Celebrate Hawai'i Week - King Kamehameha Day

Reminder: I have a special giveaway to celebrate June at this link.

Today is the 100th anniversary of the King Kamehameha Day Floral Parade.  From Hawaii.com (link),

In a traditional display of colors, each island float ... will be clad in its official hue. Look for a rainbow of color proceeding down Waikīkī’s famous Kalākaua Avenue. Niʻihau, the Forbidden Island, is white. Kauaʻi, the Garden Isle, is purple. Oʻahu, the Gathering Place, is yellow. Molokaʻi, the Friendly Isle, is green. Maui, the Valley Isle, is pink. Kahoʻolawe, the Target Island, is grey. Lānaʻi, the Pineapple Isle, is orange. And Hawaiʻi Island is red.

Celebrations on the other islands are listed here.  King Kamehameha Day celebrates the legacy of the warrior who united the eight islands into one kingdom. In honor of King Kamehameha, I offer eight illuminating facts which demonstrate why he is called Kamehameha the Great:

1. His full Hawaiian name is Kalani Paiʻea Wohi o Kaleikini Kealiʻikui Kamehameha o ʻIolani i Kaiwikapu kauʻi Ka Liholiho Kūnuiākea.

2. Kamehameha lifted the sacred Naha stone, fulfilling a prophesy that the one who could lift it would rule over the Hawaiian Islands.  Learn more about the legend of the Naha stone at this link.

Scouts pose with the Naha stone at the Hilo library

3. Kamehameha built the Puʻukoholā Heiau.  Today, it is a National Historic (link), 

Kapoukahi, a powerful kahuna from Kauaii, prophesized that war would end if Kamehameha constructed a heiau dedicated to the war god Ku at Pu'ukohola. In 1791, Keoua, Kamehameha’s cousin, was slain at Pu'ukohola, an event that according to prophesy, led to the conquest and consolidation of the islands under the rule of Kamehameha I.

4. After gaining control of the island of Hawai'i, Kamehameha defeated the ali'i on Maui, Moloka'i, and Lanai.  He landed on Oahu and pushed the defending army through the Nu'uanu Valley and over the pali (cliff).

Nu'uanu Pali 

5. Kamehameha attempted to invade Kauai twice, but the weather prevented his armada from paddling from Oahu. Still, the king of Kauai became a vassal of Kamehameha to avoid further attempts and bloodshed.  In the end, Kamehameha united the eight islands.

6. Kamehameha "retired" to Kamakahonu - his personal compound with a heiau (temple) on his home island of Hawai'i. Nearby is the start and finish of the Ironman World Championship Triathlon.  

Kamakahonu in Kailua Bay

7. The next four kings were named King Kamehameha II, III, IV, and V.  His descendant, Bernice Pauahi Bishop, left her estate in trust to create the Kamehameha Schools for Hawaiian children. 

8. For all his "fierceness", Kamehameha's first law protected the weak:

Ke Kanawai Mamalahoe – Law of the Splintered Paddle:

E hele ka `elemakule, ka luahine,
a me na kamali`i a moe i ke ala
`a`ohe mea nana e ho`opilikia.

Let the old men, the old women, 
and the children go and sleep on the wayside; 
let them not be molested.

King Kamehameha's statue stands outside Aliʻiolani Hale, home of the Hawaii State Supreme Court. His statue appears in the opening shots of the original Hawaii Five O and its reboot. Kamehameha will be draped in lei today! 

I am giving away a book choice from my convention stash to one randomly selected commenter. To enter the giveaway,

1. Leave a comment about your favorite flower.  Mine is the Bird of Paradise.

2. Comments are open through Saturday, June 18, 10 pm in Baltimore.

3. I'll post the winner on Sunday, June 19.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Celebrate Hawai'i Week - Aloha to Jennifer Bernard

Reminder: I have a special giveaway to celebrate June at this link. 

Lei makers are busy preparing for Saturday's King Kamehameha Day. The statues representing the first King of Hawai'i will be draped in long lei to celebrate his legacy of uniting the eight islands of Hawaii.

Contemporary romance author Jennifer Bernard is a part time kama'aina (resident) of the Big Island of Hawaii.  From her bio,

She's a graduate of Harvard and a former news promo producer. The child of academics, she confounded her family by preferring romance novels to any other books. She left big city life for true love in Alaska, where she now lives with her husband and stepdaughters. She’s no stranger to book success, as she also writes erotic novellas under a naughty secret name not to be mentioned at family gatherings.

Besides reading, writing and living romance, another passion is Ashtanga yoga. She practices daily, and has traveled to Thailand, India and Hawaii to learn from the best teachers on the planet. Other than that, she loves hiking, meditating, hazelnut chocolate, and the children she is graced to have in her life.

Learn more about Jennifer and her books at jenniferbernard.net.

Jennifer joins us for a cozy chat ... 

Kim: What's your favorite sight, sound, and smell from your corner of Paradise?

Jennifer: I live on the volcanically active East side of the Big Island. To get almost anywhere, we drive past lava that flowed anytime from 40 years to a year ago. There’s a particular sweet, slightly smoky scent that means lava to me. I just inhale that smell, I love it. As for sounds, I love the coqui frogs. Many people dislike them because in large numbers they can be loud, and they’re an invasive species on the island. But to me their croaking is like a lullaby. Lastly, my favorite sight? The lushness of the green that embraces you as you come off the plane. We’re always arriving from Alaska, where the winter world is made of white snow and dark spruce. The green is such a visual feast for us. I almost don’t want to close my eyes, I love it so much.

Kim: Can you share a Hawaiian word or proverb which inspires you?

Jennifer: As a non-Hawaiian who owns land on the Big Island, I’m inspired by the concept of “malama.” It means “stewardship” of the land, the responsibility of taking care of the land. Not because it “belongs” to you, but because you have taken on the job of protecting the “a’ina” – the land. I really love that concept, and take it very seriously. We consider ourselves temporary stewards of our land, and very very fortunate to be so.

Kim: What would you recommend a visitor to your island take the time to see/do/eat that's off the beaten path?

Jennifer: We live close to a “hot pond” that gets a lot of visitors because it’s in the guidebooks. But there are plenty of other volcanically heated ponds hidden away in the jungle. There’s a particularly sweet one near the boat ramp at Pohoiki Bay. You follow a little trail into the jungle along the beach to find it. It’s part of an interconnected tidally refreshed network of lava tubes, and locals are always telling us stories about how they used to swim underground from one pond to another. Relaxing in that steam-heated water, gazing up at the coconut palms to the sound of waves crashing onto the lava rocks is pretty much my definition of bliss. And it’s very often deserted! Just don’t tell anyone I sent you.

Isaac Hale Beach along Pohoiki Bay

Creative Commons (link)

Mahalo, Jennifer, for sharing your secret with us!  I am excited for Jennifer's next release, DRIVE YOU WILD, Book 3 in the Love Between the Bases, available June 28:

It’s game on for love in the third novel of USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Bernard’s sexy, baseball-themed series.

Kilby Catfish left-fielder Trevor Stark is a ballpark legend. With his good looks, hitting records, and played-for-the-fans arrogance, Trevor makes women lose their minds and men lose their cool. But every time the major league team comes calling, Trevor purposely keeps himself in the tiny Texas town. Why is heart-tuggingly top secret. Until the team owner’s daughter comes to Kilby . . . trying everything up her sexy sleeve to make Trevor talk.

Divorced and disillusioned at twenty-four, Paige Mattingly Austin Taylor is suddenly starting fresh as an intern at Catfish Stadium. She should want nothing to do with the sinfully hot ballplayer her dad warned her to stay away from. But when she discovers what Trevor is hiding from everyone, she realizes there’s much more to him than his face and multi-million-dollar arm. There’s a heart she seriously hopes to win.

I am giving away a book choice from my convention stash. To enter the giveaway,

1. Tell us about a bay (or body of water) near you ... I live near the Chesapeake Bay!

2. Comments are open through Saturday, June 11, 10 pm in Baltimore. 

3. I'll post the winner on Sunday, June 12.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Honu (turtle) on Black Sand Beach

Celebrate Hawai'i Week - Aloha to Kate Pearce

Reminder: I have a special giveaway to celebrate June at this link.

This coming Saturday is King Kamehameha Day, a state holiday in Hawai'i.  Above is my picture of the second King Kamehameha statue outside Ali'iolani Hale - House of the Heavenly King (the original statue was cast in Italy but lost at sea.  Hawaii Five O incorporated this legend into the Season Four Episode, ‘Ka’oia l’o Ma Loko’). 
To honor the fierce warrior who united the eight islands into one Kingdom, I invited authors connected to Hawaii.  Today's guest, Kate Pearce, lives on the Big Island of Hawai'i, King Kamehameha's home island. 

Kim:  What's your favorite sight, sound, and smell from your corner of Paradise?

Kate: Sight: The sun setting over the sea. Sound: The flocks of parakeets cackling at me overhead when I’m out walking the dog.  Smell: The cinnamon gardenia outside my bedroom window that perfumes the room every night.

Kim: Can you share a Hawaiian word or proverb which inspires you?

Kate: Ohana-because in Hawaii that doesn’t just mean blood relatives, but all those who become part of your Hawaiian family. It’s a real thing here.

Kim: What would you recommend a visitor to your island take the time to see/do/eat that's off the beaten path? 

Kate: Probably to take a whole day to explore the Volcanic National Park with the live volcano, it’s huge and has all kinds of interesting sights and hikes within it. And then have dinner in Volcano and go back into the park when it is dark so you can really see what the volcano is all about. :)

Devestation Trail in the Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park

Mahalo, Kate, for taking me back to paradise! From Kate's website (link),

Kate Pearce was born into a large family of girls in England, and spent much of her childhood living very happily in a dream world. Despite being told that she really needed to ‘get with the program’, she graduated from the University College of Wales with an honors degree in history.

After graduation, real life did intervene and she ended up working in finance which was not the greatest career choice for a would-be writer!

A move to the USA finally allowed her to fulfill her dreams and sit down and write that novel. Kate writes in several different romance sub-genres under different names. She is a member of RWA and is published by Kensington Aphrodisia, Ellora’s Cave and Virgin Black Lace/Cheek.

I follow Kate on Facebook (link) and Twitter (link) for my daily reminder of Hawaiian life.  

Coming next from Kate

on July 5 (link)

I am giving away a book choice from my convention stash, plus Hawaiian swag, to one randomly selected commenter. To enter the giveaway,

1. Leave a comment about birds - Kate enjoys the parakeets of Hawai'i.  What birds do you enjoy?

2. Comments are open through Saturday, June 11, 10 pm in Baltimore.

3. I'll post the winner on Sunday, June 12.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City

The first statue washed ashore in South America

and returned to the Big Island of Hawaii.

Special Giveaway to Celebrate June

Two Days before the Battle of Midway

June brings many celebrations for Brides, Grads, Dads and ...

- June 4: Battle of Midway (Navy, 1942) 
- June 6: D-Day Landings (Army, 1944)
- June 11: King Kamehameha Day
- June 14: US Army's 241th Birthday and US Flag Day
- June 18: Battle of Waterloo (1815)
- June 23: Scotland's First Wars of Independence: Battle of Bannockburn (1314)

Obviously, I'm a history buff.  To commemorate these dates, I am offering books from authors connected to the holiday:

- Jennifer Bernard, FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FIREMAN (Hawaii)
- Valerie Bowman, THE UNLIKELY LADY (Waterloo)
- Diana Cosby, HIS CAPTIVE (Navy, Scotland)
- HelenKay Dimon, CORNERED (Navy, Hawaii)
- Marie Force, MAID FOR LOVE (Navy)
- Angie Fox, IMMORTALLY EVER AFTER (Army)
- Diane Gaston, BOUND BY DUTY (Army)
- Julie Garwood, THE CLAYBORNE BRIDES (Brides)
- Laura Kaye, HARD AS YOU CAN (Navy)
- Jocelyn Kelley, A KNIGHT LIKE NO OTHER (Army)
- Stephanie Laurens, A MATCH FOR MARCUS CYNSTER (Scotland)
- Julie Miller, KANSAS CITY SECRETS (Army)
- Kate Pearce, TEMPTING A SINNER (Hawaii)
- Susan Elizabeth Phillips, THE GREAT ESCAPE (Army)
- Sally McKenzie, WHAT TO DO WITH A DUKE (Navy)
- Beth Rhodes, OUTSIDE THE LINES (Army)
- Jessica Scott, IT'S ALWAYS BEEN YOU (Army)
- Kerrelyn Sparks, HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE VAMPIRE (Brides)
- Tawny Weber,  A SEAL'S PLEASURE (Navy)

Plus WAY OF THE WARRIOR - An Anthology with Suzanne Brockmann, M.L. Buchman, Anne Elizabeth, Lea Griffith, Catherine Mann, Kate Serine, Tina Wainscott, and Julie Ann Walker.

Plus swag from the Army, Navy, and Scotland!

One randomly selected commenter from all posts in June wins the grand prize.  Due to postage, this giveaway is open only to US residents, but I welcome all comments from international readers. Comments are open through Thursday, June 30, 10 pm in Baltimore.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, July 3.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City 

Aloha to Hawaiian History - King Kamehameha Day

Hawaii celebrates King Kamehameha Day on June 11.   From Hawaii History (link),

Born at Kokoiki in North Kohala on the island of Hawai`i (in 1758), Kamehameha descended from chiefs of Hawai`i and Maui. As a young man, he distinguished himself as a talented warrior and served his uncle Kalaniopu`u, ruler of several districts on the island. A keen battle strategist and admirer of Western weaponry, Kamehameha later utilized guns and cannon to defeat his own enemies and consolidate his power in the Islands.

King Kamehameha is often referred to as the Napoleon of the Pacific.  By uniting the islands, he prevented them from becoming European and Asian colonies.   Also from Hawaii History,

Mamala Hoe (Law of the Splintered Paddle)

During a raid on Puna, Kamehameha pursued several fishermen and his foot got stuck in a rock crevice. Realizing the chief's disadvantage, one of the fisherman struck him on the head with a paddle which splintered. As the first fisherman prepared to strike Kamehameha again, the other fisherman made a plea to his companion to spare Kamehameha. Deeply moved by this incident, Kamehameha later proclaimed a law to protect the defenseless and to ensure the safety of travelers. A version of the law was incorporated into the state constitution in 1978.

The statue above was commissioned by the Kingdom of Hawaii in the early 1880s.   It was lost at sea enroute from Europe to Hawaii.   With the insurance payout, the Legislature cast a second statue which now stands in front of the Ali'iolani Hale (Justice Palace) as seen on Hawaii Five O (and pictured at the top).   The original statue awashed ashore in the Falkland Islands.  It was returned to Hawaii and erected near his birthplace near Kohala on the Big Island of Hawaii (link).  A third statue now stands in the US Capital Hall's Statuary Hall along side Father Damien (link).

Kamehameha's private heiau (temple) in Kona

To celebrate King Kamehameha Day, I offer my favorite romance books set in Hawaii:

Ophelia London's MAKING WAVES, a novella from the Perfect Kisses series.  A journalist and surfer learn to trust again on Oahu's North Shore; review link.

Chip Hughes' mystery series, the Surfing Detective, visiting the islands of Lana'i, Maui, Oahu, and the Big Island of Hawaii:

- MURDER ON MOLOKA'I, review link

- WIPEOUT!, review link 

- KULA, review link

- MURDER AT VOLCANO HOUSE, review link

Gina Robinson's THE SPY WHO LEFT ME:  Set on Maui, the heroine attends her cousin's destination wedding only to bump into her estranged husband under cover.  The couple endure every tourist trap, family bickering, and Chinese spies, ultimately bringing them back together for the HEA.   

Check out my interview with Gina at this link and my review at this link.

Jill Marie Landis' Tiki Goddess series.  Set on Kauai, a California woman relocates to the North Shore to save her uncle (from fortune hunters), the Tiki Goddess bar (from going under), and the Hula Maidens (from themselves).   Laugh out loud comedy true to the spirit of the Garden Isle.

MAI TAI ONE ON, review link

TWO TO MANGO, review link

THREE TO GET LEI'D, blurb link

TOO HOT FOUR HULA, review link

Jill Marie Landis' TROUBLE IN PARADISE, a novella bringing a bride and groom to Kauai, only to have their wedding plans disrupted by Mother Nature and Hawaiian lore; review link.

I am giving away a book choice from my convention stash, plus Hawaiian swag, to one randomly selected commenter.  To enter the giveaway,

1.  Leave a comment about Hawaii - do you have a favorite place, food, drink, book, movie, or something else?

2.  Comments are open through Saturday, June 13, 10 pm in Baltimore.

3.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, June 14.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City 

Celebrate Hawaii Week - King Kamehameha Day

Breaking News:  I have a new feature at USA Today's HEA BLOG ... State of Romance!  We'll explore the romances set in the featured state.   The first state is the last state to join the Union ... Hawaii ... at this link.

King Kamehameha Day is a state holiday in Hawaii.   Today the kama'aina (locals) will drape King Kamehameha's statues with lei to celebrate his legacy.  Born on the Big Island of Hawaii to the Royal Family, Kamehameha demonstrated his warrior prowess and leadership skills as he wrestled control of Hawaii from his cousin.   He then set forth to conquer Maui, Lana'i, Moloka'i, and Oahu.   The king of Kaua'i signed a peace treaty to prevent Kamehameha from bringing his fierce warriors to Kaua'i shores.   By 1810, the islands were united as the Kingdom of Hawaii.  

King Kamehameha is shrouded in many legends.  As a teenager, he lifted the sacred Naha Stone that weighs over two tons.  If he failed, he would have been executed.  But he succeeded, demonstrating that he was destined to be a great leader.

The Scouts pose in front of the Naha Stone.

For all the violence he engaged to unite his kingdom, Kamehameha also showed compassion.   He enacted the Kānāwai Māmalahoe - Law of the Splintered Paddle:

E nā kānaka,
E mālama ‘oukou i ke akua
A e mālama ho‘i ke kanaka nui a me kanaka iki;
E hele ka ‘elemakule, ka luahine, a me ke kama
A moe i ke ala
‘A‘ohe mea nāna e ho‘opilikia.
Hewa nō, make.

Oh people,
Honor thy god;
respect alike people both great and humble;
May everyone, from the old men and women to the children
Be free to go forth and lay in the road
Without fear of harm.
Break this law, and die.

This law became the foundation of human rights in Hawaiian law.  The crossed paddles appear in the badges of the Honolulu Police Department.   

Kamehameha "retired" to Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii - the start and finish of the Iron Man competition.   

Kamehameha's private heiau
in Kailua Kona

I am giving away a book choice from my convention stash to one randomly selected commenter.  To enter the giveaway,

1.  Can you recommend any books set in the State of Hawaii?  

2.  Comments are open through Saturday, June 14, 10 pm in Baltimore.   

3.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, June 15.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Check out pictures of the Big Island of Hawaii on my travel blog at this link, link, link, link, link, link, and link.

Kamehameha's statue in Kapaau