Donna K. Weaver has always loved reading and creating stories, thus she’s been ever entertained. A Navy brat and U.S. Army veteran, she’s lived in many U.S. states as well as South Korea, the Philippines, and Germany. An avid cruiser, she’s sailed the Pacific four times. When she retired from Shorei Kempo Karate with a black belt, she decided it was time to put her imaginary friends and places on paper. She lives in Utah with her husband. They have six children and eight grandchildren.

Visit Donna:  BLOG | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | GOOGLE+ |  GOODREADS

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LDSWBR:  What books do you plan/hope to read this summer?

DONNA:  I’ve just started Donna Hosie’s The Secret of Nimue, the conclusion of her The Return of Camelot series. I’ve got Natalie Whipple’s Transparent in audiobook I’ll be started soon. I’ve got Jenn Johansson’s Insomnia, Elana Johnson’s Abandon, Julie Dane’s A Blind Eye, and Dianne Salerni’s The Caged Graves on my list. Somewhere in there I’ll make room for the summer collection of A Timeless Romance Anthology.

Since I hear Jenn’s book is quite chilling, I hope to take an adventure into one of Gregg Luke’s books or Michael Brent Collings’. Maybe. lol

LDSWBR:  Did you ever go to summer camp, and/or what is your most memorable camping experience?

DONNA:  Curiously, I was only ever a Brownie or a Girl Scout when we lived outside of the U.S. When we lived in the Philippines, I had my one and only chance to attend camp. The camp was an 8-hour drive from Sangley Point, the Navy base where we lived, which is across the bay from Manila.

We were returning home at the end of the week on Good Friday, riding in this rusty old Navy bus (things rust easily in the P.I.) and not all the windows would close. No air conditioning. Easter is a big deal in the Philippines where the Catholic Church has a huge influence. They have these parades in all the communities with people carrying statues through the streets, partiers dancing in the streets, and pranksters causing trouble in the streets. While we were trying to drive through the streets.

Getting the picture? That 8-hour bus ride took something 11 hours, and we had no protection from the pranksters who would squirt diluted cologne through the windows we couldn’t get closed. So my two memories of that week at camp are sleeping under the stars at night and getting squirted with nasty, cheap cologne.

LDSWBR:  If you could have a summer home anywhere in the world, where would it be?

DONNA:  Just one? I’d love a traveling time share that allowed me (and my family) to live in a different country for a year or two at a time. Having had the opportunity to live in three other countries already and visiting three others, I understand the difference between being a tourist and resident. Realistically, I’d quit my day job, sell my house, and move to Kauai and live with my daughter.

LDSWBR:  Thank you, Donna!

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Find A Change of Plans

AMAZON (Paperback & Kindle) | BARNES & NOBLE (Paperback & Nook) | GOODREADS | BOOK TRAILER

When twenty-five-year-old Lyn sets off on her cruise vacation, all she wants is to forget that her dead fiancé was a cheating scumbag. What she plans is a diversion uncomplicated by romance. What she gets is Braedon, an intriguing young surgeon. He’s everything her fiancé wasn’t, and against the backdrop of the ship’s make-believe world, her emotions come alive.

Unaware of the sensitive waters he navigates, Braedon moves to take their relationship beyond friendship—on the very anniversary Lyn came on the cruise to forget. Lyn’s painful memories are too powerful, and she runs off in a panic.

But it’s hard to get away from someone when you’re stuck on the same ship. Things are bad enough when the pair finds themselves on one of the cruise’s snorkeling excursions. Then paradise turns to piracy when their party is kidnapped, and Lyn’s fear of a fairy tale turns grim.

Have you ever camped in a foreign country? If not, is there a place in the world you would be willing to camp to see in person?

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Comment on each Countdown to Summer 2013 post for more chances to win. Please click through to the website as only comments submitted directly on this post will be accepted.

Prizes include a $50 Amazon gift card and the author-donated books listed below. This is raffle-style drawing where all entries throughout the contest period are entered into the same “hat” for all prizes. US only. 18 years and older please. See all contest rules and restrictions HERE.

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Book prizes generously donated by the authors as of 6/14/2013 (more added throughout the countdown!):

• A Blind Eye by Julie Daines (signed), a bookmark AND a Mind the Gap temporary tattoo
• I, Spy by Jordan McCollum (choice of paperback or ebook)
• Sworn Enemy by A.L. Sowards (choice of paperback or ebook)
• Glimmer of Hope by Sarah M. Eden
• A Change of Plans by Donna K. Weaver

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