Join local authors for the monthly Words and Wine Event hosted by Kona Stories Book Shop
This event is free to the public and offers a chance for you to meet and greet some of Hawaii’s favorite authors and artists while you enjoy complimentary pupu and wine. March’s featured authors are – Sara Ackerman, Melissa Burovac and Christine Reed from Petroglyph Press.
This event starts at 6 p.m. Tuesday with an informal meet and greet merging into a more formal book presentation from each author and concluding around 8 p.m. after a Q&A session. Dress is casual aloha wear.
Sara Ackerman was born and raised in Hawaii and studied journalism and later earned graduate degrees in psychology and Chinese medicine. Prior to practicing acupuncture, she worked as a high school counselor and teacher on the north shore of Oahu, where surf often took precedence over school. She is the author of two historical novels, “Island of Sweet Pies and Soldiers” and” The Lieutenant’s Nurse,” with several more in the works. She blames Hawaii for her addiction to writing, and sees no end to its untapped stories.
“The Lieutenant’s Nurse” begins in November 1941. She’s never even seen the ocean before, but Eva Cassidy has her reasons for making the crossing to Hawaii, and they run a lot deeper than escaping a harsh Michigan winter. Newly enlisted as an Army Corps nurse, Eva is stunned by the splendor she experiences aboard the steamship SS Lurline; even more so by Lt. Clark Spencer, a man she is drawn to but who clearly has secrets of his own. But Eva’s past—and the future she’s trying to create—means that she’s not free to follow her heart. Clark is a navy intelligence officer, and he warns her that the United States won’t be able to hold off joining the war for long, but nothing can prepare them for the surprise attack that will change the world they know.
In the wake of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Eva and her fellow nurses band together for the immense duty of keeping the American wounded alive. And the danger that finds Eva threatens everything she holds dear. Amid the chaos and heartbreak, Eva will have to decide whom to trust and how far she will go to protect those she loves.
Melissa Burovac is a wanderer at heart. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, she started college at the University of Alabama on a swimming scholarship, transferred to the University of Northern Colorado, and finally graduated from Ohio State University with a bachelor’s degree in horticulture. She now lives on the Big Island, where she is a writer and photographer. An avid outdoorswoman, Burovac enjoys outrigger paddling — both one-man and six-man — running, surfing, and scuba diving, as well as yoga. She is always up for adventure and loves doing things that scare her a little.
“Surfer, Sailor, Smuggler” takes us sailing from California to Mexico to Hawaii, surfing and smuggling drugs. It’s based on the true stories of surfers, sailors and pirates on Kauai.
Born and raised in San Francisco, Christine Reed came to Hilo in 1972 on a vacation. She immediately fell in love with the scent of rain and the warmth of life in Hawaii and decided to stay. Within a year she met David and became a part of the Reed family. In addition to working in the family business, Christine attended UH Hilo, taking classes in apparel design, general education, and agriculture. She was actively engaged in real estate before turning her attention full-time to Petroglyph Press.
Petroglyph Press, a Hilo publisher of books about Hawaii, will celebrate its 57th anniversary in 2019. Owners David and Christine Reed will present a short history of the family company, founded in 1962 by David’s parents. They will discuss the design and printing process used by a mom-and-pop publisher that produces all of its books at the same location in Hilo that it has occupied since the beginning. The most recent book, “Pele Volcano Goddess,” was inspired by the Puna volcanic activity last year and was completed in less than a month.
Info: Kona Stories is located in the Keauhou Shopping Center. Call Brenda or Joy at 324-0350.