I am back firmly in fantasy novelist mode! This past weekend I put some character and plot development changes in place and continued the final edit on Dire Deeds. I revised the list of 29 genders of the Elf world; and sorted and organized files of character "faces" (a form of fantasy "casting" that helps…
Mourning Ahalanui Warm Pond
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.…
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…
“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…
The Guild of Ornamental Hermits 