We chat with debut author Malia Maunakea’s about her middle grade Hawaiian fantasy novel Lei and the Fire Goddess, along with writing, book recommendations, and more!
Hi, Malia! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi! I’m Malia. I’m Hawaiian, Polish, Chinese, English, Irish, French, Scottish, German and Spanish. I love cereal for dinner (bonus points if it is Cinnamon Toast Crunch) and eating dried, sugared lemon peel with my apples. I backpacked across the country for my honeymoon, and I love doo wop and dancing and pop culture trivia.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
When I was in elementary school I had a composition notebook that I wrote stories in. At some point between elementary and middle, it was brought to my attention that my writing wasn’t great and I should stick to math and science. It wasn’t till I was a grown up with an engineering degree and numerous careers under my belt that I decided to try writing again.
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!
- First books I ever remember reading was As the Whales Go By (something like that) and Humphry the Humpback Whale in the corner of my Kindergarten classroom.
- Watching my son read Percy Jackson made me want to write one similar (but it wasn’t me reading it)
- The Far Side. Gary Larson is a genius.
Your debut novel, Lei and the Fire Goddess, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Hawaiian-mythology, identity-affirming adventure
What can readers expect?
A Percy Jackson-esq adventure full of humor and Hawaiian moʻolelo (stories) that follows 12-year-old Anna as she goes deep into the rainforest to rescue her best friend from the fire goddess, Pele. She teams up with demi-gods and talking bats, and has to evade traps that Pele hurls her way, learning that maybe her tūtū (grandma) was right about some things all along. And maybe, just maybe, sheʻs enough to pull this off.
Where did the inspiration for Lei and the Fire Goddess come from?
My son went through a big Rick Riordan / Percy Jackson kick and I tried to explain to him that we (Hawaiians) have really amazing moʻolelo and gods too. He gave me the tween “yeah, yeah, whatever mom” wave off and sat down to read about Greek gods. I searched for similar Hawaiian stories in the middle grade space that I could find in our Colorado libraries, and came up empty handed, so I decided to write one and base it on stories I learned and experiences I had growing up in Hawaiʻi, with a heaping dose of fiction mixed in for fun.
Were there any favourite moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
Without giving anything away, I really enjoyed re-imagining one of the kupua (kind of Hawaiian demi-gods) as a younger teen, trying to tone down their personalities from various stories and imagining how their origin story might make them act when they see newcomers. I also love Makani. They’re just so wonderful and loyal in my head. The real golden retriever of elements.
Can you tell us a bit about your journey of getting Lei and the Fire Goddess published?
I have been extremely fortunate along this journey. I had a very clear vision in my mind of they type of book I wanted to write and wound up having incredible authors Andrea Wang and Alan Gratz mentor me through SCBWI RMC and WNDB programs. They helped me get LEI ready to query during AAPI month in 2021, which happened to be the first year that APIpitch was running, a twitter pitch even that got my pitch in front of many agents at once and garnered a lot of interest. I queried I think 40 agents total (both from the pitch event and cold queries), talked to a handful, and picked one. She advised me on how to slow down the beginning of the story, then we sent it out on sub. A few months later, three editors were interested. Elizabeth Lee with Penguin Workshop had been the first to enthusiastically reach out and her vision aligned with what I wanted for LEI, so we signed with her. Penguin Workshop and the entire team have made this a fabulously collaborative experience and I’m so honored that my debut is with such a wonderful team.
What’s next for you?
Book 2! Lei is going on another adventure in 2024 but I don’t know how much I can say about that yet.
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
I really enjoyed two novels-in-verse recently: Good Different by Meg Eden Kuyatt and The Song of Us by Kate Fussner. Jasmine Iolani Hawke’s adult novel Hula is an incredible story that weaves together history and family in a powerful, unique narrative set in Hilo, HI. I love the picture books Punky Aloha by Shar Tuiʻasoa and Kapaemahu by Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu (Author), Dean Hamer (Author), Joe Wilson (Author), Daniel Sousa (Illustrator). I’m also looking forward to Megan Kakimoto’s Every Drop is a Man’s Nightmare!
