Wild And Beautiful Hawaii With Toby Neal

Hawaii is more than just a paradise of beaches and blue sea. In this interview, mystery and memoir author, Toby Neal, brings the wild and beautiful islands to life. Toby Neal is an award-winning ‘USA Today’ bestselling author of mysteries, thrillers, and romance with over 30 titles. She’s also a mental health therapist, and today we’re talking about Freckled: A Memoir of Growing up Wild in Hawaii. In the interview, we discuss: * Why Hawaii is more than just white sand beaches and cocktails with umbrellas * A tip for the Hawaiian language * Recommended places to visit that take you in nature and away from the main tourist hotspots * The Hawaiian legend of Ohia and Lehua * How the volcanic environment impacts Hawaii * Embracing duality in finding home — the ocean of Hawaii and the redwoods of California * Writing about the darker side of the islands * Book recommendations You can find Toby and her books at www.TobyNeal.net and on Instagram @tobyneal Joanna: Welcome to the show, Toby. Toby: Thanks so much, Joanna. I’m delighted to be talking with you today. Joanna: Oh, it’s great to have you. Now I want to actually start with a quote from ‘Freckled,’ ‘The islands either accept you or spit you out,‘ because I think Hawaii is one of those places that people think is all white sand beaches, palm trees, and drinks with umbrellas in. What are some of the places that you love about Hawaii that are less tourist brochure? Toby: Oh, absolutely, I have to start with the Nā Pali Coast on Kauai. It is so insanely gorgeous, and there are so many wonderful ways to see it as a visitor. It’s one of these places in our world that is relatively unchanged from the time that I grew up there in the ’60s and the ’70s. So whether you see it by helicopter or by one of the zodiac boat tours or whether you hike that coast, it is one of the crown jewels of the planet, I truly believe. It just has this incredible energy to what I’ve written about it in several of my mystery novels. One of them, Wired Dawn, uses the Coast Nā Pali Coast as a really fun location. So it’s definitely a highly recommended spot as is Haleakala on Maui. I have a home halfway up Haleakala, and it is an extinct volcano, 200 years since it’s been active. And one of the highlights of your Hawaiian vacation would be to go up there, and unlike the highly touted sunrise on Haleakala, I recommend the sunset. You’re going to see so many incredible colors. And the view from the 10,000 feet down across the island and out to the ocean is incredible. It’s much less crowded at sunset. They even have to book your sunrise times online now because it’s gotten so crowded up there. So I highly recommend a sunset off of Haleakala. Joanna: That is a good tip. What’s so lovely talking to you is you know all the pronunciation, because I think people just assume it’s like American English, but it’s not, right? Toby: The great thing with Hawaiian language is that there’s much more use of vowels than in English. Every single vowel is pronounced. So that’s your key. Like a word like Kapaa, K-A-P-A-A, and it’s one of the places that I lived on Kauai, you don’t put vowels together into a blurred sound. Each one is pronounced. So that’s your little takeaway lesson for the day on pronunciation. Joanna: That’s great. Coming back to the Nāpali Coast, is it all palm trees? I got the sense from your memoir that the foliage is not palm trees and white sand. What is it like? Toby: The native plants and trees are not as showy as people think.