authorblog

RITA ARIYOSHI'S WAY

Wed, 28 Sep 2022 22:18:34 +0100

My father “Big Jim” was a large man in every sense of the word, and he told big fat lies. He was drafted toward the end of WWII but Japan surrendered the day before he was to report for duty. He told us they gave up because they heard Big Jim was coming. He couldn’t swim but took us to the beach. He’d go in the water and just sink. He said that was how Russians swim and the technique was called “snorkel.”

I began my own story-telling before anyone could read my penmanship. My first writing job was creating ads for a Fifth Avenue store that sold fur coats. Lucky for me, I was diverted from the ad world when I was offered editorship of Hawaiian Airlines in-flight magazine, then called Latitude 20. With children to support, I spent many years editing other writers’ stories. I wrote my first book Maui on My Mind while working full time by getting up an hour early every day and putting 500 words on paper. It became a best seller and won first place in the national Lowell Thomas Travel Book awards. I quit my job and wrote for many publications including Travel & Leisure, Islands, the Washington Times and Los Angeles Times. National Geographic commissioned me to write a book about Hawaii.

I wrote fiction in my spare time, mostly on planes and in foreign hotel rooms. One of the first published was selected for a Pushcart Prize. Another won grand prize in the National Steinbeck Center short story competition.

My first novel, LION'S WAY, like much of my fiction, was inspired by the things I discovered while pursuing magazine assignments. In this case, I was horrified to find out that slavery not only still exists, but flourishes, even in the U.S.A. LION'S WAY is one slave’s story, his anguish, escape, and ultimate surrender to love. Lion Majok from Sudan becomes a priest in Hawaii. He goes from island to island, healing, consoling and getting caught up in adventures. I intend that his journey from inner turmoil to peace is both a little light and wildly entertaining. I also hope it is a worthy heir to Big Jim’s whoppers.

RITA ARIYOSHI

RICHARD ROSE DOES IT AGAIN!

Sun, 12 Dec 2021 21:29:32 +0100

Writing has always been my supreme passion!

It was nourished at Wabash College, an all-male liberal arts college in Indiana, where as an English major I contributed short stories, satiric articles and cartoons to the literary and humor magazines. Following most of a three-year hitch in the Army Security Agency on the East/West German border, I embarked on a long career as a First V.P. Investments with a major investment firm in Chicago. During this time, I made stock market history when in 1966 and 1967 I wrote and announced the first market reports on television followed by 20 years on radio.

Although show biz was fun and profitable, a bigger high came from the publications of my short stories and novels and options of my screenplays. One screenplay, THE LAZARUS CONSPIRACIES, was a top ten finalist in the 2000 Illinois/Chicago Screenwriting Contest. It was the genesis of a novel version published by Savant Books and Publications in 2013. Two years later it won an award in fiction at The Pacific Rim Book Festival in Hollywood. Savant also published another mystery/thriller, THE GUMSHOE, in 2016, and my screenplay/novel, COMIC CRUSADERS, in 2019. My teleplay, STATIC, was adapted into a film version by K. Simmons Productions in Hawaii. It premiered this September in Hawaii and throughout the U.S. on FOX affiliate stations to rave reviews. RETRIBUTION, a sequel to LAZARUS, was just released by Savant. And as I write this, seeds of a sequel to GUMSHOE are already taking root in my brain.

The passion continues!

WELCOME BACK, GEORGE B. HUDSON

Tue, 26 Oct 2021 04:45:44 +0100

My list of writing achievements include a lot of work in the murder/mystery genre and in historic biography. My first novel, published by Savant, Purple Haze, was recognized by the Pacific Rim Book Festival and is under contract to be made into a motion picture. I also did the screen play for the movie based on the book and am doing a second screen play for another murder/mystery entitled New Moon Murders published by Outskirts Press.

SHEP'S ADVENTURES is my first attempt at adolescent fiction and it covers the story of a dog that lives on a farm with his owner Pete, and various friends that he is able to talk with. The book is written from the point of view of Shep, and the story is modeled after my own life on a farm with a much larger family with a non-talking dog named Shep.

I was inspired to write this book by watching the movie Fluke with some of the classes that I taught, and watching the joy of the students as they watched a story from a dog’s point of view.

WELCOME VERN TURN, SAVANT EDITOR!

Thu, 02 Sep 2021 20:36:48 +0100

Vern Turner has been writing and editing since high school in Ohio. He's written and edited general essays, scientific articles, treatises and theses. His editing experience also includes published novels written by friends and acquaintances. Vern has been an avid reader of everything since he was old enough to hold a book. His favorite genres these days include historical fiction, military fiction and history, action/adventure, solid, plot-driven crime, non-fiction politics and science-based books emphasizing the necessities for saving our planet.

Over the years, Vern Turner has been an industrial engineer, educator and world traveler. He's spent time in Great Britain, Ecuador, China, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Tanzania (He climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro) and Uganda. The melding of his careers, travels and military service allows him to write and edit from a very broad base of topical information.

Author Richard Rose's "RoboCallers from Hell" Blog Post

Wed, 23 Dec 2020 22:00:13 +0100

If you are as infuriated by the deluge of robocalls you get as I am, you’ll enjoy listening to this podcast (http://flashforcast.com/wild/rw013.mp3). I have devised a way to fight back and have some fun in the process. - Richard Rose

INTRODUCING AUTHOR CHERI WOODS

Sun, 13 Dec 2020 23:47:52 +0100

How I have loved my teaching years, so full of cultivating young writers, as well as enjoying opportunities for traveling to many places around the world. In Canada, I taught English to young adults of different nationalities, and in Portugal the parents of my kindergarten class were missionaries which led me to an African safari. In the southern part of Crete, I discovered an international poetry seminar and was enthralled. As my teaching career of encouraging young writers wound to an end, I returned to the notion, always in the back of my mind, of writing my own book. I retired in a tropical paradise with my sheltie pup Ricky, and tabby cat Lucy and did just that. Self-publishing photos of my pets on Shutterfly, I wrote of them teaching life lessons to children.

Cheri Woods and Her Father

Recently, I have had the great joy of getting a peek into the lives of my parents as few children do. Through my dad’s letters, I have been able to bring his thoughts and dreams as a young man to life in my own book which is very dear to my heart.

Cheri Woods

Author of 'TIL THEN OUR WRITTEN LOVE WILL HAVE TO DO (Aignos 2020)

RE-INTRODUCING SAVANT'S INCOMPERABLE WILLIAM MALTESE

Tue, 01 Dec 2020 19:54:23 +0100

As a WHO'S WHO IN AMERICA author, I've written over 200-published books of fiction and non-fiction in just about every (if not every) genre … including erotica. Because of the latter, I'm apt to warn potential readers to be sure to check with me to see whether or not a book of mine is a cozy mystery, a mainstream romance, western, sci-fi, horror tale, children's book, or an exposé with enough sex to turn your grandma's toes.

My very first published piece was an article for a men's magazine, "Argosy," the result of a search for Inca gold between my junior and senior years at university. Besides, the article, I came back from humid South American jungles with a bad case of crotch rot (since cured). I enlisted for three years in the U.S. Army, honorably discharged at the rank of E-5.

Having traveled the world extensively, I've drawn on those personal experiences when writing many of my books. All of my books originally written in longhand with a fountain pen.

2020 SAVANT POETRY ANTHOLOGY GREETINGS

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 22:29:10 +0100

It is my special pleasure to introduce the contributors to ALOHA LA'A KEA (Sacred Light of Love) - 2020 Savant Poetry Anthology.

Thirty-five remarkable poets including Greg Dasalla, Garrett Uehara, Moses Pilla, Malia Elliott, Nicole Maika’i-St. Louis, Jay Palompo, Ken Rasti, James Andrade, Dorothy Winslow Wright, Skyla Reyes, Karen Sisler, Hongri Yuan, Daniel S. Janik, Rüdiger Herzing Rückmann, Chuck St. Louis, Michael Lau, Milionea Toluao, Christopher Scott Halicion, Brent Kutara, Uhene, Miranda Zhang, Sidney Esperas, Paul Giovenco, Eddie Aribon, Chino Villa, Cathy A. Schultz, Kimo Dunn, Kaethe Kauffman, Serena Saleh, Cigeng Zhang, Martin Estaban, Mike Patelo, Mark Kempf, Abram Rocky Horner and Conner Maika'i-St. Louis contributed eighty-six outstanding poems.

When I was selected to be the guest editor for the 2020 Savant Poetry Anthology, I presented Savant with a challenge: In times like these of drastic change, it's all too easy to forget the many blessings we have, the greatest of which is life itself. While in the past, Savant let the poems determine the theme, I've edited this edition with the thought of "praise," namely, praise for that greatest of gifts, life, and the privilege of being alive. Savant has never done a "praise" anthology per se, and keeping it non-sectarian and culturally diverse proved quite demanding. Interestingly, while the call for submissions didn't state any theme, most of the poems included in this year's anthology, ALOHA LA'A KEA (Sacred Light of Love) - 2020 Savant Poetry Anthology are indeed poems of praise in one way or another, as reflected in the anthology title, which was taken from my own native Hawaiian language. It is my hope that this tenth Savant Poetry Anthology will prove uplifting to every reader's spirit, leaving everyone with a profound sense of awe and appreciation for, once again, simply being alive.

Multi-award-winning poet, Uhene (Robert Maika'i Jr), lives in the beautiful, paradise state of Hawaii. Single, no children, he loves people and anything that tastes of the mango. His Grandfather, Kawika Smith from Molokai, took him to first theater movie at five years of age, a Samurai production, and thus began his poetic career on the streets of Waikiki.

INTRODUCING MUSIC RECORDING STARS LEON & MALIA

Wed, 27 May 2020 19:19:23 +0100

Award-winning composers, recording artists, performers and producers, Leon Siu and Malia Elliott comprise the versatile, creative team of Leon and Malia whose works range from film scores to commercial jingles, to symphonic works, to children’s songs, to vintage and current Hawaiian music, to contemporary pop and exotic world-beats.

Leon and Malia’s writing credits include the benchmark symphonic cantata, BOY WITH GOLDFISH (Albany Records 2007), recorded with the prestigious London Symphony Orchestra; the dynamic soundtrack for the award winning National Geographic documentary, THE VOYAGE OF THE HOKULE'A; the best-selling, sing-along children’s CDS and DVDs, KEIKI CALABASH and HAWAII KID'S CALABASH as well as a variety of other innovative works.

Through their performances, Leon and Malia have shared the Aloha Spirit worldwide — from college pubs to elegant showrooms; symphony halls to sports stadiums; mega-pop festivals to the ballrooms of ships at sea. No matter what the venue, Leon and Malia’s performances are always engaging, uplifting, breathtakingly beautiful and thoroughly enjoyable. Whether performing the vintage songs of Hawaii, pop hits or their own compositions, Leon and Malia makes every song a memorable experience.

Leon and Malia are Hawaii’s leaders in children’s music and every year, they perform to tens of thousands of school children throughout Hawaii. Leon and Malia’s children’s concerts, videos, CDs, activity books and other children’s products, delight and inspire the children of Hawaii to explore the natural and cultural wonders of their unique island home.

Leon and Malia’s latest CD, LEON & MALIA'S ISLAND MUSIC (Savant 2020) is a selection of original and classic Hawaiian songs that evoke the allure and memories of Hawai‘i … island sunrises, flower leis, ocean liners arriving at Aloha Tower … tropical days of sun and surf … enchanting nights of sunsets and wistful romance. It's Aloha at its best; aloha at its most beautiful.

MEET THE NEW HELEN R. DAVIS, AGAIN!

Fri, 17 Apr 2020 17:56:05 +0100

Helen R. Davis is an international-award winning author. Her latest work, TRUTH AND TELL TRAVEL THE SOLAR SYSTEM (Savant 2020) is her first foray into children's literature. Based on two beloved stuffed animals that Davis had created her own world for, Davis decided to publish this work and introduce her joys and imagination with others. Davis's imagination is not limited to creating two brave caterpillars.

She has also published several alternate history novels that imagine happier endings for two of history's most famous femme fatales, Cleopatra and Anne Boleyn. Davis' CLEOPATRA RE-IMAGINED series imagines a world in which Cleopatra and Marc Antony triumph at Actium and the future of Europe and the Middle East in this alternate reality. Already published are CLEOPATRA UNCONQUERED (Savant 2015) and CLEOPATRA VICTORIOUS (Savant 2019.) In preparation are CLEOPATRA'S GRANDDAUGHTER (publication pending) which will tell the story of Egypt and the Roman empire after the deaths of Antony and Cleopatra through the eyes of Cleopatra IX, a fictional granddaughter of the famous Cleopatra, and CLEOPATRA MAGNIFICA and CLEOPATRA TRIUMPHANT, which are the tales of a fictional great-granddaughter, who will be named Cleopatra X.

THE MOST HAPPY (Caliope 2017, to be re-released in April) is a fantasy retelling of Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII's most infamous wife. Told from the perspective of Anne herself, this story imagines what 'might-have-been' in the ever-popular Tudor period had Anne emerged triumphant over those plotting to bring her down. EVITA: MY ARGENTINA (Custom Books Production, 2017) is a biographical novel focusing on Eva Peron. Unlike her works on Cleopatra or Boleyn, EVITA is not an alternate history but the story of an extraordinary life told through the eyes of Evita. "I always felt what was missing in the plethora of biographies, movies, and that famous musical was Eva's own voice. This was a chance to give it to her." Davis explains. Returning to the world of fantasy, Davis has also published a science fiction novel ATHENA (Caliope, 2019.) This novel is a futuristic setting in a world in which the humans who have crossed the solar system and settled on a planet called Damlol have not learned from their past, and are thus doomed to repeat it.

Whether you are interested in Cleopatra having a chance to be the winner, seeing Henry VIII pass instead of one of his many doomed wives, children's tales, dystopic futures, or just straight history, Davis has something to please!