Series Spotlight/Giveaway: Cutter Kauai Sea Adventures

 

Check out the Cutter Kauai Sea Adventures by author Edward Hochsmann and get ready for some wild adventures. Make sure to enter the tour wide giveaway in the post for a chance to win from the author a $50 Amazon/BN GC. This tour is sponsored by Goddess Fish Promotions and you can find all the tour stops HERE.

Check out the interview below with author Edward Hochsmann

If you could have one paranormal ability, what would it be?

I want to be a Jedi Knight. Badly!

What is one thing your readers would be most surprised to learn about you?

I am a professional in applied mathematics and aspiring novelist who hated math and creative writing of any sort when I was in school. If you had told me on my graduation day from the Academy that I would be here, I would have referred you to a drug addiction counselor.

When writing descriptions of your hero/ine, what feature do you start with?

I never thought about that question before and was surprised to find that I almost always start with the height of the character.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

My stories (in this series, anyway) are very tightly coupled to time and distance. I terms of structure, I guess that makes me a plotter.  However, when you consider the fact that my stories often end in a much different place than I originally planned, there’s some pantser in there too.

Did you learn anything from writing this book? If so, what?

Probably the most important thing I learned was to embrace artistic license. My books have a very high degree of verisimilitude in the most important things.  For instance, machines can only go so fast or hang out for so long, military people have a different set of rules in terms of workplace behavior and how they approach life and problems, etc. I initially stuck to that in terms of the dialog until my first editor smacked me upside the head and told me that if I wanted someone other than a hard-core coastguardsman to read these books, I had to ditch a lot of the jargon and terminology.  It was very accurate, but just too painful for a normal reader to struggle through.  So the important lesson is your characters must be relatable and the only way to do that is to let them talk like regular people. Happily, I was able to strike a balance without losing the essence of the stories.

Cutter Kauai Sea Adventures (Series)

Dagger Quest, Book 1

by Edward Hochsmann

GENRE: Action/Adventure, Contemporary

 

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Dagger Quest

 

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:

 

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.”

 

 

 

 BLURB:

 

Caribbean Counterstrike

 

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:

 

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.”

 

BLURB: 

Bravely and Faithfully 

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:

 

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!”

 

Buy Links:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B1L82HD1/

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B1N24GBV/

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B1W1J26C/

 

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/dagger-quest-1

 

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/caribbean-counterstrike-1

 

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/bravely-and-faithfully-1

 

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GIVEAWAY

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

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.

 

Stay connected with Ed –

 

Website: https://www.edwardhochsmann.com/

 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20594307.Edward_Hochsmann

 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edhochsmann/

 

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/edward-m-hochsmann