A.J. Llewellyn's Blog, page 12

IT’S TIKI TIME! AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: DAWN CASEY

 

Aloha gang,

Today we’re meeting author Dawn Casey, who is in the midst of writing her first mystery,  Journey to Mecca. I’ve read the first two chapters and it’s already fantastic! The funny thing is Dawn wrote a book some years ago called The Hawaiian Christmas Tree and I happen to own a copy of it!

Purchase link: https://www.amazon.com/Hawaiian-Chris...

Dawn will be appearing this week at the Left Coast Crime Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii. She’ll be on a panel discussing her work so if you are anywhere near sunny Waikiki, come on down and meet her.

Here is a link for all the details about Honolulu Havoc. http://www.leftcoastcrime.org/2017/

Busy as she is, Dawn took time to answer some really stupid questions!

1. Hi Dawn, what’s your favorite cocktail? I’ll have the cabana boys whip one up for you while I ask you some stupid, I mean important questions.

I don’t drink cocktails.  I usually drink white wine like Spumante

2. You are writing a very interesting historical book called Journey to Mecca. I read the first couple of chapters and loved it. My question to you is if you could go back in time and be anybody famous in history, who would it be and why?


Queen Elizabeth the first. She had a very interesting life and had lots of power.


3.  You are Australian. What is the worst thing about being from the land downunder?


I really don’t think there is any bad thing about being Aussie except maybe the accent.


4. Being Australian myself, I adore our accents! Speaking of growing up in the land downunder, what was your favorite toy growing up?

I believe it was a doll Santa left. The doll had a beautiful face.  I think it was an  antique and they put a new body on her.

5. Oh, she was a Hollywood doll! Now, your last and final question. You’re stuck on a deserted island after a three hour tour that goes awry. Name six people alive or dead that you’d like to be marooned with…and your fantasy castaway meal.


  Richard Burton, the  actor.
   Richard Burton, the  explorer.
   Queen Elizabeth the first.
    Ann Boleyn,  wife of Henry VIII
    Captain Cook
    E.M.  Forster, writer (PASSAGE TO INDIA, ROOM WITH A VIEW}

 We’d have a picnic on the beach with fish we’d taken from the sea.  A bottle of wine  one of above had taken from the ship..  Fruit and nuts we found growing on trees.  Wild fowl we found roaming  around, which we cooked in open fire.

IT’S TIKI TIME! AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: JANE LASSWELL HOFF! WIN A FREE EBOOK!

 

Aloha gang!

Today we’re meeting author Jane Lasswell Hoff, a brand new mystery novelist who is also a forensic anthropologist. Her novel, BONES OF PARADISE is a fantastic mystery and she will be appearing this week at the Left Coast Crime Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii. She’ll be on a panel discussing her work so if you are anywhere near sunny Waikiki, come on down and meet her.

Here is a link for all the details about Honolulu Havoc. http://www.leftcoastcrime.org/2017/

Busy as she is, Jane took time to answer some really stupid questions!

Don’t forget to post a comment for a chance to win a copy of this amazing book!

 

1. Hi Jane, what’s your favorite cocktail? I’ll have the cabana boys whip one up for you while I ask you some stupid, I mean important questions.

I’m a big fan of expensive champagne or mescal (straight, with a wedge of lime and some salt on the side). But are those really cocktails? I think not. So, being a resident of Hawaii, I’d have to ask for a good Mai Tai, with a little paper umbrella or an orchid to decorate it.

2. Wow. The guys must like you. They brought you one of each! Your book Bones of Paradise involves a bit of your real work as a forensic anthropologist. I find this work so fascinating but it begs the question, do you have a favorite famous or not so famous set of bones?

I’ve worked on some very famous cases but one, from Alabama, involved two escapes (of the murderer), went on for seven years and wound up on the Oprah Winfrey Show. That one is hard to top.

3.If you could be any animal in the world, what you be and why? This could be an extinct animal or a species currently living…

I think I’ll stick with human, thank you very much. But it I have to convert, it might be nice to know what flying feels like – so maybe a wild canary. It would be fascinating to meet up with a real Australopithecus or Neanderthal or other ancient type of human (and they are different species) – would that count? I would like to meet them, but I’m not sure I’d like to be one.

4. What was your favorite toy growing up?

I suppose it would be a piano. It might not be a toy in everyone’s book but I played it with my grandfather and with my sister and our level of competence (I still can’t play very well) qualifies it as our toy, I think.

5. It works for me! Now, You’re stuck on a deserted island after a three hour tour that goes awry. Name six people alive or dead that you’d like to be marooned with…and your fantasy castaway meal.

Another tricky question for me!

Will there be a translator available? If I couldn’t communicate with Leonardo da Vinci, for instance, what would really be the point of having him there? Although, he was so brilliant, he would probably pick up English pretty fast and also devise some clever way to get us off the island. Ditto for Noah – he could build an ark, no?

How long will we be there? I would love to meet and dine with some people (Cleopatra or Jesus, for instance) but I doubt I’d want to spend a LOT of time with them.

So, here is my list of English-speaking people with whom I’d like to spend a happy couple of years:

 1. Dorothy Parker

 2. Oscar Wilde

 3. Bill Nighy

 4. Billy Connelly

  5. Stephen Colbert

  6. my sister, Julie (so we could talk trash about the others,  in case they turn out to be disappointments)

  The menu:  

 Champagne

 Oysters on the half-shell

 A Turkish dish, Bayildi (Translation: The Imam Fainted)

 Potato galette

 Ripe, seasonal peaches and cherries

 Devil’s Food chocolate cake

  Hilo water, no ice, barely chilled

 

 AJ says: I am crashing this party. Wow, I love Bill Nighy! And Billy Connolly. And those are some snappy answers! Thanks Jane!

 

Bones of Paradise: Big Island Mysteries, #1  by Jane Lasswell Hoff

Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/Bones-Paradise...

Synopsis:

Bones of Paradise is one terrific debut.” - Aaron Elkins, Edgar Award-winning author of the Gideon Oliver series

Even in paradise, people do die. And it’s the job of Mimi Charles, Forensic Anthropologist, to analyze the bodies that aren’t found right away – skeletons, mostly. Mimi and her colleagues at the Medical Examiner’s office are a tightly-knit team that relishes solving the puzzles presented by each case. But outside of the office, their lives in the sweet little town of Hilo, Hawaii, flow in a gentle island rhythm. None of them is prepared for the disappearance of one of their own, right from the building where they work (or the parking lot outside, anyway). Soon a series of notes begins to arrive, supposedly from the missing person. Even though the FBI shows up to join the local police in the search for clues, Mimi and her friends can’t resist doing a little “digging” of their own. Suddenly, there’s a very pesky TV reporter calling Mimi at home and peeking out at her from behind potted plants. And then John, the Death Investigator who works with Mimi, begins to act strangely. Despite the distractions, Mimi begins to piece together odd, seemingly unrelated bits of information in the race to find her missing friend, and she most sincerely hopes that she’s not too late…

Jane Lasswell Hoff  is a professional forensic anthropologist, a member of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and a lecturer in anthropology. As a forensic anthropologist, she has worked for tribal groups, the U. S. government and in the states of Alabama, Florida, Hawaii, Mississippi, Washington and Utah. She attended the University of Hawaii for her undergraduate degree and the University of Oregon for her graduate degree. She lives and works in Hilo, Hawaii.

Author Links:

Website: http://www.janehoff.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jane.hoff.7

IT’S TIKI TIME! AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: LIZBETH HARTZ – WIN A FREE EBOOK!

 

Aloha gang, today we’re meeting author Lizbeth Hartz, author of ANGEL HERO, one of the best books I’ve read in a long, long, time. She is an awesome author and a good sport…she even took time to answer some really stupid questions!

Don’t forget to post a comment for a chance to win a copy of this amazing book!

Hi Lizbeth, what’s your favorite cocktail? I’ll have the cabana boys whip one up for you while I ask you some stupid, I mean important questions.

Well, I can’t drink booze – it hurts my tummy, but the closest thing I drink to a cocktail is I do inhale apple brandy through a breathing straw from an oak keg ala Edgar Cayce. Cayce claimed doing this could even cure TB. It did cure my bronchitis, so I’m a believer.

I must try that! Now, your book Angel Hero deals with a very heroic fireman. There’s a lot of detail about fires in this book which makes me wonder…did you play with matches as a kid?

Well, pretty close to it. Once when Mom was away and I was in junior high, I plugged in her heat lamp and tried to get a tan with it. I wasn’t supposed to do that. When I heard her coming home, I quickly shoved it back in its cardboard box and shoved that in her night stand. Trouble was, it was still hot and caught fire, and pretty soon the entire night stand was on fire. Soon the firemen came stomping through the house in their dirty boots and extinguished the fire. Needless to say, I was in hot water for a long time after that!

I bet you were! Lemme ask you, what do you think about when you’re alone in your car?

I think, why are you alone in your car when you could be out having fun with friends?

If you could have an accent in the world, which one would you choose?

Brazilian, I think; the same accent the woman had when she sang the bossa nova jazz song The Girl from Ipanima.

Oh man, now that song is stuck in my head…which brings me to my last question. You’re stuck on a deserted island after a three hour tour that goes awry. Name six people alive or dead that you’d like to be marooned with…and your fantasy castaway meal.

Yikes! You don’t ask easy questions, do you? Well, I’d like to be with my mom, who recently passed away, and my dad, who’s long since been gone. And Vic Lazzarini, the Angel Hero in my book Angel Hero. And Ray Bradbury, my all-time favorite author as a kid. And my favorite living author, Carlos Ruiz Zafon. And the hunk I’d like to play Vic in the movie I hope gets made some day, Chris Hemsworth. As for my fantasy castaway meal, I think I’d like blackened ahi and shrimp chop suey and cheese with plum sauce and green salad with avocado and coconut sorbet.

Angel Hero, by Lizbeth Hartz is available now on Amazon:

Purchase Link:

https://www.amazon.com/Angel-Hero-Mur...

Synopsis:

Dazzled by open-hearted Hawai’i firefighter Vic Lazzarini, dispatcher Lizbeth is puzzled by his friendship with Jaku Cardoza, a little man who thinks he’s something big. Liz shakes like a palm frond in the trade winds when Jaku corners her in the alarm room and pummels her with sadistic stories. Gentlemanly Vic couldn’t be more different, and she dreams of romance with this Prince Charming she’s found after too many frogs.

But a grisly crime in the gentle rain of a Hawaiian Valentine’s Day morning shocks her out of her fantasies and plunges her into the greatest struggle of her life. Liz knows one wrong move could snuff out her life quicker than she can say, “Fire Department. Are you reporting an emergency?”

This is a true story. Names and descriptions, dates, and places were changed to protect the innocent.

 

Author links: Lizbeth Hartz’ Twitter Page:  Lizbeth Hartz@lizbethhartz

Lizbeth’s Facebook Page:  https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100004366997121

Lizbeth’s website/blog:  www.authorlizbethhartz.com

Lizbeth’s book trailer: http://www.kwillbooks.com/lizbeth-hartz/

Lizbeth’s Amazon Author Page:  https://www.amazon.com/Lizbeth-Hartz/e/B00MF82T2M

 

Taste the forbidden fruits of…The Forbidden Island – Phantom Lover #3, OUT NOW!

 

I’m so excited to announce that The Forbidden Island is out today! This is a nice, juicy 80 K + story set on the mysterious island of Ni’ihau. It’s called The Forbidden Is’and because nobody can visit without an invitation by a resident.

Many years ago, I got to visit it and it still haunts my dreams…

Here is the Amazon purchase link:

https://www.amazon.com/Forbidden-Isla...

The Forbidden Island by A.J. Llewellyn

Johnny Kaimana is a young Honolulu tour guide, enjoying a fun, carefree existence and a no-strings sexual relationship with his roommate, island music man Alex “Aloha” Granger. But just as things turn serious between them, Johnny finds himself drawn to Mahini, a mysterious stranger, an imperious tattoo artist from The Forbidden Island of Ni’ihau.

What starts as a hot sexual romp turns almost deadly when Mahini, determined to either keep Johnny for himself or kill him, secretly burdens him with an ancient, evil curse called he malama pu’olo, or a Bundle of Death. With the aid of the powerful kahuna priest Kimo Wilder, Johnny seeks to retrieve the very personal object Mahini has stolen from him.

But to get back the item means making a rare and dangerous trip to Ni’ihau, an island forbidden to outsiders. Can Johnny break the hold of the curse? He knows he must, for his sanity, for his life, and also for the life of the man he realizes he truly loves, the man he calls Aloha…

They’re Baaaack! A Vampire in Waikiki is OUT NOW!!

Do you know how to tell if your husband has recently been having sex?

Find out here: https://www.amazon.com/Vampire-Waikik...

I’m thrilled to announce that A Vampire in Waikiki is our now through The Pele Press! The first book in my Waikiki Vampires series has been re-released and is available on Amazon NOW! Other links coming soon!

Synopsis:

Gay-for-pay porn star Jimmy Thunder doesn’t just have a double life, he’s got three. Just when he thinks he has all his big secrets under control, he discovers mind-blowing sex and the emerging feelings of true love with his gay co-star, Angelis. And it’s no fluke. These guys just can’t keep their hands off each other, doing unscripted, hot sex scenes that thrill their director, but for Jimmy, it’s actually one more problem he doesn’t need.

His most recent ex-girlfriend claims she’s pregnant, his current girl is fighting deportation, and just what is that deadly entity lurking in Angelis’ second bedroom? Jimmy knows an otherworldly monster when he feels one. And he ought to know, because Jimmy’s a vampire. Sleeping by day, hiding at night, Jimmy’s many secrets are about to collide in the sinister, dark side of tropical Waikiki few visitors ever see.

 

Mated: Mingo McCloud Book 4 – OUT NOW!

 

Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/Mated-Mingo-Mc...

MATED:

Forensic accountant Mingo McCloud, his lover, Francois, and their son, Ferric, are in Hartford, Connecticut, for their best friends’ wedding. On a mission to pick up the brides’ wedding cake, Mingo and Ferric are carjacked. Francois, furious that he wasn’t there to protect his family, drops the super-secret case on which he’s been working to take Mingo and Ferric for a quick, sun-drenched trip to his birthplace of St. Martin in the Caribbean.

Unbelievably, Mingo and Ferric encounter the same two men who carjacked them in Hartford, and it soon emerges that they’re connected to Francois’ latest security assignment. Francois is now hell-bent on revenge, whilst Mingo must deal with long-dormant feelings for his ex-lover, Kaolin, who is also on vacation in St. Martin. Kaolin wants Mingo back and will do anything to win his heart, even marry him. But there’s another guy hovering, too, hunky FBI agent Sage Brantley, who wants another hot threesome with Mingo and Francois.

Who will die? Who will get bedded? Are Mingo and Francois fated to be mated, and were the carjackers’ guns made in Taiwan?

The Wine-Dark Sea is OUT NOW!

The Wine-Dark Sea, one of my favorite books is OUT NOW!

Ebook purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MS99UGQ/...

Paperback: TO COME!

SYNOPSIS:

Daniel is an elegant chair… 

He’s a handsome Englishman. A successful writer living in Paris, writing guidebooks that help people discover the secret delights of the city and country he loves. As for discovering the secrets to navigating the treacherous Paris social scene, Daniel himself relies on a book, which imparts some unusual advice—be an elegant chair, seen and not heard. And he’s getting a lot of practice. His last lover, Alain, is undergoing a tremendous transformation that he didn’t confide in Daniel. His current lover, Francois, is a celebrated artist, as arrogant as he is amorous. Their needs and dramas overshadow everything, including Daniel.

He is a very elegant chair…

Against a backdrop of the world’s most romantic city, between rounds of sizzling sex and sensational betrayal, Alain and Francois teach Daniel about passion and pain, loss and lust, gentle humor and poignant heartache.

It will take someone else, someone unexpected, to teach him about love.

 

Amazon: Ebook purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MS99UGQ/...

Other links coming soon!

A.J. and D.J. are back!!! The Odds – OUT NOW!

Our first new novel in quite some time is out today at Loose Id!

Purchase Link:  http://www.loose-id.com/the-odds.html...

THE ODDS by D.J. Manly and A.J. Llewellyn

 

Hot guitar player Angus Mackay learned how to escape unhappiness early in life. The only love he’d ever felt came from his big sister, Debbie. When he learns she is dying, he’s forced to return home and face not only his demons, but hers as well. He must deal with Steven, the lover he left behind, who helped Debbie raise her daughter, Sherry. But Angus is in for a rude shock. Not only must he confront his past, but what could have been his future because Eli Borich, a man he had an amazing one-night stand with, is Steve’s lodger, friend, and employee. Can Angus cope with it all?

Eli had his hopes set on a musical career and a relationship with Angus before they’d even met. Given the chance to play one night in Angus’s band, his hopes rose then fell when Angus split town and didn’t look back. Eli’s musical hopes have died but he senses that Angus isn’t as indifferent as he initially seems. What are the odds that Eli’s luck is about to change for the better?

 

Bonded: Mingo McCloud, #3 OUT NOW!

Amazon Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N9I1OAC/...

 

OTHER LINKS to come!

Synopsis: 

Forensic accountant Mingo McCloud and his lover Francois Aumary are back! First they were WANTED, then they were NEEDED, now they are BONDED…to each other and to a strange, electrifying case at ‘Iolani Palace. As Honolulu’s dynamic duo wrangles two hot new criminal cases involving a fake king and fake money, Francois’ past catches up with him. Can Mingo handle Francois’ revelations and the huge changes they bring?

And what of the “king” who claims to be the rightful heir to the lost Hawaiian crown? What is his connection to Mingo, and what does Mingo’s mom have to do with it all?

And what about hunky FBI agent Sage Brantley who wants to team up with our guys for another scorching threesome? Will they do it?

There’s malice in the palace, and Mingo and Francois hope to find the answers to all of these questions…if they don’t wind up in the pokey instead…

NOTE: This book was previously published. This reissued version of the book has been reedited.

 

Hula Pie and Coconut Bras – a brand new Abe Torufu Mystery OUT NOW!

Hula Pie and Coconut Bras, book 3 in my Abe Torufu series for award winning author Tony Neal’s LEI CRIME SERIES is out NOW! Pick up your copy today piping hot and fresh right here:

https://www.amazon.com/Lei-Crime-Coco...

Can Abe, Lei, and Tony catch a madman before it’s too late?

Maui Police Department Detective Abe Torufu and Sergeant Lei Texeira sign up for a rigorous Violent Offenders Warrant Squad training course in Honolulu.

With 91% of Honolulu’s major crimes being unsolved – one of the highest numbers in the nation – Abe and Lei jump at the chance to be involved.

Having failed their bomb course the last time they teamed up however, they’re anxious to prove themselves. Before they can even get started, Lei, Abe, and US Marshal Tony McCracken witness a young woman being abducted at gunpoint by a masked man in a white van.

They run to her rescue but the suspect stuffs the girl into the van. As he drives away, a blood-spattered cell phone clatters to the ground.

With the murder of another young woman the previous week, HPD mobilizes an island-wide search amid fears that a serial killer is at work because these two cases are eerily similar to the five unsolved Honolulu Strangler homicides from 1986.

Then a third girl goes missing.

Could the Strangler still be alive?

Anc Lei, Abe, and Tony find the two girls before it’s too late?

This story takes place after Bone Hook.