roseanne dowell

Interview with Linda Ballou

2008-05-14T12:42:00.001-07:00

The following is an interview with Linda Ballou:
Interview questions for Linda Ballou, author of Wai-nani: High Chiefess of Hawaii-Her Epic Journey. Linda’s reverence for the land and its people inhabits her words. She is a new voice from old Hawai`i.
Question: What brought you to this story?
Answer: While I was living on the north shore of Kauai a special issue in the local paper about Captain James Cook caught my attention. The fact that Captain Cook was killed in the Islands intrigued me. I wanted to know why. I was curious about what was happening in the Islands when Cook arrived. I wanted to know the Hawaiians side of the story. Most accounts depict the Hawaiians as blood- thirsty savages who ganged up on the world’s greatest explorer. I learned this was not an accurate picture and felt that the Hawaiians had gotten a bum rap.
Cook made a lot of mistakes that eventually led to his demise. I wanted to show the dynamics of the Hawaiian society and tell the story from the Hawaiian point of view. This brought me to Kamehameha the Great/ and his favorite wife Ka’ahumanu.
Kamehameha was one of the warriors that greeted Cook. I found his story fascinating. The day he was born a comet lit the heavens marking the birth of a great chief. It was prophesied that this chief would unite the Hawaiian Islands. This story reminded me of the story of the star burning bright over the manger leading the wise men to baby Jesus. It was also said that the warrior who lifted the Naha Stone, a huge volcanic boulder, would be a great chief. Kamehameha, an athletic warrior lifted the stone when he was a teen. This seemed akin to King Arthur pulling the sword lodged in stone.
Joseph Campbell was alive at the time. I read his books and became fascinated by universal myths and legends. I felt this story was every bit as powerful as any in western annals and warranted re-telling.
Question: What are people going to learn from this book?
Answer: Bare minimum they will come away with a better understanding of the Hawaiian point of view and a greater sensitivity to the nuances of the culture. They will be able to decide whether Ka`ahumanu should be revered s the Mother of the People, or whether she should be remembered as the “flaw that brought down the chiefdom.” I have tried to capture the poetry and sensual beauty of the Islands as well as the deeply spiritual aspects of the Hawaiian people. Hopefully, the reader will feel that they have been on an epic journey in a time and place that they can’t get to any other way.
Question: Was there a pivotal event in your life that brought you to writing?

Answer: Yes, when I was thirteen my parents took me to Alaska. I left sunny Southern Cal an honor student trying out to be a cheerleader. When I arrived in Haines, population 2,000, with twelve kids in my class and only 60 kids in the entire high school, it was a shock to my psyche. Even though I had fun being the new girl in town and was into the extreme beauty of the place, I was lonely. I turned to books for companionship. People who read often become writers.
Question: What was your greatest opportunity in life?
Answer: I was able to take a year off in Kauai to think about things before committing myself to a career pattern. I graduated with a B.A. in English Lit. I wanted to find out for myself if I was a writer, so I gave myself a year of unfettered, lazy time to contemplate my life plan. After putting myself through school selling real estate in California, I felt I deserved it.
This wonderful year was a turning point for me in many ways. I had a spiritual awakening, got my priorities straight and have been a more centered human being ever since. The seed was planted on Kauai for Wai-nani. I decided that, yes, I am a writer, but that I would support my eating habit selling real estate. This would allow me to be an artist free to write about what is important to me. Of course, it also meant it would take me ten times longer to get anything done in the writing world. I believe that money is a corrupting element in art. I did not want it to tear myself apart trying to fit into a commercial mold.
Question: Why Ka’ahumanu?
Answer: I identified with her spirit of adventure and rebellion. During the sixties and seventies women were breaking out. I am athletic outdoorsy and independent and childless by choice. She was childless not by choice, but she found other meaning in her life.
She questioned authority and the established ways of her time.She insisted on having sexual freedom
She stood shoulder to shoulder with her warrior husband and was a source of strength for him.She was strong brave, athletic, sensuous and deeply spiritual. In short, I saw her as the forerunner of the modern woman.
I learned after writing my first draft and sharing it with a Hawaiian scholar that even though she was loved by the common people, she was a controversial figure. She was

perceived by male power figures, namely priests, as a threat. Some people even believe she was part of a conspiracy to kill Kamehameha the Great and remember her as “the flaw that brought down the chiefdom.”
Question: I thought Michner pretty much covered Hawaii. What does your book offer that his didn’t?
Answer: His story begins where mine ends. He touches lightly on the pre-contact days and dwells on the impact of the missionaries who arrived in 1820.
Question: What sets your book apart from others with similar offerings of modern writers like Kiana Davenport who has written three novels set in Hawaii?
Answer: Mine is written in first person. Wai-nani speaks directly to the reader. She is a voice from ancient Hawai`i not a scholar looking back. No one else has attempted this. Kiana’s books are written in third person. Her main character, Pono, is a modern Hawaiian with ancient ties. Her book, Shark Dialogues, spans all of Hawaiian history, ancient and modern, while mine focuses on the years of Kamehameha’s rise to power in pre-contact times.
Question: What was the biggest challenge for you in writing this story?
Answer: It was difficult to write the story without using modern words that would jar the reader back into the 21st century. Keeping Wai-nani’s voice consistent over a 40-year time frame in which European contact brought huge changes to the Hawaiian point of view was difficult.
Question: What was the hardest thing about writing this book?
Answer: Trying to represent the ancient Hawaiians who were filled with contradictions in an honest, even handed way. Even though they lived under a harsh and extreme caste system that included slaves and called for human sacrifice, as a whole they were nurturing to one another. They shared the fruits of their labors in a communal, caring way. The Ohana, or extended family, was the most important unit and no child went unloved. When troubles came there was a time for talking things out. “No job is too hard if it is done all together” is a basic Hawaiian precept. Even though the high chiefs siphoned off the riches of the commoners they were also the first conservationists. They placed kapus, or restrictions, on fishing during spawning seasons to ensure enough for all.
Question: Your account is rich in detail. What were your sources?
Answer: I began my research by reading the oldest books on the subject. I didn’t realize that modern Hawaiian scholars have questioned much of what is in those accounts. The earliest chronicles written by people who were taught to read and write by the missionaries were clouded with the Christian world view.
For instance, there is no fiery hell in Hawaiian cosmology. When people died they went to Po -a peaceful, underwater place where people don’t have to worry about much and they sit around playing checkers and other games. There is no punishment for promiscuity and it is not thought of as a bad thing. In fact, practices to enhance sex are handed down from elder to child at a very early age.
Contradictory oral accounts followed up by even more contradictions from modern scholars made it hard for me to sort things out in my own mind.
Question: What do you say to those who feel that because you are not Hawaiian you are not qualified to write about their history?
Answer: When Annie Proulx wrote The Shipping News she was highly criticized by New Found Landers who felt that because she was a stranger to them she was not qualified to write their story. It is her habit to live in a place a couple of years before she begins to write a story. She is a professional writer trained to make objective observations, to notice telling details and does extensive research before putting pen to paper. She says that often the people in a given region can’t see outside of the emotions attached to their lives. They can’t remove themselves from their own snapshot. That is where a writer serves a very real purpose in society.
It’s true I’m a haole and that my physical time in Hawaii has been limited, but I have researched extensively over the last 20 years. What’s more, I have great aloha for the Hawaiians and respect their culture. My work is not perfect, but it is an honest attempt to capture the poetry, pageantry and sensual beauty of the time.
Question: The scenes with the dolphin takes us out of historical fiction and into the realm of fantasy. Why did you need to cross genres?
Answer: All of the scenes with the dolphins are taken from documented dolphin behavior. As recently at August 2007 there was a news story about a surfer who was hit by a Great White at Marine State Park off Monterey, Calif. A pod a dolphins formed a protective ring around him and saved him from being eaten. No one knows why dolphins protect humans, but stories of dolphin rescues go back to ancient Greece, according to the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society.
Wai-nani’s friendship with Eku is not as far-fetched as you might think. Ka’ahumanu reputedly swam 18 miles a day. When I was on Kauai, I spoke with a woman named Bobo who routinely swam the treacherous waters of the Napali Coast. She told me dolphin often accompanied her on her swims. That is where I got the idea of my heroine having a dolphin family to protect her
Question: What’s with the bestiality scene with her dolphin friend, Eku?
Answer: I needed Wai-nani to reach her lowest ebb, so she could demonstrate her strength with a rebound. She touches bottom when she steps out of bounds with cross-species intimacies to console herself about being childless. She looses her friendship with her dolphin family that has come to her aid on more than one occasion. This makes her entirely alone in the world.
Question: What did you receive from writing this story?
Answer: A greater empathy for the Hawaiian people and their sorrow in the loss of their gods, land, and laws to outsiders. Their culture has been enriched in some ways and diluted in others from the influx of people to the” prettiest fleet of islands ever to anchor in the Pacific” Even though their numbers have been decimated by intermarriage, disease and wars and there are only a few full-blood Hawaiians alive today, the mystique and romance of their heritage lives on.
Secondly, it made me aware of another path to spiritual enrichment and personal strength. I actively throw stones of jealousy, greed, anger and regret from my bowl so that mana or spiritual power may flow freely in my life.
Question: What person has influenced you the most in life?
Answer: Besides my favorite aunt who was a very independent, self-educated, unconventional woman and an unintentional forerunner in the modern woman’s movement, I’d say Jack London. I wrote a piece called “Jack London and Me” that talks about how our paths have crossed on more than one occasion. He inspired me as a human being who lived life to the hilt and as the master of adventure writing. He was well-loved by the Hawaiians. His collection of short stories about his time in the islands and some of the legends of old is one of my favorites. He penned “The Water Baby” included in this collection at his Beauty Ranch in Sonoma just before he died.
Question: What has given you the most pleasure in the last year
Answer: Getting Wai-nani out of my drawer and into the streets. She deserves it, and I need to move on to my travel collection Lost Angel Walkabout.
How can someone buy your book?
Go to www.LindaBallouAuthor.com and click on books.

roseanne dowell: New book

2008-05-13T05:40:00.001-07:00

roseanne dowell: New book

New book

2008-05-13T05:11:00.000-07:00

I just found out about a new book -
WAI-NANI: HIGH CHIEFESS OF HAWAI'I- HER EPIC JOURNEY BY :
Linda Ballou

Wai-nani: High Chiefess of Hawai’i – Her Epic Journey is an historical novel couched in magical realism set in pre-contact Hawai’i. Wai-nani’s character is inspired by the personage of Ka’ahumanu, the favorite wife of Kamehameha the Great, who was responsible for ending the 2,000-year-old Polynesian “kapu system.” The turbulent romance of these Hawaiian icons is set against the backdrop of Hawai’i’s most dynamic period between 1740 and 1820. Captain James Cook arrived in 1778. Cook’s visit triggered change that facilitated forces already set in play by Kamehameha (Makaha), the warrior prophesied at birth to bring the splintered Island people under one rule. Precocious Ka’ahumanu, always the center of controversy, is revered by some as the loving “Mother of the people” and by others as the “flaw that brought down chiefdom.”

Endorsements

“From the very first chapter, Ballou’s artful storytelling pulled me into Wai-nani’s
dramatic struggle – the universal journey to discover how and why one fits into
the beautiful, yet flawed world one lives in. The duality of Wai-nani’s relationship
with the ocean and a family of dolphins that offers her uncomplicated freedom
and expression, and her relationships within a culture where she must struggle
physically, emotionally and spiritually against her traditional “place of standing,”
is a magical, inspiring and thought provoking read. I admire Wai-nani’s strength
and determination.”
~ Scott Hillenbrand – Feature Film Director/Producer

“Linda Ballou takes you to a different place where suddenly life is more vital. Her
characters are painted with such intense feeling, it makes the reading an
obsession! I heartily recommend this book - great read!”
~ Carol Wood, editor www.HazelSt.com

"How I love a book like Wai-nani. One I learn something from! One that stays
with me long after I turn the last page."
~ Carolyn Howard-Johnson, award-winning author of This Is the
Place

“Ballou might have been Wai-nani in another life, so richly imbued with lush
description and native language and lore is her historical novel that follows the
life of the strong and beautiful chiefess whose gentle power influenced the
people and path of Hawai'ian history.”
~ Denise Cassino-Long Story Short E-zine for Writers

“Travel writer and photographer Linda Ballou delivers a generous slice of
Hawaiian history with details of land and sea so vivid, it is almost better than
being there.”
~ Barbara Milbourn-Author and Editor

Below is an excerpt from the book.

Dolphin Dance

The red apple of the ohi'a tree tasted sweet in my mouth as I watched the drifting plumes of Pele, Goddess of the Volcano, cast shadows upon the shimmering sea. Frothy surf reached my ankles then receded, leaving tiny bubbles of foam upon a blank tablet of sand. The crescent sail of an outrigger flared upon the horizon. The ancestors who lived in the long-long ago sailed here in canoes like this, bringing pigs, dogs, bananas, breadfruit and the gods with them. Just beyond the arcing swells, I spied my dolphin friend, Eku. His playmate Laka’s dorsal fin cut through the clear water in the opposite direction of his as they dallied away the day in their dance of secret yearnings.
My hair felt hot and heavy on my shoulders. I longed to feel it floating free in the sparkling sea. I untied the knot of my pa'u and let it fall to the ground. Splashing through the shallows, I dove under a cresting wave. Once on the other side of the breakers, stretching arms and legs to maximum stroke, I swam to Eku. The crystalline water soothed and cooled me as it swirled through my mind in gentle rivers.
Halfway to Eku, I called out to him in his squeaky tongue. He would have to come quickly to protect me from Laka, his jealous lover. I had named her after the Goddess of Dance because of her graceful, swift movements. Once, long ago, she rammed me hard in the belly with her rubbery beak. Eku had to stop her before I drowned. I always noticed when Laka was near.
I swam fast to get to Eku. His dorsal fin sliced the water as he came toward me, then his sleek body rose out of the water as he picked up speed. Laka was close behind. When Eku reached me, he circled about then rolled over on his back so that I could rub his tender belly. He loved this greeting, and giggled when I massaged his underside. There was much squeaking and head bobbing from Laka as she circled about us, but she did not come near. I reached around Eku’s body, draping myself around his mottled frame. His skin trembled at my touch. We rolled to and fro in the heave of the deep blue swells.
I grabbed hold of Eku’s ragged fin, aligning myself on his right side. Laka took her regular position on his left. He let out a long, low whistle signaling us forward. We churned through the clear water, creating a wake in our path. I kept my head above water where I saw bubbles and brilliant blue sky, while he maintained a stable level so that I could breathe. Laka stayed with us, knowing exactly which direction he would turn, how slow and how fast he would go, without a sound from Eku.
I feared nothing, not even Mano the shark, when I was with Eku. His round soft eyes and constant smile spoke of kindness. His strong body moved with grace at exhilarating speeds. I felt at rest and safe with him. I wondered if I would ever meet a man with Eku’s strength, tenderness and loyalty. Could I feel this joy with a man? As we skimmed across the blue mountains of water, these thoughts trailed out behind me.
When I returned to my family’s houses that night, my mother was tapping her mallet on a carved wooden block used to stain a design onto kapa. This was the work of maka'ainana, but she loved to create her own designs and scent the cloth for her many dresses with the perfumes of fragrant plants. The smell of the fish wrapped in luau leaves steaming in the ground oven reminded me that I was hungry.
“Oh Wai-nani, my wandering wahine, has come home in time to eat, but not in time to help her mother,” she said without lifting her head from her labors. Her dress, tied at her shoulder, was stained with the colors of a lavender sunset. She wore a lei po'o of braided coconut fibers to hold in place a thick shock of black hair laced with silver streaks. Once renowned for her beauty, my mother was no longer lithe and athletic, but her glittering orange-almond eyes held many secrets, and she remained my father’s favorite wife.
“I’m sorry.” Inwardly I grumbled as I watched our servant fill the koa bowls full of rich purple poi to be delivered to my father, my brother and the other young warriors of our village in the men’s eating house.
“Why is it forbidden for me to eat with my brother? We swim, wrestle, and fish together but when the evening sun sets, I am no longer welcome in the company of the boys of our village.”
“Men face great dangers; they carry war sticks to keep peace, snare birds and fish so you may eat. You don’t want to do these things,” she said, impatient with my protests.
“This is not a good answer,” I said.
“You are the blossom from the topmost branch with beauty unsurpassed. It is time you put away childish pleasures and follow the royal path.”
She held out a slim hand and beckoned me to come to her. I settled down beside her.
As she combed tangles from my hair that smelled of salt from the sea, and massaged pungent ginger oil into it, she tried again to answer my question.
“Many things that come to us from the ancients we don’t question. In the beginning, Wakea, the God of Light and the Heavens, married Papa, the Goddess of Earth. From this great love came a daughter, the Heavenly One Who Made the Stars. She was so beautiful that Wakea could not resist the sweet smell of her skin and the dance of the sun in her eyes. He schemed night and day to have his daughter without Papa knowing and becoming jealous. His kahunas smashed the head of a black pig and read the entrails to find the solution.”
As she talked story and stroked my hair to a lustrous shine, her aloha for me softened my questioning heart.
“‘Build eating houses separate for men and women. Tell Papa that this is the will of the gods. This way you will always know where she is and can know your daughter’s great charm without discovery,’ the kahuna advised.
“Wakea thought well of this plan. He made it kapu for men and women to eat together and set aside tabu nights of separate sleeping. He lay down with his dazzling daughter of the heavens. From their coupling came the birth of the islands of Molakai and Lanai.”
“Do you believe this story?” I asked.
I felt a sharp tug on my scalp. “It is the way of our people,” she said, putting an end to our talk.
I left her and went into the velvet night to ask the winking stars my question. But, no answer came. I crept into the shadows cast by the walls of the men’s hale, peered through the thatching and eavesdropped on their talk. Their bowls of poi were empty, and they sat talking of the day and drinking 'awa. Much of the drink from the bitter root was shared as they laughed and challenged one another to sport. The day had been spent wrestling. Soon it would be time for the festival of makahiki, and their contests would begin in earnest. They had to be fit to win these mock battles. Death or injury could easily come to the warrior who was not swift and daring.
“Will you be in the wave-sliding contest tomorrow?” my younger brother Mimo asked Kali as he swilled another cup of 'awa. “Today was a sorry day for you in wrestling, but no one can beat you on the olo board.”
“That’s true. No one can beat me in the water. I am the most powerful of all the swimmers on Maui.”
“So you say,” said my brother. “I place a wager on Maka. We will see who is the richer at the end of the day.” He took the shark tooth necklace from his chest and held it up so his friend Maka could see the strength of his bet. I left the hale saddened that I was not allowed to meet my brother’s challenge. I knew I could wave-slide as well as any of them, if not better.
The next day found Maka and Kali floating belly down on boards that weighed as much as me and were twice my height. They rested behind the curl of cresting waves that came in sets of seven and waited patiently in the midday sun for the right wave. A crowd gathered on the shore. Mimo stood among the villagers, waiting for the match to begin.
I whistled to Eku, signaling him to come to me in the quiet cove out of sight of the others. Soon, he and Laka arrived. He let me place a vine noose about his nose while I tried to stand on his slippery back. I couldn’t keep my balance in even a small wave surge. I slid from side to side and grabbed hold of his dorsal fin for balance. Puzzled at my antics, Laka squealed in high-pitched cries as I kept trying to stand up on Eku’s back. Eku called to her in an eerie, shrill voice. She came up to his side, close enough for me to place one foot on her back and one on his. I rose from a crouched position and steadied myself with my rope. It worked! Soon, we were riding the white-backed waves together.
Eku, Laka and I came around the long finger of the rock jetty and got into position with the other wave-sliders. Maka saw me out of the corner of his eye, but too late to stop me. A great wall of water forming behind us lifted, heaved forward, and broke over the top of us. I caught the movement with Eku, who found the perfect balancing place to take us to the base of the foaming green giant shot through with sunshine. As we slid across the wave, I rose and stood in the tube of luminous water. With one foot planted on Eku, the other on Laka, I rode the great white bearded one and felt the power of the sea churning beneath me. Dazzling light shafts penetrated the wall of the wave, creating a continuous rainbow. I became a sea goddess riding the comet as it streaks through the starry sky—free of all manner of human weakness, free of all kapus, graceful, filled with divine mana.
When my ride ended, I could see that Maka and Kali had both fallen from their boards. I was the winner. I gave Eku a vigorous rub on his white belly and kissed Laka’s beak. Even she seemed to smile as I parted from them. I strode to the shore through the surf, eager to share my glorious adventure. The crowd murmured at my approach. My brother frowned when he realized that I was wearing his malo. It is kapu, punishable by death, to wear another warrior’s malo. The small congregation went silent. He glowered at me with burning eyes and snatched the loincloth from my body.
My budding breasts stand rigid and high, and my slim hips ride on sturdy, solid legs. Still, I felt burning humiliation in my nakedness. My father stomped across the beach wearing his shoulder cape of yellow feathers. His mood was as dark as Pele’s heart. His face was turgid, purple with rage. His hand trembled on his spear as he drove it into the sand at my feet.
“Wai-nani, what is this? Do you think you are a warrior?”
“No, Father,” I replied, meeting his fierce eyes, framed in the tattoos that curled to his forehead. “But you do not love Wai-nani as you would a son.” I cast my eyes down afraid of his rage.
I was just a keiki when I witnessed him put to death a servant girl who had come too close, letting her shadow fall upon his royal presence. A seasoned warrior, he could pull an arm out of its pocket or crush the rib cage of an enemy with his skilled hands, but something that day kept him from bashing me unmercifully or ordering my tongue removed for insolence. Instead, he turned to the villagers who had witnessed my miraculous surfing feats. Although they were in awe of my grace in the water, their fear of my father kept them silent. They fell back when he shouted,
“There will be a contest. I will place my necklace at the highest point of Nihow,” he said, pointing to the isle on the horizon. He took off his choker woven from human hair with an ivory pendant made from the whale’s tooth, and held it high for all to see. “The warrior who swims to the island and returns the necklace to me will have my daughter as his wife and become a chief.”
He turned back to me. “You will have a husband and children and honor the ways of all wahine before you.”
I was thunderstruck. I didn’t feel a woman’s love for any of the young warriors of Hana. Although I was terrified of my father’s violent nature, I looked into his murky black eyes.
“My father is a cruel chief who has lost his mana!” I said, this time holding his gaze. He stared blankly back for a few tense moments then he struck me solidly in the face with the back of his hand. The taste of blood trickling from my torn lip told me this was not a dream. The sky spun, lights whirled in the black around my head and my ringing ears were deaf to all around me. His next words sounded far away.
“The contest will begin with the new sun.” Any tenderness he once possessed for his first daughter retreated behind stony eyes.
Whirling about, I ran back into the surf. My tears tasted of blood and the sea. I dove under a pounding wave and paddled frantically out beyond the breakers. Calling out in a high-pitched whistle, I clicked my tongue furiously, trying to bring Eku to me. I made the sounds of a stick rubbing against a gourd, but the squawk of sea birds was my only reply.
The sun rose the next day, casting a crimson flare across the sky. Jagged purples kissed the horizon. Black plumes from the distant volcano rose high above white clouds. Twelve young men stood on the beach awaiting the signal from my father. In the middle of the line was Maka, my old friend who had taught me to cast nets, spear fish and throw stones from a sling. We had spent many hours diving in the cave pool where the octopus hides under the rocks. His stout, sturdy legs were bowed from birth. He smiled at me with gentle brown eyes, exposing strong white teeth. He was a fair and generous man, but I couldn’t imagine myself with him in the marriage bed.
The twins Makoa and Keha standing beside him were identical except for the jagged scar that went across Keha’s belly. Mano the shark had made him warrior when he was still a child. Makoa’s dark eyes were filled with deviltry. Given to pranks, he had once taken my pa'u while I sunned myself beside the rock pool. No passion passed from me to either of them. Boasting Kali strutted before the group and came up to me. He put his hand to his chest and said, “When the sun turns red, Wai-nani will share my mat.”
I feared his dark eyes with heavy brows that knit together, forming one line across his bold features. He had bullied and bested the others at wrestling and sport all the seasons I could remember. I recoiled at the thought of this braggart for my husband. Even though his six-foot-six-inch frame, supported by flat, firm muscles alive under his brown skin spoke of royal blood, he was fouled fruit to me.
My father arrived wearing his finest yellow feather cape and the crested helmet of an ali'i chief. He planted his spear and spoke to the warriors before him.
“There will be no wrestling, no bone breaking and no gouging. The swiftest, most agile swimmer will have my daughter, Wai-nani, for his wife.”
When he finished speaking he clasped his spear, lifted it high over his head, then dropped the tip into the sand, signaling the race to begin. My brother was among the warriors who dove into the calm sea, rippling the prism of morning sun upon the water with broad strokes. My marriage to him would produce an ali'i ruler of the highest blood caste. As I watched them swim into the horizon, I glimpsed a fin arching like a quarter moon. Untying the knot of my pa'u, I let the drape of cloth drop to my ankles. Casting a last glance over my shoulder to my father, I ran into the sea and dove under a foaming wave. My hair swirled like seaweed about my face as I kicked with strong legs, stroking hard to reach Eku.
He heard my shrill whistle and came dashing to me with Laka close behind. Excited, he circled me swiftly once then came closer so that I could rub his tender underbelly. I did, then clasped him in a rolling embrace. I reveled in his affection and acceptance. The familiar tingling I felt whenever he was near brightened my spirits. He took me on a plunging ride, lifting me completely out of the water as I clung to his dorsal fin. We flew so fast I felt the chains of my father’s edict falling from my mind. Racing from the embrace of a man I could not love, I left behind children destined to be conceived in hate and cast my fate like a fisherman’s net upon the sea.
I saw Pele, Goddess of Fire, resting on the clouds with her shining lava-black hair falling down on round shoulders. She wore a white hibiscus spiked with red on her left ear, and a blood-red kikepa tied at her shoulder. Drifting in the cloud cradle that circles the smoking cone of the volcano above her billowy bed, she dozed with her feet crossed at the ankles and her hands lying peacefully on her belly. Her full lips were parted in a wistful smile. The lids of her eyes, laced with long black lashes, were closed. I held onto Eku’s muscled neck as his great strength lifted us out of the deep with cool spray flying. I could feel the pull of Pele and prayed I would find shelter at her tumultuous breast.

Contact Info:
Phone 818-506-0093
Fax 818-506-1726
Lballou6@sbcglobal.net
http://www.lindaballouauthor.com/

Tomorrow, I'll add a bit about the author.

The Wild Rose Press

2008-04-28T07:22:00.001-07:00

As I said earlier I'm an editor for The Wild Rose Press -

I'm an editor for the Chamagne line and I thoroughly enjoy it. The Wild Rose Press is a softer, gentler publisher. If The Wild Rose Press rejects your work, you won't receive a form letter. Instead you'll receive a letter explaining exactly why we're rejecting the work and suggestions to help make it better. Often times we request a rewrite, if you're willing to incorporate our suggestions. How many times have you received the form letter - no thanks, not for us. But you have no idea why it isn't for them. Is it the writing? the story itself?

We often receive stories that lack showing. Through our critique, we point out the problem areas.

If you're looking for a good publisher to submit check us out at http://www.thewildrosepress.com/

Writing Creative Memoirs

2008-04-28T07:17:00.001-07:00

Writing a Creative Memoir
Instructor: Roseanne Dowell
Everyone has a story to tell, why not tell yours. Your children and grandchildren have no idea what it was like when you were growing up. Only you can tell them. Learn how to write your memoirs in a creative, exciting way. No one wants to read – I was born on…How much more interesting is – I entered the world on November 6, 1940. Mother said right from the beginning she knew I’d be…..
In each session Roseanne will show you how to write your memoirs, what to include and give examples. Roseanne will work with each student one on one through email.
Session 1 – What is a Memoir?
Objective – Characteristics and what makes up a memoir.
Description – Roseanne describes each characteristic and element of a memoir.
Session 2 – Who Am I? What to Include - Organizing Your Thoughts
Objective – How to begin, what to include, and putting your thoughts on paper
Description -Roseanne will show you where to begin and how to organize your thoughts and your memoirs
Session 3 –Characters - Adding characters
Objective –Thinking of real people as characters. Making characters dimensional.
Description -Roseanne shows you how to create character profiles.
Session 4 –Descriptions - Using the senses.
Objective – Learning to use the senses and finding the right words.
Description – Roseanne shows you how to merge description with point of view
Session 5 – Action Speak Louder than Words
Objective – Learning how to Show, not tell a story
Description – Roseanne shows you how to use dialogue, action and thoughts to show your story.
Session 6 – Writing a Rough Draft
Objective – Putting your memories in chronological order. Adding flashbacks
Description -Roseanne shows you how to arrange your memoirs chronologically and using flashbacks.
Session 7 - Revising and Publishing
Objective –Revising, adding pictures, and publishing your memoirs.
Description –Finally, Roseanne shows you how to polish your memoirs and where to go from here.

http://longstoryshortwritingschool.com/WritingaCreativeMemoir.html

Turing Ideas into Fiction

2008-04-28T07:11:00.000-07:00

Turning Ideas into Fiction
Instructor: Roseanne Dowell
Testimonial:
"These were the most productive consecutive four weeks I've spent in my writing life. I felt like a real writer cranking out a new story each week. Roseanne leaves no room for the being block excuse. She provides a wealth of wonderful thought-provoking suggestions on where we could find ideas in ordinary everyday life followed by great examples of how to apply these ideas in a variety of genres. Every week I looked forward to learning more from her lessons, practicing what I learned by doing her fun assignments, and most of all I looked forward to her revealing critiques. I've learned so much from this valuable mentor. I dreaded seeing our time together come to an end. This class was totally satisfying and worth the money and time I spent on it."

WHAT IF YOUR FRIEND got stuck on the roof? Would his experience make a good story? How about kooky events, scary dreams? Ever hear a portion of conversation and wonder what it was all about? There are many places and ways to come up with ideas for good stories. Follow Roseanne Dowell and she’ll lead you to a land of make believe so real, you’ll think it happened to you.
From Uncle Joe getting stuck on the roof, to newspaper articles and even the classified ads, TURNING IDEAS INTO FICTION is the perfect course for those of you wondering where authors get their ideas.
Our instructor, Roseanne Dowell, will show you where to find these ideas and how to turn them into enjoyable reading! She’s worked out a course schedule that will have you writing the kind of story you always dreamed about.
Each session with Roseanne will have text to read and examples as well as writing assignments. Although the text and assignments will be posted on the web board, Roseanne will work with students one-on-one through email.
Session 1 – How Much Fact to Put into Fiction? - Objective – You’ll learn how to turn a family tale about Uncle Joe getting stuck on the roof into a good story.
Description: Roseanne will show you how to add a real life event into a good fictional story. Roseanne will give you a real life event and you’ll write your own fictional account from that example.
Session 2 - Resources for ideas. – Objective - Finding ideas from everyday sights and sounds.
Description: From grocery stores to sitting in traffic, ideas are everywhere. Roseanne will show you some good ways to utilize your time. You’ll write your own fictional account using one of Roseanne’s examples.
Session 3 – Creating characters from our resources - Objective - Learning to create characters from places, newspapers and other resources.
Description: Learn to create interesting characters from our ideas. You’ll write a story creating characters from your ideas
Session 4 - Learning to Lie - Putting It All Together – Objective – Turning an idea into a story.
Description: Now that you know where to find the ideas, you’ll write a short story using your own ideas.

http://longstoryshortwritingschool.com/TurningIdeasIntoFiction.html

Show, Don't Tell

2008-04-28T07:04:00.000-07:00

Below is the course summary for Show, Don't Tell.

See, hear, feel, smell and taste your story. Learn how to put pizzazz in your writing. Did you ever wonder why you remember the characters in a book? Or what made a story especially memorable. By combining many elements of writing, our instructor, Roseanne will help you learn how to write publishable stories. She has designed a course schedule that will teach you to use the senses, avoid boring dialogue, and write memorable descriptions.
In each session, Roseanne will include text to read and examples. Roseanne works with students one-on-one through email, providing individual tutoring.

Basic Outline:
Session 1 – Avoiding Adverbs- Objective - Learning the proper use (or disuse) of adverbs to strengthen the story.
Description: Roseanne shows how to replace adverbs with strong verbs. You’ll rewrite an example using strong verbs and action.

Session 2 – Actions Speak Louder than Words – Objective -Get rid of he said/she said.
Description: Roseanne will teach you how to use tag lines and strong verbs as well as other description to build strong characters and dialogue. You’ll write a short story.

Session 3 – I Smell a Story –Objective - Using all of our senses.
Description: Roseanne shows you how to use all of our senses to create strong descriptions to "show" your story. Examples will be provided and you’ll write a short story.

Session 4 - Show Me the Story – Objective - Putting it all together.
Description: Using all of the elements Roseanne taught, you’ll write your own short story.

http://longstoryshortwritingschool.com/ShowDontTell.html

Student testimonial: "Wow! Thank you, Roseanne. See why I'm in this class? I think I have trouble determining when is tell and when is show. Can't wait for next lesson!"

writing course

2008-04-28T06:44:00.000-07:00

I teach three writing courses at LSS Schol of Writing - Show, Don't Tell, Turning Ideas into Fiction and Writing Your Creative Memoirs. Check them out at http://longstoryshortwritingschool.com/. There's other courses available also.
You can also purchase an ebook of my courses at http://longstoryshortwritingschool.com/E-BookStore.html.
I'm also an editor at The Wild Rose Press and teach two writing courses at Cuyahoga Community College.
Check out my website: www.roseannedowell.com