Kona Stories Bookstore on Hawaii Island June 6th

Aloha All,

In June I had the pleasure of heading to the big island of Hawaii with my friend, Janet Melton, for an evening of books and storytelling at Kona Stories Bookstore.

 

It was a lovely gathering attended by book lovers who were thrilled to be in a “real” bookstore. (On Kauai we only have one book store and it’s on the other side of the island.)

The enthusiastic owners of Kona Stories Bookstore, Brenda and Joy, put on quite a spread for the Words and Wine event.

A big Mahalo! to all those who attended and to Brenda and Joy for a memorable evening and a get away to Hawaii Island (aka) The Big Island.

 

My favorite place to stay in the Kona area is at the King Kamehameha or the “King Kam” Hotel. It’s right on the only spit of beach on Ali’i Drive that winds through old Kona Town past historic sites, shops and restaurants.

 

The King Kam pool is great. There’s a view of the beach from poolside.

The hotel is on one of the most historic sites in all of Hawaii. King Kamehameha the Great, the leader credited with uniting all of Hawaii’s islands under one ruler, established his royal residence adjacent to the current site of his namesake hotel. King Kamehameha’s residence included all of Kamakahonu, the bay around which the hotel is focused.


Our favorite stop was for lunch during a drive down the coast. Another favorite of mine is The Coffee Shack, which hangs out over a ravine and has a killer view of the coastline. Janet recalled that she and hubby, Bill, had breakfast there on their first trip to the islands years ago.  The food was as fantastic as the view.

The view from the Coffee Shack along the Kona Coast

The Coffee Shack as seen from the Highway

Writing has taken a back seat to traveling lately but it’s always good to “fill the well” as writers sometimes say.

Until next time,

Tiki On!

The Tiki Goddess

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Sneak Preview Time

All All,

Life is full. There is much to do in paradise, though writing hasn’t been one of the things I’ve been focused on lately. Let’s just say I’ve been soaking up life experiences and calling it research!

 

Lovely kupuna dancers on Kauai are inspiration for the Hula Maidens

Besides hula dancing, there are all kinds of tiki drinks and bars to explore.

I spend a lot of time thinking about fun things to do at Tiki Parties.

You can't beat a good Limbo contest.

 

 

 

 

Costumes to plan!

Lucille Ball ... always an inspiration as a Goddess.

 

 

So while I’m busy living the Tiki life, I thought I’d share a sneak peek of the unedited opening scene of Book Six of the Tiki Goddess Mysteries with you.

Right now the working title is “Six Shots at Sunset.”

Gun shots? Tequila shots?

I’ll leave what kinds of “shots” to your imagination.

Scene 1 Book Six of the Tiki Goddess Mysteries

“I can’t believe they’re in a mass grave!”

On a lawn behind the Tiki Goddess Bar and Restaurant parking lot, a light rain misted on the line of geriatric Hula Maidens gathered beside a seven by three foot trench.

The women stood shoulder to shoulder, neatly lined up like slices of a sushi roll. They all stared down into the open grave. Three of them held shared umbrellas while the others ignored the passing shower. Dressed alike in one of their most understated dance costumes, their muumuus were made of fabric with pink hibiscus blossoms scattered over an unflattering brown background.  They referred to them as their “poop” muumuus. Each of the ladies had a five foot ti leaf lei draped around her neck.

Kiki Godwin, the self- appointed leader of the troop of mostly over fifty, mostly haole hula dancers was afraid her hearing wasn’t what it used to be until she turned to the woman with the pink bouffant hairdo standing beside her.

“I can’t hear you with that Kleenex stuffed in your mouth, Lillian. What did you say?”

Lillian Smith, a transplant from Iowa, lowered the wad of tissue and whispered,

“A mass grave. It’s just,” she made a desperate, choking sound. “It’s just awful.”

Kiki ignored Lillian’s theatrics and stared at the long narrow trench in the ground. Uncle Louie, owner of the Tiki Goddess Bar, donated garden space in his yard for the burial. As soon as the service was over he’d fill in the hole. Tomorrow Louie planned to plant ti and heliconia on top, hiding all evidence of the grave.

Flora Carillo, the hula sister to the right of Lillian leaned around her and whispered, “You gonna say a eulogy or something, Kiki? I gotta get back to the store.” Owner of a trinket shop in Ching Young Center just down the road in Hanalei, Flora was their only hapa or part Hawaiian dancer.

Kiki shrugged. “Of course I’m speaking.”

She turned, happy to see the parking lot jammed with cars. Big and Little Estelle, a mother and daughter who were dancers and artists from Princeville had painted a banner and hung it in front of the bar on the highway announcing the time of the memorial, inviting locals and tourists alike to stop and pay their respects.

Always energized by an audience, Kiki reached up and patted the flower studded chignon atop her head, licked her lips, put a smile on her face and thought, it’s show time!

As if on cue the drizzle stopped falling, the trades blew most of the clouds away and the sun made a partial appearance as it dipped toward the horizon. Kiki carefully threaded her way around the open grave. She craved attention but figured toppling into the trench and landing on the dearly departed might be a bit over the top.

The Maidens with umbrellas folded them up and shook raindrops off over the trench. The crowd gathered behind them consisted of tourists snapping photos. There didn’t appear to be any locals in attendance, which wasn’t surprising seeing as how most folks had a love/hate relationship with the departed.

Uncle Louie Marshall, owner of the bar and the house on the beach stood off to the side beneath the eaves of his house and leaned on the long handle of a pointed shovel.

In his mid-seventies, Uncle Louie wore his usual bright aloha shirt, white Bermuda shorts, a kukui nut necklace and a Panama hat.

Kiki gave him a nod and a wink, looked down into the grave to compose herself, took a deep breath, then raised her head. She scanned the crowd assembled across from her.

“Aloha, everyone.”

Before she could continue, the tourists, being tourists who had mostly learned the Hawaiian greeting at hotel luaus, shouted back, “A-looooo-ha!”

Kiki sighed. “We are gathered here today to bid a fond farewell to our dearly departed friends.”

A loud choking sound escaped Lillian. She jammed another Kleenex against her mouth.

Kiki went on. “We knew them well. Many of us watched them grow up. Red, Gimpy, Fluff, the Kernel, Whitey, and Chicken Little lived long and happy lives here behind the Goddess. They were always darting in and out of the hedge, fighting over scraps and road kill, dodging cars and posing for photos. Uncle Louie pampered them.

“Some of you knew them by name. Many of our yearly visitors watched their countless off spring grow to follow in their footsteps. Who knows how many little ones they’ve left unprotected from dogs and feral cats? Such a tragedy. Terrible.”

Surprised by a sudden flood of tears, Kiki attempted to stem the tide by blinking them away without loosening her false lashes.

“To have them all gone in one fell swoop is almost unbearable,” she said. “At least we can find consolation in the fact that they’re all together.”

Somewhere down the highway a rooster crowed.

Kiki raised her voice and shook her hands, gesturing like a preacher at a tent revival, “To many folks, these poor creatures and so many like them are a big nuisance. But many of us feel they add a unique quality to life on Kauai. They give our island its rural atmosphere. They were here long before us, having come to Hawaii on the voyaging canoes of the first settlers from Polynesia. They’re not only a piece of island history.” She paused, lowered her hands and shook her head before she added, “They were our friends, our family.”

Tourists pressed closer. One man took telephoto shots of the bodies lined up in the grave. With the sun out from behind the clouds, the air was heating up. Kiki realized she’d not only started to perspire, but she’d worked up quite a thirst. It was cocktail time. Time to speed things up.

“And so we say aloha o’e to our dear departed friends. But before we go, we Hula Maidens promise we’ll get to the bottom of this tragedy. We promise Red, Gimpy, Fluff, Kernel, Whitey, and Chicken Little,  that we’ll find whoever did this and make certain that person, or persons, are held accountable.”

She looked at the Maidens lined up across the grave and said, “Ladies, please toss your lei into the grave and start singing.”

Then she encouraged the onlookers. “Everyone, please join us in singing Aloha O`e.”

Afterward, as Kiki walked around the grave to join her hula sisters, a trim blond female tourist in a nautical striped Polo shirt and navy shorts, pulled her aside.

“Thank you so much for opening this memorial up to the public. This is such a local experience. We’d never see anything like this in Waikiki or on Maui.”

“Probably not,” Kiki agreed. Droplets of sweat slid down her face, making it hard to focus.

“Thanks for coming.” Kiki tried to move around the tourist so that she could head for the bar.

“I mean, really,” the woman went on. “I can’t wait to get home and tell everyone I attended a memorial for six dead chickens.”

 

Let me know what you think of the opening scene by leaving a comment below.

THEN CLICK ON TO THE HOME PAGE of THIS website and add your email to the NEWSLETTER sign up at the BOTTOM OF THE PAGE.

Until next time,

Aloha from The Tiki Goddess

 

Posted in Amateur Sleuth Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Hawaii, Hen Lit, Kauai, Tiki Bar, tiki lifestyle, Travel to Hawaii, Uncategorized | Comments Off

Your 2017 Project

Alooooha Reader Friends!

Since I’m at home hard at work on Book Six of the Tiki Goddess Mystery Series, I think YOU should be home working on a fun project, too. As you know, the fictional Hula Maidens featured in my mystery series love hanging out at the Tiki Goddess Bar and hoisting a few tropical beverages between hula numbers. There’s no doubt that the fictional Maidens have their own versions of tiki bars somewhere in their homes.

So, whether you imbibe in alcoholic tiki drinks or you stick to sodas, fruit juice and iced tea, YOU NEED A HOME TIKI BAR. Why not create a fun casual atmosphere where friends can gather, kick off their shoes, relax, and talk story?

I have a tiki bar of my own in our carport…which was dubbed the Tiki Port years ago. We found an old bar that was created by a neighbor in the 70′s and I was lucky enough to buy it from his niece when she was cleaning out the garage. A little paint, some tile grout and it is almost as good as new.

My Home Tiki Bar in the Tiki Port

Watch out! As soon as you tell your friends you are creating a tiki bar or a tiki room, you’ll be deluged with “tiki” collectibles: signs, masks, lamps, clocks, glasses, mugs and anything else that says “tiki.”

By no means should you stick to a standard bar design. I’m sure more than one of you has an old television cart somewhere. They make a great rolling bar.

Rolling Bar Cart formerly a TV Cart

 

 

 

You’re only limited by your imagination when it comes to things you can change into a home Tiki Bar!

 

 

 

An Old Barrel Bar

There are barrels and Grandma’s old sewing machine…

Sewing Machine Bar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Try an Old Desk Add Wheels

Add some wheels to an old desk or get creative with an entertainment center. Thrift Shops are full of them.

Retro! Don't toss out that old

 

I love these!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you have a great backyard area or a pool, you might want to check out these outdoor projects. Or maybe your basement is empty and begging for some decoration and fun!

The Surfboard Bar

Cinderblocks and Wood

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Go Nuts

You might really want to go all out and add a palapa shelter on top. If you decide to create your own Tiki Bar, send me a photo or post one on my facebook page. DO leave a comment here on the website blog and sign up to receive newsletters.

Mahalo to Pintrest collectors for the photos.

It’s going to be a great year.

Tiki On!

The Tiki Goddess

 

Posted in Amateur Sleuth Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Hawaii, Jill Marie Landis, Mystery, Tiki Bar, tiki lifestyle | Comments Off

HAWAII FIVE UH-OH! CELEBRATION

If you are on Kauai April 24th
from 2 to 4 p.m. join Jill Marie and her
inspirational Hula Maiden friends at the
Tahiti Nui Luau Room in Hanalei to celebrate
the publication of Book #5 of the Tiki Goddess
Mysteries, HAWAII FIVE UH-OH!
FREE LIVE MUSIC, PUPUS AND HULA.
No host bar. Autographed copies available.
Get your Tiki on and join us.

Aloha,
The Tiki Goddess

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Paradise, Passion and Murder

Aloha All,

“Island” authors are very passionate about literacy. How do I know?

Last year I was asked by Terry Ambrose (author of the McKenna Mysteries set in Hawaii)  to join an uber-talented and successful group of ten authors to help raise money for Read Aloud America Hawaii.

I ask: “What do I have to do?” (I’m hoping the less the better.)

Terry’s answer: Write a short story set in Hawaii.

Me again: “About anything?”

Terry went on to say that I could use the characters from my Tiki Goddess Mysteries. And he sweetened the deal with some insight. Since we all write books set in the islands, not only would book sales benefit Read Aloud America, but through “cross pollination” our own readers might  discover more favorite authors in the compilation and vice versa.

Wow. How could I say no?

The story I wrote for the collection is entitled “Curse of the Lost Tiki” and it features Uncle Louie Marshall, owner of the Tiki Goddess Bar. Since readers never get a glimpse into Uncle Louie’s point of view in the series, this gives them a chance to follow Louie through the story as he fights to save Kauai from certain disaster brought on by the unearthing of a cursed tiki. You can find out a little more about Louie and what a cool character he really is.

 

From the Big Island to Kauai, the far side of Maui to the bustling streets of Honolulu, experience paradise in all its glory…and darkness. This collection of ten stories brings out the beauty of the islands, the passion of the tropics, and, yes, murder.

I hope you’ll order a copy soon and enjoy the stories by ten writers want you to savor the tropics while benefiting literacy in Hawaii. The authors are: Terry Ambrose, JoAnn Bassett, Gail Baugniet, Frankie Bow, Lorna Collins (editor), Kay Hadashi, Laurie Hanan, Jill Marie Landis, AJ Llewellyn, Toby Neal, and CW Schutter.

The best thing about this project is that ALL of the proceeds go directly to Read Aloud America Hawaii.

PASSION PARADISE AND MURDER is available in both book and ebook formats at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Enjoy!!

The Tiki Goddess

Posted in Hawaii, Kauai, Mystery, Travel to Hawaii | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments