Greetings dear Reader: you probably know that a “motif” is a reoccurring thematic element in a story. A reoccurring theme in Spoils of Eden and Hawaiian Crosswinds, books 1 and 2 of the Dawn of Hawaii trilogy, is the motif of an absent father-image. This “absence” is meant to represent a spiritual need in the story people who will find satisfaction in either reconciliation or personal fellowship with God as Abba Father. Can the disturbed hear the true voice of God, who calls them in the cool of the evening to walk with Him as Father in a renewed spiritual paradise of faith and redemption?

“I ascend to my Father and ( because of Christ’s death and resurrection) your Father.” “….And I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me, says the Lord Almighty.” 2 Corinthians. 6: 17, 18.

How does this theme apply in varying and differing degrees to: Eden Derrington and Rafe Easton, to Eden’s cousins, Zachary, Silas, and Candace Derrington, and to Rafe’s close friend, Keno Hunnewell?

Rafe Easton:

1. Rafe Easton’s father was deliberately left to die after an accident, and his gentle mother unwisely married Townsend Derrington, the man Rafe suspected of murder. As a boy, Rafe could never prove his suspicions. He was bullied by his step-father and watched Townsend manipulate his helpless mother. When Rafe grew into his late teens he suddenly left Hawaii on his first youthful voyage to French Guiana searching for the famous but illusive pineapple slips. Continue reading / Leave a comment…

This is a new segment for us here at River North Fiction. Our “A Tale and A Treat” blog series will highlight one of our titles and pair it with a tasty recipe. Today’s pairing is Hawaiian Crosswinds by Linda Lee Chaikin and Hawaiian Butter Cookies by Brittany Biggs.

TALE:

Sandy Beaches Beckon

Being a life-long suburbanite, I’ve spent most of my days in or around a city—Chicago in particular. My husband and I live hectic lives with work, children, school, church, and the average amount of crazy busyness that most contemporary families face today. Once a year in the summer we take a week-long vacation. In my world the new year begins about the first of August, with the close of our summer vacation. My husband is an academic so this schedule is as natural to our family as the rhythm of the tide.

I was reading Linda Chaikin’s second installment of The Dawn of Hawaii Series, Hawaiian Crosswinds, when there was still snow on the ground. I enjoyed scenes of sandy beaches not unlike summers at the beach home of my husband’s bother, Linc and his wife Jule’ (although the fringed coconut trees would need to be replaced with powerful oaks).  In the opening scene I was transported. Linda writes:

The ocean murmured restlessly. Silhouettes of fringed coconut trees bent into the rising wind, their tall, slim trunks standing stark against the deepening skyline. Clouds tumbled along as if in a race for time.

She builds a colorful world with the historic backdrop of Hawaii as it develops into a state. Continue reading / Leave a comment…