Words and Wine is Tuesday

Authors A.K. Driggs, Robert B. McCaw and Kenneth S. Cohen will be featured during Kona Stories Book Shop’s Words and Wine event at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Keauhou Shopping Center.

As a child, Driggs (Kim) discovered her gift of healing all living creatures by her singing. Kim went on to become a recording artist traveling Internationally. Knowing at a very young age she had a spiritual connection with Hawaii, she never let go of the goal and focus to find her way home to the islands. After 50 years of an extraordinary life’s journey she found her way home to the islands in 2004. Still using her songs for positive effect in the world, she now lives with her life partner in Kona, and continues as CEO of Avatar Marketing, which she founded 30 years ago. Kim volunteers at the Hawaii Island Humane Society where she sings to the dogs and cats. She also volunteers for the Ke Kai Ola Hawaiian Monk Seal Hospital.

“Abandoned in Search of Rainbows” is Kim’s story. She was found as an infant in a brown paper bag on a toilet seat, the story of her arrival in the world made the news from the very beginning. She was adopted by a loving family, and her journey went from abandonment to the life she was meant to lead. Living an incredible life, experiencing incredible vocations, from animal communicator to phone sex operator, from recording artist to author, Driggs seems to have done it all. This fascinating autobiography delves into the idea that even those with the saddest of beginnings can end up with the most fulfilling of lives.

McCaw, a seasoned attorney and veteran of many headline-grabbing cases, blends his decades-old passion for Hawaiian history with a life-long enthusiasm for crime fiction to create a compelling protagonist in Detective Koa Kane. A former U.S. Army officer and judicial clerk at the U.S. Supreme Court, McCaw’s firsthand military experience, legal expertise, and immersion in all things Hawaiian lend the characters in this richly layered thriller unparalleled authenticity. An avid photographer and part-time resident of the Big Island since the 1990s, he and his wife split their time between New York and Hawaii. “Death of a Messenger” is the first novel of the “Koa Kane Hawaiian Mystery” series.

The book begins with a found body at Pohakuloa, the army’s live-fire training area. Bearing all the marks of ancient ritual sacrifice, the murder is the grisliest of the detective’s career. The bizarre case draws Kane deep into his own Hawaiian roots. As he probes the victim’s past, he must sort through a rich roster of suspects-grave robbers, native activists, thieves, and star gazers. He surmounts a host of obstacles as he pursues the murderer-an incompetent local medical examiner, hostility from haoles (Westerners) and sovereignty advocates, and myriad lies. Did the victim stumble upon a gang of high-tech archaeological thieves? Or did he learn a secret so shocking it cost him his life and put others, too, in mortal danger? Will Hilo’s most respected native detective catch this fiend in time, or will the killer strike again-with even deadlier consequences?

Cohen is a renowned health educator, Qigong Grand Master, and practitioner of indigenous medicine. He is the author of the acclaimed books “The Way of Qigong: The Art and Science of Chinese Energy Healing” and “Honoring the Medicine: The Essential Guide to Native American Healing,” as well as numerous Sounds True audio/DVD courses and more than 200 journal articles on spirituality and health. He speaks and reads the Chinese language, and his academic training includes graduate study of Taoism and theology.

Highly respected as a traditional healer, singer, and storyteller, Cohen was mentored since his youth by Native American/ First Nations elders. His training was strict and rigorous in what today is called “experiential learning.” Cohen is a member of various medicine societies and maintains close ties with his adoptive Cree Indian family in Canada. He also spent many years traveling and participating in cultural exchange with indigenous elders from various lands.

Cohen’s lectures and workshops have been sponsored by the American Cancer Society, Health Canada, the Mayo Clinic and numerous medical schools, conferences, and organizations. In 2003, he won the international award in energy medicine, the Alyce and Elmer Green Award for Innovation and Lifetime Achievement.

Following a more formal book presentation from each author there will be a Q&A session. The event concludes at 8 p.m.

Info: Brenda or Joy, 324-0350.