State of Romance: Rocking the lovers in the Granite State

On this day in 1863, President Lincoln proclaimed Nov. 26 as Thanksgiving Day. Prior to Lincoln's proclamation, it was not a national holiday. Thanksgiving was widely celebrated in the North (where the Pilgrims' ancestors settled), but it was unknown in the South. Enter Sara Josepha Hale, writer, editor and author of Mary Had a Little Lamb. She advocated for a National Day of Thanksgiving with five presidents — Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan and Lincoln. Hale was born in Newport, New Hampshire, inspiring our visit to the Granite State.

Contemporary romance sizzles with Shannon Stacey's Slow Summer Kisses, Kristan Higgins' Until There Was You, De-Ann Black's Heart of Ice, Cameron D. Garriepy's Buck's Landing and Barbara Delinsky's Escape.

Cozy mysteries live free or die with Katie McDonald's Sudoku Murder series, Mary Ellen Hughes' Craft Corner series and Jane K. Cleland's Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery series. I am intrigued by Lorna Barrett's Booktown Mystery series set in Stoneham, New Hampshire, where "the streets are lined with bookshops and paved with murder." Perhaps the heroine, Tricia Miles, would appreciate a visit to Hay-on-Wye, Wales, considered to be the bookstore capital of the world.

Romantic suspense creeps into the Granite State with Suzanne Brockmann's Into the Storm, Carla Neggers' Abandon and Tracey Smith's Cedar Hollow.

Classic books set in New Hampshire include Rodman Philbrick's Freak the Mighty, a must-read for all children, and Thornton Wilder's Our Town, the Pulitzer-winning drama.

Add to the list of romance books by using #stateofromance on Twitter.

Next week we visit Tennessee, the Volunteer State.

Kim Lowe is an Air Force veteran, Air Force spouse and romance book blogger at SOS Aloha. You can reach her at sos.aloha@yahoo.com.