Starting ...

I love books with a strong sense of place, where the setting becomes another character. When I first started thinking about writing a mystery series, I thought I'd set it in Northern California, where I've lived for the last thirty or so years. But my heart wasn't in it, and after my last vacation in Hawaii, I realized where I really wanted to set my story. It wasn't just because it's a beautiful, tropical paradise. I lived there for several years as a kid, and it was the place I felt most at home

I worried at first because it'd been so long since I'd lived there I wasn't sure I could write about the different neighborhoods, and in the end I decided Maya would live in Waikiki. It's a weird place for a local girl - it's really only a place for tourists. But when we first moved to Hawaii, my family stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village for a month while we searched for a house. I used to fall asleep to the sound of ukuleles and Don Ho. The sounds and smells of Waikiki are very much home to me.

Some of my favorite places on Oahu are mentioned in Ghost of Waikiki, so I've included a map in case anyone planning a trip to the Islands feels like eating Korean bbq at Kim Chee II, or hiking up the Old Pali Road. Just don't bring pork with you.