As a book bloggin’ and book luvin’ Princess, I’m always
curious to find out how authors got the ideas for their books. Can you tell us how you got the idea to write
your book?
The author of Black Rocks and
Rainbows: The True Adventures of Henry Opukahaia, the Hawaiian Boy Who Changed
History was Susan C. Riford, my mother. Her fascination with the amazing
tale of the young Hawaiian boy Henry Opukahaia began when she and my Dad
moved to Maui, Hawaii in the late 1980s. The novel was her final work
before she died in Maui in 1997, but not until she had participated
in the event that brought the story full circle: the successful crusade in
1993 to bring Henry’s remains home to Hawaii from his grave in
Cornwall, Connecticut where he had died in 1818, and reinter him at
Kahikolo Cemetery on the Big Island of Hawaii, near the spot where he
was born.
After my mother’s death I found the
unfinished manuscript, read it and was thrilled. I wrote the last chapter based
on her extensive notes, had a few copies printed and, because I am an
actor and love narrating books, recorded the audio book.
Your readers might be interested
in the trailer for the audiobook, which is found here.
Can you tell us a little about the main
characters of your book?
Since the book is historical fiction, I think it belongs in
BOTH categories - fiction and nonfiction. The main character of Henry Opukahaia
is unique, and fascinating, because he was a real person. He's a young native boy
in early 1800s Hawaii, a beautiful but very cruel and dangerous place, who goes
through a horrific ordeal—first losing his parents in a tribal war, then being
adopted and groomed as a warrior by a great King, then, in a twist of fate,
becoming the apprentice to a kahuna nui, or head priest, all on what is now
known as the Big Island.
Can you give us an excerpt?
Now the story (remember, it's all true!) really gets
interesting. Here's an excerpt detailing what happens next:
Opukahaia decided to
take the path along the cliff overlooking the ocean. He liked to watch the
brilliant colors of the late afternoon sky dance in the dark water below. But
as he came out of the forest and onto the bluff, he suddenly stopped stock
still and stared, frozen in amazement.
Out in the bay below
him drifted an enormous canoe. It had great white wings like a magnificent
bird. As he watched, the boy saw tiny figures of men scurrying around on it.
Some of them climbed up the tall poles that held the wings. Where had they come
from? Were these the strange men with light skin his uncle had described?
Opukahaia was
overwhelmed with curiosity. He wished the canoe would come closer to shore so
he could see it better. Soon it would be dark, and tomorrow it might be gone.
Quickly, he
unfastened his kahuna cape and laid it on the ground. He would swim out to the
big canoe and see it for himself! Then he could tell his uncle and the other
priests about these men who had come to their island. He scrambled halfway down
the rocky cliff and dove off into the water below.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN: The
Big Canoe
Opukahaia swam
swiftly toward the ship. The distance was greater than it had seemed from the
cliff, but his strong, even stroke finally brought him to the side of the
vessel. It rose high above him and was longer than ten war canoes. He swam back
and forth along the length of it, looking for a handhold - some way to climb up
the side - but could find nothing.
Then he heard a
man’s voice and the sound of feet running. A head appeared over the edge of the
boat above him. It was a light-faced man and he called down to him, but the
words were strange to the boy’s ears. Opukahaia raised one arm from the water
and waved. The light-faced man ducked out of sight and then returned.
A dark, friendly
face appeared beside him and called to the boy in his own language, the language
of Hawaii!
“Do you want to come
aboard? Here. Take hold of this and climb up.”
The two men threw a
rope ladder over the side, holding it fast between them. Opukahaia reached with
both hands and pulled himself up to gain a toe-hold. When he had climbed to the
top, two pairs of strong hands pulled him over the edge and onto the floor of
the boat, where he sat, sprawled and wet, looking up at them. He decided to
grin.
The dark-skinned man
returned his smile and gave him a hand up.
“I am Makani Nakolo,”
he said, “and I am from these islands. The others call me Mak. I have sailed
for two years with this ship. What is your name, boy, and where is your home?”
“My name is
Opukahaia - and I live with my uncle, who is Kilopano, the kahuna nui of this
island.” He gestured toward the cliff.
The
man’s eyes widened as he relayed this information in the strange language of
the other man. Then he turned back to the boy.
“You
must come with me, Opukahaia, to see the chief of this canoe, which is called the Triumph. He is a good
man. His name is Captain Britnall.”
After THAT the story really gets exciting. Henry's
adventures on the Triumph include a skirmish with Chinese pirates, a run-in
with the notorious captain of a slave ship, and a nearly disastrous hurricane.
Also, and most important, he gets the chance to study English and history from
an educated young man on board, which delights him.
When the ship comes home to
America, Henry is desperate to continue learning. He's found weeping on the
steps of Yale College by a kind student who leads him to the school’s President.
Taken under his wing, Henry becomes a scholar, and eventually invents the
written Hawaiian language as it is used today.
If you could tell your younger writing self anything,
what would that be?
I'm not a professional writer, but as an actor, I do tell
stories. I think I would remind my younger self that the most important aspect
of storytelling (as Stephen King says) is character. A good story is told from
a person's distinctive point of view, and to be effective, that person should
be believable, sympathetic, surprising and appealing. All of these qualities
belong to Henry Opukahaia, and that's why I think he's a wonderful hero.
What would you say is one of your interesting writing
quirks?
That I'm not really a writer? But seriously, as a longtime
actor I think I have a good grasp of dialogue and I do enjoy writing it. Because
often as an actor you're called upon to improvise on a set, that has been great
practice for creating compelling dialogue, when it's needed, for the written
page. There's joy in writing stream-of-consciousness dialogue and then, of
course, revising it later as needed. The world of the book, or play or screenplay,
comes alive with its dialogue. My mother, because she was also a playwright,
was a whiz at dialogue. I think there's a lot of value in that.
Do you hear from your readers (in my case, listeners)? What do they say?
Because it's just come out, I've had limited communication
with listeners at this point, but I did hear from my grandson, who pronounced
the audiobook "awesome." That from him is very high praise indeed.
What is the toughest criticism given to you as an author?
Hastening to reiterate that I'm not a full time writer, I
must admit I've never received truly tough criticism. Or maybe I've just
forgotten it. I remember mostly the good comments, which may be a survival
technique. (I know it is in show business!) Once on an essay I wrote in
sophomore year of high school, I actually got this comment from my English teacher:
"This is like poetry." That was very encouraging, and I've never
forgotten it. I think we can all agree that sometimes positive comments are
even more valuable than negative ones.
What has been your best accomplishment?
I can say without hesitation that having a family I love is
my number one accomplishment (as far as I can claim credit for it) and that
after that is my acting career, which, as you know if you know about show
business, is pretty competitive. I'm glad I have been able to produce as much work
that I'm proud of as I have as an actor, and I look forward to doing more.
Do you Google yourself?
Not really. No time! I do check on IMDb once in a while to
see what my ranking is.
How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?
A ton! But not books - mostly screenplays and short stories.
Fun question – if you were princess or prince,
what’s one thing you would do to make your kingdom a better place?
Simple: I would make health care free to everyone, and make it
a law to attend live theatre at least once a month.
Do you have anything specific that you would like to say
to your readers?
I so hope you enjoy listening to Black Rocks and
Rainbows: The True Adventures of Henry Opukahaia, the Hawaiian Boy Who Changed
History and that you—whether you are
a young person or just young at heart—can relate to the message that if you
have the courage to follow your destiny, to do what you love and pursue it with
your whole being, miracles can happen.
Note: All proceeds from the audiobook and all other future
formats are donated to the Susan C. Riford Children’s Arts Education Fund (501c3)
