It’s one of the most awe-inspiring sights I’ve ever seen: molten lava flowing into the Pacific Ocean. From our front-row seats near the edge of a cliff, we watched in wonder as Pele, the volcano goddess of the ancient Hawaiians, performed spectacularly.
Somewhere along the southern coast of Hawaii’s Big Island near Kalapana, we happened upon a lonesome swing in a cool section of coastal woods. Without much specific on our day’s agenda, we decided to hang out and keep it company for awhile.
Ever wonder what we’re like in person? No? Oh, well, then feel free to skip ahead to the contest details below.
For everyone else, you’ll have a chance to meet your favorite blogger, Shannon, at this weekend’s Texas Book Festival in Austin, October 26 & 27. She’ll be there to promote her new book, Writers Between the Covers: The Scandalous Romantic Lives of Legendary Literary Casanovas, Coquettes, and Cads.
Be sure to stop by her Writers Between the Covers panel discussion on Sunday, October 27, where she’ll participate in some salacious “literary pillow talk” with fellow author Betsy Prioleau of Swoon: Great Seducers and Why Women Love Them. (The panel begins at 3:15 in the Capitol Extension Room E2.026.) Also keep an eye out for Shannon throughout the rest of the festival. She’ll be prowling around various events all weekend.
If you’re in the Austin area, please drop in for what is always a great celebration. The Texas Book Festival is free and open to the public. It is also held in the spectacular State Capitol Building, which is worth a visit all by itself. Throw in live music, great food, and dirty books and you have the makings of a fabulous weekend.
Shannon is also graciously giving away some free copies of her latest book. Entering the contest is easy, and free. See details here.
Good luck.
After seeing some of Pele’s handiwork first hand, but before getting up close and personal with the volcano goddess, we had the opportunity to glimpse her from afar. Our first night in the Big Island’s Volcano region, we stood on a viewing platform at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. In the distance, a giant plume of smoke rose from Halema’uma’u Crater, part of Kilauea, one of the most active volcanoes on earth.
Visitors have long been dazzled by Kilauea—which has erupted more than 60 times since 1823—including Mark Twain, who happened by in the late nineteenth century. As we watched that evening, excitement grew among the crowd standing with us as an orange glow gradually became more and more vivid in the deepening darkness.
This tantalizing hint of Pele’s power was undoubtedly a high point, but the next day we returned to explore the park to see what else it had to offer.
By all accounts the National Parks Hostage Crisis is coming to a close. The good news is that our wonderful parks are unharmed. The bad news is that plenty of other innocent bystanders are not so lucky.
Everywhere Once 