Lucienne Diver's Blog: Lucienne Diver's Drivel, page 29

It’s nearly that time again! The Crossroads Blog Tour r...

It’s nearly that time again!  The Crossroads Blog Tour returns October 21st to 28th with thirteen fabulous young adult authors, and the chance to win a Kindle pre-loaded with a title by each author:

Judith Graves – Leap Books – Under My Skin, Second Skin, Skin of My Teeth, Killer’s Instinct

Joy Preble – Sourcebooks – Dreaming Anastasia, Haunted, Anastasia Forever. Soho Press (forthcoming May 2013) – The Sweet Dead Life

Stacey Kade – Hyperion – The Ghost and the Goth, Queen of the Dead, Body & Soul

Amanda Ashby – Speak – You Had Me at Halo, Zombie Queen of Newbury High, Fairy Bad Day, Demonosity

Lucienne Diver – Flux – Vamped, Revamped, Fangtasic, Fangtabulous

Kiki Hamilton – Teen / Macmillian – The Faerie Ring, The Torn Wing

Jackie Morse Kessler – Harcourt Graphia – Hunger, Rage, Loss

Christine Fonseca – Compass Press – Transcend, Libera Me

Carrie Harris – Delacorte Books for Young Readers -Taste In Boys, Bad Hair Day

Dawn Dalton – Leap Books - SPIRITED Anthology, Killer’s Instinct

Leanna Renee Hieber - Sourcebooks – Darker Still (Magic Most Foul, #1), The Twisted Tragedy of Miss Natalie Stewart (Magic Most Foul, #2)

Ty Drago - Sourcebooks – The Undertakers: Rise of the Corpses, The Undertakers: Queen of the Dead

Janet Fox – Speak – Faithful, Forgiven, Sirens

I’m paired this year with Christine Fonseca, and our schedule of blog appearances is below, along with links!

21st Late Bloomer

22nd Confessions of a Bookaholic

23rd Most Wanted Monsters

24th Mundie Moms

25th A Life Bound by Books

26th Scribing Shadows

27th For What It’s Worth

28th A Simple Love of Reading

Hope you’ll come see us and enter for a chance to win!

New Release!

New release this week!  PERSONAL DEMON by Susan Sizemore is a wonderful new paranormal romance/urban fantasy just out from Ace Books!  (Yes, it actually has both on the spine and should have enough action, romance and suspense to satisfy readers of all of the above.)

“Sizemore makes a welcome return to her Laws of the Blood series with a new entry featuring a vampire enforcer confronting the different way they handle things in Chicago. Sizemore’s two protagonists are worlds apart in their views of how vampires, humans and demons should interact, but that just adds to the tension in this excellent dark and hard-edged thriller!” – Romantic Times Book Reviews

Blurb:

In a community kept hidden, the Enforcers are an elite group of vampires sworn to serve and protect their kind—and follow the Laws of the Blood…

As one of Chicago’s vampire hunters, Ivy Bailey is responsible for keeping the city’s human residents safe—a job that becomes infinitely harder when someone starts committing gruesome acts of magical murder. But what Ivy doesn’t realize is that she is a hunter being hunted…

Vampire Enforcer Christopher Bell is in Chicago to investigate rumors of a revolution, but when he comes across Ivy being followed through dark streets, what he finds is a ghost from his past. Over a century ago, Christopher fought the vicious London serial killer Jack the Ripper—and won. But now, the Ripper’s tainted soul is back—on the hunt once more.

Ivy insists she doesn’t need protection—especially from a vampire Enforcer. But soon, Christopher finds himself in the middle of a fight between demons and mortals, watching over the frustrating woman who has managed to stir his undead heart….

Another really exciting book birthday this week!

Summer might be drawing to a close, but summer heat?  Not on your life!  Janet Mullany is talking about her latest steamy novel, HIDDEN PARADISE, over at Risky Regencies and on the Romantic Times blog today, Victoria Janssen talks about it over at Heroes and Hearbreakers, and I’m going to be doing a little talking about it myself here.

Blurb:

Louisa Connelly, a recently widowed Jane Austen scholar, needs some relief from her stifling world. When a friend calls to offer her a temporary escape from her Montana ranch, she is whisked into a dizzying world of sumptuous food, flowing wine…and endless temptation.

She’s an honored guest at Paradise Hall, an English resort boasting the full experience of an authentic Georgian country-house weekend. Liveried servants tend to every need of houseguests clad in meticulous period costume: snug breeches, low-cut silken gowns and negligible undergarments.

It’s Mac Salazar, a journalist immersing himself fully, deeply, lustily in the naughty pleasures of upstairs-downstairs dalliances, who piques Louisa’s curiosity—and libido—most. He’s a dilettante straight out of a novel: uninhibited, unapologetic and nearly insatiable. But Lou’s not romantic about this much, at least: Paradise Hall is a gorgeous fantasy, nothing more. A lover like Mac is pure fiction. And the real world beckons….

Happy Book Birthdays!

Before I go on to wish Beth Cornelison and Karen Whiddon happy book birthdays, I want to mention a post on Magical Words that I thought made a lot of really valuable points, “How Not to Get Published – One Editor’s Opinion” by John Hartness.  If you know anyone who can benefit from this advice, you might want to send them this way.

And now on to two people who are doing everything right!  Virtual confetti to Karen Whiddon and Beth Cornelison (see how I switched the order here so as not to play favorites?) for their exciting new releases:

COLTON’S RANCH REFUGE by Beth Cornelison

Ex-soldier Gunnar Colton’s only focus is shaking off the horrors of war in his remote cabin—until a murderer abducts another victim from the neighboring Amish community. Now the Colton code of honor kicks in and it’s his duty to protect the eyewitness who’s the next likely target.

Treating sexy, spitfire actress Violet Chastain as just another assignment is next to impossible, though. There’s more to her than Hollywood and the hurt she’s hiding. The minute Gunnar lets the starlet and her twin baby boys into his home, the guard around his heart starts to crack. One taste of passion shows him the future he could have with Violet—if the threat closing in doesn’t claim them both.

About the Author

Award-winning author Beth Cornelison has been writing stories since she was a child. A University of Georgia graduate, Cornelison worked in Public Relations before becoming a full-time writer. She has won many honors for her writing, including the coveted Golden Heart, awarded by the Romance Writers of America. She lives in Louisiana with her husband and son. For more information, visit her website at www.bethcornelison.com.

THE WOLF PRINCESS by Karen Whiddon (with bonus Pack novel ONE EYE OPEN)

Trouble. Princess Alisa senses it instantly when she first meets Braden Streib, the mysterious specialist her parents summoned from America to stimulate her shape-shifting cycles. At first—and unlike her many suitors—this confident, swarthy outsider in dark sunglasses seems indifferent to her royal status. But Alisa’s essence soon whispers to Braden, a Halfling, of untamed talents that could prove devastating—as well as impossible to resist. Her abilities, if properly aroused, might be her kingdom’s only hope. For amid the pomp and secrecy of the court, Braden and Alisa are about to confront an extremist enemy—and an unexpected passion beyond their wildest imaginings….

About the Author

Karen Whiddon started weaving fanciful tales for her younger brothers at the age of eleven. Amidst the Catskill Mountains of New York, then the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, she fueled her imagination with the natural beauty that surrounded her. Karen now lives in north Texas, where she shares her life with her very own hero of a husband and three doting dogs. She divides her time between the business she started and writing. Check out her website, www.karenwhiddon.com.

New release and GCC Interview with Elise Allen

Yesterday a very fabulous book released, BRIMSTONE by Rosemary Clement-Moore, which includes two novels I consider to be my gateway drugs into young adult fiction, PROM DATES FROM HELL and HELL WEEK, which won the RITA Award for Best Young Adult Romance.  These are the first two novels in the snarky and wonderful Maggie Quinn: Girl vs. Evil series, which continues with HIGHWAY TO HELL.  I highly, highly advise you to check them out!

In other news, I’ve been holding onto a wonderful interview with Elise Allen for her new release POPULAZZI!  (I know, bad blogger, no cookie.)  But I’m pleased to present it to you now, along with a big of info about the author and book.

Bio:

After starting her career in television, Elise Allen has emerged as a vibrant new voice in teen fiction.  She is the co-author of Hilary Duff’s New York Times Bestseller Elixir, as well as its sequels, Devoted and True.  She received an Emmy nomination for her work on the PBS show Dinosaur Train, and fulfilled a lifelong dream when she wrote for the Muppets.  She lives in Los Angeles, where she indulges her inexplicable desire to run marathons.  Visit her at www.eliseallen.com, or on Twitter @EliseLAllen.

Synopsis:

WHAT WOULD YOU DO if you had the chance to erase your past and reinvent yourself as the person you’ve always wanted to be?  Would you grab it?  Would you stick with it, no matter what the consequences?

Cara Leonard always wished she could be one of  those girls: confident, self-possessed, and never at a loss for the perfect thing to say.  One of the Populazzi.

It always seemed impossible… but now could be her chance.

When Cara moves to a new school just before junior year, her best friend urges her to seize the opportunity and change her life… with the help of The Ladder.  Its rungs are relationships, and if Cara transforms herself into the perfect girlfriend for guys higher and higher on the Popularity Tower, she can reach the ultimate goal: Supreme Populazzi, the most popular girl in school.

The Ladder seems like a lighthearted social experiment — a straight climb up — but it quickly becomes gnarled and twisted.  And when everything goes wrong, only the most audacious act Cara can think of has a chance of setting things even a little bit right.

Interview with Elise Allen:

What is your writing process like?  Are you a plotter or a pantser?  Do you schedule time to write each day or are you a spree writer? 

My writing process is complete chaos.  I’m a plotter, but a rough plotter, and I’m not married to anything I plot.  When the characters morph and change and develop and tell me they want to do something other than I had in mind for them, I listen.

As for when I write, I have fantasies of an organized “writing time” each day, but it never works out that way.  I’ve never heard the term “spree writer,” but I love it!  It’s also very accurate.  I’ll fit in my writing whenever I can, but then I’ll take a whole day when my husband’s hanging with our daughter, plop my butt at a coffee shop, and not move for twelve hours while I write.

What is the hardest part about the publishing process for you and how do you get through it? (For me, it’s copyediting and sour cream and onion chips.)

For me it’s the first draft.  Rewriting – even if it’s a page-one, rip-it-all-to-shreds-and-start-fresh rewrite – is fun and exciting, but that first draft… I have a horrible time getting what Anne Lamott calls Radio Station KFKD out of my head.  I’m always imagining someone staring over my shoulder and making gagging noises so loudly that I can’t hear myself think.

How do I get through it is a tougher one to answer, since I’ve yet to find that great, healthy solution that I’m positive is somewhere out there, taunting me with its elusiveness.  In the meantime, I battle it with boatloads of coffee, eardrum-shattering music blaring through headphones… and mass quantities of munchies.

We drop your hero or heroine on a deserted island.  Quick, what are the three things he or she can’t live without?

1)    Snacks – ideally French fries and chocolate shakes, so she can dip the fries into the shakes and enjoy.

2)    A journal to vent about the drama she will undoubtedly encounter even when she’s all alone on an island.

3)    A small replica of the Liberty Bell and an ancient pack of Tastykakes.  I know it sounds odd, but it has major sentimental value.

If your story were a film, who would you cast?

I love this game!  And it gives me a chance to say that Populazzi has been optioned for a film, so fingers crossed we’ll be playing this game in real life.

For Cara, my lead character, I’d cast Modern Family’s Sarah Hyland.  She’s great with comedy, emotionally honest, and very likable.  And while she’s the beautiful, confident daughter in Modern Family, I believe she’d do a great job as the far less secure Cara, and get to show off a more vulnerable side.

Cara’s best friend Claudia is a whole pile of quirky, obsessed with all things Shakespearean and dramatic.  For her I’m very intrigued by Ashley Rickards, from MTV’s Awkward.  I think she could totally nail the role.

Archer, the guy for whom Cara falls hard, has to be charming, quirky, quick-witted and completely at ease … except when he’s trying to express his feelings for Cara, at which point he gets all tangled up in himself.  My dream would be Dev Patel from Slumdog Millionaire.  I get all melty just imagining him in the role; he’d have Cara and the rest of the world completely in love with him.

Nate Wetherill is the dark, brooding, guitar-playing DangerZone who makes Cara’s blood race.  There is no question in my mind that this should be Darren Criss from Glee.  Nate is a complete 180 from Blaine, but I know Criss could pull it off, and I think he’d have a blast with it.  Plus there’s the fact that between Glee and A Very Potter Musical,I have a mild obsession with Darren Criss, and working with him professionally would give me a legitimate reason to gush to him about his awesomeness.

Then there’s Trista, the Supreme Populazzi who has the whole school in the palm of her hand.  My dream pick?  Emma Watson!  I love her!  She’s gorgeous, self-possessed, and a terrific actress, plus sexy, devious Trista is a complete departure from Hermione Granger, so she’d get the chance to play way off type.

 

Are there any contests or upcoming appearances/interviews/etc. you’d like to plug?

Sure!  I’m doing a giveaway right now on my blog, and the winner gets a five-pack of books: Populazzi, plus one book from each of the four authors who blurbed it.  Check it out here: http://eliseallen.com/2012/bookscoop/populazzi-paperback-prize-a-palooza/

Congratulations on your fabulous new release! 

Thanks so much, Lucienne, and thanks for hosting me on the blog!  I’m really excited about Populazzi coming out in paperback!

Book Trailer:

Hawaii – Day 7

Place of Refuge.

What better start can there be to a day than visiting a place of refuge?  The Pu’uhonua O Hōnaunau National Park has a sanctuary that was sacred to the ali’i, the rulers.  Maka āinana (commoners) like us would have been killed simply for gazing on the ali’i or allowing their shadows to fall  them.  Women weren’t allow to cook (which would have just broken my heart) and certainly weren’t fit for sacrifices (still waiting on the downside here).  They weren’t allowed to eat with the men or to have certain foods that were associated with the gods, like coconuts and bananas.  (Okay, now wait a minute here.)  There was only one punishment for breaking any of these kapu (laws), and that was death.  No leniency allowed…unless the rule-breaker could reach a place of refuge, where no blood was allowed to be shed and where the priests would provide pardons.  All would be forgiven and the community would have to take the rule-breaker back.  The trick was, the maka āinana couldn’t set foot on the sacred space they’d have to pass over to reach the refuge beyond, which meant a treacherous swim, often with pursuit hot on their heels.  I guess that if you actually lived to attain the refuge, the gods must favor you.

We got to hear the ranger talk and play the bamboo nose flute in tribute to the energy/spirit/mana of the refuge, and then we walked around to experience more of the peace and beauty of the place for ourselves.  I knew this was restoration, but there were signs of the original refuge, as in the stones with bowl shapes still carved into them that would have been used for grinding and mixing.  In any case, it was to my mind one of the most beautiful spots on the island.

We went straight from the sacred to the sublime with a quick stop at the Royal Kona Coffee Plantation and then the Donkey Balls store.  What are donkey balls? You ask.  Probably not what you think.  They’re macadamia nuts covered in fifty layers of Hawaiian chocolate lovingly crafted almost like a samarai sword, then rolled in espresso or cocoa powder, sea salt, cayenne pepper or…name your poison.  There were also half-assed balls (half one kind of chocolate, half another), boar balls, monkey balls and, well, you get the picture.  Unbelievably, ridiculously good.  Lunch, then two parks for petroglyph viewing, Puako Petroglyph Archaeological Preserve and Puukohola Heiau National Historical Site.  The first site you had to look extra carefully to spot the petroglyphs, een with the guide, because they were so old.  Erosion had done an exemplary job on them.  At the second, we missed the trail leading to the marked petroglyphs .7 miles away, but ended up finding others on our own along an amazingly beautiful little beach at Mauna Lani.  These were a lot less eroded and so perhaps more modern, but still beautiful and such a thrill each time we discovered one.  Also, Ty found many dogs along the beach to love and so was very happy.  We also finally, finally got a mongoose shot, though from very far away.

On our way out we did discover the marked trail, but by then we were concerned with catching our flight.  We had to stop back at the hotel for our bags, got changed, cleaned up and to the airport on time for our sad but inevitable trek home.

 

Click to view slideshow.

Hawaii – Day 6

Day 6

Sea turtles and submarines.

Sunrise over the volcanoes…a great way to start the day.  We were staying on the wrong side of the island for the full view (though the right one for sunset), but still it was pretty.  Then a walk along the beach, where we saw the honu, green sea turtles, which are native to Hawaii and enjoy eating the algae along the rocks as well as the cooler waters from the freshwater springs that vent out into the ocean.  They’re so beautiful and peaceful to watch.

Next was our underwater tour aboard the Atlantis submarine.  My husband pointed out that we’d been on the island (walking), over it (in a helicopter), and through it (lava tube).  Now we were witnessing it underwater, so we’d seen it from just about every angle imaginable.  The array of fish was amazing—longnosed and ornate butterflyfish, yellow tangs, silver dollar damselfish, parrotfish.  We learned that some of the white sand we’d been walking on the whole time came from parrotfish poop.   It’s true!  Much like owls don’t digest the bones of the animals they eat and excrete them in discrete little pellets, parrotfish can’t digest the bits of coral they ingest and so poop it out again.  One parrotfish can excrete a ton of white sand every year!

Unfortunately, except for the photos around the wrecks, none of our pics turned out very well, given the thickness of the porthole glass and other factors.  We bought the CD of our touristy picture taken before we got on the boat that would take us to the submarine because we were told it would have other pics of our submarine trip as well.  The implication was that they’d be of the ocean life, etc., but when we got it home, we were very disappointed to discover that it was only of the other passengers who got their pictures taken before we cast off, so be warned.  We saw two wrecks, our favorite, of course, being the Naked Lady (see story).

Overall, while it was pretty incredible being underwater in the submarine and Ty loved it, I’ve decided that I will learn to scuba, because I’d like to get a lot closer to everything than I can through portholes and the end of a snorkel.  Speaking of which, after shopping (because, you know, shopping) and tasting some more Kona coffee, we came back to the hotel and while the others rested, I snorkeled.  I didn’t go far or for long, because I knew I was supposed to have a buddy, but I’m glad I went.  The parrotfish, convict fish and some I wouldn’t identify were beautiful.  Of course, I’d used up the very last picture on my underwater camera just before the group of ornate and longnose butterflyfish swam right beneath me—close enough to touch, though I didn’t.  Then they turned around and swam back.  It was one of the high points of the trip for me.  I’m totally addicted to snorkeling, though my mask and snorkel leave something to be desired, and I’m definitely going to have to invest in much higher quality equipment.

The rest of the day was dinner, drinks, a live band in the hotel restaurant, more sea turtles and another amazing sunset.

Click to view slideshow.

Hawaii – Day 5

It’s a little odd to be posting my vacation pics so long after my return, but live (and work) have intervened, and I hate to leave an incomplete travel journal, so I continue with:

Day 5

One word —volcanoes.

We started the day bright and early with a trip to Hawaii’s Volcanoes National Park.  I give it the full title here, because our GPS was strangely unable to find it under just Volcanoes National…

OMG, let me just say—amazing.  To be standing on top of one of the two still-active volcanos (well, potentially three, but Hualalai hasn’t erupted since 1901), smelling the sulfur and seeing the steam vents still steaming, feeling the heat rising from them…incredible.  We took many, many pictures of the Kilauea Crater, the vents, the amazing (cooled) lava flows…and then decided that since the current volcanic activity was outside the scope of the park and not hikeable, that we would take a helicopter tour over a hot spot.

This was a first for all of us.  Ty was incredibly nervous, as were we all just bit, especially after the crazy tourist flight Pete and I had taken in a small plane over the Grand Canyon years ago where we were buffeted around like a kite in a high wind.  But the helicopter flight was surprisingly smooth and exciting.  From both the Jagger Museum at Volcano National Park and from our pilot, we learned about the two types of lava: a’ā & pāhoehoe.

a’ā is much more jagged and rough.  It’s a cooler lava and so solidifies more quickly.

pāhoehoe is a hotter flow and when it cools is smoother and often ropy in appearance.

We saw first hand what it did to the Royal Gardens subdivision, destroying it but for part of a carport that could still be seen and a portion of road, which is now, of course, inaccessible in the midst of a vast lava field.  There was no flowing lava still to be seen, but we did see hot spots, like red glowing coals, among the unremitting dark of all that lava.  We also saw the town of Kalapana (I think it was), which had been mostly destroyed, rebuilt and…well, you get the picture.

Because rain stopped us from seeing waterfalls as well on the flight, we then drove to Akaka State Park to see Akaka and Kahuna Falls.  They were impressive (see pics), but what really blew me away was the vegetation and the sheer size and variety of it all.  It looked like Jurassic Park, which was apparently filmed in Hawaii, with trees, leaves, vines and bamboo that dwarfed us in comparison.  There were flowers that I couldn’t identify and had never seen anywhere else.  In a word, it was magical.

We also saw our third—third!—wild mongoose.  When we saw our first (at Hanauma Bay), we thought it was a light-colored ferret, but local educational materials have shown us the light.  Unfortunately, mongoose are crazy-fast, and we were never able to get a pic.

On the way “home,” we stopped at Tex’s Drive-in in Honokaa, where Su got another loco moco, and we all tried their famous malasadas, square sugar-coated donuts filled with whatever  you’d like.  We liked chocolate and Boston cream.

Click to view slideshow.

Quick update

Things have been crazy-good-busy with work these past couple of weeks and something’s had to give.  Unfortunately, it was the blog.  So, herewith, a quick catch up on some new and exciting goings-on, some pics from Dragon*Con and a few links.  Universe willing, I’ll finish posting the glorious Hawaii pics very soon and get back to blogging as usual.

So, Vamped, the first book in the series of the same name, is currently specially priced at $1.99 for Kindle.  That’s right, all that snark for half of what a fancy coffee will cost you, and it’ll last a lot longer!  If you’ve liked Clueless or Legally Blonde, if you’ve liked Buffy (and who hasn’t?), this might be for you.  At best, you love it.  At worst, you get to feel all superior to me because you can write circles around me.  Isn’t the not-knowing killing you?

Also specially priced are new digital releases from Faith Hunter and Vicky Dreiling!  Have Stakes Will Travel, Faith Hunter’s new set of stories from the Jane Yellowrock world, includes an exclusive preview of the first few chapters of DEATH’S RIVAL, coming October 2nd!  Vicky Dreiling has a new e-novella A Season for Sin out from Forever Romance, introducing the sinful scoundrels that will be featured in her upcoming series.  I love a good rake, as long as I’m not expected to use it on the fall foliage!  As if that isn’t enough, Forever has specially priced Vicky’s RITA Award nominated Regency romance, HOW TO MARRY A DUKE at $2.99.  If you haven’t read it already, now’s your chance!  Heck, even if you have…books make great gifts!

Huge congrats are in order for Karen Whiddon’s romantic suspense THE COP’S MISSING CHILD debuting at #94 on Bookscan’s Romance bestseller list and for Christie Golden’s new World of Warcraft: Jaina Proudmore: TIDES OF WAR hitting the New York Times bestseller list at #13 and a USA Today at #119!  You go, gals!

I wish I had time to post an entire wrap up of the enormity and crazy wonderfulness that is Dragon*Con, but suffice it to say that I got to put an arm around James Callis and Jamie Bamber (and see them drinking at the bar the following day), snap a picture with a zombie-hunter Beaker, sell out of my urban fantasy BAD BLOOD (murder, myth and mayhem, oh my!) and spend a wonderful few days with incredibly talented writers David B. Coe/D.B. Jackson, Faith Hunter, Kalayna Price, Diana Peterfreund, C.L. Wilson, Jennifer St. Giles, Deidre Knight, John Hartness, James Tuck, Elaine Isaak, and Tracy Akers.  I also wrote a post over at Magical Words on Con-etiquette, partially inspired by the con.  Here are some snapshots for your viewing pleasure.

Click to view slideshow.

Hawaii – Day 4

Click to view slideshow.

On to Kona.  The views from the plane just getting from Oahu to the Big Island were amazing (see slideshow).

We played the first day pretty low key, taking the historical tour at our hotel—the Keauhou Resort, which sits on the site of three ancient heiau (temples).  Sadly, on is accurate for one of them, which they’ll have to tear out the pool area in order to restore.  Restoration has already begun on the other two, using the stacked stone building technique—no mortar—which allows the water to flow in and out rather than offer a solid wall for its force to act upon, a much better method of construction for the location.  The heiau most directly out from the hotel was dedicated to royal ritual, introducing new heirs to the people, saying good-bye to royalty who’ve passed.  It also acted as a calendar, with a set of stones to orient the people on the time of year.  Since there’s very little climate change, planting, sowing, and all of that has to be determined by external factors, like the position of the sun, because while crops could be grown all year round, rotation and renewal were necessary for sustainability.  This is something our tour guide emphasized.  While the museums and historical videos will tell you, for instance, that something like 80,000 birds were used in the making of the royal feathered cloak, they don’t tell you that the bird catchers used a catch and release system, where they’d put a sticky substance on the branches of favored trees and take just a few feathers from each bird before releasing them, alive.  Now, I don’t know that it was always this way (Wikipedia says not), but it’s certainly nicer to believe than the alternative.

The Kailua-Kona side of the island has freshwater springs that are partly responsible for attracting many of the fish, rays and sea turtles.  We learned about how those who came to the islands could find fresh water by looking for the coconut and another tree that looked like a slender banyan but had a name starting with a p that I didn’t catch.  Both grew beside fresh water, and dowsing on the side where the roots grew thickest would be likely to lead to a spring.

It was a lovely tour, after which Su and I explored the tide pools while the guys napped.  Later, we had a lovely dinner (and some of us too many mai tais) in the lanai bar, which opened on a perfect and unobstructed view of the sunset.