Hi, lovelies!! It gives
me great pleasure today to host Edward M. Hochsmann and his new book series, “Cutter
Kauai Sea Adventures Series,” which includes Book One, “Dagger Quest,”
Book Two, “Caribbean Counterstrike,” and Book Three, “Bravely and
Faithfully,” all featured here on FAB!!
For other stops on his Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click
on the banner above or any of the images in this post.
Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $50
Amazon OR Barnes and Noble Gift Card!!!
Also, come back daily to interact with Ed and to increase your chances
of winning!!
Thanks for stopping
by!! Wishing you all lots of good luck
in this fabulous giveaway!!
Cutter Kauai Sea Adventures Series
Books 1 – 3
by Edward M. Hochsmann
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Action/Adventure,
Contemporary
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOOK SERIES OVERVIEW:
A Note from the Author…
These books are character-driven, based on
personal experience and knowledge, with the best qualities of the many
wonderful people I met in the Coast Guard woven into the stories. I aim to put
you in the story alongside the characters, experiencing the excitement, fear,
humor, joy, and sadness of an elite team of maritime professionals as they face
extraordinary challenges. I think you will enjoy the books and if you have any
questions that could remove any doubt of that, please ask—I am at your service
here in the comments or at info@edwardhochsmann.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOOK BLURB – DAGGER QUEST – BOOK ONE:
An aging Coast Guard patrol boat is all that stands between the
world and nuclear annihilation!
The
world is on the brink of war, with NATO mobilizing to counter a Russian threat
to Poland and Lithuania and leaders openly discussing war options. In the midst
of the crisis, a Russian bomber collides with a U.S. fighter off Florida
causing the accidental launch of a nuclear-tipped hypersonic missile.
A
Coast Guard cutter on a routine patrol finds a drug-laden sailboat smashed and
adrift north of the Florida Keys. The boat’s damage is from a near miss by the
Russian missile which has not harmlessly flown deep into the Gulf of Mexico as
initially thought, but crashed somewhere in the Keys.
The
Coast Guard crew is in a race against a vicious and powerful international
crime syndicate to find and recover the Russian nuke before its discovery can
trigger a nuclear war.
Exploring
the friendship and teamwork of a typical ship's crew, in the face of unexpected
and hazardous challenges, Dagger Quest provides a fast-paced, taut story -
excellent fare for both sea adventure and military thriller fans.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT ONE:
From Dagger Quest – Book One:
Ben’s first encounter with
the 252 Syndicate ends in a high-speed chase through Key West, Florida:
Ben
slowed and veered right onto Flagler with a screaming of tires and modest
fishtailing as he straightened on the new path. Their pursuers also swung in behind
them from Roosevelt a few seconds later.
“Floor
it! We’ll be hanging a right on Tenth in
ten blocks, same tactic. Keep hitting that horn!”
Ben
stayed on the horn, dodging through traffic at speeds approaching fifty miles
per hour.
“Counting
down,” Simmons said, “Fourteenth, Thirteenth, twelfth, Eleventh, slow down and
prepare to hang a right, NOW!”
Ben
executed another tire-squealing turn and straightened out, heading north on
Tenth, gunning the engine and leaning on the horn.
“Stand
by to hit the brakes!” Simmons shouted. “Steady, steady, NOW, hit the brakes!”
Ben
stood on the brake pedal, tires shrieked, and the anti-lock braking chattered.
After skidding to a stop in the middle of the street next to a large lagoon,
Simmons shouted, “Get down!” He opened both doors on his side of the car, using
the rear door for cover.
Ben
dropped behind the seat as their pursuer began screeching to a stop. Suddenly,
there was a tremendous crash with the sound of tearing metal and followed by a
large splash. Simmons shut the doors and said in a normal tone, “OK, let’s
roll. Back to the base, nice and easy.”
Ben
shot up and saw several figures in combat gear with guns drawn running forward
from an SUV stopped in the middle of Tenth Street. The car chasing them was
coming to rest upside down in the lagoon. “WHAT—THE—HELL!” he shouted at
Simmons.
“Come
on, friend, we need to move it. It’s handled. We’re clear now, so stay
law-abiding all the way, please.”
Ben
stared at him for a few seconds, then pressed the accelerator. The engine raced
briefly, and then, with shaking hands, Ben shifted into Drive.
“See,
you’re a natural,” Simmons said with a smile. “You didn’t even realize you
shifted into Park.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOOK BLURB – CARIBBEAN COUNTERSTRIKE
– BOOK TWO:
Mission: Five days to
destroy the enemy in the Caribbean before a catastrophic weapon is
unleashed—but all he can think about is the woman he left behind…
The
deadliest nerve gas ever made has fallen into the hands of a murderous
Caribbean drug cult. The criminal 252 Syndicate has the gas in a secret lab on
an oil rig servicing ship, but the ship has been taken for ransom by the
Salinas Cartel in a violent drug war. The U.S. can’t use airstrikes and calls
on Coast Guard Officer Ben Wyporek to lead his crew through a risky covert raid
on the Salinas cult’s fortified island base. He accepts the assignment, but
remembers a previous lethal encounter with the 252s and struggles to say
goodbye to the love of his life, Victoria Carpenter.
Ben
and his crew aboard the stealth-equipped Cutter Kauai must sneak into the
harbor and tow the ship away. But if Kauai is detected and defeated, death by
gas or at the hands of vicious adversaries will follow. Now, every decision Ben
makes will determine the fate of his entire crew—and the chances of reuniting
with Victoria.
This
second book of the series builds on the friendships and teamwork of Kauai's
crew, this time in the face of several challenging missions and one potentially
lethal encounter. It is a worthy sequel to Dagger Quest that sea adventure and
military thriller fans will enjoy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT ONE:
From Caribbean Counterstrike – Book Two:
Pan-Commonwealth Airways
Flight 403 with 126 passengers and crew has dual engine failure in a
thunderstorm and is headed for a forced landing in the Atlantic over a hundred
miles north of the Bahamas:
Taylor
grabbed the intercom handset and pressed the call button. Burgess answered
immediately, “Cabin, here.”
“We’re
going in, Chief. Get them ready for it. We’re going to try for the Hudson River
scenario, so keep the aft doors closed.”
“Understood,
Captain. I have two burly beauties from the RN on guard in the last row. You
worry about bringing us in safe. We’ll be alright back here.”
Taylor
smiled slightly. I might have known. God bless you, Richard! “Well done! I’ll
ring the bell five seconds before contact. Get them moving as we come to a
stop.”
“WILCO.
Godspeed, Captain. Out.”
The
scenario Taylor referred to involved the ditching of a similar Airbus in New
York’s Hudson River when bird ingestion knocked out both its engines shortly
after takeoff from La Guardia airport. The flight crew executed a masterpiece
of judgment and skill, saving everyone on board. Not so easy this time. They
landed in the sheltered water of a river—we’ll have waves and swells to deal
with.
“Peregrine
Four-Zero-Three, Miami Center, Nassau is losing radar contact. Observe you
heading two one five magnetic, over.” Surveillance radar was limited to line of
sight, and at this distance, the aircraft dropped below the radar’s horizon at
around thirteen thousand feet. The controller would use the aircraft’s last
heading, descent rate, and speed to estimate the impact point to be passed to
rescue forces.
“Center,
Four-Zero-Three, roger, estimate six miles to contact, over.”
Four-Zero-Three,
Center, copy. Best of luck, Captain. Out.”
“No
joy, Captain,” Patel said as he took his hand off the starter.
“Right,
leave it. Give me flaps four at one thousand.” Taylor had held off the flaps
until the last possible moment. They would reduce the aircraft’s touchdown
speed dramatically, but also added significant drag. “Ring the cabin bell once
you position the handle.”
“Will
do, Captain.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOOK BLURB – BRAVELY AND FAITHFULLY – BOOK THREE:
A New Captain’s First Patrol Turns into a Fight for Their Lives
Young
Coast Guard Lieutenant Haley Reardon has not even gotten her feet on the ground
on her new patrol boat command when she finds herself and her crew supporting a
dangerous covert mission. They must insert and retrieve a Defense Intelligence
Agency operations team trying to seize a transnational criminal syndicate boss
from a small Caribbean island controlled by a front company of the Chinese
government and protected by a superior military force.
A honeymoon period would be lovely, but, as always, the world
gets a vote.
Can
Haley avoid leaving the DIA team to their fate, when attempting to rescue them
could destroy her crew and boat and lead to war?
This
third installment of the series conveys the humor, friendships, and teamwork of
Kauai's crew from the previous books, with a new series of exciting actions
from search and rescue to combat. The crew and their new skipper must come
together for the toughest mission they have ever faced.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT TWO:
From Bravely and Faithfully – Book Three:
Kauai has arrived and is
retrieving the twenty-two human trafficking victims from the sinking freighter
Miho Dujam:
On
her second return to the foredeck, Haley noticed Ben was no longer herding the
remaining women in line. In fact, he was nowhere to be seen, and she wondered
if he had returned on board while she was shuttling survivors to the messdeck.
After her third run, she remained on the foredeck and watched as the last
survivor came aboard. Drake and Bondurant then cast off Kauai’s mooring lines
before jumping across. As the two vessels drifted apart, Haley went directly to
Drake and asked, “Chief, where’s the XO?”
“He’s
inside looking for evidence, ma’am,” Drake replied.
“He’s
what?”
“He
told us to cast off and return on board after the last survivor crossed over.
He’s taking the RHIB back.” He and Bondurant shared a worried look.
“How
much longer will that ship last?”
“Ma’am,
I’m surprised she’s still upright.”
Haley
hated stepping in, but things seemed to be getting out of hand. “Chief, call
the RHIB!”
“Kauai-One,
COB, is the XO with you?”
“Negative,”
Lee’s voice replied.
Drake
lifted his radio again, but before he could speak, a series of loud bangs
erupted from the Miho Dujam, and she quickly rolled to the left. He keyed the
radio and shouted, “Kauai, COB, XO is still on board!”
The
ship continued to roll with a cacophony of bangs and crashes and, within twenty
seconds, had completely capsized with only her hull bottom visible. Haley,
Drake, and Bondurant were transfixed in shock until the 1MC jolted them into
motion.
“Man
Overboard Port Side, repeat Man Overboard Port Side! This is no drill!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GUEST POST:
Local Hero’s Story – Ben Wyporek
Alan Roberts
Merrifield Sentinel
March 31st
Alan:
I am at the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center, known as AUTEC, located
on Andros Island in the Bahamas, sitting with Lieutenant Junior Grade Benjamin
Wyporek, U.S. Coast Guard. Lieutenant Wyporek is one of the crewmen on board
the Coast Guard Cutter Kauai involved in the heroic rescue of over 120
survivors from the Pan-Commonwealth airliner crash on the 26th of March.
Lieutenant Wyporek is a graduate of Folsom High School in Merrifield, Illinois,
and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. Lieutenant, thank you for meeting with me
today.
Lt. Wyporek: No problem. And you can call me Ben.
Alan:
Thanks, Ben. So before we get to the crash, tell me about your unit.
Lt. Wyporek: Kauai is an Island Class patrol
boat, 110 feet long, with a crew of 16: two officers and 14 enlisted. Our
homeport is Port Canaveral, Florida, and our primary duty is the range safety
cutter for rocket launches from Cape Canaveral. But, those only happen maybe
once every two months, so most of our time is spent on the more common Coast
Guard missions, like maritime safety and security.
Alan:
I see. What is your job, and how long have you been here, Ben?
Lt. Wyporek: I came on board around 15 months ago. I
am the Executive Officer, what we call XO, the second in command of the boat. I
guess I would describe my primary job as the assistant to the captain. But I
stand a lot of watches when we are underway, lead boardings, keep the crew
healthy and performing, do a lot of administrative stuff, that sort of thing.
Alan:
From what we have heard, it must be very exciting.
Lt. Wyporek: Sometimes it is. More often than not,
though, it can get pretty boring.
Alan:
I’ll bet that crash wasn’t boring.
Lt. Wyporek: [Laughs] Yes, that was one of those
moments of stark terror separating the hours of boredom.
Alan:
So, tell me about it.
Lt. Wyporek: We got the call right after the plane
went in. We were a little south of Nassau on our way here to AUTEC, so we were
the closest surface unit. We put on full speed and headed for the estimated
position. It was over 120 miles, so it took us about four hours to motor up
there. Fortunately, the C-130 out of Clearwater and the H-60 out of Nassau
found the survivors, so we didn’t have to search.
Alan:
Why didn’t the aircraft pick them up?
Lt. Wyporek: The C-130 can’t land in the water.
[Smiles] Well, not more than once, anyway, and the H-60 could only pick up five
or six at a time. So it was up to us.
Alan:
I understand there was a storm. It must have been challenging to make the
rescue.
Lt. Wyporek: That was the scary part. Not so much the
wind and seas, but the lightning. The upside of taking four hours to get there
is we had time to get ready. Because of the lightning, we had to move everyone
inside. It takes planning and organization to squeeze 126 people into a
110-foot patrol boat.
Alan:
What was the worst moment for you?
Lt. Wyporek: The lightning strike. The survivors were
a good bunch—very calm, considering everything that had happened to them. The
helo’s rescue swimmer and the flight crew had them prepped and ready by the
time we got there. The on-load was going smoothly about a third of the way
through when we had a lightning strike about a hundred yards away, and
everybody freaked out. I can’t blame them; it shook me up too. The survivors
panicked and started rushing the ladders, and I thought it was all over.
Fortunately, our leading boatswain’s mate restored calm.
Alan:
How did he do that?
Lt. Wyporek: [smiles again] When a six-foot-three,
240-pound man who looks like he could be a linebacker for the Bears steps up
and hollers, “Knock it off!”, that will get your attention. Fortunately, we got
the rest on board without any major problems.
Alan:
What would have happened if lightning hit the cutter?
Lt. Wyporek: The boat is metal and acts like a
Faraday Cage—the charge would have moved along the outside of the boat and into
the water. Everything inside would have been fine, and that’s why we had to get
everybody inside.
Alan:
What would have happened if the cutter had been struck during the pickup?
Lt. Wyporek: Mr. and Mrs. Wyporek, among others,
would have probably gotten a big check from the SGLI [Servicemembers’ Group
Life Insurance]. Sorry, I don’t like thinking about that.
Alan:
I can imagine. How do your parents feel about your work? And do you have a
significant other that may have feelings about it?
Lt. Wyporek: Mom and dad worry about the scary stuff,
of course, and we avoid talking about it when we can. I have a girlfriend, and
she worries too, but she gets that it is part of the job.
Alan:
Sounds like a very understanding woman. Any plans?
Lt. Wyporek: Yes, she’s quite wonderful, and I’m
lucky to be with her. As to plans, well, that’s getting a little too personal.
Alan:
I understand. Thank you, Ben, for taking the time to talk to me today. I wish
you the best of luck with everything, and I hope I can get another story from
you sometime soon.
Lt. Wyporek: [laughs again] God, I hope not!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR BIO:
Edward Hochsmann is the pen name of a retired
U. S. Coast Guard search and rescue and law enforcement professional. The
veteran mariner, aviator, college professor, and defense analyst has added
“author” to his list of experiences. Ed likes reading, police procedurals,
contemporary music on the road, and classical music in the office. After a
career traveling from Australia in the west to Italy and Germany in the east,
Ed has settled into a quiet life in the Florida Panhandle to focus on writing
(and not shoveling snow!)
Ed
has two novels published right now (plus one launching in August 2022) in the Cutter Kauai Sea Adventures series about a
Coast Guard patrol boat assigned to "special" missions. Dagger Quest takes place in the Florida
Keys and involves an aging Coast Guard patrol boat dragooned into a search for
a lost Russian nuclear weapon in a time of international crisis. The second, Caribbean Counterstrike, features the same
patrol boat and crew, now with equipment and training upgrades, sent to recover
a deadly nerve gas from a murderous Caribbean drug cartel. Bravely and Faithfully has Kauai, under a
new captain supporting a covert raid on a Caribbean island held by the Chinese.
Ed's
second series, C6S: Patrol Force
deals with a combined defense establishment and constabulary for a galactic
economic empire called the Confederation of the Six Systems (C6S). Ed has
published two novellas and a novel-length collection late last year.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CONNECT WITH ED:
Website:
https://www.edwardhochsmann.com
Email:
info@edwardhochsmann.com
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/KauaiSeaAdventures
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/edhochsmann
BookBub Author Page:
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/edward-m-hochsmann
Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20594307.Edward_Hochsmann
Amazon Author Page:
https://amzn.to/3PwRSDS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOOK BUY LINKS – DAGGER QUEST – BOOK ONE:
Amazon US Kindle eBook:
https://amzn.to/3T1a2R2
Amazon US Paperback:
https://amzn.to/3weMX3D
Amazon CA Kindle eBook:
https://www.amazon.ca/Dagger-Quest-Cutter-Kauai-Adventures-ebook/dp/B0B1L82HD1
Amazon CA Paperback:
https://www.amazon.ca/Dagger-Quest-Cutter-Kauai-Adventures/dp/1956777962
Kobo US eBook:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/dagger-quest-1
Kobo CA eBook:
https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/dagger-quest-1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOOK BUY LINKS – CARIBBEAN COUNTERSTRIKE – BOOK TWO:
Amazon US Kindle eBook:
https://amzn.to/3PB0ZDw
Amazon US Paperback:
https://amzn.to/3C978E2
Amazon CA Kindle eBook:
https://www.amazon.ca/Caribbean-Counterstrike-Cutter-Kauai-Adventures-ebook/dp/B0B1N24GBV
Amazon CA Paperback:
https://www.amazon.ca/Caribbean-Counterstrike-Cutter-Kauai-Adventures/dp/1956777954
Kobo US eBook:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/caribbean-counterstrike-1
Kobo CA eBook:
https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/caribbean-counterstrike-1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOOK BUY LINKS – BRAVELY AND FAITHFULLY – BOOK THREE:
Amazon US Kindle eBook:
https://amzn.to/3SRhPRs
Amazon US Paperback:
https://amzn.to/3zX9B1C
Amazon CA Kindle eBook:
https://www.amazon.ca/Bravely-Faithfully-Cutter-Kauai-Adventures-ebook/dp/B0B1W1J26C
Amazon CA Paperback:
https://www.amazon.ca/Bravely-Faithfully-Cutter-Kauai-Adventures/dp/1956777938
Kobo US eBook:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/bravely-and-faithfully-1
Kobo CA eBook:
https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/bravely-and-faithfully-1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY INFO:
Ed will be awarding a
$50 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble Gift Card (Winner’s Choice!!!) to a randomly
drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
**This
post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a purchase is made, I may
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helps pay for all those fabulous community outreach projects and awesome
giveaways on here**
This contest is sponsored
by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish
Promotions. Prizes are given away by the
sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish
Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.
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