Back From Hawai'i

I had an excellent time in Hawai'i. I had appearances that were fantastic successes (40+ people at each of my talks at the Book & Music Festival, for instance) and appearances that were fantastic failures (like the bookstore signing at which the only attendee was a crazy dude who talked to me about psychics for 15 minutes). But I was really pleased by how many readers seemed honestly interested in the book, and how many people came out to talk to me about it.

I certainly couldn't have asked for better coverage, with a terrific and flattering review/feature by island music expert John Berger in the Star-Bulletin, a Q&A with editor Ragnar Carlson in Honolulu Weekly, and even a guest post -- their first! -- for exciting local-news experiment Civil Beat.

Plus I got on TV!

Heading to Hawai'i!

That's right -- I will finally be making some Hawai'i appearances on behalf of Facing Future this week and weekend. I fly out Wednesday, and will be in town through the weekend. I will be at the Hawai'i Book & Music Festival (appearing on the same stage as Duane "Dog" Chapman!), a number of area bookstores, and some local TV & radio. I'll also, of course, be doing some improv comedy.

Here's my schedule!

Hawai'i Book and Music Festival Appearances:
Saturday, May 15
2:00 Authors Pavilion: Reading/Q&A
3:00 Hawaiian Culture Pavilion: Panel discussion on Iz
4:00 Barnes & Noble Tent: Signing
Sunday, May 16
4:30 Barnes & Noble Tent: Signing

Bookstore Appearances:
Thursday, May 13
6:00 Native Books/Na Mea Hawaii (Ward Warehouse): Talk story & signing
Friday, May 14
2:00 Borders Waikele: Reading & signing
Saturday, May 15
6:00 Barnes & Noble Ala Moana Center: Signing
Sunday, May 16
3:00 Borders Ward Center: Reading & signing with Stuart Coleman, author of Fierce Heart

Improv comedy:
Friday, May 14
7:30 One Night Stand in Aiea w/ Robb Bonnell, Stephanie Conching, R. Kevin Doyle, Sean TC O'Malley, and Garrick Paikai
Saturday, May 15
8:00 & 10:00 Q&A with Oil in the Alley + Aftermath, Laughtrack Theater

Come see me! I am very excited about this trip.

Ukulele Player and Lost at Sea review Facing Future

Excitingly enough, Ukulele Player -- a magazine I never even knew existed until this exact moment -- has published a very nice review of Facing Future. You can see the whole review, by Mickey Maguire, here (PDF), but here's a excerpt:

"Facing Future" is a fascinating book. I highly recommend it for IZ fans and anyone wanting to learn about the people of Hawaii and the music and spirit of the islands. For ukulele players and fans of Hawaiian music, it is a must read. I hope you find it as interesting as I did.

And Bridget Doyle at Lost at Sea also reviewed the book; for the most part she liked it, although she thought I got condescending toward Mainland fans toward the end. And maybe I did! (I do want to note, though, that the conversation in the book between Israel and his cousin is not made up, as Doyle suggests; it's reported from an interview with the cousin in question.)

Anyways, thanks for the reviews! More soon, including details of the big Hawai'i trip.

Facing Future reviewed on Hawai'i Book Blog

Thanks to Alex Alba of Hawai'i Book Blog for a long, thoughtful, and very positive review of Facing Future. An excerpt:

I naturally had some hesitancy towards his portrayal of Bruddah Iz, Hawaiian music and culture.  Kois, however, proves that he did his research and put in time learning about the nuances of Hawaii’s music and way of life.  He easily drops local lingo into his narrative without coming off as “tryin’” too much, gleamed a lot of insider knowledge of the Hawaiian music industry and even provides sympathetic commentary to sensitive topics such as  Hawaiian sovereignty.

He concludes: "This is a book I would recommend for both the local and outsider alike."

Review of Facing Future [Hawai'i Book Blog]

Interview on Fluxblog!

Matthew Perpetua was kind enough to interview me for his outstanding mp3 blog, Fluxblog, and we had an interesting and far-ranging discussion that started with Iz's life and meandered all the way to Tune-Yards, Biggie Smalls, and how Iz helped make Susan Boyle possible. Thanks Matthew!

Interview with Dan Kois [Fluxblog]

Target!

A friend sends a photo from the Honolulu Target, revealing that my book has hit the BIG TIME. Next stop: Costco*!

*Anyone know someone at Costco?

Hank Stuever writes about Facing Future

Thanks a ton to my friend Hank, who was an early reader of Facing Future and has now done me the solid of saying very very nice things about the book on his blog. I'll repay the favor by telling all four of my regular readers about Hank's book, Tinsel, which is a delightful exploration of Christmas by a guy with the same love/hate relationship with the holiday that I have.