Fiction

NOVELS

A Chant of Love and Lamentation

A CHANT OF LOVE AND LAMENTATION

Charlie Kaleohano is a man pushed by desperation to blow up a grand Waikiki hotel, an act calculated to strike back at the forces that have long suppressed Hawai`i. He flees into the wild uplands near Honolulu and gradually rediscovers himself through hardship, but his act of terrorism has brought the collapse of Hawai`i’s economy and teetering social tension. Jeff, a failing Honolulu real estate agent, loses his wife and sanity to an act of random violence. And Daniel, the son of the Heir Presumptive, returns to the islands for his brother’s funeral only to get caught up in his father’s push to reclaim a sovereign Hawai`i, an insurgency that will surely lead to his execution if it fails. As the islands slide into recession, unemployment and racial strife, these men fight to hold onto a Hawai`i that once was, or push it toward its ultimate destiny. “Ambitious… an antidote to Michener’s romanticized epic Hawaii.” — Donald Maass, Maass Literary Agency “Haunting… dramatic and authentic… a story that will stay in the reader’s imagination for good reason.” — Linda Fairstein, author of Night Watch and Final Jeopardy “An astonishing novel…  It’s not an easy book, but nor is it one that will be easily forgotten. 4.5 stars!” — Indiebookspot.com Publisher’s Weekly says:

This well-developed work imagines a Hawaii in the aftermath of an act of home-grown terrorism. Meaning to shed light on their cause, returning Hawaii to Hawaiians, the state’s secessionist movement takes the extreme tack of bombing a tourist hotel on Waikiki. The impacts, more far-reaching than the bomber had imagined, unfolds through the stories of three characters: Charlie, a mixed race cab driver who is convinced by members of the Warriors of Freedom to be the bomber; Jeff, a self-important real-estate agent whose life falls apart after the murder of his wife, Anna; and Daniel, the heir to the Hawaiian throne. After the bombing Charlie flees to the mountains where he faces the choice of living by his wits or dying. He isn’t around to see tourists staying away in droves, resulting in the collapse of the island’s economy. For Jeff, the loss of jobs and rising foreclosures have little impact; he has no interest in living. Daniel, who had been running from his heritage, returns home and is pulled into the “Hawaiian Islands, Hawaiian hands” movement, a group with money and political clout. The intertwining of stories is effective, providing a fully developed view of the consequences set in motion by the hotel bombing, and the narrative is cohesive, believable, and well worth a reader’s time.

A Chant of Love and Lamentation is available on Amazon Kindle and in paperback.

SHORT FICTION

“THE FACE IN THE WINDOW”

Unpublished “The Face in the Window” was originally conceived as the prologue to the novel A Chant of Love and Lamentation. It tells the story of an afternoon when the Hawaiian Kingdom was irrevocably lost. Queen Lili`uokalani, imprisoned in an upstairs sitting room in her own palace for many months, is approached by a group of men who want her to sign a document. But this is no ordinary document…

“WILD HORSES”

Published in the 2012 edition of Sand Hill Review In this emotionally-charged story, Alan, an average blue collar man who works on a road resurfacing crew in Wyoming, must contend with the strain of caring for his paralyzed wife, Lisa. A chance encounter gives him an idea that might be the last hope to save their deteriorating relationship.

“HER FRUITFUL SHORE”

Published in the inaugural edition of Spark: A Creative Anthology Jamaican tour boat owner Delroy has little remaining to live for. When a group of young Americans charters his boat to explore a distant, uninhabited island, he finds their cruel treatment of a nesting leatherback turtle to be his breaking point.

“SERIOUS TING”

Unpublished On the Caribbean island of Dominica, brooding and naïve banana cutter Bailey Willis has little else but an active imagination to escape his impoverished life. When he meets a young American woman visiting the island, he becomes so deceived by his own fantasies that he dreams up a scheme to test her love — an action that has unexpected consequences.