Making History Relevant to Story without Slowing the Pace
(Includes an Excerpt from Hawai‘i Rage)
I write and enjoy reading page-turning fiction. So I cannot afford to slow down the pace, no matter how much character development, cultural information, or history I include. The key for me is to choose the right moment to share relevant facts that will stick with the readers. The tricky part is how.
I’m one of those authors who begins every new project with a place and sometimes a topic or community I want to explore. I dive into research, regardless of how familiar the location or topic is to me. It is during this process that I discover my characters, and a hint of a story appears. Although I’ve been writing contemporary fiction, my last four novels have also entwined historical timelines and facts. But since I don’t want to give a history lesson, I pick and choose what I share.
I rely on two techniques to weave in pertinent information that won’t put my readers to sleep.
The first is to create a family genealogy that is interwoven with the historical background I want to share.
I did this in The Ninja’s Oath by tying the ancestry of Lily Wong’s “uncle” Lee Chang—whose grand-niece she would help rescue—to the history of Shanghai. This connection to place became so significant that it inspired the thriller plot of the book.
I created an even more intricate genealogy for Ranger Makalani Pahukula’s family in Kaua‘i Storm, beginning with Makalani’s great-grandmother Punahele and her ten children. The story’s drama and mystery emerged from the cultural differences of intermarrying and depleting fractions of Native Hawaiian blood each generation had.
In Hawai‘i Rage—a contemporary Hawaiian western and family drama mystery—the ancestry of Hiapo Ranch began with the son of an early Mexican vaqueros King Kamehameha III bought over from Alta California to teach his people how to ride. I was able to include a lot of this fascinating Hawaiian cowboy history because it was woven into Hiapo ancestry and pertained to my plot. In this way, the history moved the story forward and added character depth.
My second technique is to drop relevant information at a moment in my story when it will stick in the reader’s mind.
With a book as richly entwined with history and culture as Hawai‘i Rage, it was especially important not to dump exposition or overload my readers with facts. My primary goal, after all, is to entertain. That said, my protagonist just took a new position as an interpretive ranger at Pu‘u Koholā Heiau National Historic site that King Kamehameha I was instructed to build to help him unite the Hawaiian Kingdom. Readers are going to be interested in learning a bit about that history. Not all. And only the parts that are relevant to my story, especially if the information I share helps my protagonist solve the mystery in my book.
The following excerpt exemplifies what I mean. In this scene, Makalani is plagued by a conversation she overheard while trying to study the historical materials her supervisory ranger has assigned her to read. Makalani is surprised to find clues to her mystery in the heiau’s treacherous past.
Why else I do what I do?
Makalani had stared at the ceiling, unable to sleep.
What did you mean, Malu? What did you mean?
His words refused to wash away even as the evening rainstorm pounded her roof. And when she rolled out of bed in the morning, she found them stuck in her sleep-deprived mind like sticks in the mud.
Why did you say that? What did you mean?
The conundrum followed her to work. In Pidgin English, locals frequently used the present tense even when they referred to something in past. When Malu had said, “Why else I do what I do?” was he reminding Louie of something he was doing now or something he had done before?
Like kill Larry Hiapo so Kupunakāne could put Louie in charge.
The treachery was echoed in the story she was reading, about how Kamehameha’s trusted military adviser and uncle murdered Kamehameha’s rival cousin in Kawaihae Bay—the same bay where Hiapo’s stepfather was killed swimming a steer to a boat. Makalani dropped her head into her palms as past and present muddled into a convoluted mess.
“Need a break from reading?” Ranger Akaka asked from the doorway.
“Yes!”
He laughed. “Come on. We can talk while we walk.”
She glanced down the hall for her supervisor. “Won’t Ranger Machado mind?”
Ranger Akaka smiled. “He’s on Maui today.”
The warmth of the midday sun eased the tension from Makalani’s shoulders as they walked along the visitors’ path. The stone heiau stood on the mauka side of the flat, barren land, muddy now because of the previous night’s rain. The lava platform was huge, over two hundred feet wide and twenty feet high. She had never seen one this large or with multiple tiers.
“How did they actually use it?”
“Good question.” Ranger Akaka said. “The kahuna or ali‘i—King Kamehameha I was both—would perform religious ceremonies or hold political meetings on this space. The attendees would sit on the lower two levels according to their standing in the community. Structures were sometimes built on the top level to offer shade for chiefs and advisers. Pu‘ukoholā’s size reflects its importance.”
He gestured toward the ocean. “When the visiting chiefs and their entourages would sail their outriggers into this bay, one of Kamehameha’s top warriors would throw a spear at the chief. If he caught the spear it meant he had enough mana—divine power and authority—to proceed.”
Makalani thought about the treacherous bit of history she had been reading that morning. “Was that how Kamehameha’s uncle killed his rival cousin?”
“No. Instead of throwing the spear, Keʻeaumoku opened his arms for a hug. Although the rival cousin knew Kamehameha would kill him as a sacrifice for the heiau, he had come to save his people from war.”
“Then why murder him?”
“Kamehameha wanted to talk with his cousin first. Keʻeaumoku feared the rival would deter the king from his destiny, so he and his men slaughtered all but one. But the treachery happened on both sides. Although the cousin had come willingly, he had mutilated his body to taint the sacrifice. One version of this story says the rival chief had even decided to live and planned to assassinate Kamehameha when they met.”
“So Keʻeaumoku acted without Kamehameha’s knowledge?”
“There are many versions of this story, but the one I believe makes Keʻeaumoku seem like the General Patton of the Pacific and a mafia hitman rolled into one.”
Makalani stared down at the beach, envisioning the multilayered treachery at play. In many ways, it reminded her of the Hiapo family today.
Tori Eldridge is the author of Kaua‘i Storm, the Lily Wong ninja thrillers, and Dance Among the Flames. Born in Honolulu—of Hawaiian, Chinese, and Norwegian descent—Tori graduated from Punahou School with classmate Barack Obama before performing as an actress, singer, and dancer on Broadway, television, and film, and earning a fifth-degree black belt in To-Shin Do ninja martial arts. Her literary works have garnered Anthony, Lefty, and Macavity Award nominations and the 2021 Crimson Scribe for Best Book of the Year. Tori lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband, near her precious mo‘opuna (grandchildren), where she narrated the audiobooks for Hawai‘i Rage and other Ranger Makalani Pahukula mysteries. For more information about Tori, her book club extras, and her reading ‘ohana, visit www.torieldridge.com.
