Today’s Spotlight Shines on Author Laurie Hanan

Sisters in Crime/Hawaii meets on the third Wednesday of the month at

Makiki Community Library from 6-8 pm. Meetings are open to the public. Annual membership is $10.00. This year, our blog site is focusing on members of SinC/Hawaii and their writing progress as published and as-yet unpublished authors. As a group, we support each other’s work, and offer friendship and encouragement in new projects. Several events throughout the year help to spotlight our interests, including book fairs/festivals and panel discussions or book readings. Check out the Meetings/Events page for upcoming events (and directly below for the February, 2016 meeting.)

 

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Author Laurie Hanan

 

Today’s spotlight shines on long-time SinC/Hawaii member, author Laurie Hanan. Laurie is the successful author of the Louise Golden series, mysteries set in Hawaii. After publishing her fourth Louise Golden mystery, Stairway to Heaven, Laurie wrote a novella for a Kindle World, the Lei Crime World of author Toby Neal. Laurie’s novella is entitled Hoaka Moonshine. 

Laurie’s synopsis of the story:

When Dee Maltin bought the little beach cottage on Maui, all she wanted was to leave her memories behind. Now, fifteen years later, things are starting to go awry. Why does everyone else deny hearing the feral cats that keep Dee awake all night? What’s the smell that permeates her house no matter how much she scrubs? Why does her strange neighbor, who hasn’t spoken to her in all these years, choose this moment to strike up a conversation? A woman shows up at Dee’s door looking for her birth mother. Is she a con artist, or just deluded? Dee searches for answers and is soon over her head in one big Hawaiian-kine mystery. 

A 5-Star review of the novella, Hoaka Moonshine

 

 

(Moonshine, Hawaiian Style):

 

A novella is often a fast read with a bit of a punch at the end. Laurie Hanan’s novella, Hoaka Moonshine, was a fast read but far more than a lead-in to a quick-punch climax. 

The story captured my interest with the suspenseful opening lines. The characters immediately triggered reactions from me. Several times, I wanted to thrash the ears of the grown son, although I admit to having given more than a little leeway to “grown” children in my own family. Hearing that Dee, the protagonist, was “too old” to suck in her belly for appearance sake endeared me to her from the start. She is someone I would enjoy spending a day with in comfort. 

It was a pleasure to “visit” a quaint area of Maui that I know little about, Pā‘ia. The plot of Hoaka Moonshine (I love this title) held enough twists and complications to keep me reading, but never became improbable. I especially liked the satisfying conclusion. 

SinC/Hawaii: Aloha, Laurie. We are pleased to have you as our spotlight guest today; and we look forward to having you as our Guest Speaker at the February, 2016 SinC/Hawaii meeting. At the February meeting, you will discuss Amazon’s Kindle Worlds and your submission of the novella, Hoaka Moonshine, to The Lei Crime World. 

When you wrote Hoaka Moonshine, did you find any difference between writing this novella and your Louise Golden novels? 

Laurie Hanan: There was a very big difference in writing Hoaka Moonshine. Since it wasn't part of my series, I took a lot of liberty in creating the characters and developing the plot. With Louise Golden, I keep more or less within the bounds of a traditional mystery style: Mail carrier Louise discovers a crime has been committed on her mail route, there is a villain who needs to be found out, Louise eventually solves the crime when the police could not. Though there are mysterious events and questions that demand answers in Hoaka Moonshine, the story doesn't fall into the typical mystery genre.  I never explain whether the events are paranormal, figments of the character's imagination, or bizarre coincidences. I leave that for the reader to decide. There is no crime to be solved, no villain to be discovered and caught. It was a new kind of story for me and I had a lot of fun with it.

 

SinC/Hawaii: You submitted Hoaka Moonshine to The Lei Crime World. This is the Kindle World of Toby Neal, author of the Lei Crime Series that currently includes 11 novels (and counting.) During the writing process, did the author have any involvement in or offer you support during this new venture? 

Laurie Hanan: Once I'd completed Hoaka Moonshine to my satisfaction, I asked Toby to look it over. Involving the author is not a necessary--or even a usual--part of the Kindle Worlds process, but I wanted to be sure Toby was okay with my use of her characters. Toby graciously took the time to look over my story. She was very encouraging, which I totally appreciated, coming from such a successful author as her. After hearing Toby's comments, I wrote some additional scenes. Her advice greatly enhanced the final story. 

SinC/Hawaii: Thank you, Laurie, for taking time to share this informative information about writing novellas and about Kindle Worlds. We look forward to having you as our Guest Speaker on February 17, 2016 and hearing even more in depth information about the world of writing novellas.

 

 

SinC/Hawaii Meeting February 17, 2016

Makiki Community Library 6-8pm

Guest Speaker: Laurie Hanan

Skype Interview arranged by member/author Kent Reinker

featuring:

Toby Neal, bestselling Maui author of the Lei Crime Series

Louise Golden mystery novels
by Laurie Hanan

Laurie Hanan's Amazon Author page:

http://amzn.to/1ToM7YD

 

 

Guest Interview with Laurie Hanan for "Friday - 13 Authors"

Today’s guest for a “Friday - 13 Authors” interview is Laurie Hanan, successful author of the Louise Golden mysteries set in Hawaii. Laurie used photographs she had taken around Hawaii to design the cover for the anthology, MYSTERY IN PARADISE 13 Tales of Suspense. 

Sisters in Crime/Hawaii: Laurie, thank you for sharing with readers your short story, entitled The Man With the Black Feet, in MYSTERY IN PARADISE 13 Tales of Suspense,and for taking time to visit with us today. Can you please offer a brief insight into something humorous, poignant, or unusual in your life that led you to a career in writing? 

LAURIE HANAN: Since I was a very young child I’ve loved reading mysteries. As I grew up I dreamed of being a mystery writer. But while work, marriage, and parental duties provided lots of material for stories, they left no time at all to pursue a second career. Then my health failed and I was forced to take a medical retirement at a much younger age than I’d planned. While most would see this as a tragedy, I turned it into an opportunity and started writing my first mystery. I am now working on the fourth in the series and have no plan to stop writing.

Sisters in Crime/Hawaii: Writers, by default, are independent contractors who sit alone at their computer/typewriter/journal, composing prose, poetry, lyrics, haiku, or limericks, for hours on end. Why did you choose to collaborate in a short story anthology featuring 13 authors? 

LAURIE HANAN:  Part of the reason I loved working other mystery writers on this project was the simple fact that writing is such a solitary pastime.  The anthology has given me a wonderful opportunity to connect with other people who enjoy spending their time exactly the way I spend mine.

 

Sisters in Crime/Hawaii: Each short story in the anthology offers a glimpse into the personality of the writer. In The Man With the Black Feet, what is one phrase or scene that reflects something about you as a writer? 

LAURIE HANAN: Animals are an important part of my life. I love them and advocate for them. In all my stories I show how animals interact with humans to bring an added dimension to our lives. One example is the scene where Rusty returns home around midnight after a hard day on his job as a janitor. He climbs the stairs to his apartment and is greeted by his rescued terrier, Truffle. Their interdependent relationship shows in the way Rusty finds the strength to go back down the stairs to take Truffle for a walk.

 

The dog trotted to him with the leash in her mouth, wagging her tail. It was after midnight, but what did dogs know about time? He snapped the leash to her collar. 

They made their slow way down the stairs, both of them feeling their years. While Truffle squatted in the patch of dry weeds at the edge of the sidewalk, Rusty’s gaze darted up and down the dark street.

He knew they were watching. He made a game of it, trying to spot them. There was one, huddled in the shadow of the bushes across the street. She was dressed in filthy rags. Beside her, a shopping cart overflowed with garbage bags, newspapers, and old shoes.

         Truffle took her time, stopping every few feet to check out new smells and mark the territory.

Here came another one, the bone-thin black guy with the spiky hairdo. Every day he wore the same floor-length dress and worn-out Nikes without socks. Now he moved down the sidewalk in a shuffling dance, singing to himself, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

Rusty whispered, “Do they really believe I can’t see through their disguises?” 

        A police car rounded the corner. Rusty turned his back to the street. The local cops were probably not involved, but he couldn’t be sure.

 

Sisters in Crime/Hawaii: Every writer has a WIP (Work-In-Progress). Can you tell us a bit about your current project? 

LAURIE HANAN: I’m working on the fourth novel in my Louise Golden mystery series, Stairway to Heaven. Like all my books, this one is titled after a popular song. There is a Biblical reference to a stairway to heaven. It is rumored that the Led Zeppelin song, when played backwards, contains words from The Satanic Bible. Those familiar with O’ahu will also recognize Stairway to Heaven as a treacherous and illegal hiking trail. So as you can see, the title has several connotations that I hope some readers will recognize.

 

Sisters in Crime/Hawaii: Where can readers find your published Louise Golden Mysteries?

 

LAURIE HANAN: My books are available exclusively through Amazon, in Kindle and trade paperback format.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_2?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Laurie%20Hanan&search-alias=digital-text&sort=relevancerank

 

 

SinC/Hawaii: A Group of Sisters & Misters!

Sisters in Crime/Hawaii, a group of readers and authors, will participate as exhibitors at the Hawaii Book and Music Festival next week-end, May 18-19, 2013, on the grounds of Honolulu Hale. At our booth, local members will offer information about our organization and promote Sisters in Crime, both SinC, Inc. the International Organization http://www.sistersincrime.org/ and the SinC/Hawaii Chapter http://sisters-in-crimehawaii.blogspot.com/p/home.html. Member authors will display their published novels and have books available for purchase.

Honolulu Arts Beat, a popular Hawaii blog site, lists the participating SinC/Hawaii authors and their books. You can visit the site at: http://www.honoluluartsbeat.com/Honolulu_Arts_Beat/Book_%26_Music_Fest.html 

The Hawaii Book and Music Festival website lists all of the authors who will appear at the Author Pavilions on Saturday May 18 and Sunday May 19. The website for listings, times, and site map is: http://hawaiibookandmusicfestival.com/

 

 

Sisters in Crime/Hawaii has been invited to present a panel discussion at the Author Pavilion Mauka on Saturday, May 18 at 1 p.m.  The panel discussion topic is “Why Do Men Join Sisters in Crime?” It will be a lively 55 minutes with time for audience questions.

 

Please join authors Ray Pace, Laurie Hanan, Gene Parola, and Gail Baugniet at

Hawaii Book and Music Festival and learn why Sisters in Crime/Hawaii is

a group of Sisters and Misters!

 

 

SinC/Hawaii Interview with Author Laurie Hanan





In the Sisters in Crime/Hawaii Author Interview spotlight today is Laurie Hanan, author of the Louise Golden Mysteries. Laurie recently published her third novel in the series, Another Day in Paradise. Each novel is set in Hawaii, and more specifically, on the island of O’ahu. By the third novel, many of the questions have already been asked and answered, so I dug deep to ask more obscure but interesting questions of Laurie.

GAIL: Welcome, and thank you for joining us today, Laurie. Each of your novels offers the reader a closer look at your protagonist and an opportunity for you to showcase your evolution as a writer. One of the joys of reading an ongoing series is the anticipation of revisiting familiar characters and sharing another adventure with them. An added bonus with your series is for readers to also experience real-time life in Hawaii. While it may not be the same as that portrayed on Hawaii 5-0, that is mainly because Steve MacGarrett doesn’t pop up in our lives all that often! You do have one supporting character in particular, a polo player, who does offer that special dazzle in Another Day in Paradise. What’s the back story on him?

LAURIE HANAN: I assume you are referring to the blond Brazilian, Felipe. My method is to start with a tight outline, but stay open to allowing scenes and characters to detour from the original outline as I write. Felipe is a good example of how that happens. First, let me say Felipe is an entirely fictional character, created in my imagination. I intended for him to be a minor character. But as I wrote him into the story, he grew into a much more interesting and complicated fellow. I went with the flow and let Felipe develop. In fact, at the end of the story, Felipe caught me by surprise. Now I'm sure he'll have to come back as a regular.

GAIL: One of the top questions asked of authors is, “Where do you get your ideas?” It is also one of the most difficult to answer because of its broad scope, in the vein of “What do you want out of life?” To narrow the focus of the question, let me pick a specific area of your latest Louise Golden mystery. Louise takes the neighbor children to a polo match where she meets a rather sexy man. Why did you choose to set scenes at a polo match in Hawaii?

LAURIE HANAN: My sixteen-year-old daughter has been working as a groom's apprentice at the Mokulēia polo field on the North Shore for about two years now. She also takes polo lessons and plays in off-season skirmishes with the professional polo team members. Naturally, I've spent a good deal of my time at the polo field and have gotten to know many of the regulars there. I absolutely love horses, and Mokulēia is one of the most beautiful parts of O'ahu. It seemed natural to have part of my book take place in that setting. I also wanted to share with my readers who may not be aware that polo is a popular sport in Hawaii and very much a part of the culture and history of the islands. And I will reiterate, the sexy Brazilian polo player is purely a figment of my imagination--so girls, don't go out to the polo field hoping to find someone like Felipe.

GAIL: Your protagonist, Louise Golden, is a mail carrier. Ever since the term “going postal” surfaced, it is not so difficult to suspend disbelief that a mail carrier can become involved in a mystery of murder. You were a postal worker also, and while I don’t believe you have ever been involved in a murder, can you tell us some of the experiences you did have on the job?

LAURIE HANAN: For eighteen years I worked at the Honolulu Airport facility as a distribution clerk. That means I worked inside the building sorting letters, magazines, and parcels. Tempers flared from time to time. Supervisors were occasionally threatened with bodily harm. But as far as I know, nobody ever brought a gun to work. There was one stabbing while I worked there, but that was a lover's quarrel. Just like in my first book, Almost Paradise, there was said to be a ghost or two residing in the building. There were a few eerie occurrences. For the most part, the situations Louise encounters in my books are made up.

GAIL: One of my favorite subjects is food, an eclectic variation of foods such as chicken katsu, deep-fried lake perch, sashimi, and pie. What are some of the Hawaiian favorites that receive mention in Another Day in Paradise and why do they have enough importance in your life to warrant mention in the novel?



LAURIE HANAN: Like myself, Louise is an animal lover and therefore a vegetarian. This means her enjoyment of local foods is somewhat limited, as mine is. There is less focus on food in the third book in the series. She does have a lychee and li hing flavored shave ice at the polo field. This is one of my favorite indulgences. For lunch she stops to pick up sushi one time and vegetable manapua another time.



GAIL: Religious tolerance is a vital foundation of our “One nation under God.” Recently, I read a newspaper article stressing the idea that we do not have to believe the teachings of another’s faith to respect each other’s faith. Ideology is often an evolution of ideas that even President Obama and Governor Romney exhibit in their lives. In your novels, the protagonist reflects this tolerance. Were your personal ideas about religious tolerance formed early, or were they influenced by life experiences such as travel?

LAURIE HANAN: I grew up in Hawaii and the Mariana Islands. Especially here in Hawaii, we are surrounded by a wonderful smorgasbord of cultures and religions. All my life I've been exposed to people from all religious backgrounds. Only as an adult, though, I have opened my mind to the possibility that there is something to be learned from all religions. Maybe some of that understanding has come through my travels, but much of it I've discovered right here at home. While I practice a conservative form of the Jewish faith, I have come to believe that religion is merely man's attempt to explain the unexplainable, to grasp the untouchable. Religion is the proverbial finger pointing to the moon. Too many people, sadly, have mistaken the finger for the moon. I believe Truth resonates with our souls, if we would only pay attention. Truth can come to us from many sources. Each of us would do well to embrace Truth when we come across it, regardless of the source of that Truth. I intentionally created my protagonist, Louise, as someone who grew up with no religious background, and had little use for religion. In the first book, Almost Paradise, religion doesn't enter her thoughts. In the second book, How Far is Heaven?, Louise is forced to confront her Jewish heritage for the first time at her father's funeral. She discovers she was baptized in the Catholic church as an infant. She also gets to know Freddy, who is a Jew-Bu, a follower of both the Jewish and Buddhist faiths. It isn't until the third book,Another Day in Paradise, that Louise begins to explore her own religious path. I hope many readers will relate to Louise's search for Truth, and her quest to understand herself.

Look for Laurie Hanan on the Internet at these sites:

ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE:

http://www.amazon.com/Another-Paradise-Louise-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B009J2K564/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1350010569&sr=1-2&keywords=another+day+in+paradise

ALMOST PARADISE on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Almost-Paradise-Laurie-Hanan/dp/0983286132

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/lauriehanan

THE INDEPENDENT AUTHOR NETWORK: http://www.independentauthornetwork.com/laurie-hanan.html

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Laurie-Hanan/e/B005OMJ2Q2/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1