Month: September 2023

The End of Summer

As we come to the end of summer and September, I feel like we dashed over summer and fall isn’t going to get much time to change leaves and enjoy the warm afternoons. The last few days here have felt more like winter is sneaking in fast.

Does it feel like that where you are?

Going on my morning walks this week, I’ve had to wear my head warmer headbands, a warm sweatshirt and gloves. Just the week before I was in a t-shirt and cap. Poor Nia doesn’t like the change of weather either. She doesn’t have a lot of hair to keep her warm. Though just like a kid, if she’s outside playing, she doesn’t seem to mind the cold and wet.

I feel bad I haven’t ridden my horse all summer. At the beginning of summer, his old body wasn’t looking very good. I kept him on full feed and he is looking much better now. A granddaughter used him for Horse 4-H but that’s all the riding he’s had. Every morning I tell him, “Tomorrow we’ll ride.” Then something comes up that I feel I need to take care of and I neglect my horse and my me time. Possibly Sunday, I can ride. Hubby will be home. He doesn’t like me riding when he isn’t here.

With the end of summer, I only have two more book/writing events left for the year. The first week of November I’ll be in Las Vegas at the Horeshoe Casino for an author promotion and marketing conference. I really have to get the word out about my audiobooks. On the last day of the conference is a RAVE (Reader Author Vegas Event). I’ll be selling some of my books that day along with 300 other authors. If you live in the area or are passing through on November 10th, let me know if you need a specific book and I’ll have it there. I’ll be reading from Murder of Ravens at 11:10 am at the RAVE event.

Then three days after I get home from that, I’ll be headed to Portland and the Portland Holiday Market at the Expo Center. I’ll be working in NIWA’s traveling book booth. I’ll have book bundles for sale there.

After that my year ends quietly. I can do with some slow, quiet time.

Right now I’m working on a Christmas novella. I hope to have it published the first of November. We’ll see!

I hope you are all staying warm and looking forward to the rest of 2023.

Southernmost tip of the U.S.

I can now say I have been the farthest south you can go in the United States. On my trip to the Big Island of Hawaii my friend and I went to the southernmost tip of the island. We were told about this spot by a local when we asked her what places we should see.

One morning we got up, had breakfast and packed a cooler with water and snacks and headed south on the Hawaii Belt Road or Mamalahoa Hwy. When we came to the Point Road, we turned down that and found a dirt area at the end of the road where cars were parked and there were porta-pottys and a snow cone vendor.

We walked over to the forty-foot cliff edge and peered down into the beautiful crystal-clear water. I loved the colors and energy of the sparkling ocean.

A man had just jumped in. I took a photo of him. He looked like a native swimming in the water. And come to find out, my friend started talking to the man’s wife. He was from the island and they were visiting from Seattle. She also dove into the water with him down below to help her swim around the point to climb up the rocks. There was a ladder down the side of the cliff, but she was too short to reach the rope that would get her to the ladder.

Another one of their friends jumped. I snapped a photo of him jumping.

There were also to boys fishing from a hole in the lava that was back about 60 feet from the ocean. The hole looked like it went down forty feet to water that washed in and out with the tide.

A young man and a boy were fishing off the edge of the cliff as well. The boy made my friend nervous. He would stand right on the edge as he cast his pole. They had large black garbage bags tied to their lines to pull the hooks out farther into the ocean. They were trying to catch ahi, tuna.

After hanging around there a while, we followed a trail that took us to the southernmost point. It was a beach made up of dead coral. It was sad to see so much bleached coral broken in pieces.

We didn’t take the hike or the drive around to the green sand beach.

Leaving that area, we ended up at Punuluu Bakery also a place the local woman told us to enjoy. We did enjoy the pastries and the lunch we bought there.

And that wraps up another day we enjoyed in Hawaii.

Book Happenings

My latest Gabriel Hawke book, Damning Firefly, will be releasing the end of this month. If you don’t want to miss purchasing it, you can pre-order it in ebook format.

Book 11 in the Gabriel Hawke Series

A church fire.

An unconscious woman on Starvation Ridge.

Gabriel Hawke, fish and wildlife officer with the Oregon State Police, helps with a fire at the Lighted Path church before heading out to check turkey hunters. He discovers a car wedged between two trees and a woman with a head injury reeking of smoke. Is she the arsonist?

Hawke encounters the county midwife gloating over the burnt church and learns she and the victim in the car know one another.

Two seemingly separate events lead Hawke to a serial rapist and a county full of secrets. 

Universal link to pre-order: https://books2read.com/u/bQeBDZ

Hulihe’e Palace

One morning we decided to walk farther north than we had previously. We found more shops, restaurants and a resort. But the fun thing we came across was a summer home of the Hawaii’s royalty.

It was complete in 1938 and became the personal residence of John Adams Kuakini the Governor of the island of Hawaii. It was built by foreign seamen and missionaries. They used resources on the island such as lava rock, coral lime mortar, koa and ohi’a woods.

Walking around inside the structure I mentioned to my friend the walls were really thick. Three feet says the pamphlet. I thought maybe two, by width of the windowsills. It is a beautiful building with tall ceilings and massive furniture. There are two floors come in at 3600 sq feet. there was also a basement with 2 cisterns. The cook house could be accessed through the dining room. There were also other small bungalows on the property when royalty lived there.

The last royal to own the property was an adopted heir of Queen Kapi’olani. the next owner was Mrs. Allen who died a month after purchasing the palace. The home remained vacant for 10 years.

In 1925 the building was purchased by the Daughters of Hawai’i to keep it from becoming hotel development. That is who operates and attends to it as a museum.

There are many items in the house that were purchased or given to the royals. What fascinated me were the long sticks with different shaped, what looked like lamp shades covered with feathers. Because my curiosity was aroused, I asked the woman docent who was there what they were. Feathers were treasured. with all the brightly plumed birds on the islands, the colorful feathers were deemed fit for royalty. Many photos you see that depict the leaders/royalty of Hawaii, they are wearing capes that are covered with feathers.

These feathered “lamp shades” on sticks were carried in front of Royalty when they walked around outside their homes. It was how they were recognized when travelling about the islands.

The lanai of the home has breathtaking views of the ocean across Kailua Bay.

BOOK HAPPENINGS

Starting this week, you can follow the Silver Dagger Book Tour for my new -Cover reveal for the Halsey Brother Series/ Halsey Homecoming tour. There are prizes awarded for following and adding your name to the raffle.

https://www.silverdaggertours.com/sdsxx-tours/the-halsey-brothers-series-book-tour-and-giveaway