Blood in the Water: Fishing Tales of the Islands (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781482774764)

M.N. Muench has lived many years of his life along Pacific shores. His earliest childhood memories are of playing on the beaches and hillsides of Kailua, Oahu, in Hawaii, and he's always considered himself pleasantly possessed by a Hawaiian spirit. It brought him back to the Islands after college graduation, and he served in the Pacific as a Peace Corps Volunteer for over three years. He then remained in country for many additional years as an expatriate employee of the government. During this long sojourn he lived in polynesian subsistence villages and small towns, worked with island farmers and fishermen, and served within the island government as an administrative officer tasked with helping to improve people's lives through increased agricultural productivity. The experience has given him a deep and realistic understanding of Polynesian life and culture from a perspective few outsiders have earned. His historical fiction works are well annotated, with endnotes and appendices for those who care to understand the rationalities of the characters, learn more about the sources he has consulted, or obtain a firmer grasp of the reality of the past. The references are, however, optional and the reader may prefer to skip the details in favor of the story. As the author he feels an obligation to explain the 'known or researched' reality, as opposed to the often commonly ascribed 'taxi driver' historical myths, of island history. M.N. Muench feels a search for a truer reality is incumbent upon him in order to show proper respect for the past, and to justly reflect in his characters the real men and women they represent. M.N. Muench has a Ph.D. from the University of Hawaii in Agricultural and Resource Economics. He lives in Hawaii. When not writing he often volunteers at a local hospice or takes very long, sometimes epic, walks.