State of Romance: Go to the moon with N.C.-set stories

Today is the 111th anniversary of the Wright Brothers' first flight at Kitty Hawk, N.C. Known as "12 seconds to the moon," this first flight led to the development of air travel and space exploration. Nothing makes air travel more relaxing than a romance book. In honor of the Wright Brothers, we visit North Carolina, the Tar Heel State.

Erin McCarthy opts for auto racing in her Fast Track series, including Hot Finish. Julie Ann Walker prefers Harleys in Hell On Wheels from her Black Knight Inc. series. Diana Gabaldon masters time travel with Outlander's The Fiery Cross and A Breath of Snow and Ashes.

Travel back in time with Kayla Gray's Rogue for romance on the high seas. Deeanne Gist gives us a glimpse of the Biltmore's gilded age in Maid to Match.

Contemporary romance spotlights North Caroline's Southern hospitality with Jude Deveraux's Holly, Lynnette Kent's Smoky Mountain Reunion and Joanna Hampton's The Coming Home Quilt. In Sarah Addison Allen's The Sugar Queen, the heroine indulges in her mother's sweet treats and romance collection — how appropriate!

Young Adult fans can indulge in Lindsay Page's Sweetness from her Bold As Love series, Jennifer Estep's Touch of Frost from her Mythos Academy series and Elizabeth Langston's Whisper Falls from the series of the same name. Elizabeth kicked off a second paranormal series, I Wish, with a gorgeous genie granting humanly wishes.

Cozy mysteries found their way to the Tar Heel State with Joyce Lavene's A Timely Vision from the Missing Pieces series, Elizabeth Spann Craig's Pretty Is as Pretty Dies from the Myrtle Clover series and Kathryn Lilley's Dying to Be Thin from the Fat City series.

Add to the list of romances set in North Carolina but using #stateofromance on Twitter.

Next week, on Christmas Eve, we celebrate Washington, the Evergreen 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.