|
|
Zach Ehrmann
Soon-to-be-Published!
Congrats to Zack Ehrmann
Zack Ehrmann, a relatively new member of Hawaii Writers Guild, and a sometime member of HWG’s Readings and Responses writers support group, reports that “Dead Weight”, the first story he brought to that group for critiquing, has been accepted by the Wisconsin Review and may see the light of day sometime in October.
Here’s a link to the Wisconsin Review can be found here.
Zack hails from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and “comes from a long line of talented writers” but now lives in Kihei, HI, where he has “resolved to work hard enough to only be considered a mere embarrassment by way of comparison.” He has been a member of Hawaii Writers Guild since September 2021.
Congratulations, Zack!
Congrats to Zack Ehrmann
Zack Ehrmann, a relatively new member of Hawaii Writers Guild, and a sometime member of HWG’s Readings and Responses writers support group, reports that “Dead Weight”, the first story he brought to that group for critiquing, has been accepted by the Wisconsin Review and may see the light of day sometime in October.
Here’s a link to the Wisconsin Review can be found here.
Zack hails from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and “comes from a long line of talented writers” but now lives in Kihei, HI, where he has “resolved to work hard enough to only be considered a mere embarrassment by way of comparison.” He has been a member of Hawaii Writers Guild since September 2021.
Congratulations, Zack!
Jim Gibbons
Published! Congrats to Jim Gibbons
Guild member Jim Gibbons’ third book, Sailing to Panama, hit book stores in June. Like his first two books, his latest is a memoir. This one focuses on a sailing adventure and is based on a log he kept while sailing from Mexico to Panama on a friend’s 55-foot schooner, the Constance, in February 1988.
“Chris and I first met at Gate 6 in Sausalito back in 1974, and became friends over the next few years,” Jim recalled. “In 1978 he bought a schooner hull that needed so much work I remember doubting that he'd ever finish it, so when he asked me if I wanted to sail with him down through the Panama Canal and over to Florida when he was finished, I said, ‘Sure.’ How could I say no to a sailing adventure that could happen years in the future?”
Well, it did happen and included everything you might expect, and the unexpected, too, including going for a swim and getting caught in an undercurrent, the DEA suspecting them of carrying drugs, and General Manuel Noriega taking over the country of Panama before they were able to go through the Panama Canal, which prevented them from going through it. To find out the details, you’ll have to read the book for yourself.
Jim Gibbons lives in Kamuela, Hawaii. He has been a member of Hawaii Writers Guild since March 2017.
Guild member Jim Gibbons’ third book, Sailing to Panama, hit book stores in June. Like his first two books, his latest is a memoir. This one focuses on a sailing adventure and is based on a log he kept while sailing from Mexico to Panama on a friend’s 55-foot schooner, the Constance, in February 1988.
“Chris and I first met at Gate 6 in Sausalito back in 1974, and became friends over the next few years,” Jim recalled. “In 1978 he bought a schooner hull that needed so much work I remember doubting that he'd ever finish it, so when he asked me if I wanted to sail with him down through the Panama Canal and over to Florida when he was finished, I said, ‘Sure.’ How could I say no to a sailing adventure that could happen years in the future?”
Well, it did happen and included everything you might expect, and the unexpected, too, including going for a swim and getting caught in an undercurrent, the DEA suspecting them of carrying drugs, and General Manuel Noriega taking over the country of Panama before they were able to go through the Panama Canal, which prevented them from going through it. To find out the details, you’ll have to read the book for yourself.
Jim Gibbons lives in Kamuela, Hawaii. He has been a member of Hawaii Writers Guild since March 2017.
Cece Johansen
Published!
Congrats to Cece Johansen
Since our Spring issue of Member News, Cecilia Johansen has published a new historical novella and has had a poem chosen for publication in the 2022 CWC Literary Review. First, here’s the news about her novella.
Johansen’s historical novella The Captain and the Lady was published in April 2022. The Captain and the Lady is set in the pre-Revolutionary War province of New Jersey. Sally Waitt, a young girl, wishes to be a sailor in her father's fleet of ships. But with her mother's death, Sally's life changes as she becomes the mistress of the plantation and their homes in the city of Boston and the coastal town of Marblehead. Through her father's contacts, she meets a handsome captain and will be surprised by the turn of events in her life.
Published by Page Publishing, the book is available in paperback and as an ebook in bookstores and online.
The Captain and the Lady is Johansen’s third historical novel. She had previously published The Canoemaker’s Son and Kimsey Rise.
Congrats to Cece Johansen
Since our Spring issue of Member News, Cecilia Johansen has published a new historical novella and has had a poem chosen for publication in the 2022 CWC Literary Review. First, here’s the news about her novella.
Johansen’s historical novella The Captain and the Lady was published in April 2022. The Captain and the Lady is set in the pre-Revolutionary War province of New Jersey. Sally Waitt, a young girl, wishes to be a sailor in her father's fleet of ships. But with her mother's death, Sally's life changes as she becomes the mistress of the plantation and their homes in the city of Boston and the coastal town of Marblehead. Through her father's contacts, she meets a handsome captain and will be surprised by the turn of events in her life.
Published by Page Publishing, the book is available in paperback and as an ebook in bookstores and online.
The Captain and the Lady is Johansen’s third historical novel. She had previously published The Canoemaker’s Son and Kimsey Rise.
Now the news about her pending poem:
Dear Cecilia
Congratulations
Your submission "ʻŌhiʻa Lehua in a Kīpuka on Hawai‘i Island" will be included in this year’s publication.
That’s how Johansen, who is also a member of the California Writers Club, found out that one of the poems she had submitted had been chosen for inclusion in the 2022 CWC Literary Review, an annual publication that chooses the best submissions from CWC members statewide.
“I am really, really very honored that they chose one of the two poems I submitted - and the Hawaiian one at that,” Cece said.
The Literary Review will be published early next year, but you can have a look at Cece’s poem now. Here it is:
Dear Cecilia
Congratulations
Your submission "ʻŌhiʻa Lehua in a Kīpuka on Hawai‘i Island" will be included in this year’s publication.
That’s how Johansen, who is also a member of the California Writers Club, found out that one of the poems she had submitted had been chosen for inclusion in the 2022 CWC Literary Review, an annual publication that chooses the best submissions from CWC members statewide.
“I am really, really very honored that they chose one of the two poems I submitted - and the Hawaiian one at that,” Cece said.
The Literary Review will be published early next year, but you can have a look at Cece’s poem now. Here it is:
|
Vertical Divider
|
Ōhiʻa Lehua in a Kīpuka on Hawai‘i Island
A single ʻōhiʻa lehua tree, rooted deeply in a kīpuka, surrounded by desolation, was not yet beaten. Its closest kin at a distance. Curled lava lips chew at the land, red hot, steaming as it goes. Fiery breath burning and covering low lying lichen and ferns turning brown, black, knuckling under, buried in a puff of flame dispersed spores no longer required. Lonely ʻōhiʻa, standing, waiting, pondering its fate watching friends, relatives at a distance. Heat too strong, inflamed, devoured, hollow vertical lava tubes to remain a memory. Waiting, always waiting, destruction all around. Does it think: Where can I go? What can I do? Will salvation come? Spit and crackle, licking at kīpuka edges. Devouring, always devouring. Lava moves like lava slow as molasses slow as glacier melt. Spreading, always spreading down to the sea. Scalding days, icy nights, sluggish lava looks for an easier path unable to beat the kīpuka. Annoyed, rushes in a molten tube past the barrier and its intended victim only to show up as steam at the edge of the sea. Danger passed. Sorrow for loss of its mates on the black crusty river of doom. Wait! What is this? A crimson and black ʻapapane in its branches, long tongue slurping, sucking, drinking lehua blossom nectar. What eternal joy! Life goes on in the ʻōhiʻa’s kīpuka. xx [kīpuka: a clear place or oasis within a lava bed where there may be vegetation]
|
Johansen is a founding member of Hawaii Writers Guild and a co-editor of Member News. She currently lives in Pinole, California.
Angela Leslee
Published! Congrats to Angela Leslee
New Guild member Angela Leslee is off to an exciting start! On July 24, 2022, Angela became a member of Hawaii Writers Guild. [See the story about her in New Members Spotlight.] On September 15, she posted a message to her blog that said:
“Ok, so this is not my usual blog post, but I’m too excited to wait. My new book went live on Amazon today! This is the story of my move to Hawai’i in 1994, with my 8-year-old daughter, 6 boxes and $2000.”
Angela’s new memoir is titled Lucky to Live Hawaii: From Mundane to Magical—a Life Transformed. The book is out on Kindle and in paperback.
New Guild member Angela Leslee is off to an exciting start! On July 24, 2022, Angela became a member of Hawaii Writers Guild. [See the story about her in New Members Spotlight.] On September 15, she posted a message to her blog that said:
“Ok, so this is not my usual blog post, but I’m too excited to wait. My new book went live on Amazon today! This is the story of my move to Hawai’i in 1994, with my 8-year-old daughter, 6 boxes and $2000.”
Angela’s new memoir is titled Lucky to Live Hawaii: From Mundane to Magical—a Life Transformed. The book is out on Kindle and in paperback.
Lucky to Live Hawaii is Angela’s second memoir. In 2016 after walking a 500-mile pilgrimage across Northern Spain, she wrote her first memoir: The Way of Love: on the Camino de Santiago.
These days, Angela lives off the grid in a “Tiny Home” in Kealakekua with her two dogs, a cat and a bevy of chickens. For more information about Angela and her books, go to her website: www.angelaleslee.com .
These days, Angela lives off the grid in a “Tiny Home” in Kealakekua with her two dogs, a cat and a bevy of chickens. For more information about Angela and her books, go to her website: www.angelaleslee.com .
Don Mules (aka D. Ward Cornell)
Published! Congrats to Don Mules
Don Mules (who writes under the pen name D. Ward Cornell), continues to be one of the most prolific writers in the Guild. Since the Spring Issue of Member News came out, Mules has published two more science fiction books:
· Calamite: The Chronicles of Daan: Book 4, published April 27, 2022
· Eleven Days, published August 16, 2022
Calamite completed the Chronicles of Daan, which documented the rise of Jared Daan, who was framed for crimes he did not commit and sent to his world’s only prison camp—a sugar plantation on the equator. There he discovers something of immense value. Leveraging that advantage, Jared transforms his world, then the Confederation of Human Worlds, and in the last book unifies other powers in the quadrant to fend off a malevolent galactic antagonist determined to enslave all others. The book opened at #26 on Amazons Hard SciFi top-100 list, peaking a day or two later at #18.
Eleven Days is a “first contact” story that leverages, then subverts the classic first contact tropes. A massive object is spotted near the sun during a full solar eclipse. Mysterious radio frequency signals emanate from the object interfering with TV and radio broadcasts on Earth. Sinister alien artifacts simply appear in the capitals of the world’s powers. Retired NASA Scientist Jasmine Evans, who was the first to spot the object, is recalled to lead a portion of the investigation. But what she finds is not what it initially appeared to be. The fate of humanity will be determined in the next Eleven Days.
Both books are available in eBook and paperback formats. Calamite is also available in hardback. Here’s a look at the covers:
Don Mules (who writes under the pen name D. Ward Cornell), continues to be one of the most prolific writers in the Guild. Since the Spring Issue of Member News came out, Mules has published two more science fiction books:
· Calamite: The Chronicles of Daan: Book 4, published April 27, 2022
· Eleven Days, published August 16, 2022
Calamite completed the Chronicles of Daan, which documented the rise of Jared Daan, who was framed for crimes he did not commit and sent to his world’s only prison camp—a sugar plantation on the equator. There he discovers something of immense value. Leveraging that advantage, Jared transforms his world, then the Confederation of Human Worlds, and in the last book unifies other powers in the quadrant to fend off a malevolent galactic antagonist determined to enslave all others. The book opened at #26 on Amazons Hard SciFi top-100 list, peaking a day or two later at #18.
Eleven Days is a “first contact” story that leverages, then subverts the classic first contact tropes. A massive object is spotted near the sun during a full solar eclipse. Mysterious radio frequency signals emanate from the object interfering with TV and radio broadcasts on Earth. Sinister alien artifacts simply appear in the capitals of the world’s powers. Retired NASA Scientist Jasmine Evans, who was the first to spot the object, is recalled to lead a portion of the investigation. But what she finds is not what it initially appeared to be. The fate of humanity will be determined in the next Eleven Days.
Both books are available in eBook and paperback formats. Calamite is also available in hardback. Here’s a look at the covers:
|
|
Mules lives on the Kohala coast of the Big Island. He joined Hawaii Writers Guild in November 2019.
Tessa Rice with her new book Eternus:Adeo at Kona Stories Bookstore
Published! Congrats to Tessa Rice
Tessa Rice notified Member News that she was about to publish her first book when we were locking up the final copy for our second issue. The book came out on March 27, 2022, too late for inclusion in that issue, so we want to share the news with you in this issue.
Eternus: Adeo is Rice’s first published book, but it won’t be her last. We know that because Eternus: Adeo is being marketed as “the first book in the Eternus trilogy.” The story is set in 2300 A.D., a time when America is called Celebrus Natio (Rich Nation) and the citizens live under total control of the Council Four. The protagonist, Dawnielle Ellis, 17, lives with her family and struggles with her ability to control metal, stone, wood and electricity and to heal herself with water. One day, she is drafted to perform in the annual circus contest, where participants are thrust into a highly dangerous race to the finish.
That’s the beginning. It’s up to you to find out the end by reading the book.
Tessa Rice notified Member News that she was about to publish her first book when we were locking up the final copy for our second issue. The book came out on March 27, 2022, too late for inclusion in that issue, so we want to share the news with you in this issue.
Eternus: Adeo is Rice’s first published book, but it won’t be her last. We know that because Eternus: Adeo is being marketed as “the first book in the Eternus trilogy.” The story is set in 2300 A.D., a time when America is called Celebrus Natio (Rich Nation) and the citizens live under total control of the Council Four. The protagonist, Dawnielle Ellis, 17, lives with her family and struggles with her ability to control metal, stone, wood and electricity and to heal herself with water. One day, she is drafted to perform in the annual circus contest, where participants are thrust into a highly dangerous race to the finish.
That’s the beginning. It’s up to you to find out the end by reading the book.
Tessa Rice graduated from Hawaii Community College and has attended several writing groups and workshops in pursuit of her writing career. She has been a member of Hawaii Writers Guild since October 2018 and lives in Kailua-Kona.
An interesting side note is that Rice’s book was published by KRG Publishing, an imprint of Kahuna Research Group, which is owned and operated by Hawaii Writers Guild Member Zach Royer.
An interesting side note is that Rice’s book was published by KRG Publishing, an imprint of Kahuna Research Group, which is owned and operated by Hawaii Writers Guild Member Zach Royer.
Dr. Heather F. Rivera
Published!
Congrats to Dr. Heather F. Rivera
If anyone else in the Guild comes close to equaling Don Mules’ record for prolific book publishing, it’s Dr. Heather Friedman Rivera. His genre is science fiction; hers is books for “young readers.”
Her new book—her second this year and her 12th overall—is Grandma’s Back and She’s Hopping Mad. This is Book Three of the Loheea Enchanted series. We reported on Book Two in that series, In a Pickle, in our second issue of Member News.
In the thrilling conclusion to the Loheea Enchanted series, the Majestic family is on edge. Everyone thinks Hayden’s Grandma Ellen is dead until magical clues suggest she might be alive. It’s up to Hayden’s two cousins from Loheea to solve the mystery. Following more clues, the two adventurers set off on a dangerous mission to free Ellen from a powerful binding spell. They encounter hidden documents, a formidable foe, and obstacles at every turn. Time is running out. If the adventurers can’t stop a power-hungry villain, Ellen Majestic will be bound forever, and the land of Loheea will never be the same.
To find out what happens, you’ll have to get a copy and look inside. The book is out in paperback and on Kindle. Here’s what the cover looks like:
Congrats to Dr. Heather F. Rivera
If anyone else in the Guild comes close to equaling Don Mules’ record for prolific book publishing, it’s Dr. Heather Friedman Rivera. His genre is science fiction; hers is books for “young readers.”
Her new book—her second this year and her 12th overall—is Grandma’s Back and She’s Hopping Mad. This is Book Three of the Loheea Enchanted series. We reported on Book Two in that series, In a Pickle, in our second issue of Member News.
In the thrilling conclusion to the Loheea Enchanted series, the Majestic family is on edge. Everyone thinks Hayden’s Grandma Ellen is dead until magical clues suggest she might be alive. It’s up to Hayden’s two cousins from Loheea to solve the mystery. Following more clues, the two adventurers set off on a dangerous mission to free Ellen from a powerful binding spell. They encounter hidden documents, a formidable foe, and obstacles at every turn. Time is running out. If the adventurers can’t stop a power-hungry villain, Ellen Majestic will be bound forever, and the land of Loheea will never be the same.
To find out what happens, you’ll have to get a copy and look inside. The book is out in paperback and on Kindle. Here’s what the cover looks like:
Heather Rivera lives in Pahoa, Hawaii. She has been a member of Hawaii Writers Guild since December 2018.
Greer Woodward
Published!
Congrats to Greer Woodward
(and to her friend Adele Gardner)
Although our member Greer Woodward is a frequently-published writer of science fiction haiku (scifiku), we are congratulating her here not on the publication of her own poetry, but rather on the publication of a book of short poetry she co-edited with her friend Adele Gardner.
The 2022 Dwarf Stars Anthology is a compilation of the best science fiction, fantasy and horror and other speculative short poetry of 2021. It was published under the auspices of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association.
Woodward, who lives in Kamuela, Hawaii and Gardner, who lives in Newport News, Virginia, had been friends since meeting in a writing workshop in 2004. “We had wanted to work on a project together for a long time,” Woodward said. In 2020, the two of them applied to co-edit the annual Dwarf Stars anthology, but couldn’t do it that year. In 2021, however, the Association came looking for them and asked them to co-edit the 2022 anthology and they agreed.
Around the beginning of 2022, they started hunting for the best short poems in the science fiction, fantasy and horror fields that had been published in the prior year. The poems had to be just 10 lines or less (or 100 words). They contacted Haiku Dialogue, a foundation dedicated to English-language haiku; the Haiku Association of America; editors of various publications; haiku masters; and others they believed could lead them to the best published poems. They received multiple issues of 171 journals and anthologies and they, themselves, reviewed and collected work from multiple issues of 78 different magazines. They did such a good job, they ended up with 1371 poems from 408 poets currently hailing from Australia, Canada, England, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Israel, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, United States, Vietnam, and more.
Together, they managed to whittle that number down to the 120 best poems. Those are the poems that appear in the book.
“It was a lot of work” Woodward admitted, but the two friends brought the project to a successful conclusion when the book was published online in early May. The printed version came out about mid-May. The anthology was mailed to members of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association, who then voted on the winners—the best of the best. Winners were announced in September.
Here are some excerpts from the introduction written by the editors which provide insights into their views about short poetry and haiku:
We believe in the power of short form poetry to change the world— strengthening hearts, offering a moment of insight, a glimpse into another way of seeing things.
While short-form poetry is not unique in this—it is, for some, the sacred mission of the arts—we found these compact forms so pithy they stayed with us, verses coming back at odd moments, bringing shivers of haunting or delight.
Within these tiny poems, so much space can exist—entire worlds, their life and death—room for the mind to bend and find, through the careful choice of words, three and four more layers of meaning, a twist ending, a secret, a clue to the universe, laughter.
…
Among these tiny gems, you will find themes familiar and strange, moving and funny. There are very different takes on love and romance, the plaintive cries of displaced aliens and angels, and, alas, too few cats. The usual suspects were present: ghosts, witches, spacers, extraterrestrials, Sleeping Beauty, and Little Red Riding Hood. But these alternate views awakened new emotions.
We feel the poems contained herein would be equally at home in speculative or mainstream literary journals—for their beauty, complexity, humor, insight, fascination, or unique view of our universe.
In addition to their daring and multilayered words and lines, these poems also explore the potential of white space, a place where readers attach their own feelings, experiences, and imaginations to a poem. It is a versatile location that can take you to the birth of a dewdrop on a blade of grass or even the beginning of the universe.
…
We marvel at these tiny gems … … our shining stars.
Adele Gardner • Newport News, Virginia Greer Woodward • Kamuela, Hawaii
Congrats to Greer Woodward
(and to her friend Adele Gardner)
Although our member Greer Woodward is a frequently-published writer of science fiction haiku (scifiku), we are congratulating her here not on the publication of her own poetry, but rather on the publication of a book of short poetry she co-edited with her friend Adele Gardner.
The 2022 Dwarf Stars Anthology is a compilation of the best science fiction, fantasy and horror and other speculative short poetry of 2021. It was published under the auspices of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association.
Woodward, who lives in Kamuela, Hawaii and Gardner, who lives in Newport News, Virginia, had been friends since meeting in a writing workshop in 2004. “We had wanted to work on a project together for a long time,” Woodward said. In 2020, the two of them applied to co-edit the annual Dwarf Stars anthology, but couldn’t do it that year. In 2021, however, the Association came looking for them and asked them to co-edit the 2022 anthology and they agreed.
Around the beginning of 2022, they started hunting for the best short poems in the science fiction, fantasy and horror fields that had been published in the prior year. The poems had to be just 10 lines or less (or 100 words). They contacted Haiku Dialogue, a foundation dedicated to English-language haiku; the Haiku Association of America; editors of various publications; haiku masters; and others they believed could lead them to the best published poems. They received multiple issues of 171 journals and anthologies and they, themselves, reviewed and collected work from multiple issues of 78 different magazines. They did such a good job, they ended up with 1371 poems from 408 poets currently hailing from Australia, Canada, England, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Israel, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, United States, Vietnam, and more.
Together, they managed to whittle that number down to the 120 best poems. Those are the poems that appear in the book.
“It was a lot of work” Woodward admitted, but the two friends brought the project to a successful conclusion when the book was published online in early May. The printed version came out about mid-May. The anthology was mailed to members of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association, who then voted on the winners—the best of the best. Winners were announced in September.
Here are some excerpts from the introduction written by the editors which provide insights into their views about short poetry and haiku:
We believe in the power of short form poetry to change the world— strengthening hearts, offering a moment of insight, a glimpse into another way of seeing things.
While short-form poetry is not unique in this—it is, for some, the sacred mission of the arts—we found these compact forms so pithy they stayed with us, verses coming back at odd moments, bringing shivers of haunting or delight.
Within these tiny poems, so much space can exist—entire worlds, their life and death—room for the mind to bend and find, through the careful choice of words, three and four more layers of meaning, a twist ending, a secret, a clue to the universe, laughter.
…
Among these tiny gems, you will find themes familiar and strange, moving and funny. There are very different takes on love and romance, the plaintive cries of displaced aliens and angels, and, alas, too few cats. The usual suspects were present: ghosts, witches, spacers, extraterrestrials, Sleeping Beauty, and Little Red Riding Hood. But these alternate views awakened new emotions.
We feel the poems contained herein would be equally at home in speculative or mainstream literary journals—for their beauty, complexity, humor, insight, fascination, or unique view of our universe.
In addition to their daring and multilayered words and lines, these poems also explore the potential of white space, a place where readers attach their own feelings, experiences, and imaginations to a poem. It is a versatile location that can take you to the birth of a dewdrop on a blade of grass or even the beginning of the universe.
…
We marvel at these tiny gems … … our shining stars.
Adele Gardner • Newport News, Virginia Greer Woodward • Kamuela, Hawaii
Cover art by Elisabeth Alba
You can find the anthology by searching its title online or through the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association.
Greer Woodward is a founding member of Hawaii Writers Guild. She is currently in the throes of moving from one house to another house, but she will remain a resident of Kamuela.
Greer Woodward is a founding member of Hawaii Writers Guild. She is currently in the throes of moving from one house to another house, but she will remain a resident of Kamuela.
