Publishing Catalog
The Niuhi Shark Saga Trilogy
Two brothers growing up in Hawai’i–one’s a surfing star, the other’s literally allergic to water.
A Note for Teachers, Parents, and Librarians
The Niuhi Shark Saga is a middle grade to young adult adventure, coming of age, and magical realism trilogy. Told from an authentic Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) perspective and set in a contemporary world where all the Hawaiian myths and legends are real, the series explores belonging, adoption, being different, bullying, defining family, and learning to turn weaknesses into strengths.
One Boy, No Water, Book 1 in the Niuhi Shark Saga, was a 2017 Nene Award Nominee. The Nene Award is Hawaii’s Children’s Choice Book Award recognizing outstanding literary works. It also recieved a Gold Quill award from LUW for outstanding middle grade book and is included on many APPI/AANHPI recommended reads lists.
Through the series Zader discovers he’s not really a boy allergic to water; he’s something much more special, dangerous, and powerful. His adoptive brother Jay discovers what happens when the golden surfing star falls from his pedestal and has to choose to make the long climb back from serious injury. It’s the ties that bind and support the brothers that allow them to create their own destinies.
As typical Hawaiian islanders, characters use common Hawaiian and Pidgin words and phrases. For readers unfamiliar with the culture, the meaning is clear from the context and there is a Hawaiian & Pidgin Glossary for additional support. Each chapter begins with a related island word or phrase and its definition. A Discussion Guide for book club or classroom use is included.
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6th Grade and up
One Boy, No Water
Niuhi Shark Saga Book 1
Hard Cover, Trade Paperback, & Ebook
- ISBN-10 : 1949429008
- ISBN-13 : 978-1949429008
Contact Orders@MakenaPress.com for bulk discounts
When you’re allergic to water, growing up in Hawaii isn’t always paradise.
Everybody loves Jay.
I love my brother, too. Sometimes I wish I could be him–a surfing star instead of the weird kid allergic to water, the Blalahs’ favorite punching bag.
But that’s not the worst of it.
In the middle of the night, I dream. There’s a mysterious girl who lives in a magical place and acts like she knows me better than I know myself. We hide from the Man with Too Many Teeth. Some nights I wake up with my heart pounding and the urge to eat raw meat.
It’s just a dream, right?
But then I saw him, the Man with Too Many Teeth, walking along the reef at Piko Point.
Not even Jay can protect me now.
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6th Grade and up
One Shark, No Swim
Niuhi Shark Saga Book 2
Hard Cover, Trade Paperback, & Ebook
- ISBN-10 : 1949429032
- ISBN-13 : 978-1949429039
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With Niuhi sharks, even out of the water, you’re not safe.
My dreams are nightmares. I don’t dare fall asleep.
Guro Hari’s teaching me Filipino knife fighting, but I’m too scared to come out of the bathroom. I’d rather learn Lua and train with Jay and Char Siu, but Uncle Kahana won’t let me. He says it’s for our safety, but I don’t believe him.
Uncle Kahana’s obsessed with Niuhi stories, Hawaiian myths about sharks in human form. If he’s right, even out of the water, no one’s safe.
I have a secret knife I call Shark Tooth. I may have to use it.
That thought excites me.
And that’s the scariest thing of all.
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6th Grade and up
One Truth, No Lie
Niuhi Shark Saga Book 3
Hard Cover, Trade Paperback, & Ebook
- ISBN-10 : 1949429067
- ISBN-13 : 978-1949429060
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Everything you thought you knew about Zader is a lie.
Kalei, the Man with Too Many Teeth, gave me an ultimatum: Bite Jay or watch as Kalei murders everyone I love. Kalei will do it. I have no doubt.
Jay’s anger is white-hot. If I take his leg, he’ll never surf again. He’s my brother, but he’ll hunt me down and kill me for this. He won’t forgive me.
Either way, I end up alone.
No matter what they say, I’m not Niuhi. I’m a Westin. I’m a kid, not a shark. I can’t live without Jay, Char Siu, Uncle Kahana, or ‘Ilima. Just me and my psycho sister Maka roaming the seas forever? No thanks.
There’s got to be more to my life than this. I refuse to believe that I’m a monster and a pawn in someone’s cosmic game.
I’m making my own rules now.
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Lauele Fractured Folktales
A Note For Teachers, Parents, and Librarians
Lauele Fractured Folktales are stand-alone stories that can be read in any order. Set in authentic Hawai’i and inspired by the world’s oldest tales and told with a twist, some characters from the Nihui Shark Saga appear in these novels.
16 years and Up
Pua’s Kiss
Lauele Fractured Folktales Book 1
Loosely inspired by The Little Mermaid
Hard Cover, Trade Paperback, & Ebook
- ISBN-10 : 1949429156
- ISBN-13 : 978-1949429152
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When you’re dating a Niuhi shark in human form, there’s no such thing as a casual Hawaiian fling.
The last thing Justin wants is complications. Jilted at the altar, he’s spending his pre-paid Hawaiian honeymoon alone—sort of. Sasha, his ex, won’t get out of his head. Frustrated, he takes a walk at sunset and discovers a beautiful woman asleep on the sand.
But Pua’s not really a woman.
A shape-shifting Niuhi shark, Pua feels compelled to visit the beach at Lauele. She doesn’t care that it’s forbidden by her father, the ocean god Kanaloa, or that breaking kapu can only end in blood, tears, and teeth. Justin’s a tourist. Here today, gone tomorrow.
Nobody’d even miss him.
What starts out as a casual flirtation soon turns into a high-stakes cat and mouse courtship as neither Justin nor Pua are who—or what—they seem.
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14 YEARS AND UP
Rell’s Kiss
Lauele Fractured Folktales #2
Inspired by Cinderella
Hard Cover, Trade Paperback, & Ebook
- ISBN-10 : 1949429164
- ISBN-13 : 978-1949429169
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Rell never imagined an 18th birthday like this.
When Rell’s stepmonster Regina summons her to Lauele, Hawai‘i, she knows better than to expect umbrella drinks, birthday presents, and open arms. The most she hopes for is some quality time with her twin step-sisters, a walk on the beach, and a little fun at a charity auction sponsored by her father’s corporation.
From the moment Rell lands in Honolulu, her life turns upside down as she reconnects with her Hawaiian heritage and discovers she’s surrounded by hidden agendas, lies, and ancient family obligations.
To save Lauele and Get Wet Prosthetics, Rell will have to navigate an island filled with Menehune day laborers, a snow goddess’s vacation rental, a toppled sacred ‘aumakua stone, disappearing clothing, ‘Ilima as a not-so-fairy-godmother, and—worst of all—her stepmonster’s lawyers.
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Short Story Collection
ADULT
Sharks in an Inland Sea
Short Stories, Essays, Poetry, Memoir, Plays
Hard Cover, Trade Paperback, & Ebook
Hemelein Publications
Legacy of the Corridor #4
- ISBN-13 : 9781642780253
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Like sharks exiled to an inland sea, here you’ll explore sideways worlds where things are not always what they seem. You’ll rise with a mom who won’t stay in her grave, cower at the might of a poi dog fairy godmother, and panic at the thought of your bones enshrined in a national monument. You’ll swim in dubious waters, walk with sharks, talk with ghosts, and wonder what it means to be a modern Hawaiian living in the high rocky mountains.
From the Publisher
Lehua Parker is a master of tension, voice, and authenticity. Writing from her Hawaiian and Utah Pioneer roots, her award-winning fiction, essays, and memoir effortlessly blend elements of horror, magical realism, and romance-all liberally sprinkled with her unique sense of humor. These stories thrill, chill, and warm the heart as they explore what it means to be fundamentally human–or not.
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eBook Shorts
Lauele Chicken Skin Stories
Speculative, slightly spooky stories set in the Lauele, Hawaiʻi Unverse.
These stories are available in multiple eBook and .pdf formats. A download link will be sent to your email address.
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5th Grade and up
Pili Koko
Lauele Chicken Skin Stories
Ebook
- ISBN-10 : N/A
- ISBN-13 : N/A
Contact Orders@MakenaPress.com for bulk discounts
Papa Keola dies, but won’t leave Ahe alone.
Pili Koko is a speculative short story told from a Native Hawaiian perspective and set in contemporary Hawai’i.
Ahe and Papa Keola are pili koko—bound by blood—and that’s a comfort. But death changes Papa Keola in terrifying ways.
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4th Grade and up
Akela in the Park
Lauele Chicken Skin Stories
Ebook
- ISBN-10 : N/A
- ISBN-13 : N/A
Contact Orders@MakenaPress.com for bulk discounts
To Jon it’s just a sandwich, but to Akela it’s so much more.
This is a one act play with three characters. It was originally performed by the Honolulu Theater for Youth and webcast on June 4, 2021.
When Jon offers Akela half his sandwich at a beach park, ghostly Pops is suspicious.
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Anthologies
Many of Lehua’s short stories can be found in the following anthologies. Click on the book or publisher for purchasing information.
“Tourists“
A midnight swim is more than meets the eye.
“Xiào Shùn“
What if China discovered Europe?
“In Which War Comes to the Hundred Acre Wood”
A WWII paratrooper lands in the 100 Arce Wood with Nazis in pursuit.
“A Good Night”
An angel of death stalks a nursing home.
“Pili Koko”
When Ahe’s beloved grandpa dies, a horrible creature arrives.
“Infestation”
When too many tourists take over Lauele, ‘Ilima, Kalei, and Pōhaku devise a plan.
“Brothers”
“Close Encounters”
“Nana’ue”
“Red”
A kidnapper get more than he bargains for during a first Harvest Moon.
“This Once Was a Sea”
An insurance adjuster discovers a biblical flood in a salt mine.
“Nightwalker”
A true ghost story from The Kamehameha School’s Band Camp in the 1980s.
“Maverick’s”
Outlaws attempt to shake down a girl and discover things are not what they seem.
“Tourists”
A midnight swim in romantic Hawai’i reveals hidden secrets.
“Red”
A young kidnapped girl hides a powerful secret.
“Persona Non Grata”
A missing niece, a psychic, an televangelist, and a few ghosts in a kitchen.
“Resister”
A zombie mom won’t stay in her grave.
“Gamble”
The biggest gamble of a life to save a woman from the Fey.
“The Walnut Tree”
Aspen’s grief manifests in scary ways.
“Voices”
A high school girl talks to voices in her head who are guiding her to something unknown.
“The Mermaid’s Tale”
A mermaid walks to save the kingdom.
Excerpts & Freebies
