THE FIRE THIEF
A Dark Paradise Mystery Book 1
BY DEBRA BOKUR

Location, Location, Location

In the early morning when I rise and make my way to the electric kettle on the kitchen counter to prepare the first cup of tea of the day, the deck rail is already laden with birds waiting for me to top off the feeders. My two cat companions are settling into a patch of sunlight on their cushion, pressed against the worn wooden floor beneath a set of tall windows that overlook a slope of forest thick with towering conifers and graceful aspens. Wind chimes are tinkling in the branches.

Most days, the fox who dens close by in a hollow beneath a tumbled, stony outcropping is likely sleeping in my garden, watching with a gratifying level of familiarity as I carry out the mix of sunflower seeds and meal worms that will keep my randy band of woodpeckers, grosbeaks and chickadees at bay. As with so many other aspects of daily life, it’s a thin gray line between gratitude and organized revolt.

I need this space, not only to write, but also to maintain some semblance of balance and a working level of lucidity. Every element of my environment, from the winds sweeping across the mountains and the visits from wildlife, to the proximity of the lofty trees that define the surrounding wilderness, is essential to both my productivity as a writer and to my happiness as a living being.

It’s this same strong sense of place, of literary terroir, that I strive to create in my Dark Paradise Mysteries series, set in the Hawaiian Islands. I want my readers to be thrust into the story’s setting, to feel as though they’ve slipped through a portal bordered by the covers of my books, and to lose themselves in both the tale and the place in which it takes place. I want them to fall into and be lulled by the slower pace of life in the islands, and to be gripped by the contrast between the golden, seductive surface and the darkness that lies just beneath.

My series begins with The Fire Thief, following detective Kali Mahoe as she calls upon her vast knowledge of the lore, legends and spiritual traditions of Hawaii to track down killers and bring villains to justice. The choice of Hawai’i is more than a little ironic, given that I have a strong personal aversion to tropical climates. True facts: I own—by choice and preference—12 pairs of snow boots and one pair of sandals; when I leave my home at 8,600 feet in the Colorado Rocky Mountains to go on vacation, the ticket I’ve booked is likely to deliver me to Iceland or Norway or Finland.

You get the picture. Hot weather is not my thing. That’s why everyone who knows me was more than a little surprised to find that I’d chosen Hawai’i as the backdrop to my mysteries—especially so when they remember how I only traveled to Hawai’i for the first time under great duress. If you hear the story from my very patient husband, you might even hear him use the words the words “kicking and screaming.”

Perhaps you’ve begun to think that I should spend less time writing and more time with a therapist, so I’ll try to explain. For decades, I’ve worked as an editor and journalist specializing in features that delve into the culture and wellness traditions of distant places. My assignments take me to plenty of far-flung destinations, from Southeast Asia and Fiji to the Middle East, Central America and all throughout Europe. I grew up in New England, and prior to stepping into the world of monthly magazines I worked as a newspaper editor at a daily newspaper in Florida. By the time I made the move to Colorado in the early 1990s to take on the position of managing editor at a health and wellness magazine, and as the poetry editor at Many Mountains Moving literary journal, I was adamant that I never wanted to see another palm tree again. Blistering sandy beaches filled with litter and crowds of people? No thank you. Give me a remote, rocky stretch of coastline with howling winds in the dead of winter, or a mountain path covered in deep snow—but I’ll pass on the poolside drinks and sweaty afternoons of sightseeing.

But back to Hawai’i. A member of our editorial team had been invited to attend a ten-day food and wine festival in Hawai’i, and our food editor had been chosen to go. Her husband had also been invited, and the Hawai’i tourism board had gone out of their way to set up flights and accommodations. The story had already been announced in our editorial line-up for an upcoming issue, and advertising had been sold. At the last minute, the food editor was unable to attend—and I was the only staff member free to go. To the astonishment of everyone, I protested, albeit unsuccessfully.

My husband was to come with me, and was beside himself with excitement, cheerfully ignoring my soundtrack of grumbling all the way to the airport and across the Pacific. We landed at a tiny airport in Kona on the coast of Hawai’i Island (formerly called the Big Island). I had the window seat, and I remember looking down at the rocky lava coast and seeing the lush, green cones of long-dormant volcanoes rising from the interior; and the startling blues and greens and purples evident in the water. It was mesmerizing, and nothing like I had expected.

As I climbed down the stairs of the plane onto the tarmac, a cool breeze thick with the scent of unknown flowers swept across my skin and through my hair. All during the long drive up the Kona Coast to our hotel, we kept the windows down, and Hawai’i wrapped around me. I was smitten. Enthralled. Beguiled. I’ve always fallen in love too easily, and over the following days, I tumbled headfirst into an unintentional affair with Hawai’i that continues until this day.

Setting my series there is a way for me to revisit Hawai’i from the shelter of my writing room. And it’s an excuse to go back every now and then on research missions. Over the years, I’ve gone back for numerous magazine assignments, and my husband and even I spent time living in the guest house of a traditional Hawaiian healer—a kahu—while filming a documentary about the healing and spiritual traditions of the islands. Each expedition has allowed me to explore in greater depth while strengthening my relationships with the generous local people who have shared their time and culture with me.

It’s true that I still prefer snow and wild forests and dramatic coasts and isolation, but Hawai’i has taught me to not be so hasty or rigid in my judgments of landscapes, and to open my heart up to other experiences, even if they happen to involve palm trees. I know that just like every other corner of the world, Hawai’i has its dark side, but that’s just one more reason why it resonates so strongly with me—and why it’s proven to be the ideal location for my mystery books. I hope that sense of place is something my readers find as fascinating to read as I do to write.

I’m a both dreamer and realist. I know that in the misty corners of my beloved forest just beyond the window of my writing room, wars are raging—hummingbird battles at the cheery red glass feeder, squirrel disputes over sunflower seeds, tree roots strangling out the competition for water and nutrients, my beloved fox friend bringing terror to the lives of voles and chipmunks. As mystery writers and readers, we accept that a good tale contains elements of both darkness and light. In my role as author, I’ll continue to try to bring you across the threshold into another world, then deliver you safely home again. I invite you to join me—and I’d love to know what setting makes you feel safe and whole, and how it feeds your dreams and fuels your own creativity.

About Author Debra Bokur...

Debra Bokur has traveled the world as a writer, filmmaker and journalist for various national media outlets. She’s won multiple awards, including a 2015 Lowell Thomas Award for Travel Journalism. For more than a decade, she served as the poetry editor at a national literary journal, and her poetry and short fiction have been widely published. She continues to travel in her capacity as the Global Researcher and Writer for the Association for Safe International Road Travel, and as a monthly columnist for Global Traveler Magazine.

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Links to Debra’s Website, blog, books, etc.:

Website: https://www.debrabokur.com

Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Fire-Thief-Dark-Paradise-Mystery/dp/149672772X

Barnes & Noble:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-fire-thief-debra-bokur/1132251018

IndieBound:
https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781496727725?aff=booktrib

BookShop:
https://bookshop.org/books/the-fire-thief-9781496727725/9781496727725

BookBub:
https://www.bookbub.com/books/the-fire-thief-by-debra-bokur

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