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Thursday, June 28, 2012

ABC’s of the HIDC--REMINDER!


Just a reminder!

Beginning this Monday, July 2, 2012 I will be doing the ABC’s of The Hawaiian Island Detective Club.

So, what does that mean? Every post from July 2 forward until the release date on October 1, 2012 will be a letter from the alphabet (in order), and will focus on Hawaii, Pineapples in Peril, and the characters in particular.

It will be a fun trip through the alphabet. Many of the letters will have multiple words associated with them. And I really do have a plan for X and Z!!



Hope you’ll join me and learn some fun things about the islands and Pineapples in Peril along the way.

Aloha, and Mahalo for visiting!

Cheryl
The Hawaiian Island Detective Club
Book One—Pineapples in Peril
RELEASES OCTOBER 1, 2012!!

Monday, June 25, 2012

Hawaii's Independence Day


Since I will be doing The ABC's of the HIDC during July, I thought I should share a past post about our July 4 holiday. That's when we celebrate our nation’s independence with parades, festivals, picnics, family fun, barbecues, and—of course—fireworks!

The same kind of celebration happens in Hawaii. In 1959 Hawaii became the 50th STATE in our union and all America celebrates this holiday.

But what about Hawaii’s Independence Day? It’s called La Ku’oko’a and is an observance of November 28, 1843 when a treaty was signed by France and Great Britain, recognizing Hawaii as a sovereign nation. During this time they also came to an agreement with the United States.

King Kamehameha III sent several delegates on this mission.Sir George Simpson traveled to England while Mr. Timoteo Ha’alilio and Mr. William Richards traveled to the United States.

I’ll remind everyone about this significant date when November rolls around this year. In the meantime, enjoy your July Fourth celebrations and if you’d like to read more on the history of La Ku’oko’a, please check out this site:



 

And here’s a little fireworks video from my visit to Disney World while in Orlando for the Romance Writers of America conference in July 2010.

Aloha, and Mahalo for visiting!

Cheryl
The Hawaiian Island Detective Club
Book One—Pineapples in Peril
RELEASES OCTOBER 1, 2012!!

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Coconut Mochi


Oh YUM!

This will be the last recipe for a while since during July, August and September I’ll be doing the ABC Blogs.

This is another recipe from my friend, Luana. Her other mochi recipe was a pumpkin one I made last October which my family totally loved, so I was excited to try this one—especially since I love coconut.

It didn’t disappoint! Amazing, yummy treat. If you’ve tried the Bibingka recipe, this is somewhat similar. The only change I made to this recipe was to add some coconut to the top for a nice baked crunch. But that’s just my obsession with all things coconut!

Baked Coconut Mochi

1 16 oz. pkg Mochico Flour (find it at an Asian market)
3 c sugar
Yummy Baked Coconut Mochi!
1 can coconut milk
5 eggs beaten
½ c melted butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp baking powder

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl until smooth.
Grease and flour a 9 X 13 baking dish.
Pour mixture in baking dish.
Bake at 350 degrees for approx. 60 min—check for golden edges for done-ness.

As with the Bibingka, I have frozen this treat. After thawing, I pop it in the toaster oven for a few minutes to crisp up the topping and give it that “fresh from the oven” taste!

Enjoy!

Aloha, and Mahalo for visiting!

Cheryl
The Hawaiian Island Detective Club
Book One—Pineapples in Peril
RELEASES OCTOBER 1, 2012!!

cheryllinnmartin@yahoo.com

Monday, June 18, 2012

The 50th State!


Since I’ll be doing the ABC blogging July through September, I thought I’d take this moment in June to mention Hawaii joining the United States.

It was on August 21, 1959 that Hawaii became The 50th State!

What a great number 50 is, don’t you think?? Now my kids might think that life after 50 is nothing but a dull ride to nowhere, but I say, “No Way!”

Just like how special it is for Hawaii to be our 50th state, I find life after 50 years to be exciting and Full of Firsts!

Here’s a list of my Firsts after Fifty!

* Climbed a huge tree and flew down the zip-line
* Climbed a 20 ft. rock-wall
* Retired from a job
* Went horseback riding
* Wake-boarded
* Washed the feet of homeless people
* Joined a gym
* Started a blog
* Developed a website
* Became a published author

Have you made a list like this? What have you done for the first time after 30 or 40 or 50 or 60 or 70? You may just surprise yourself!

Welcome Fiftieth State, Hawaii!

Aloha, and Mahalo for visiting!

Cheryl
The Hawaiian Island Detective Club
Book One—Pineapples in Peril
RELEASES OCTOBER 1, 2012!!

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Hau’oli La Makuakane!

That's Hawaiian for Happy Father's Day!!


What are you planning to do for that special father or man in your life? I think the father of my children will be getting a couple books from me--ones he'll like and ones that were written by authors I know.


How wonderful to support a dad while also supporting an author??


Relationships with family are so important and I hope you remember those men in yours who "fathered" you along the way. My dad passed away eight years ago, but I can honor him by showing my kid's dad how special he is to our family.


And, while I'm talking about dads, I can't help but think about and express my thankfulness for my HEAVENLY FATHER. Without Him I would not be the person I am today.


Happy Father's Day to dads everywhere!



Aloha, and Mahalo for visiting!


Cheryl
The Hawaiian Island Detective Club
Book One—Pineapples in Peril
RELEASES OCTOBER 1, 2012!!

Monday, June 11, 2012

Today is King Kamehameha Day!


The state of Hawaii commemorates and celebrates King Kamehameha today.

In 1810, this king united all of Hawaii into one kingdom. He is honored on June 11 every year in Hawaii. It is a state holiday, so many state offices and schools are closed.

You might recognize this famous monarch from photos of his statue in front of the judiciary building in downtown Honolulu. He is known as Kamehameha I as well as Kamehameha the Great. He served as ruler from 1782 to 1819.

There are many celebrations on this day in Hawaii including parades, hula competitions, and draping his statue with leis.

Happy Kamehameha Day!

The photo below is from this site where you can learn more about the statue of this great king:




Aloha, and Mahalo for visiting!

Cheryl
The Hawaiian Island Detective Club
Book One—Pineapples in Peril
RELEASES OCTOBER 1, 2012!!

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Ancient or Modern?? (part 2)


Scroll down to Monday’s post to see why I’m talking about the Hawaiian numbering system today.

The system is pretty simple for one through ten. But then you get to the teens, twenties and thirties! This is an example of how it’s done with the Ancient System:

Eleven is “ten plus one” In Hawaiian that would be Umi + kumama + kahi

Umikumamakahi

Seems simple enough, right? Unless, of course, like me, you used the ancient system to number every chapter in your book!

Here’s the same example in the Modern System:

Eleven is “ten plus one” In Hawaiian that would be Umi + kuma + kahi

Umikumakahi

See the difference? It’s the pesky extra “ma”!!

So I’ve submitted the changes to my editor and hopefully the numbers will all come out correct for the modern system. Check it out when you read Pineapples in Peril.

Until then, enjoy the number, Twenty-Seven!

Iwakaluakumahiku

And for even more fun, click this video to see these adorable kids do the “Number Song” for one through ten!



Aloha, and Mahalo for visiting!

Cheryl
The Hawaiian Island Detective Club
Book One—Pineapples in Peril
RELEASES OCTOBER 1, 2012!!


Monday, June 4, 2012

Ancient or Modern??


A few weeks ago I found myself in this dilemma.

I had numbered my chapters in Pineapples in Peril with the ancient Hawaiian numbers. Then I found out there’s a modern system, which is just a bit different.

Normally I wouldn’t worry too much about this, but because I want my book to be PERFECT, I needed to see which was the preferred system. (Uhh . . . is there ever a perfect book? How many of you have found a mistake in a book you’re reading?)

I soon discovered through research and speaking with a college student who grew up in Hawaii, that they teach the modern system to kids in school. Okay—so my book is for kids. Hmm . . . figured I’d better change my chapter numbers!

Luckily I was still working on corrections for galley number two, so I made the changes. Unfortunately, the Advanced Reader Copies will have the ancient numbering system—along with a couple other errors . . . sigh.

Check in on Thursday to see a little about how the numbers work in the Hawaiian language and what I had to change!

Aloha, and Mahalo for visiting!

Cheryl
The Hawaiian Island Detective Club
Book One—Pineapples in Peril
RELEASES OCTOBER 1, 2012!!