Aloha to Dee DeTarsio and ALL MY RESTLESS LIFE TO LIVE

Time to play Seven Degrees of Separation ... 

1.   On this day in 1778, Captain Cook anchored in Waimea Bay and came ashore to the island of Kaua'i, giving him the distinction as the first European to arrive in the Hawaiian Isalnds.  

2.  Cook named the archipelago as the "Sandwich Islands" in honor of John Montague, 4th Earl of Sandwich, First Lord of the Admiralty who funded Cook's expedition.

Captain Cook Monument 

3.  Montague was an accomplished statement ... yet he is "famous" for creating the sandwich.   Whether is it fact or legend, Montague requested a meal while playing cards.  Since he was unable to use a knife and fork (as a gentleman never lays down his cards), he stuffed the meat into his bread.   Viola, the sandwich!

4.   The Earl of Sandwich, a chain of sandwich shops, operates in 26 locations, including Planet Hollywood Casino in Las Vegas (link).

5.  Las Vegas is considered the 9th island of the Hawaiian Islands - Steve McGarrett once explained the nickname on Hawaii Five O.

6.  Last night's H50 episode featured a scene near the Byodo In Temple in the Valley of Temples - a spiritual retreat nestled among the Ko'olau Moana (mountains).

7.  Contemporary author Dee DeTarsio intertwines endearing "spirits" in her humor filled books.  I was first introduced to her through HAOLE WOOD (link).

The name becomes clear as you read this story of a San Diego weather reporter who reconnects with her Hawaiian heritage in Maui. I posted my review on Amazon at this link and Goodreads and this link. This is a must read for all Hawaii lovers!

I just started (and already loving) Dee's recent release, ALL MY RESTLESS LIFE TO LIVE:

Life is a soap opera, especially for Elle Miller, who is a TV producer. (Ellen dropped the "n" in her name in hopes of finding a better ending for herself.) When her laptop crashes, she borrows her dead dad's computer and gets way more than she bargained for.

As Elle tries to save her career with a storyline featuring a trip through Atlantis, she takes a trip to the Emmys, and finds herself in the middle of a romance between a real doctor and a hunk who just plays one on TV. Friends, family, and clues from "the other side" all help Elle figure out the difference between living the good life . . . and living a good life.

Praise for The Kitchen Shrink: "Dee DeTarsio is easily the next Sophie Kinsella. Her writing is fast-paced, hilarious, and engaging. I loved The Scent of Jade and am hopelessly heels-over-head for The Kitchen Shrink." --Chick Lit & Wine

In honor of Dee's homage to "the other side", I am giving away a special gift from the Byodo In Temple (link):

The Byodo-In Temple is located in Valley of the Temples Memorial Park. It was established on June 7, 1968, to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaii. The Byodo-In Temple in O'ahu is a smaller-scale replica of the over 950-year-old Byodo-in Temple, a United Nations World Heritage Site in Uji, Japan.

The good luck cat at the Byodo In gift ship.

To enter the giveaway,

1.  Leave a comment about soap operas - love them or loathe them?  I grew up as a fan of Young and the Restless ... although I haven't watched in over a decade.   I'm now a fan of "evening" soap operas such as H50!

2.  This giveaway is open to all readers.

3.  Comments are open through Saturday, January 25, 10 pm in Baltimore.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, January 26.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City

To learn more about Dee and her books, check out her website at deedetarsio.wordpress.com.

Aloha to Dee DeTarsio and HAOLE WOOD

Aloha!  Yesterday we chatted about spirituality ... it reminded me of Dee DeTarsio's HAOLE WOOD.  This small town romance with a cozy mystery is sprinkled with a giant spirit, er, Guardian Angel who helps the heroine finds her way.   I invited Dee to be my guest today ... and she prepared a funny post!

Fifty Shades of Kitty Litter

I was going to do a guest post for Kim in Hawaii on eOrgasms (Mahalo!) to spice things up, but I sat in front of my laptop for such an embarrassing amount of time, nothing came. Har har. I wish I could write erotica. I hear it pays well.

I apologize–this is strangely personal for someone you’ve never met. Let me digress. I grew up in Ennui, Ohio. (Which is a joke.) (Because it gives far too much credit to my hometown.) Anyway, back home, they don’t talk much about their feelings, so you can bet the farm you’re going to hear nothing of their feelings. Tingling, twitching, tightening, grinding, clutching and shifting are all reserved for some guy named John Deere. 

Call me suppressed, call me superstitious, just don’t call me sexy because every time I write that adjective I turn fifty shades of red and can’t stop giggling inappropriately, like that time a little boy in church several pews over blew his nose on his mom’s Easter dress and she didn’t know it. That’s funny. No, it’s not. (If you say the last part fast it’s kind of funny.)

I’m trying. I call my husband beditor because he thinks all my novels should be more risque. While every writer shares intimacy, some just have better vocabularies, imaginations, and experiences than others (and I’m not calling anybody s-to-the-lutty, here).

Throbbing members just make me laugh and remind me of pitiful chalkboard drawings from the seventh grade health and human hygiene talk. To this day I still crack up whenever I see the cover of Dr. Seuss’s Horton Hears A Who.

I’m up for the challenge, though I have some work to do. My bra and underwear don’t match. Sometimes, I speed race into my jammies before my husband sees an elbow or something and gets any ideas. But for the record: I put out when my husband takes out . . . the kitty litter. Now that’s sexy!

We can’t all be Nympho-Ninjas--what are some of your favorite things that, you know, insert euphemism here . . . Somebody, please help me out!

Dee DeTarsio is a writer living in southern California. (There are some good parts in her new novel, Haole Wood! Mahalo!)   To learn more about Dee DeTarsio and her books, check out her blog at deedetarsio.wordpress.com.

Dee gave me the honor of reviewing HAOLE WOOD.  The name becomes clear as you read this story of a San Diego weather reporter who reconnects with her Hawaiian heritage in Maui.  I posted my review on Amazon at this link and Goodreads and this link.   This is a must read for all Hawaii lovers!   I am giving away an ecopy of HAOLE WOOD to one randomly selected commenter.  To enter the giveaway,

1.  What's your favorite Dr. Seuss character or book?  

(I know, we should talk about sex, but my mother in law reads this blog).

My favorite character is the dog from THE GRINCH WHO STOLE CHRISTMAS.

2.  This giveaway is open to all readers.

3.  Comments are open through Saturday, July 14, 10 pm in Hawaii.  I'll post the winner on July 15.

Mahalo,

Kim in Hawaii

My picture of a Lahaina Sunset