Words and Wine Author Event

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.

Veronika Bajwa is an environmentalist, world traveler, and yoga instructor. She wrote Love Your Mother after a powerful experience in the redwood forest. Veronika has worked nationally and internationally on environmental issues. She volunteered at the first World Youth Congress in Honolulu in 1999, as well as the following congress events in Morocco, Scotland, Wales, and Montreal. She lived on Hawaii Island for 15 years and formed a non-profit in Kamuela that organized local and international projects to raise awareness about key social and environmental issues. Veronika wrote Love Your Mother years ago, and when she saw the artwork of Florence Thornton she knew she was the perfect illustrator for the book. Publishing her book about preserving the environment and creating a movement to inspire hope for young people is needed now more than ever. Currently a successful business owner on the island of Kaua'i, her passion for the environment is greater than ever. This book is her offering to the Earth and the next generations. She hopes the book will inspire hope and youth activism to help steer our planet's future in a more positive, thriving, and harmonious direction.

Love Your Mother is a children’s book with dazzling watercolor illustrations that fosters appreciation, a loving relationship, and a sense of stewardship with our natural world.
Did you know that planet Earth is a living being? Born from the Universe, she is mother to all creatures on Earth, even you! Together, we can make her happy and show her how much we love her. Do you want to learn how?

The book is a great teaching tool with over 30 animals inside, and it includes a glossary of organizations making a difference. The Love Your Mother website will post learning & volunteer opportunities from these organizations, serving as a hub of information on how to get involved to help create a better future for our world.

Meera Riitta graduated with a Master’s degree from Naropa University’s Somatic Psychology Program in Boulder, CO. She worked and trained with Christine Caldwell, founder of the Moving Cycle Institute and a Department Head of Somatic Psychology Department of Naropa University.  Meera Riitta also studied with Anna Halprin creator of “The Life Art Process”.  

After graduating she worked in various clinical therapeutic settings (most with Exempla Healthcare) using movement, art, yoga, adventure therapy and meditation as ways to bring healing. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor. She studied different healing modalities including Swedish massage, yoga, shiatsu, Ayurveda, macrobiotics and meditation, which are part of her daily practices even today.  In 2014 she received her first cancer diagnosis, and the second one in 2017.  This propelled her to dive deeper into her spiritual practices.  T

he cancer journey became a transformative journey, a way to dive deeper into spirituality as well as clean emotional layers.  Priorities in life shifted considerably. Writing became one of her healing practices.  She currently offers coaching services to support people in physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health and personal growth. She also works as a Bereavement Counselor at Hospice of Kona, in Hawaii.

The Little Book of Hope - This book is born out of a “dark night of the soul”. The author has survived two cancers and is sharing writings from this difficult time as well as the joy and gratitude of being alive.

Some of the writings are powerful heart touching poems.  Some are more philosophical, conversational investigations on different topics. Some are sparks of Light.  The beautiful inspiring pictures will add to the deep messages.  One can read this book in the order of the pages or just open the book anywhere, trusting that the most supportive message for that particular day will present itself. It includes practices that are helpful in turning the pain of the challenges into personal growth. The main purpose of this book is to instill hope and bring light to people’s lives. It is also an invitation to look at things with a wider perspective and to see that we can learn from the challenges in life. This book can be a supportive companion for challenging times and will enlighten anyone’s day. 

Dr. Lisa Thompson is a Best-Selling Author, Speaker, Galactic Ambassador, and Intuitive Transformational Coach, specializing in Human Design, Past Life Regression and Sound Healing. She supports and empowers people to intentionally design their best life by living from their yes. She is an Evolutionary Biologist who understands the embodiment of the ancient DNA within humans and guides them in the intergalactic realm.

Lisa is the best-selling author of Connection to the Cosmos: Remembering Your Galactic Heritage and Embracing Your Oneness, Sacred Soul Love: Manifesting True Love and Happiness by Revealing and Healing Blockages and Limitations and Sacred Soul Spaces: Designing Your Personal Oasis.

Lisa has a weekly podcast called Connection to the Cosmos with Dr. Lisa Thompson where she has out of this world conversations with extraordinary people. She has created eight Oracle Decks and designs intentional jewelry inspired by her passion of travel and nature. She loves teaching online classes and leads retreats in her home state of Hawaii. She also leads night sky watch UFO Tours on the Big Island of Hawaii.