Talking Story
Book Review: Blood Orchids
by Toby Neal
We are all products of our pasts, a combination of long ago childhood experiences and what we ate last night. Like an order of deluxe saimin noodles, Blood Orchids, the first book in The Lei Crime Series by Toby Neal is a multi-layered and nuanced murder mystery....
Character Haiku: Zader
Next year all alone No Jay, Char Siu to lean on Just a punching bag . ~Zader For more character haiku click here.
Never Judge a Book by its Movie
I’m a book and movie junkie. I gobble them up like potato chips. Triple movie marathons on a Friday night? Check. Stay up all night reading a book? Double-check. And that’s just in the last week. People who love stories often debate which medium told a particular...
Book Review: Daughters of Fire
by Tom Peek
Daughters of Fire by Tom Peek is an epic speculative novel set in contemporary Hawaii. Like a local plate lunch special, it’s a mix of many different genres, an unexpected combination of flavors and tastes that work well together. It’s a romance. It’s a murder...
Learning ‘Ōlelo: mento
mento (MEN-tow) (nvs) Pidgin for crazy, not right in the head. Literally mental. Example English: Any sober adult who runs around the backyard shouting I’m a butterfly see me soar has a problem. Pidgin: Cousin Eddie? Mento. Note: ‘Ōlelo is a Hawaiian word...
Character Haiku: Zader
Letter in the mail From Ridgemont Academy Too afraid to open. ~Zader For more character haiku click here.
Query Letter Quick Tips
Once you’ve gotten a query letter past an editor or two and a manuscript to publication, other writers want to know the secret to your success. I was recently asked to give advice to people working on query letters. Based on the query letters we workshopped, it seems...
Book Review: Pass On, No Pass Back!
by Darrell H.Y. Lum
Being a kid is complicated. There are rules, most of them unwritten, unspoken even, and heaven help you if you can’t unlock the secret code. Darrell H.Y. Lum not only has the key to the boy’s room in his collection of short stories in Pass On, No Pass Back!, he also...
Learning ‘Ōlelo: imu
imu (EE-moo) (n) Hawaiian cooking pit, underground oven. Example English: Let’s have a clam bake! Pidgin: Fire up da imu! Note: ‘Ōlelo is a Hawaiian word meaning language, speech, word, etc. To see the current list of Hawaiian and Pidgin words, definitions,...
Character Haiku: Uncle Kahana
Cookies on ti leaf, Sprunch in a coconut cup. Menehune snack. ~Uncle Kahana For more character haiku click here.
So You Wanna Be an Author
One of the great things about being a writer today is having choices about how your story gets into the hands of a reader. It’s also one of the toughest and most confusing. When writers ask me what’s the best way to publish a book, I have to tell them that the answer...
Book Review: Hawaiian Family Album
by Matthew Kaopio
Matthew Kaopio, the author of Hawaiian Family Album, is an extraordinarily talented mouth-brush painter. His illustrations intrigued me enough to pick up his book, but as good as they are, they aren’t the heart and soul of his book. His book is classic talk...
Learning ‘Ōlelo: akamai
akamai (ah-kah-mai) (nvs) Smart, clever, expert. Example English: Billy! Straight As! You’re so smart! Pidgin: Billy! You no get caught? Akamai buggah, ah you?! Note: ‘Ōlelo is a Hawaiian word meaning language, speech, word, etc. To see the current list of...
Character Haiku: Uncle Kahana
‘Opihi, limu, off the rocks. Sort, wash, shake, salt; Open up your mouth. ~Uncle Kahana For more character haiku click here.
Book Review: Obake Files
by Glen Grant
When emigrants came to Hawai‘i they brought their food, their traditions, their languages—and their supernatural beings. Like the humans, the supernatural beings mixed and mingled with the locals and resulting stew is a ghost story hunter’s feast. Obake Files by Glen...
Am I My Brother’s Keeper?
This guest post comes from Berk Washburn, one half of the Brothers Washburn, authors of the Dimensions in Death Series. (I reviewed their book Pitch Green--you can see it here.) I asked the guys what it was like to collaborate with a brother. This was Berk's response....
Learning ‘Ōlelo: kulolo
kulolo (koo-loh-loh) (n) Thick Hawaiian coconut and taro pudding often served in slices. Example English: Mom! This fudge is weird! It doesn’t even taste like chocolate. Pidgin: Get kulolo? Awesome! Note: ‘Ōlelo is a Hawaiian word meaning language, speech,...
Book Review: Pitch Green
by The Brothers Washburn
Camm and Cal have a problem that’s stinkier than a sulfur lava vent, creepier than a naked rat tail, and hungrier than a shark. It’s a problem and puzzle they’ll have to solve before it strikes again and another child disappears. No pressure. Pitch Green, by Berk and...
Character Haiku: Zader
Shave ice tingles, bites lips, tongue, cheeks. Strawberry frost chills all the way down. ~Zader For more character haiku click here.
Liesel Hill’s Blog Tour Survival Tips
Liesel Hill's debut novel, Persistence of Vision, is available! At the tail end of her blog tour, I asked her about her experience. These were her thoughts. Thanks so much for having me here today, Lehua! As my first blog tour, spreading word of my debut novel,...