Guest post by Lehua Parker
Life is weird as a blonde, blue-eyed Native Hawaiian with Utah pioneer heritage. When your insides don’t match your outsides, when skin tones don’t shout kānaka maoli or even hint at cultural perspectives that may be a skosh askew from your neighbors, it’s hard to fit in regardless of where you call home.
So what does a Hawaiian fish out of water do when surrounded by Utah mountains?
Write all kinds of stories, of course.
Sharks in an Inland Sea is a mixed-plate feast of textures, flavors, and genres. In this collection of short stories, essays, and memoir are tales that embrace where Hawai‘i and Utah collide. There are island-style stories deeply embedded in kānaka maoli perspectives and liberally sprinkled with Pidgin and Hawaiian words and phrases. There are also stories that explore unique aspects of Mormon culture and living in Utah. There are even a few that ponder what it means to be fluffy and middle-aged.
Most of this collection falls under the umbrella of speculative fiction, which is really just a label to describe what Hawaiians already know: the supernatural surrounds us. We live in a world where sharks walk on land and unscrupulous funeral directors enable zombie moms to return to take care of their families.
Yeah, not kidding. There’s some horror and a lot of humor in this collection, too.
For me, horror is really about hope. In real life, people deal daily with the unexpected, the unasked for, and the certainly unwanted. Seeing characters draw from inner reservoirs to defeat the big bad—or not—is a vicarious way of understanding who we are and who we may become.
Like rain through an arid lava field, my stories seep and percolate through my lived and imagined experiences. There are themes I find myself returning to: weakness turning into strength, false assumptions coming to light, and the unexpected triumph in a world that’s slightly wonky from true.
Sharks in an Inland Sea is a canoe voyage of desires, dreams, and fears navigating deep ocean currents. There are stories about people you know—a broke ‘ōkole old man and his poi dog, a girl raiding Maverick’s during an apocalypse, a desperate televangelist reaching out to a psychic, and a bored insurance adjuster in the middle of a biblical flood. There are kidnappings, monsters, sandwiches, and musings on what it means to be a modern Hawaiian. Sharks swim in these waters, sharks with teeth and bite, who hunt in an inland sea.
But no worries, gangies! E komo mai! The water’s fine!
But keep an eye on the shadows in the corners. You never know.
Sharks in an Inland Sea: a Collection of Speculative Fiction by Lehua Parker is published by Hemelein Publications as part of their Legacy of the Corridor series. It is available in hardback, paperback, and eBook.
LEHUA PARKER writes speculative fiction for kids and adults often set in her native Hawai‘i. Her published works include the award-winning Niuhi Shark Saga trilogy and Sharks in an Inland Sea. Her short stories have appeared in Va: Stories by Women of the Mona, Bamboo Ridge, and Dialogue. An advocate of indigenous voices in media and a graduate of The Kamehameha Schools, she is a frequent speaker at conferences, symposiums, and schools. When the right project wanders by, she’s also a freelance editor and story consultant. Now living in exile in high Rocky Mountains, during snowy winters she dreams of the beach. Connect with her at www.LehuaParker.com.