saw what Pele had done to the
innocent lovers and were angry. As Lehua lay
weeping in despair, the gods reached down and
transformed the girl into a beautiful red flower,
which they placed upon the twisted Ohi'a tree,
so that she and her beloved husband would never
more be apart. From that day to this, the Ohi'a
tree has blossomed with the beautiful red Lehua
flowers. While the flowers remain on the tree,
the weather remains sunny and fair. But when
a flower is plucked from the tree, then heavy
rain falls upon the land like tears, for Lehua
still cannot bear to be separated from her beloved
husband Ohi'a.
We’ll learn more about Hawaiian folklore
(and Pele’s antics) in the coming months.
Book giveaway: If you would like one of the
above listed books, send me your top three requests
and your mailing address to sos.america@yahoo.com.
Please note that I send books by media mail,
which takes some time from Hawaii. Once you
receive your books, please email the author
to thank him/her for donating to SOS!
What’s next? In March, we’ll celebrate
Celtic saints, Prince Kuhio, and Women’s
History Month. Happy reading!
Kim Adams
SOS Military Liaison
sos.america@yahoo.com
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