Romancing Waikiki contains twenty-one intriguing original love stories of people falling in love on Waikiki Beach, Hawaii. The romances evoked by the most famous beach in the Pacific go back to 1901, when the elegant Moana Hotel was opened to welcome visitors and has continued to be a presence on the beach. This selection of love stories, written in Waikiki coffeehouses, spans the period from the Second World War to the present and covers all ages, from a coming-of-age teen romance to senior citizens who discover love has no expiration date. While the stories are fictional, they have threads in the sand of Waikiki Beach and beyond. Matters of the heart can be found in the footprints in the sand, a letter fluttering across the beach, remnants of a sandcastle, an army nurse waiting, and a homeless woman blowing out a candle. The author lives in Waikiki and has spent more than two decades in Hawaii, the source of his inspiration for these love stories that stir feelings of joy and tears.
This clean, second chance romance on the beaches of Waikiki will sweep you away... Geology professor Alex Silverman's chance encounter with Kelsey O'Connor at a Christmas party sparks his interest, but not hers. His persistent efforts to ignite her dormant romantic embers eventually lead to exhilarating highs and heartbreaking twists. The elixir to the relationship's course is Nadia, Kelsey's precocious seven-year-old daughter. Recovering from a tragedy proves particularly challenging for Alex, whose awkward dating skills desperately need polishing. He discovers his second chance at a meaningful romance is frustrating and fraught with unimaginable danger. The gift of a vacation in Thailand and Cambodia has life-and-death consequences that forever change their lives and those of two hundred thousand others. The unexpected resolution is found in a tearful reunion with Nadia on a grassy knoll in Hawaii. When the plot appears simple and predictable, it isn't. The turn of a page changes everything, revealing the imperfections of love and choices. __________________________________ CJ Johnson lives in Waikiki. The romantic sites in Hawaii, Thailand, and Cambodia are based on his travel experiences that hopefully will be useful to readers wanting to enrich their travel experiences. His previous novels: Reunion Promise and Romancing Waikiki have threads that lead to Hawaii and the meaning of Aloha.
Elegant, brutal, and profound—this magnificent debut captures the grit and glory of modern Hawai'i with breathtaking force and accuracy. In a stunning collection that announces the arrival of an incredible talent, Kristiana Kahakauwila travels the islands of Hawai'i, making the fabled place her own. Exploring the deep tensions between local and tourist, tradition and expectation, façade and authentic self, This Is Paradise provides an unforgettable portrait of life as it’s truly being lived on Maui, Oahu, Kaua'i and the Big Island. In the gut-punch of “Wanle,” a beautiful and tough young woman wants nothing more than to follow in her father’s footsteps as a legendary cockfighter. With striking versatility, the title story employs a chorus of voices—the women of Waikiki—to tell the tale of a young tourist drawn to the darker side of the city’s nightlife. “The Old Paniolo Way” limns the difficult nature of legacy and inheritance when a patriarch tries to settle the affairs of his farm before his death. Exquisitely written and bursting with sharply observed detail, Kahakauwila’s stories remind us of the powerful desire to belong, to put down roots, and to have a place to call home.
An irresistible love story . . . delivered with sparkle and wit (in a too-tight red dress!) Meet Lexie Byrne. The big 4-0 is looming, but she's perfectly content without a man. How else could she watch movies on repeat and eat crisp sandwiches in bed? Finally free of her love-rat ex, she's never settling again. Nothing less than 'The One' will do. Then, after an electrifying encounter on a wild St Patrick's Day, Lexie takes a leap of faith and a flight across the Irish Sea. But as sparks fly, Lexie's dreams take a serious nosedive. Until an arrival no one anticipated . . . Will the unexpected love story of Lexie Byrne have a happy ending after all? 'A fun, warm-hearted romp' Marian Keyes 'Fiercely funny and heart-warming!' Laura Whitmore 'A fabulously funny read. Perfect for sisters who are doing it for themselves.' Irish Independent 'Touching, moving and laugh out loud hilarious!' Elaine Crowley, Ireland AM
Covering all of the major Hawaiian Islands, this book takes readers on routes not found in traditional guidebooks, on journeys to the Hawai'i of old-places of powerful ali'i, wise kahuna, sacred heiau, and mysterious menehune. Sites of historical and cultural significance are described in detail and directions are given to each place.
An empowering celebration of identity, acceptance and Hawaiian culture based on the true story of a young girl in Hawaiʻi who dreams of leading the boys-only hula troupe at her school. Ho'onani feels in-between. She doesn't see herself as wahine (girl) OR kane (boy). She's happy to be in the middle. But not everyone sees it that way. When Ho'onani finds out that there will be a school performance of a traditional kane hula chant, she wants to be part of it. But can a girl really lead the all-male troupe? Ho'onani has to try . . . Based on a true story, Ho'onani: Hula Warrior is a celebration of Hawaiian culture and an empowering story of a girl who learns to lead and learns to accept who she really is--and in doing so, gains the respect of all those around her. Ho'onani's story first appeared in the documentary A Place in the Middle by filmmakers Dean Hamer and Joe Wilson.
Like so many of us, Lucinda Fleeson wanted to escape what had become a routine life. So, she quit her big-city job, sold her suburban house, and moved halfway across the world to the island of Kauai to work at the National Tropical Botanical Garden. Imagine a one-hundred-acre garden estate nestled amid ocean cliffs, rain forests, and secluded coves. Exotic and beautiful, yes, but as Fleeson awakens to this sensual world, exploring the island's food, beaches, and history, she encounters an endangered paradise—the Hawaii we don't see in the tourist brochures. Native plants are dying at an astonishing rate—Hawaii is called the Extinction Capital of the World—and invasive species (plants, animals, and humans) have imperiled this Garden of Eden. Fleeson accompanies a plant hunter into the rain forest to find the last of a dying species, descends into limestone caves with a paleontologist who deconstructs island history through fossil life, and shadows a botanical pioneer who propagates rare seeds, hoping to reclaim the landscape. Her grown-up adventure is a reminder of the value of choosing passion over security, individuality over convention, and the pressing need to protect the earth. And as she witnesses the island's plant renewal efforts, she sees her own life blossom again.
A House in Hana...is the story about Lani Winters, a nursery owner and avid orchid collector in the Hudson Valley, who is of Polynesian descent and was adopted as an infant. Her nursery is struggling, but to make things worse, her boyfriend of six years breaks up with her and wants to be bought out. One day, she suddenly receives a letter from a lawyer in Kahului, Maui, informing her that she inherited a house in Hana from her great-aunt Malani.She travels to Maui and not only to find a house that is in dire need of renovation and has to be fixed up within one year, otherwise it will be sold to an investor who wants to bulldoze it and build oceanfront condos, she also finds out that her mother disappeared from the face of the Earth when she became pregnant and her father, Lani's grandfather, wanted to talk her into having an abortion.When Lani arrives at the house, she finds a painting of a woman who looks exactly like her: It seems that her father was a renowned artist and painted many paintings of her mother and the beautiful tropical surroundings of Hana and Maui. But he also obviously died a mysterious death and all information about his death has been deleted from the internet.Lani also finds a village that has been in a feud since thirty years, divided between the people that were on her great-aunt Malani's side who thought the pregnant girl, Lani's mother, should have all the assistance she could get, and the people that were on the grandfather's side who did not support having a child from a Haole, a white man.Max, the caretaker of the house, who lives in the guesthouse, not only helps Lani evaluate how much work the house needs, but he also helps Lani follow traces of her mother and father while he shows her beautiful sites of Hana and surroundings. They fall madly in love, but when the singer of a Jazz combo shows up at the house more than Lani can tolerate and obviously wants more from Max than just hang out, Lani is not sure whether Max is just using her or really loves her. She withdraws from him until she is sure about his love.The house suffers a final blow which is the straw that breaks the camel's back, but the residents of Hana have a big surprise for Lani.
Essays on the island and its history and traditions from the National Book Award–winning author of The Woman Warrior. In these eleven thought-provoking pieces, acclaimed writer and feminist Maxine Hong Kingston tells stories of Hawai’i filled with both personal experience and wider perspective. From a recipient of the National Medal of Arts and numerous other honors, the essays in this collection provide readers with a generous sampling of Kingston’s exquisite angle of vision, her balanced and clear-sighted prose, and her stunning insight that awakens one to a wealth of knowledge.
In 1939, artist Georgia O'Keeffe creates nearly 20 paintings as she tours the Hawaiian islands, but refuses to paint pictures of pineapples the way her sponsors tell her to. The book includes an Author's Note, Illustrator's Note, bibliography, map of the islands, and endpapers that identify O'Keeffe's favorite Hawaiian flowers. Full color.
