“So, what is a Ghost God?” a reader asks.

“In this story, the Ghost God is a Hawaiian mythical figure that first appears to the protagonist Eve Sorenson as a barking dog when she arrives at Lyon Arboretum in O`ahu’s Manoa Valley. Eve is a Mainland haole of Swedish decent, not a Hawaiian. She’s been a frequent visitor to Windward O`ahu, where her Aunt Meg lives, and she’s read about Hawaiian myths and legends. The dog leads Eve to Noa, a Hawaiian man who is non-responsive, though she feels a pulse.. When Eve’s calls for help go unanswered, she sends the dog. Help arrives, the man’s life is saved, and the story begins.”

We continue talking, as I explain the reason for naming the book RAIN SHELTERS and GHOST GODS. The barking dog finds Eve in the arboretum rain shelter. As a resident of the Pacific Northwest, I am well acquainted with rain shelters ranging from roofed dwellings to heavily-branched evergreen trees. When arboretum personnel rescue Noa, Eve remarks that the dense forest understory served as a rain shelter, protecting him from the rain but also providing him with water droplets she collects in in a shell ginger leaf and drips on his lips.

“Shell Ginger?”

“One of many ginger plants that are a valuable part of Hawaiian landscapes. In the story, Eve describes The blossoms as dangling like earrings against their green leaf-blade throats.”