Q&A with Jennifer K. Morita

From my Q&A with Jennifer K. Morita, author of Ghosts of Waikiki: A Novel:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

Two lessons I learned early on in my publication journey:

You can judge a book by its cover, and

A rose by any other name, does not smell as sweet.

In other words, the title and cover of your book matter a lot, particularly for debut authors such as myself, who have to hook new readers with two or three words that convey the book’s plot, theme, and vibe.

And I thought Tweets were bad.

Ghosts of Waikīkī is a tongue-and-cheek reference to Maya Wong, an out-of-work newspaper reporter who reluctantly returns home to Hawaiʻi to take a ghostwriting gig for a rich, controversial developer whose family paved over much of O‘ahu. Although she was born and raised on the islands (not Native Hawaiian), Maya has been away for a long time. When a man dies under suspicious circumstances her first day on the job, she searches for the truth about...[read on]

Visit Jennifer K. Morita's website.

Q&A with Jennifer K. Morita.

--Marshal Zeringue