Skip to main content

Words and Wine

April Words and Wine Author Night

Each month Kona Stories hosts an event with local and traveling authors. This event happens the First Tuesday evening of the month starting at 6 PM. Authors are available to talk story while you are getting your plate of appetizers and glass of complimentary wine. Authors then give a 15 minute talk about their book and themselves, the writing and publishing process or a short reading from the book. After all the authors presentations there is a time for individual questions and book signings with the authors. Expect 2 - 3 authors to attend each month and the evening to wrap up around 8 PM. Dress is Aloha casual wear.

April Authors are:

Carol Thorsness is a retired middle school teacher.  She enjoys the extra time retirement offers to play bridge, work on renovation projects, write and play with her beautiful granddaughters.  Carol lives in northern California with her husband and near her to sons and their families.  Flight is her third novel.

In Flight we meet Samantha Quinn who has seen the public service announcements with the help numbers she could call, but she just can't bring herself to do so.  She is too afraid of her controlling, often violent husband, Mark, knowing he would somehow find out and punish her.

Depressed and constantly afraid, she sees no way out, until one day...through fate or happenstance or karma...a larcenous salesclerk, a hair stylist going on maternity leave and a TV show start Sam on a journey to a new life.

Join Sam as she carefully plans and executes her escape.  But will Mark, with all his resources, allow her to disappear or will he find her and take his revenge.

 

Sara Ackerman was born and raised in Hawaii and studied journalism and later earned graduate degrees in psychology and Chinese medicine.  Prior to practicing acupuncture, she worked as a high school counselor and teacher on the famed north shore of Oahu, where surf often took precedence over school.  She is the author of six novels –  Island of Sweet Pies and SoldiersSea of Four Directions (out next year)Volcano HouseThe Ranch at Redwater, Salt and Seaweed, and Honeycreepers – with a bunch more itching to be written.  She blames Hawaii for her addiction to writing, and sees no end to its untapped stories.

A few of her favorite things, in no particular order – hiking, homemade PIZZA, a good thunderstorm, stargazing, BOOKS, craft beer, her wonderful BOYFRIEND, surfing, mountain streams, her friends, and ANIMALS.  In fact, animals inhabit all of her novels in some way, shape or form – dogs, donkeys, sea turtles, a featherless chicken, endangered Hawaiian crows, horses, and even a lion.  When she's not writing or practicing acupuncture, you'll find her in the mountains or in the ocean, which is where most of her inspiration happens.

Set amid the tropical beauty of Hawaii, Island of Sweet Pies and Soldiers offers a fresh perspective on World War II as it presents timeless depictions of female friendship, the bond between a mother and her child, and the enduring power of love even in the darkest times.

It’s 1944, combat in the Pacific is intensifying, and Violet Iverson and her daughter, Ella, are piecing their lives back together one year after her husband vanished. As suspicions about his loyalties surface, Violet suspects Ella knows something. But Ella refuses to talk. Something—or someone—has scared her.
Violet enjoys the camaraderie of her friends as they open a pie stand for the soldiers training on the island for a secret mission. But even these women face their own wartime challenges as prejudice against the island Japanese pits neighbor against neighbor. And then there’s the matter of Sergeant Stone, a brash marine who comes to Violet’s aid when the women are accused of spying. She struggles with her feelings of guilt but can’t deny the burning attraction—or her fear of losing another man when Stone ships out for Iwo Jima.

 

Virginia Isbell is a fixture–and a legend–on Hawaii Island. She has taken life situations that many would consider impossible and turned them around for the good. Virginia has worked tirelessly as a public servant: Girl Scout leadership, swimming & water safety instructor, and much more. She went on to spend fourteen years in the Hawaii State House of Representatives followed by six years as a County Councilwoman. In the political arena, Virginia has always been considered one of the “good ones”, with a record of impressive accomplishments, ranging from initiating recycling programs to creating affordable housing for native Hawaiians. She has given free piano lessons to hundreds of children in Hawaii. Everything she has put her hand to has been fruitful: Blowing a horn in the orchestra or a conch shell at momentous events; being a steerswoman on a Hawaiian canoe; participating in team triathlons in her late-seventies. Her can-do attitude coupled with a quirky rebellious streak is a powerful one-two punch. After her polio episode, the doctors said she would never be able to have children–she had five. Her four surviving children (her second son Daniel is home with the Lord) are successful in their respective businesses and have rich family lives. Virginia’s legacy is an example of what an empowered woman can create when one seeks the opportunities God places before them. And she has blessed many others by what she has given back.

Die to Live: To the edge of Heaven and Back is her story of surviving three life-threatening illnesses and three glimpses of Heaven -three times she had to come back. Based on the true story of Virginia Isbell’s journeys to the edge of eternity, DIE TO LIVE explores the controversial world of out-of-body experiences. Following her early years and the people that influenced Virginia, this is a fascinating memoir of coming to terms with life…and death.

Written by Gordon Noice a Florida native, surfer, ordained minister, who has an extensive background in theatre, film and television. His unique style of speaking and message of encouragement & empowerment are well received wherever he travels. DIE TO LIVE is his third writing project and he is currently working on a true story about his adoption. Gordon lives in Hawaii with his wife Iwalani.

 

 

Image

Carol Thorsness

Flight

Image

Image

Image

book cover

Date: 04/03/2018
Time: 12:00pm - 2:00pm
Place:

78-6831 Alii Drive
Suite 142
Kailua Kona, HI 96740
United States