My Book Launch: 'Copper and Goldie, 13 Tails of Mystery and Suspense in Hawai‘i' by Rosemary and Larry Mild

In Copper and Goldie, 13 Tails of Mystery and Suspense in Hawai‘i, homicide detective Sam Nahoe takes a bullet in his spine in the line of duty. Disabled, his career with the Honolulu Police Department shattered—what now? Jobless, lonely, and unwillingly divorced, Sam becomes a Checker Cab driver. Seeking a partner, he adopts a rescue golden retriever—with a dollop of Doberman, and trains her to perform neat tricks like growling at a fare who doesn’t tip. He and Goldie cruise Oahu for fares, encountering thieves, kidnappers, vengeful wives, and even killers, compelling Sam to get his private investigator license. His Sunday visitations with his daughter, Peggy, can turn a magical park day into a hair-raising crime scene, but his shrewd little kid becomes a miniature sleuth in her own right. Sam’s Hawaiian heritage provides him with spunk and street smarts. With the bullet still in his spine, he hobbles around on two canes he’s dubbed Cane and Able as he orders Goldie to chase down the bad guys. His favorite snitch, card-sharp Sophie, asks him: “You still walkin’ with them giant chopsticks?” The book includes thirteen individual detective mysteries with pictures.

Find out more on Amazon.


ROSEMARY AND LARRY MILD, cheerful partners in crime, coauthor mystery, suspense, and fantasy fiction. Their popular Hawaii novels, Cry Ohana and its sequel Honolulu Heat, vibrate with island color, local customs, and exquisite scenery. Also by the Milds: The Paco and Molly Murder Mysteries: Locks and Cream Cheese, Hot Grudge Sunday, and Boston Scream Pie. And the Dan and Rivka Sherman Mysteries: Death Goes Postal, Death Takes A Mistress, and Death Steals A Holy Book. Plus: Unto the Third Generation, A Novella of the Future, and three collections of wickedly entertaining mystery stories—Murder, Fantasy, and Weird Tales; The Misadventures of Slim O. Wittz, Soft-Boiled Detective; and Copper and Goldie, 13 Tails of Mystery and Suspense in Hawai‘i.

ROSEMARY, a graduate of Smith College and former assistant editor of Harper’s, also delves into her own nonfiction life. She published two memoirs: Love! Laugh! Panic! Life With My Mother and the acclaimed Miriam’s World—and Mine, for the beloved daughter they lost in the terrorist bombing of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. On her lighter side, Rosemary also writes award-winning humorous essays, such as failing the test to get on Jeopardy; and working for a giant free-spending corporation on a sudden budget: “No new pencil unless you turn in the old stub.”  

LARRY, who was only called Lawrence when he’d done something wrong, graduated from American University in Information Systems Management. In 2019 he published his autobiography, No Place To Be But Here: My Life and Times, which traces his thirty-eight-year professional engineering career from its beginning as an electronics technician in the U.S. Navy, to a field engineer riding Navy ships, to a digital systems/instrument designer for major Government contractors in the signal analysis field, to where he rose to the most senior level of principal engineer when he retired in 1993.

Making use of his past creativity and problem-solving abilities, Larry naturally drifted into the realm of mystery writing, where he also claims to be more devious than his partner in crime and best love, Rosemary. So he conjures up their plots and writes the first drafts, leaving Rosemary to breathe life into their characters and sizzle into their scenes. A perfect marriage of their talents. 

THE MILDS are active members of Sisters in Crime where Larry is a Mister in Crime; Mystery Writers of America; and Hawaii Fiction Writers. In 2013 they waved goodbye to Severna Park, Maryland and moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, where they cherish quality time with their daughters and grandchildren. When Honolulu hosted Left Coast Crime in 2017, Rosemary and Larry were the program co-chairs for “Honolulu Havoc.”

Over a dozen worldwide trips to Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Cambodia, Burma, Great Britain, France, Italy, Israel, Egypt, and more have wormed their way into their amazing stories. In their limited spare time, they are active members of the Honolulu Jewish Film Festival committee, where Larry is the statistician and recordkeeper for their film ratings.  

Connect with the authors!
https://www.magicile.com

https://www.facebook.com/rosemary.mild.1

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosemary-mild-930

Interview with Rosemary & Larry Mild, authors of HONOLULU HEAT

Rosemary and Larry coauthor the popular Paco & Molly Mysteries and the Dan & Rivka Sherman Mysteries—and most recently, Unto the Third Generation, A Novella of the Future. They call Honolulu home, where they cherish time with their children and grandchildren. The Milds are members of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and Hawaii Fiction Writers. Find out more about their books on their website. 

1.   How did you get the idea for HONOLULU HEAT?

      The local paper was full of hurricane news and we thought Hurricane Iniki would make a great start for this sequel to Cry Ohana. It was then a matter of drawing a plot from the next generation of Cry Ohana characters. The orphaned boy came out of a later discussion.

2.   Are any of the characters in HONOLULU HEAT based on people you know?

      No one character in this series is intended as anyone we know; however, all our characters are composites of  people we’ve met. We feel the plot dictates the roles we cast in our stories—whatever is needed.

3.   Why do you think Hawaii makes such a great setting for a mystery novel?

      There is a fascination and a number of dreams associated with these islands, situated in the most isolated place on earth in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Palm trees, pineapples, and hula dancers add to them. The population mix, their diverse cultures, and rich legends provide grist for mystery’s mill. 

4.   Do you have a favorite character in HONOLULU HEAT?  If so, who? And why is he/she your favorite?

      Noah Wong is an adopted Hawaiian teen, who after a troublesome—yet loving— upbringing,  finds himself teetering  on both sides of the law. He is complex, idealistic, lovable, and devoted.

5.   HONOLULU HEAT is an exciting and suspenseful tale. What is your secret to keeping readers in suspense?

      We keep shuttling between counter-characters with diverse points-of-view and goals. We reinforce our suspense with sensory atmospheres, threatening and destabilizing environments that amplify anxiety and fear, play on human frailties, and employ elements that promote time and space competitions with harm to the loser.

6a. Do you know how a book is going to end before you start writing?

      In general we know where the book is going, but upon further thoughts and developments, it sometimes comes as a complete and mostly welcome surprise. 

6b. What is your process?

      Once we have talked out the plot seed. Larry, being the more devious of the two, writes a ten- to fifteen-page statement of work and uses it as a guide to writing the entire first draft. Then Rosemary takes it through a second draft with much discussion between drafts.

7.   Which do you enjoy more—creating the plots or developing the characters? Why?

      Devious Larry is more plot oriented and Rosemary is more detail and people oriented, so Larry casts the skeletal characters and scenes, while Rosemary puts all the fine touches on everything. She is the one who provides color and personality. Mostly, we respect each others decisions.

8.   Do you have a title in mind before you start writing, or does the title come later?

      Honolulu is situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Koolau Mountains, so we started with the working title, Between the Mountains and the Great Sea. But, as time went on, and the book grew, we felt that it wasn’t strong enough. We wanted HONOLULU in the title and eventually added the word HEAT, so we came to HONOLULU HEAT, Between the Mountains and the Great Sea.

9.   Do you have other books in the works?  What is next in the queue?

      All kinds of great stuff! We’re working on two collections of short stories; a collection of Rosemary’s personal essays; Larry’s autobiography; and a textbook on writing the mystery novel. We just haven’t decided which is next, but each of these projects has made significant progress so far.

      One of our story collections is a series called “Copper and Goldie,” set in Honolulu. Mysterical-E, the wonderful quarterly on-line mystery magazine, has already published eight, with four more coming. “Copper” is Sam Nahoe, a disabled former HPD detective who took a bullet in his spine in the line of duty. He drives a Checker Cab, now has his private investigator’s license, and works with a partner who has gorgeous russet-blond hair—a golden retriever!