The Great Recession has radically accelerated digital publishing. Smashwords.com is a game changer.

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Sunday, December 18, 1778, Captain Cook’s crew spotted in the distance an island – O`ahu. Then another land not connected to the first – Kaua`i. The next day, a third island is seen – Ni`ihau. The British officer liked that they were high islands. A hopeful sign that on them there might be a [...]
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Death on Diamond Head is a riveting murder mystery written by long-time Hawai‘i law enforcement officer John Madinger. The fast-paced novel introduces the character of Honolulu police detective Kimo Rigg, a veteran cop whose career has been sidetracked by a whistleblower lawsuit.

In Death on Diamond Head, Madinger’s first novel, Kimo Rigg has been relegated to the Unsolved Crimes department in the bowels of the precinct headquarters. He is trying to stay out of trouble when he finds himself in hot water once again: A murder victim’s body is dumped almost on the doorstep of his new house at Diamond Head.

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This past Sunday afternoon my friend Richie from up the street came by to watch our favorite pro team, the Colts, smash the Arizona Cardinals in Week III of the new NFL season (MMIX, I guess … the NFL loves roman numerals). So the Colts are indeed crushing the Cardinals, in Arizona, as predicted. [...]
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The Hawaiian Islands are known worldwide for gourmet coffee from the Kona Coast, but real aficionados know that in Hawai‘i, Kona coffee is only the beginning. The only place in the United States growing coffee as a commercial crop, the Aloha State hosts a thriving industry encompassing 11 major regions on five islands—producing more than seven million pounds of coffee in 2007 valued at over $30 million. The Hawai‘i Coffee Book: A Gourmet’s Guide from Kona to Kaua‘i is the first-ever comprehensive overview of the Islands’ most recognizable and highly coveted product.

Coffee scientist Shawn Steiman’s revealing book is the definitive work on the subject, including a region-by-region guide and flavor profiles of the major varieties cultivated in the Islands. Hawai‘i is unique as a coffee-producing center: Whereas most coffee is consumed far from its origins, Hawaiian coffee is drunk and sold in local cafes and stores. It’s an environment that provides a unique vantage point for bean-and-brew guru Steiman’s overview of Island coffee history, from modest beginnings on O‘ahu—not Kona as many might assume—to current-day production systems, as it makes its way from bean to cup, farm to coffeehouse.

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I've always distrusted cops. I can't help myself. It's like the hiccups or gag reflex. They have guns. They pull people over for doing 65 on the H-1. I knew a number of them before they became cops, and at times my reaction was, "So-and-so is a cop now? I thought there was a psyche test." Did I ment [...]
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Honolulu Cop is real, but plenty of novelists have decided there’s no better place for a crime than Hawai’i. Here’s a list of mysteries, both old and new, set in our islands. List courtesy of www.LeftCoastCrime.org and Kane’ohe librarian Cindy Chow.

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BOOK LAUNCH & READING Talking Hawai‘i’s Story: Oral Histories of an Island People Sunday, October 18, 2009 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM School [...]
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…the program we present at HBMF is a kind of living anthology, and this thought led naturally to conceiving our program as a continual update of the Hawaiian Renaissance. In other words, our program would be dedicated to presenting the best of classic Hawaiian culture along with the best and most thriving Hawaiian culture today.

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