Photo of Ahalanui Warm Pond, Puna District, Hawai'i Island. Photo by A.R. Marsh. Park next to Ahalanui Warm Pond. Lifeguard tower at Ahalanui Warm Pond. Photos by A.R. Marsh. Yesterday, July 12, 2018, Tutu Pele covered the Ahalanui Warm Pond and park with lava, along with the neighboring Kua O Ka La Hawaiian language charter school.…
You Need a Scorecard to Keep Track…
Joe Hillstrom Sidley Croom Joe and Sidley are on again, off again lovers. Artwork via HeroForge.com. Oyster Olson Babe Bump Tomma Bedlam Three of the main characters. Artwork via HeroForge.com. Here is a list of some of the relationship configurations involving the characters in The Guild of Ornamental Hermits fantasy series. Check out our characters…
Disaster Prep in “Hermitville,” Puna District
A lava flow moves on Makamae Street in Leilani Estates at 09:32 am HST on May 6, 2018. USGS map, Public Domain. The opening scene of The Dire Deeds of the Guild of Ornamental Hermits is a light-hearted disaster prep drill performed by some of the "hermits" of my fictitious Hermitville Farm and Arts Collective, an…
“Dire Deeds” Story Set in The Restored Hawaiian Kingdom
Uncle Iolana Kamapua'a Kia'i'okamauna Kamapua'a Namaka Kamapua'a Three members of the Kamapua`a `Ohana. Images via HeroForge.com and NewProfilePic.com. The Dire Deeds of the Guild of Ornamental Hermits takes place in Hawai'i in a "not too distant" future. As I work my way through the second draft, it became obvious to me that I wanted that future…
Oyster Olson – Humble Bluesman Turns Wizard
Oyster in Hermitville Oyster, Asexual & Trans Pride Oyster Half Elven Three character studies of Oyster Olson. Artwork via HeroForge.com. Oyster Olson is a resident of the fictitious Hermitville Farm and Arts Collective near Pahoa, Hawai'i Island. He is one of twelve "hermits" (musicians, artists, and oddballs) invited to live at the intentional community by…
Why a Tale of “Mid-Life Magic?”
I grew up reading fairy tales and fantasy fiction. I always wanted to see myself as one of the characters in whatever I was reading and/or have that character's abilities. Childhood examples include: Captain Nemo in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (for having the coolest submarine and for being disgusted with humanity); Doctor Doolittle (for being…
“Hermitville in Hawai’i” – A Subtext of Spiritual Settler/Colonialism in Occupied Lands
Hawai'i nei (beloved Hawai'i) has struggled with many, many forms of invasion over the last few hundred years - people, invasive species, political, military, economic, spiritual, and so on. The results have not been happy or sustainable for either the islands themselves or for the original people, the Kanaka Maoli. This blog is not going…
Intersex Characters in Hermitville
Babe Bump Frank Talk Babe Bump and Frank Talk, depicted as game peices, designed via HeroForge.com. Babe Bump, the book's primary narrator, and Frank Talk, one of Hermitville's fine musicans, live in bodies that have intersex variations. However, Babe and Frank each deal with a different set of circumstances, as the intersex variation of each…
Western Magic Influences
This is the excerpt for your very first post.
Edith Sitwell and Tom o’ Bedlam
Dame Edith Sitwell (1887-1964) CD cover Michael Rossman in Hawai'i. Photo by A.R. Marsh. What do an eccentric poet and an equally eccentric leader of the Berkeley Free Speech Movement have in common? Why, serving as inspiration for The Guild of Ornamental Hermits fantasy novels, of course! Here are two of the most pervasive and…
The Guild of Ornamental Hermits 