Talking Story
Book Review: Ho’onani: Hula Warrior
Ho‘onani: Hula Warrior is a picture book written by Heather Gale, illustrated by Mika Song, and published by Tundra Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House. It’s based on the true story of Ho‘onani Kamai, a young gender queer girl growing up in Kalihi Valley who...
New Short Story: GAMBLE
"Gamble" is a new short story I wrote that's coming out in an anthology called Grifty Shades of Fey, published by Fiction Vortex. It's a noir story, kinda like a something from the 1950s in tone. "Gamble" is about a mortal named Jace, the goddess of Chance, a...
50 Years of Sesame Street
One day Mom called me in from playing. She gave me a tuna fish sandwich and some carrot sticks and said there was a brand new TV show just for me. I don’t remember eating lunch, but I do remember a big yellow bird and a monster in a trash can. For years, Sesame Street...
Flash Fiction: Feedlot
Happy Halloween! In honor of the day, here's a very short story. Feedlot by Lehua Parker The fun-sized candy calls, “Eat me, eat me, eat me,” to Josey Brackenburg. No, she tells herself. I bought it for the kids. Besides, I can’t be this hungry already. I just...
Back to the Drawing Board
Under the Bed was the first story I wrote when I was thinking about writing fiction again. Back in 2009, my sister Soozy challenged me to enter a local newspaper’s Halloween short story contest. She said write something that’s true, but nobody believes. Called Sniff,...
Book Review: A Song for the Stars by Ilima Todd
A Song for the Stars by Ilima Todd is set in Hawai'i in 1779 at the time of Captain James Cook. It tells a fictional story of John Harbottle, an English officer serving as the Hawaiian translator for Cook, and Maile, the second daughter of Kalani, the ruling...
Ho’oulu Lightning
'Aumakua whisper in my ear. I want to ride the lightning. In the shower this morning, an entire story burst into my head. It's a post-apocalyptic tale set in Hawaii and told from the perspective of a young local girl who learns to survive through traditional Hawaiian...
Book Review: Hi’iakaikapoliopele in Hawaiian & English
I'm so excited to add these books to my collection. They are the same book with two different covers in two different languages: Hawaiian and English. Published by Awaiaulu Press, the English edition is The Epic Tale of Hi'iakaikapoliopele as told by Ho'oulumahienhie...
Book Review: Go: A Coming of Age Novel by Kazuki Kaneshiro
First published in Japan in 2000, Go reminded me a little of Cather in the Rye, Romeo and Juliet, and A Separate Peace. There's that same earnest yearning in the protagonist for things to be different, for the world to change, and the same youthful...
From Icebergs to Lotuses
There’s an image cropping up in diversity in literature presentations that describes culture as an iceberg. People love this graphic. It’s of a massive chunk of ice floating in a deep blue sea with labels stuck to places above and below the waterline. On the surface,...
Book Review: Living Pidgin by Lee A. Tonouchi
Here’s da ting: according to Lee A. Tonouchi, “People BORN Pidgin, gotta be free for LIVE Pidgin.” He’s not wrong. In this short treatise derived from his real world experiences in mastering and teaching English in Hawaii, Lee Tonouchi—Da Pidgin Guerrilla—demonstrates...
Book Review: Folks You Meet in Longs and other stories by Lee Cataluna
From the first page, I felt like I was back on Maui. When I was a kid, my mom used to work for Longs Drug, a store with a pharmacy and a little bit of everything from snacks and groceries to cosmetics and fishing lures. Mom was an accountant, usually in her office...
‘Ilima to the Rescue
I was talking with students at Ka ‘Umeke Ka’eo School, in Hilo, Hawaii. The kids were asking really good questions about language, sub-text, themes, metaphor, and symbolism. The kids were excited to discover that what they suspected in The Niuhi Shark Saga was true:...
New Niuhi Shark Saga Prequel
Here’s a preview of the cover of a new work in progress called Birth/Hanau. Ever wonder what really happened the day Uncle Kahana and ‘Ilima found Zader on the reef at Piko Point? How did Zader become part of the Westin ‘Ohana? This novella answers those questions and...
Big Island Visits: Feb. 22 – Mar.2, 2019
Hey, Gang! I'm fleeing the snowy Utah winter to talk story, teach workshops, and work with some incredible keiki on the Big Island of Hawai'i. So excited! I'll post some of the students' work when I get back. (If I come back!) Feb. 22: Kahakai Elementary,...
Book Review: Freckled by T.W. Neal
Children live in unseen spaces created by contradiction. Freckled is a raw, compelling, and ultimately hopeful memoir of growing up haole on Kauai where the idyllic freedom to surf, climb trees, and play Barbies runs counterpoint to a reality of homelessness, food...
Book Review: The Science of Breakable Things by Tae Keller
The Science of Breakable Things is a debut middle grade novel by Hawaii-born Tae Keller. It’s a great read for tweens and those young at heart. Told through Natalie’s eyes and her science journal, we see how her mother’s depression affects Natalie from her friendships...
Harry Potter #1 in Hawaiian!
Hot off the presses and ready for young readers and those young at heart is R. Keao Nesmith's Hawaiian translation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Full confession: my Hawaiian is nowhere fluent enough to understand the text. But I love speaking the words...
Pua’s Kiss: A New Niuhi Shark Saga Novella
It's finally ready for pre-order! Pua's Kiss tells a significant part of the backstory to the Niuhi Shark Saga. In it you'll learn why Justin came to Hawaii, how Pua and Justin met, hooked up, and how all of the events in One Boy, No Water; One Shark, No Swim; and One...
Maverick Short Story Reprint
"Maverick" is a short story that was originally published by Griffin Press in Apocalypse Utah, an anthology of horror stories by Utah authors. I've had a request to use it in a class at Utah State University, so Makena Press has reprinted it as a Kindle eBook. It's a...