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My Books
The Devil to pay
DID THE CIA AND THE KGB SIT BY AND LET CASTRO KILL JFK?
"I'm a citizen, dammit," Sven hissed as he squinted down the barrel of the borrowed .45 and into the muzzle of the 9mm. "And I'm gettin' awful tired of you tryin' to kill me for 'national security' reasons too precious for me to know about!"
Sven Olafson and Matt Blair, a yacht delivery crew, pick up a client's boat in the Bahamas. Even before they board, they find the body of GULL's boat keeper in her dinghy. Menacing Cubans board GULL at midnight, threatening to tow her away to be dismantled in search of a mysterious canister that's hidden aboard.
The crew outsmarts the aggressors and escapes with their charge intact, but.... Adding to the crew's burdens, a derelict boat surrenders a mysterious trapped woman who appears to be a victim of the same group of pursuers…or not. Only the superior seamanship of the sailing crew keeps the much faster power cruisers at bay.
Damaged in a deadly predawn skirmish, GULL is barely kept afloat as she limps across the Gulf Stream to safety. But safety for the boat is not safety for the crew, for now they know too much….
"I'm a citizen, dammit," Sven hissed as he squinted down the barrel of the borrowed .45 and into the muzzle of the 9mm. "And I'm gettin' awful tired of you tryin' to kill me for 'national security' reasons too precious for me to know about!"
Sven Olafson and Matt Blair, a yacht delivery crew, pick up a client's boat in the Bahamas. Even before they board, they find the body of GULL's boat keeper in her dinghy. Menacing Cubans board GULL at midnight, threatening to tow her away to be dismantled in search of a mysterious canister that's hidden aboard.
The crew outsmarts the aggressors and escapes with their charge intact, but.... Adding to the crew's burdens, a derelict boat surrenders a mysterious trapped woman who appears to be a victim of the same group of pursuers…or not. Only the superior seamanship of the sailing crew keeps the much faster power cruisers at bay.
Damaged in a deadly predawn skirmish, GULL is barely kept afloat as she limps across the Gulf Stream to safety. But safety for the boat is not safety for the crew, for now they know too much….
Hurricane Handbook
The Little American Blonde
BLONDE COVER
On a trip to Cyprus, the author found the Cypriots in a love-hate relationships with Americans, and the pleasure of his trip yo-yoed accordingly,
depending on the age and experience of his hosts.
Old hates run deep and scars do not necessarily represent healed wounds.
On a trip to Cyprus, the author found the Cypriots in a love-hate relationships with Americans, and the pleasure of his trip yo-yoed accordingly,
depending on the age and experience of his hosts.
Old hates run deep and scars do not necessarily represent healed wounds.
Lehua-Ka'ao a Ka Wahine
Lehua, Ka’ao a ka Wahine
[Lehua, The Romance of a Hawaiian Girl]
A coming-of-age tale at a ‘Changing-of-the-Gods’.
The first wobbly American experiment in Pacific colonialism included forced political and religious upheavals in the Kingdom of Hawai'i after the death of King Kamehameha I in 1819.
At the command of Queen Ka’ahumanu to deny the old native religion, the ali’i (nobles) obey immediately. The kahuna (priests) become criminals, leaving no one to lead the commoners over this very difficult transition to an extremely conservative Calvinism. Lehua, an eighteen year old ali'i girl becomes a woman during this time of great cultural change.and she is forced to recognize the kuleana (responsibility) to lead that is thrust upon her as her entire way of life crumbles. As it does, the rich Hawaiian culture is revealed as are the losses suffered when white merchants and planters exploit the land. Ignorant Christian missionaries, bent on the ‘White Man's Burden', replace the kapu (taboos) of the kahuna (holy men) with the ‘fear of God‘ and subsequently disrupt the spiritual, political and, even agricultural, lives of the Kanaka (natives). Families separate, self-destruct and form new liaisons across cultural divides under external pressures.
Lehua plays a major role in this transition as she and her ohana (family) live their lives and loves against the backdrop of a dying Polynesia. She and her part-Hawaiian paniolo (cowboy) lover find each other amid these clashes and finally wed amid the scenic glory of a Kaua’i valley.
Amazon Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Romantic Historical Narrative May 28, 2013
By Lehua Parker
As a descendant of both the white merchants and the ali`i, I remember many family conversations, arguments really, about the reasons the Hawaiian nation was eventually conquered by business interests supported by the US government and whether or not this was pono. Through Lehua's struggles I was better able to understand the different points of view.
Reviews of Lehua, Ka’ao a ka Wahine
The story is a delight. Gentle, thoughtful and explores the deep differences
between cultures and the clash that occurred when they met. It also explores
some of the truths about humans, whatever their ancestry - the struggle for power
or glory or both and the lengths that people go to to keep their position within a
society.
(It) is also a love story with nuances and I will not spoil it by telling of them.
Paul Smith, Editor
Wise Grey Owl Publishing
Farnham, Surrey, UK
...but Lehua is so much more. It submerges a reader into a beautifully rendered
world of Old Hawaii right at the point when it goes into the giant whirlwind of
cultural revolution, mere months after the kapu based old system of beliefs is
repelled, but before Christianity sets itself as a dominant religion.
The book is well written and dazzles with many colorful details of native
Hawaiian life. It is richly sprinkled with Hawaiian expressions, many still in
wide use.
I recommend it as much for a pleasure vacation reader as for the audience
more inclined to enjoy the exotic tapestry of Kanaka culture in the little publicized
period just before it was irreversibly overrun by foreign influences.
Alex Modzelewski, Editor
Humpback Publishing
"Descendants" was a George Clooney film that captured the interest of people
when it dealt with the concept of land in Hawaii... Gene Parola's new book takes the
reader through a period of 19th century change that radically touched the lives of
those living through momentous upheaval... (and) gives a solid understanding of what
Clooney was only able to touch on in the space of his film. Cinematic in its approach,
the book cries out for screen play treatment. Clooney should grab this book and start
filming before another ambitious filmmaker does.
Ray Pace, Editor
Honolulu Arts Beat
[Lehua, The Romance of a Hawaiian Girl]
A coming-of-age tale at a ‘Changing-of-the-Gods’.
The first wobbly American experiment in Pacific colonialism included forced political and religious upheavals in the Kingdom of Hawai'i after the death of King Kamehameha I in 1819.
At the command of Queen Ka’ahumanu to deny the old native religion, the ali’i (nobles) obey immediately. The kahuna (priests) become criminals, leaving no one to lead the commoners over this very difficult transition to an extremely conservative Calvinism. Lehua, an eighteen year old ali'i girl becomes a woman during this time of great cultural change.and she is forced to recognize the kuleana (responsibility) to lead that is thrust upon her as her entire way of life crumbles. As it does, the rich Hawaiian culture is revealed as are the losses suffered when white merchants and planters exploit the land. Ignorant Christian missionaries, bent on the ‘White Man's Burden', replace the kapu (taboos) of the kahuna (holy men) with the ‘fear of God‘ and subsequently disrupt the spiritual, political and, even agricultural, lives of the Kanaka (natives). Families separate, self-destruct and form new liaisons across cultural divides under external pressures.
Lehua plays a major role in this transition as she and her ohana (family) live their lives and loves against the backdrop of a dying Polynesia. She and her part-Hawaiian paniolo (cowboy) lover find each other amid these clashes and finally wed amid the scenic glory of a Kaua’i valley.
Amazon Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Romantic Historical Narrative May 28, 2013
By Lehua Parker
As a descendant of both the white merchants and the ali`i, I remember many family conversations, arguments really, about the reasons the Hawaiian nation was eventually conquered by business interests supported by the US government and whether or not this was pono. Through Lehua's struggles I was better able to understand the different points of view.
Reviews of Lehua, Ka’ao a ka Wahine
The story is a delight. Gentle, thoughtful and explores the deep differences
between cultures and the clash that occurred when they met. It also explores
some of the truths about humans, whatever their ancestry - the struggle for power
or glory or both and the lengths that people go to to keep their position within a
society.
(It) is also a love story with nuances and I will not spoil it by telling of them.
Paul Smith, Editor
Wise Grey Owl Publishing
Farnham, Surrey, UK
...but Lehua is so much more. It submerges a reader into a beautifully rendered
world of Old Hawaii right at the point when it goes into the giant whirlwind of
cultural revolution, mere months after the kapu based old system of beliefs is
repelled, but before Christianity sets itself as a dominant religion.
The book is well written and dazzles with many colorful details of native
Hawaiian life. It is richly sprinkled with Hawaiian expressions, many still in
wide use.
I recommend it as much for a pleasure vacation reader as for the audience
more inclined to enjoy the exotic tapestry of Kanaka culture in the little publicized
period just before it was irreversibly overrun by foreign influences.
Alex Modzelewski, Editor
Humpback Publishing
"Descendants" was a George Clooney film that captured the interest of people
when it dealt with the concept of land in Hawaii... Gene Parola's new book takes the
reader through a period of 19th century change that radically touched the lives of
those living through momentous upheaval... (and) gives a solid understanding of what
Clooney was only able to touch on in the space of his film. Cinematic in its approach,
the book cries out for screen play treatment. Clooney should grab this book and start
filming before another ambitious filmmaker does.
Ray Pace, Editor
Honolulu Arts Beat
The Professional
The pearl harbor that didnt happen
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