Book Reviews . . . and Who is Kalei-O-Mano

You've just finished reading a book that entertained you over a period of twenty-four hours or seven days. Everyone has their own pattern. Some pick up a book at bedtime for a half hour of reading, others don't set the book down until they reach "The End".

Whatever your preference, why would you want to take the time to write a review of the book? You liked it. You plan to call your friend and discuss it over the telephone. Your reading group at Starbucks is eager to hear your opinion of the story. Isn't that enough?

Word-of-Mouth

Actually, word-of-mouth is a terrific means of promoting a book you like. Who better to recommend a book than someone who read it and was entertained by it, maybe even used it to escape the duties of daily life for a time. Fiction is meant to "take the reader for a ride" away from the normal stress of everyday activities.

A word-of-mouth recommendation is, in essence, an audio book review. Any author would be most grateful to know you are discussing their latest book, or even the one they wrote five years ago. Contrary to popular belief, some authors do have considerable egos. (Even Stephen King still wants to know you liked his latest installment in horror.)

 

Reviews on Goodreads and Amazon

 

Other ways to show your support for an author is to post a review on Amazon (no, it is not illegal to post a review if you borrowed the book from a friend.)

 

Recently, a reader enjoyed all of the short stories and decided to write a review for the anthology MYSTERY IN PARADISE 13 Tales of Suspense. Each story is set in Hawai'i and written by an author living in or having strong ties to the 50th state. (You're right, that is why it's called Hawaii 5-0).

 

Before writing the review, though, the reader had a question about one of the stories and emailed the author for clarification. The short story is entitled TOURISTS and the author is Lehua Parker (aka Michelle Lehua Parker of Facebook.)

 

The reader's Quiry:
 

Hi Lehua,

I'm reviewing the stories in Mystery in Paradise. I loved yours, but am puzzled as to why you chose the name Kalei for the shark man when, according to mythology, his name was Nanaue.

Please let me know.

(Reader's name withheld)

 

Lehua's Response:
 

Hi (Reader's name withheld),

Thanks for your question. The simplest answer is that the story is not about the traditional myth of Nanaue. While the legends of Nanaue and Kamohoali’i are the most well-known shark man-stories in Hawaii, there are many tales throughout the Pacific about literal sharks, aumakua sharks, demi-god sharks, and chiefs who are shark-like. Building upon those traditions, Tourists is actually an adult side story to a middle grade/young adult series I write called the Niuhi Shark Saga. One Boy, No Water; One Shark, No Swim; and One Truth, No Lie are all set on Oahu in fictional Lauele Town where Hawaiian myths, gods, and legends are real and exist beneath the radar of most of the humans. The series is centered around a boy who is allergic to water. His name is Alexander Kaonakai Westin, but he’s called Zader. Throughout the series, Zader discovers who he really is and why his biological family hid him in Lauele Town.  

In this world, there are Niuhi who have the ability to appear as human on land or as sharks in the ocean. (In Hawaiian, niuhi is the word used to describe a shark big enough to attack a human and is usually translated as a large tiger shark.) Kalei is a character in the series. His full name is Kalei-O-Mano, which refers to a war club ringed with shark’s teeth or a shark’s mouth. In the series, he’s a scary bad dude who is mostly called The Man with Too Many Teeth by Zader. By the time his name is revealed, it’s very clear that the series is not a retelling of Nanaue, so there’s no confusion with Kalei-O-Mano and Kalei the maiden in the most well-known version of the Nanaue legend. In this short story I just called him Kalei because it’s simple and what he’d probably tell a tourist—and really didn’t consider there might be confusion with the Nanaue legend.  

Kahana and Ilima are also characters in the series, and I wrote Tourists to give adults a different perspective to consider as they read the Niuhi Shark Saga. While the publisher pigeon-holed the series as MG/YA because of Zader’s age, the series is read by as many adults as kids. 

In my head, I have lots of stories set in Lauele Town that are adult-themed, and someday I hope to write them all down and publish them under another pen name, Jace Hunter. As Jace Hunter I publish speculative horror fiction for adults. As Lehua I publish children’s literature, and as you know, Tourists isn’t for children. I originally published it as Lehua because of the tie to the Niuhi Shark Saga series, but I’ve since rethought that decision. A revised version of Tourists will soon be available as an audiobook by Jace Hunter, narrated by Michelle Parker.

 

Hope this answers your questions. As for your review, first of all, thank you!, and secondly, please feel free to write whatever you wish in your review. A hui hou!

Lehua

 

A review

of

all 13 tales of suspense

 in 

MYSTERY IN PARADISE:

http://www.amazon.com/MYSTERY-PARADISE-13-Tales-Suspense-ebook/dp/B00GYL6FEE/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1461620595&sr=1-1&keywords=Mystery+In+Paradise 
 

http://www.amazon.com/One-Shark-Swim-Niuhi-Saga-ebook/dp/B00I2FWU94/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

 

  

http://www.amazon.com/One-Water-Niuhi-Shark-Saga-ebook/dp/B00I2FWTZ4/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1461620649&sr=1-1&keywords=One+Boy%2C+One+Shark

 

"13 FRIDAYS" INTERVIEW With EDITOR LOURDES VENARD

Our guest today is Lourdes Venard, a journalist with more than 29 years of reporting, editing, design, and project management experience. She has worked at major newspapers such as The Miami Herald, Chicago Tribune, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and Newsday. She currently operates her own freelance business, CommaSense Editing. 

Lourdes edited the material for MYSTERY IN PARADISE 13 Tales of Suspense, an anthology of short stories set in Hawaii and written by local authors.

 

Sisters in Crime/ Hawai`i: Thank you for joining us today for an interview, Lourdes. Can you please offer a brief insight into something humorous, poignant, or unusual in your life that led you to a career as an editor? 

LOURDES VENARD: I don’t know that it was that unusual. I’ve been involved in journalism since high school and even then I had editing roles (I was editor in chief of the school paper my senior year). I was the kid who edited the valedictorian’s English essays; while she was brilliant, she still needed grammar help! Nevertheless, I started out my career as a reporter. After a few years, I realized I really enjoyed and was more suited to the editing, rather than to chasing people who didn’t want to be interviewed. I found I have a real passion for editing. Sometimes I think, ‘What am I doing? I spent half an hour arguing over a hyphen with a cover designer.’ But, really, that hyphen was important!

 

Sisters in Crime/ Hawai`i:  How did you become involved in the editing process of MYSTERY IN PARADISE? 

LOURDES VENARD: When I found out that a group of Hawai’i authors was compiling an anthology, I jumped at the chance to edit it. Hawai’i is a special place for my husband and I (we have a second home there). It is unlike any other place in the United States, and I was excited about the possibility of stories set there. Also, short stories seem to be making a renaissance. The short story lends itself to our fast-paced, time-crunched culture. But writing a good short story is just as hard as writing a full-length novel. The short stories in this anthology are truly unique, shaped by the Hawaiian culture, lore, and landscape. They are also quite diverse. That’s another thing I love about anthologies: Authors might write about the same subject, but their take is always so different! All of these aspects drew me to editing this anthology, and I was glad to have a small part in bringing MYSTERY IN PARADISE to readers.

 

Sisters in Crime/ Hawai`i:  What is your role as a judge for a scholarship program run by the American Copy Editors Society? 

LOURDES VENARD: I’ve been judging this contest for 10 years. It awards scholarships each year to three college students who show promise in copyediting. Many students gravitate to the more glamorous reporting end of journalism, but few have a love (or aptitude) for the behind-the-scenes end of it: fixing holes in stories, working with authors to make the stories more lively or readable, writing headlines and captions, designing pages, etc. Copyeditors are the last set of eyes on stories, so it’s an important job—and ACES wants to encourage that. Each year, we get a stack of applications and we carefully winnow through them and then the judges go back and forth to decide which students get the scholarships. It’s a lot of work, but we feel it’s important to the future of copyediting.

 

Sisters in Crime/ Hawai`i:  Can you tell us a bit about your current project(s)? 

LOURDES VENARD: I’m juggling a few things—OK, more than a few! I’m editing two manuscripts: one science fiction and one crime fiction, my two favorite genres. I’m also writing my own book. I work with many first-time authors and they always have questions that go beyond the editing (Should I self-publish? Look for an agent? How do I write a query? How do I format my manuscript? How do I market my book?). It’s quite a learning curve these days to publish a book, especially with so many options. So I’m writing my own ebook, which will hopefully answer some of those questions. In between all of that, I’m editor for a newsletter for 500-plus mystery authors, the Guppies, a subgroup of Sisters in Crime. The deadline for the next issue is coming up, so I’m editing articles, designing the newsletter, and soliciting articles for upcoming issues. Finally, I teach a copyediting course online through the University of California, San Diego, and I’m in the middle of the summer semester. 

Lourdes Venard can be found on the Internet at:

www.commasense.net

www.facebook.com/commasense

"13 FRIDAYS" INTERVIEW With AUTHOR PATRICIA MORIN

Today’s guest for the “13 Fridays Author Interviews” is Patricia Morin, the author of Confetti, A Collection of Cozy Crimes 2014; Crime Montage, crime short stories 2012; and Mystery Montage, mystery short stories 2010. 

"Patricia Morin demonstrates the full range of her capabilities, from cozy to suspense to noir- and every genre in between." Marcia Muller, Grand Master, Mystery Writers of America

 

Sisters in Crime/ Hawai`i: Aloha, Pat. Thank you for sharing with readers your short story, included within MYSTERY IN PARADISE 13 Tales of Suspense, and for taking time to visit 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? 

PATRICIA MORIN: I wrote a poem for my dog in fourth grade: "I have a little dachshund, frisky as can be--a short and funny dog that watches over me ..." It won the poetry contest at my school. However, sixth grade, I wrote a sequel to "West Side Story", a short story about a sixth grade gang in a Catholic school--can you just imagine? Gangs weren't as they were today, so it was quite funny. We patrolled the school yard for trouble.

 

Sisters in Crime/ Hawai`i: Why did you choose to collaborate with 12 other authors to participate in a short story anthology? 

PATRICIA MORIN: Larry, my husband, and I lived in Hawaii six years, two in Poipu, Kauai, and four in Oahu. We went from the NY minute to the Hawaii month. What most interested me is how the O'hana would gather in garages made into rooms, with couches, to drink and "talk story". We were invited into several people's Oahu for some beer, a bit of Ukulele songs--singing "Honolulu Nights" (so beautiful) and discussing the fate of the culture. I wrote a piece in my writer's journal about the garage meetings. With that, was a bit I wrote about the dangers of the boars and wild pigs. People have gotten killed by them! When I heard about the anthology, I had the setting. The rest unfolded from my imagination.

 

Sisters in Crime/ Hawai`i: In The Love Shack, what is one phrase or scene that reflects something about you as a writer? 

PATRICIA MORIN: In The Love Shack, the scene that reflects something about me as a writer is the dream sequence where the mother comes to him as a mermaid. As a therapist, my forte was dream analysis, and I often have dream sequences in my stories.

 

Sisters in Crime/ Hawai`i: Can you tell us a bit about your current project? 

PATRICIA MORIN: Confetti, my latest short story collection, out March, 2014, is a a nine story collection--with one novella--all mostly cozy and character driven.

 

Excerpt from The Love Shack

"The newspaper drifted toward Makonu’s lap as he fell into a deep sleep ... He eased onto the plush captain’s chair and threw out a fishing line without bait or direction or a care as to catching a fish. A tug on his line caught his attention. A soft, angelic voice called his name.

“Makonu, I have something to tell you,” it sung in his mother’s voice. “It’s important, so listen to me.”

He stuck his head out over the deck and studied the water. A mermaid appeared. She looked like his mother with fins and a tail--not a pretty sight. “Makonu, you’ve been a good husband, and would have been a good father, if that you-know-who didn’t ruin your life, and decide not to have children. Sure your business did not bring much, but the times were hard on the island. The economy dropped. Sure, you had to take a little money out of the house. But you have the insurance policy. Think freedom. Maybe she could have a little accident. A makana (gift) for you.”

 

Look for Mystery in Paradise 13 Tales of Suspense on Amazon in print and ebook format. It can also be ordered in Barnes and Noble. 

Patricia Morin is the author of Confetti, A Collection of Cozy Crimes 2014; Crime Montage, crime short stories 2012; and Mystery Montage, mystery short stories 2010. 

All are available at Amazon

"13 FRIDAYS" INTERVIEW With AUTHOR BOB NEWELL

Today’s guest for the “13 Fridays Author Interviews” is Bob Newell, author of the short story, The Kahala Caper, included within the anthology, MYSTERY IN PARADISE 13 Tales of Suspense.

 

Sisters in Crime/Hawai`i: Thank you for sharing with readers your short story, and for taking time to visit today, Bob. Can you please offer a brief insight into something humorous, poignant, or unusual in your life that led you to a career in writing? 

BOB NEWELL: I can't point to any one thing. Writers have to write. It's part of who and what they are. I write because I can't not write. If you're a writer or some other type of artist, you'll know what I mean.

 

Sisters in Crime/Hawai`i: Why did you choose to collaborate with 12 other authors to participate in a short story anthology? 

BOB NEWELL: Writing for anthologies is a lot of fun. It's a chance to join in providing the reader with a rich and varied experience. It's an opportunity as a writer to compare notes with other writers and see different ways of looking at things.

 

Sisters in Crime/Hawai`i: In The Kahala Caper, what is one phrase or scene that reflects something about you as a writer? 

BOB NEWELL: The story wasn't written to be filled with layers of existential meaning, but I think if you look at the relationship between Jasmine and Jimmy, there's something deeper. What does it reflect about me as a writer? Putting that into words is difficult, and I'm not sure I even really know in a conscious way.

 

Sisters in Crime/Hawai`i: Can you tell us a bit about your current project? 

BOB NEWELL: I have a few things going on. Top of the list is a novel with the working title "Courting Jane" which is most of the way through a second draft. It's a romance at heart but it has sci-fi elements and some of it is set in Honolulu. I hope to have it out by the end of 2014, but we'll see how it goes. I also have a couple of short stories that I'm getting ready to try to market. I'd like to write a few more Jimmy Chan stories but I won't get to that right away.

 

Sisters in Crime/Hawai`i: What's it like to be a writer in Hawai`i as opposed to the mainland or elsewhere? 

BOB NEWELL: I have to say that it's definitely different. There is a vibrant community of writers here. That's true elsewhere, of course, but the attitudes and approaches are, well, Hawaiian. That means friendliness, mutual support, rejoicing in one another's successes rather than being jealous, a sense of family and taking care of one another, and of course gathering to write where there's plenty of food. 

Most of us tend to write about Hawai`i or at least include Hawaiian settings in our work. I've got one novella in draft that explores a romance between a haole and a leader in the Hawaiian independence movement, and I have a project in the planning stage that reimagines Pride and Prejudice in the Kingdom of Hawai`i. 

Bob Newell can be found at his Internet website, where he shares a variety of entertaining and educational material on a range of subjects, from checkers to tea to Talmud:

http://www.bobnewell.net/nucleus/bnewell.php

 

INTERVIEW with AUTHOR TYLER MIRANDA

Author Tyler Miranda

Today’s guest for a MYSTERY IN PARADISE ‘Friday - 13 Authors’ interview is Tyler Miranda. Tyler is an emerging writer with over a dozen publications in local literary journals. In 2009, he was awarded Bamboo Ridge's Editor's Choice Award for Best Prose. In 2011, an excerpt from his novel was anthologized in a textbook produced by Pearson Publishing (New York). And in 2013, his first novel ‘Ewa Which Way was published by Bamboo Ridge Press (Honolulu). 

Miranda was raised on the under-developed west side of Oahu, where his stories are often set. His experiences growing up in Hawaii in a local Portuguese family have strongly influenced his writing, particularly with his Caucasian looks making him a minority in his childhood community. 

Sisters in Crime/Hawaii: Thank you for sharing with readers your short story, Frosted, included within MYSTERY IN PARADISE 13 Tales of Suspense, Tyler, 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? 

TYLER MIRANDA: I began writing as a form of escapism. It was a coping mechanism that helped me deal with what was going on at home. Writing afforded me the opportunity to give order to chaos. During my teen years, I needed that. 

Sisters in Crime/Hawaii: Why did you choose to collaborate with 13 authors to participate in a short story anthology? 

TYLER MIRANDA: When I learned of this mystery/suspense anthology, the idea for "Frosted" finally crystallized. I had struggled with a "way" to tell this story for about two years. However, pondering "Frosted" as a mystery/suspense story both opened it up and gave me the vessel upon which to convey it. 

Sisters in Crime/Hawaii: In "Frosted", what is one phrase or scene that reflects something about you as a writer? 

TYLER MIRANDA: I think the point-of-view reflects something about me as a writer: that is, I like to experiment. This is the first time I wrote a story from the perspective of "we". 

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

TYLER MIRANDA: I've just finished the second draft of my second novel. It's a story about a high school teacher torn between professional duty and family obligation. The story examines the nature of responsibility in a world rife with double standards.

An excerpt from Tyler Miranda’s short story “Frosted”

FROSTED 

1 

We had been talking about Mrs. Isis Souza since 1981. Ever since that first day she ensconced herself in Wahiawa, she’d flapped an air of self-importance before her as though from the fan of a luna. And up until the moment she came, none of the neighbors had ever seen a U-Haul that long, like the shiny body of a train sprawling from driveway to the back property line. Thus began the first of the whisperings, about the...disconnect. It was Palm Street, after all, not some gold-gilded boulevard behind the Pearly Gates of Waialae Iki.

Adding to the confusion was the residence Mrs. Souza chose. There were available houses on Royal Palm Drive, the obvious choice for someone with that many personal belongings. Or she could have found a place farther up the heights. But where Mrs. Souza landed was at the Wahiawa Wah Mun Chinese School. (She clearly wasn’t Chinese, not even in the dainty pinky finger held aloft while she sipped her morning coffee.) Having struggled with low enrollment after WWII, the Chinese-language school had finally adapted, shutting its doors on education in the mid-seventies, the streetside buildings being converted into two dwellings. However, this wasn’t where Mrs. Souza lived. She occupied the back of the property where existed a huge, grassy field, ostensibly once a playground, that had on it an outhouse with working water; a stage and a large carport; and the previous groundskeeper’s two-bedroom shack. Of all the places Mrs. Souza could have chosen, she settled on a droopy, one-story, Hawaiian plantation-style house built in the 1920s. The low roofline and the quiet little portico and the vertical plank siding let the house recede into the environment as though it were meant to be there, as though peeking out from behind sugarcane long gone or as though tiptoeing through a field of pineapple. 

*************** 

Sisters in Crime/Hawaii: Where can readers find your books?

 

TYLER MIRANDA: My first novel 'Ewa Which Way can be found on Amazon.com (both hard copy and Kindle version), Small Press Distribution's website, and Bamboo Ridge Press's website. It can also be found locally in Hawaii at all seven Costco locations, Native Books/Na Mea Hawaii in Ward Warehouse, and Barnes and Noble Ala Moana.

 

 

Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Ewa-Which-Way-Tyler-Miranda/dp/0910043876/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1394149856&sr=1-2

Small Press Distribution: http://www.spdbooks.org/Search/Default.aspx?SearchTerm=ewa+which+way

 Bamboo Ridge Press: http://www.bambooridge.com/storeitem.aspx?pid=93

AUTHOR KENT REINKER: My 'Creation File'

Author Kent Reinker

Sisters in Crime/Hawaii: Today’s guest for a ‘Friday - 13 Authors’ interview is Kent Reinker. Kent, thank you for sharing with readers your short story included within the anthology, MYSTERY IN PARADISE 13 Tales of Suspense, and for taking time to visit with us today. 

Writers, by default, are independent contractors who sit alone at their computer or journal composing for hours on end. Can you please offer a brief insight into something humorous, poignant, or unusual in your life that led you to a career in writing? 

KENT REINKER: All creative work has to be done in seclusion. Bryce Courtenay used to say that the secret of success for a writer was “butt glue” - you glue yourself down to the chair. But good writers are never alone or bored. They’re constantly surrounded by interesting characters in impossible situations that even the author doesn’t know how to solve. If I knew how my books were going to end when I started out, it would take some of the fun out of it. But I don’t. They always seem to end differently than the way I’ve outlined them. 

I’ve been writing since grade school. I was a sports stringer for my high school and the social editor of our yearbook, and I was an editor for the Yale Daily News during college. But I also have a love of science and majored in physics, planning to be a nuclear physicist after graduation. Then, one day, I was asked to write a profile of the Yale Medical School for the alumni magazine we published. A week later, I switched to pre-med. I graduated from medical school five years later, and came to Hawaii for further training as an orthopaedic surgeon. Twenty years later, I was a retired Colonel, a specialist in pediatric orthopaedics, a Professor in the University of Hawaii medical school, and Chief of Staff of a pediatric orthopaedic hospital. 

Most of my writing after college was scientific, either writing research articles or chapters for textbooks. But my job took me to many countries, and I always liked writing fiction. Hawaii is at least a five-hours plane ride from everywhere else. I got in the habit of writing at least one short story every time I left home. I’d start on the plane and finish the story in my hotel room. Eventually, I wrote a novel. Then another one, and another, until I had six written. It became obvious, though, that nothing would ever be published unless I gave up the seventy-hour workweek of my day job. So I resigned two years ago. Now, I have three novels published, with another (a mystery) coming out in the spring, I’m working on my seventh novel, and I have outlines for my eighth and ninth.

 

Sisters in Crime/Hawaii: Why did you choose to collaborate with other authors to participate in a short story anthology? 

KENT REINKER: I have written many short stories but have published few. Two stories in my “creation file” involved criminal activity, but I didn’t think either would fit into the anthology as described to me. This gave me an opportunity to write a fresh one. It was a nice break from the novel I’m currently writing, and it gave me an opportunity to associate and collaborate with some wonderful professionals. At the same time, I’m hopeful that the story will entertain and provoke thought in my readers. What could be more satisfying?

 

Sisters in Crime/Hawaii:  In Gloria, what is one phrase or scene that reflects something about you as a writer? 

KENT REINKER: Some of the main scenes take place in a medical clinic. I’ve used my medical background to depict the difficulties involved with providing good medical care in a setting of budgetary constraint, and I’ve tried to show the positive impact that a single competent individual can make. Governmental administrators seem to have a genetic defect: they believe they can hire excellent people for lousy salaries. Sometimes, this strategy works, but more often, the result ranges from mediocrity to blatant incompetence.

 

Sisters in Crime/Hawaii: Can you tell us a bit about your current project? 

KENT REINKER: All of my novels have an underlying theme. For example, one involves the relationship of science and religion. My last one involved the shady distinction between humans and beasts. It’s named If Pigs Could Cry and it should be coming out next week. (SinC/Hawaii note: If Pigs Could Cry is now available at Amazon.com) I plan to publish The Honey Bee in June. It’s about a murder in a small town in Ohio that exposes a thirty-year-old secret. 

The one I’m writing now is about prejudice. The tentative title is “The Death of Aloha” and one of the key characters is an eight-year-old boy who is the son of the newly-elected mayor of Honolulu. Here’s how it begins: 

Luke Silva was so lost in his imagination that he never really noticed the two larger boys that were following him home from school. He was imagining himself in space, fighting robot aliens. He was winning of course, because he had perfect night vision and could see in the blackness of outer space, whereas the aliens were fighting blind. 

He had walked this route so many times before that he could do it blindfolded. Imagining himself in space, he was doing just that right now, closing his eyes to help his daydreams, and seeing how far he could walk before he had to open them because of insecurity or stepping off the sidewalk. His right arm flailed as his light saber cut down innumerable imaginary aliens.

He had guessed the number of steps to the next curb and was counting his own steps when he suddenly walked right into one of the two boys. The next instant, he found himself shoved backward and lying flat on the ground, his backpack popped open and his schoolbooks all around him.

He opened his eyes to see two boys above him, glaring. They were big, probably twelve years old or more. One already had the beginnings of a mustache. Mean-looking. Luke was scared.

“Watch where you goin’, you pulagi motha’ fucka,” said the one.

“Sorry,” said Luke, smiling. He started to get up, but had his legs kicked out from underneath him.

“You think you goin’ just leave after walking right into me?” said the one. “Show him,” he said to the other guy.

The other one kicked Luke, trying for his balls, but missing and kicking his thigh instead.

The boy may have missed, but it still hurt Luke a lot. He bundled up into a ball and quivered from fear. In his eight years of life, he had never experienced anything like this, and he was suddenly terrified. They’re going to kill me, he thought, not really understanding the concept very well, but knowing it would hurt.

One of the boys took a knife from his pocket and put it to Luke’s throat, confirming Luke’s fears. His face was right next to Luke’s when he spat in Luke’s face, and said, “We got to have your money,  pussy. Whatevah you got. Otherwise, I cut your throat.”

Luke pulled everything out of his pockets. It wasn’t much; only a couple dollars remained from his lunch money and allowance. The boys weren’t happy.

“Shit!” said one. “We got to get him again tomorrow.”

The one who had spat in his face, grabbed him by the collar. “You get more money tomorrow. Lots more. And if you tell anyone about this, we’ll kill you sure as hell. Understand?”

Luke nodded, his eyes wide, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.

The boy got up and put away his knife. “Next time we see you, you better have mo’ than two dollah,” said the other. Then they both walked away, leaving Luke quivering on the sidewalk.

 

Kent, where can readers find your books?  

            All my books are available on Amazon. The links to the first two are http://amzn.to/1bbMfR5 and http://amzn.to/1bMstPt . For the rest, check out Alain Gunn or A K Gunn on Amazon.

 

'FRIDAY - 13 AUTHORS' Interview with LEHUA PARKER

Sisters In Crime/Hawaii: Today’s guest, Lehua Parker, is a Kamehameha Schools graduate, but has been living in exile on the mainland for more years than she’ll admit. In addition to writing award-winning short fiction, poetry, and plays, she is the author of the Pacific literature MG/YA series the Niuhi Shark Saga published by Jolly Fish Press.  

Welcome, Lehua, and thank you for visiting for this interview. Can you please offer a brief insight into something humorous, poignant, or unusual in your life that led you to a career in writing? 

Lehua Parker: I read all the books in my school library and couldn’t afford to buy new ones. I was so very tired of snow that I wanted to escape mentally to the beach. I needed to pay my mortgage and writing is way easier than ditch digging. Penning quick reviews for the local newspaper is the perfect way to score free theater tickets. There were no books for middle grade/young adult readers that showed Hawaiian culture the way I knew it to be. “I’m working on a novel” is an awesome excuse for avoiding laundry and dishes. 

All of these and more are true reasons of why I’m an author. 

 

Sisters In Crime/Hawaii: Why did you choose to participate in the anthology of short stories set in Hawaii, MYSTERY IN PARADISE 13 Tales of Suspense? 

Lehua Parker: When you’re exiled to the mainland, writing fiction set in Hawaii is a lonely venture. Critique groups scratch their heads at we stay go and bumbai. Publishers want to know when the coconut bras and cellophane skirts are going to come in. I was very excited to work with other writers who understand that calling someone Aunty doesn’t automatically mean she’s your mother’s sister. Since most of my published fiction set in Hawaii is for MG/YA audiences, it was particularly fun to write something more adult. There’s a mystery at the heart of the Niuhi Shark Saga, and readers of Tourists in the anthology get an insider’s view to some key characters. I also think anthologies are a wonderful way to meet new writers—and readers. 

 

Sisters In Crime/Hawaii: In Tourists, what is one phrase or scene that reflects something about you as a writer? 

Lehua Parker: The idea behind this story is an attempt to explore consequences for a person who disrespects or dismisses Hawaiian customs and beliefs. The woman in the story embodies every unkind, unthinking thing I’ve heard from tourists enjoying Hawaiian beaches. A couple of my favorites:

 

“Kah-pooh means no trespassing. Why don’t these people just say what they mean instead of being all wink-wink with the Hawaiian? It’s still America, damn it.”

“He’s just trying to keep you safe. The ocean’s tricky at night.”

She scoffed. “You mean he wanted to keep this place to himself. Locals. Never want to share. Think everything belongs to them.”

“Sometimes,” he said, rounding to her side.

“Without tourists this island would fall apart in a week.” 

 

Sisters In Crime/Hawaii: Can you tell us a bit about your current project?

 Lehua Parker: Wah! I have too many irons in the fire! In addition to editing novels for other authors, I’m working on a new children’s adventure series, The Roxy Sparkles Adventures, book three in the Niuhi Shark Saga, One Fight, No Fist, and several short stories for anthologies. I’m also speaking at writers’ conferences, schools, libraries, and wherever there’s free food. So, yes, the laundry is reaching Mt. Everest proportions, pizza delivery is on speed dial, and the kids are arranging their own rides to soccer practice. Just the way I like it. 

 

Where can readers find your books?

One Boy, No Water and One Shark, No Swim, the first two books in the Niuhi Shark Saga are available through Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Free short stories, articles on everything from raising a rodeo princess to living like fish out of water, and information about upcoming appearances and releases can be found on my website: www.LehuaParker.com .