I contribute a weekly column to USA Today's HEA Blog called State of Romance. This week, we visit New Jersey, the Garden State, at this link.
This weekend I am hobnobbing with the New Jersey Romance Writers (NJRW) Put Your Heart In A Book (PYHIAB) Conference (link). The luncheon speaker is Stella Cameron. She is a frequent visitor to the island of Kauai. In fact, I believe she has met the Hula Maidens from the Tiki Goddess Mystery series .... TOO HOT FOUR HULA is Book 4 in this "Ohana" series.
A marauding monkey, a mysterious murder, middle-aged hula maidens, and mugs full of Mai Tai's. Just another day in Tiki Goddess Paradise . . .
Crime-solving sleuth Em Johnson and her Uncle Louie, owner of the famous Tiki Goddess Bar on Kauai, head for the Cocktail Shake Off Competition in Honolulu. What is supposed to be a fun trip to a mixologist contest turns weird when Louie's legendary "Booze Bible" is stolen, and Em's ex-husband winds up dead--with Em the number-one suspect. Sexy Kauai detective and part-time fire dancer Roland Sharpe rushes to Em's side along with the unpredictable Hula Maidens, whose detective skills are even more haphazard than their dance routine at the island tiki bars. Toss in an escaped monkey and a killer who wants to make this the Last Call for someone's honky-tonk tiki-tossing night out, and it's going to be another wild escapade for Em and her Hula Maidens.
A seven-time Romance Writers of America finalist for the RITA Award, Jill Marie Landis also now writes The Tiki Goddess Mysteries (set on the island of Kauai, Hawaii, where she lives with her husband, actor Steve Landis.) Her books are not only known for their intense emotion, but for characters you'll remember long after you turn the last page. Visit her world of tiki totems, hula maidens and tropical fun at thetikigoddess.com.
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| Hula dancers at the Hane'aki Heiau |
Hula is the language of the heart, therefore the heartbeat of the Hawaiian people. - King Kalakaua
The gang from the Tiki Goddess - Uncle Louis, his niece Em, and the Hula Maidens - leave the comfort of Kauai for the Cocktail Shake Off on Waikiki Beach, Oahu. It may be a quick 40 minute flight to Honolulu, but the Hilton Hawaiian Village is a world away as Oahu's premier tourist mecca. The gang are out of their league among the competitive bartenders, beauty product conventioneers, and fans of the Hula Maidens (from their ill fated reality show). Uncle Louis' effort to win the title is hindered by the theft of his famous Booze Bible, the Maidens' impromptu hula shows, and Em's unexpected lunch date with her ex husband.
Chaos erupts when the Maidens search Oahu's questionable neighborhoods for the Booze Bible, the Shriners arrive at the hotel, and Em is accused of murdering her ex husband. Landis delivers the Aloha spirit in this cozy mystery with Hawaii's beauty as the backdrop. The Maidens stand out in TOO HOT FOUR HULA with their quick thinking at every challenge that comes their way. Their antics at the Aloha Stadium Flea Market is pure pleasure. The icing on top is Em's reward for watching out for Uncle Louis and the Hula Maidens - no spoilers here!
Recommended read for fans of cozy mysteries, laugh-out-loud adventure, and Hawaiian culture. TOO HOT FOUR HULA is outrageously funny, just as Jill Marie Landis intended.
I purchased a copy of TOO HOT FOUR HULA.
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| Souvenirs from Aloha Stadium Flea Market |
I am giving away a print copy of TOO HOT FOUR HULA to one randomly selected commenter. To enter the giveaway,
1. Leave a comment about flea markets - do you have one in your area? If so, what do you like to buy from it? The Aloha Stadium Flea Market is stocked with everything possible in Aloha print. But I always looked for the bakers from Molokai selling sweet bread.
2. Comments are open through Saturday, October 25, 10 pm in Baltimore.
3. I'll post the winner on Sunday, October 26.
Mahalo,
Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City
