Fred Astaire. Ginger Rogers. 1935. The movie is Top Hat. Early in the film Fred and Ginger dance in a pavilion during a rain storm. I was about to say that the scene is [...]
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When you see the words "dream machine," what image pops into your head? Maybe you think of the London space rock band with that name.  Or perhaps a psychedelic poster [...]
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Here's a recipe for romance and fun, one that's on display in the delightful who-needs-Broadway-we-have-DHT production of Guys and Dolls currently at Diamond Head [...]
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One of the guilty pleasures that I find myself indulging is watching Marina Orlova, the popular Russian-American etymologist and HotForWords YouTube sensation, as she explains the origin of words and phrases. Check out the Google for an introduction to my favorite language teacher: “Not your typical philologist. Etymology, philology, word origins, origin of, hot teacher.”

Marina, who was once told that she could not be a model because at 5-5 she was too short, is now raising the language IQ of thousands of devoted students. A year ago she had 200,000 YouTube subscribers (as a blonde). This year, even as a brunette, Marina continues to shine and win more fans.

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Our guest blogger today is mystery/crime fiction writer and Oahu resident Deborah Atkinson.

A recipient of the University of Hawaii’s Meryl Clark Award for Fiction, she is a graduate of the University of Michigan and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and the author of Primitive Secrets (2002), The Green Room (2005), and Fire Prayer (2007).

Debby’s latest novel is Pleasing the Dead. I asked her to share her thoughts about romance and mystery. Welcome, Debby!

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A man and a woman sat across from each other at a corner table in a small neighborhood restaurant. Each one held a script and studied it, not speaking or looking [...]
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Our guest blogger today is New York Times bestselling author and Kauai resident Jill Marie Landis.  Welcome, Jill! --------------------------------------- After reading Michael' [...]
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Maureen O’Connell asked me a few questions about romance and Valentine’s Day for an article in this Sunday’s Honolulu Advertiser. Yes, I write romantic comedy, but I don’t pretend to be an expert on romance. I may be a bit less confused than when I began writing about romantic entanglements, but, like most guys, I still feel somewhat clueless and clumsy when it comes to questions of romance.

One of the questions Maureen asked me was to name my most romantic character. Excellent question, and for this one I had the answer in about two seconds. Donna Cooper, the title character in my first novel, Queen of the Rodeo, seeks true love and romance for herself throughout that story. Then, in the prequel, Chasing Cowboys, she’s a 19-year old who plays a supporting role as one of the two narrators.

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At last!  The Winter Olympics are almost here. Opening ceremonies take place this Friday.  Once every four years we are treated to a festival of the world’s best athletes on snow and ice. I know we had the Summer Olympics in Beijing two years ago, but I’m one of those people who enjoy the Winter Olympics more.

It’s smaller and cozier, and it has all that snow and ice, cool stuff we don’t see living in Hawaii. Before the show begins this week in Vancouver, I’m feeling nostalgic for the 2006 Winter Olympics from Turin. Here’s what I wrote then about some of the nice-on-ice highlights, including some lessons for writers.

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Please welcome our guest blogger, local romance writer Sally Sorenson, with something for the guys:

Do men read romance novels? The better question might be, do men admit to reading romance novels. Better still, why not?

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