Aloha to Hawaii's Statehood Day

Today we celebrate Hawaii's 52nd anniversary as an US State.   It is a state holiday and my family is off to the Big Island.    Hawaii is truly a state of mind ... one I share with you with the words from Queen Lili'uokalani - ALOHA 'OE:

Ha`aheo ka ua i nâ pali
Ke nihi a`ela i ka nahele
E hahai (uhai) ana paha i ka liko
Pua `âhihi lehua o uka

Hui
Aloha `oe, aloha `oe
E ke onaona noho i ka lipo
One fond embrace,
A ho`i a`e au
Until we meet again

`O ka hali`a aloha i hiki mai
Ke hone a`e nei i
Ku`u manawa
`O `oe nô ka`u ipo aloha
A loko e hana nei

Maopopo ku`u `ike i ka nani
Nâ pua rose o Maunawili
I laila hia`ia nâ manu
Miki`ala i ka nani o ka lipo

Translation:

Proudly swept the rain by the cliffs
As it glided through the trees
Still following ever the bud
The `ahihi lehua of the vale

Chorus
Farewell to you, farewell to you
The charming one who dwells in the shaded bowers
One fond embrace,
‘Ere I depart
Until we meet again

Sweet memories come back to me
Bringing fresh remembrances
Of the past
Dearest one, yes, you are mine own
From you, true love shall never depart

I have seen and watched your loveliness
The sweet rose of Maunawili
And ’tis there the birds of love dwell
And sip the honey from your lips

Mahalo,

Kim in Hawaii

In the Pink with Avon Romance - On This Day in Scottish History

On this day in 1305, the English captured William Wallace near Glasgow.  Scotland's Guardian was found guilty of treason, to which he responded,

I can not be a traitor, for I owe him no allegiance. He is not my Sovereign; he never received my homage; and whilst life is in this persecuted body, he never shall receive it. 

I knew little of Scottish history until I discovered romance through Cathy Maxwell's A MARRIAGE CONTRACT, weaving Scottish life after the Jacobite Rebellion into its story:

He was a man exiled from society - handsome, unpredictable, and proud. Dark rumours surrounded his name. But Anne Burnett had signed a marriage contract binding her to Aiden Black, the Earl of Tiebauld. And although she′d never met him, she′s determined to keep her word and make theirs a marriage in truth. Because a well-bred lady with little fortune to recommend her has no choice.

Cathy's novel, and many more Avon romances to follow, inspired me to visit Scotland. I searched out crumbling castles,  listening for romantic spirits as the wind blew through the ruins.  Alba - the Gaelic name for Scotland - mesmerized me with its magic and mystery.  Eleven years after THE MARRIAGE CONTRACT, Cathy returned readers to Alba in LYON'S BRIDE, Book One of the Chattan Curse:

When a Chattan male falls in love, strike his heart with fire from above... 

As I look at my pictures from Alba, I imagine these words whispering through the fallen strongholds that once proudly guarded the Scottish Clans. The clans who wept for William Wallace. The clans who remain proud of his legacy.

THE SCOTTISH WITCH, Book Two of the Chattan Curse, will be available October 30.  If only I could read it in Scotland .... 

Mahalo,

Kim in Hawaii