Author Leslie Karst interviewing Valerie Corbin, of Molten Death

Author Leslie Karst interviewing Valerie Corbin, of Molten Death

MOLTEN DEATH

Retired caterer Valerie Corbin and her wife Kristen have come to the Big Island of Hawai’i to treat themselves to a well-earned tropical vacation. After the recent loss of her brother, Valerie is in sore need of a distraction from her troubles and is looking forward to enjoying the delicious food and vibrant culture the state has to offer.

Early one morning, the couple and their friend – tattooed local boy, Isaac – set out to see an active lava flow, and Valerie is mesmerized by the shape-shifting mass of orange and red creeping over the field of black rock. Spying a boot in the distance, she strides off alone, pondering how it could have gotten there, only to realize to her horror that the boot is still attached to a leg – a leg which is slowly being engulfed by the hot lava.

Valerie’s convinced a murder has been committed – but as she’s the only witness to the now-vanished corpse, who’s going to believe her?

Determined to prove what she saw, and get justice for the unknown victim, Valerie launches her own investigation. But, thrown into a Hawaiian culture far from the luaus and tiki bars of glossy tourist magazines, she soon begins to fear she may be the next one to end up entombed in shiny black rock . . .

—

Leslie: Thanks so much for taking the time out of your Hawaiian vacation to chat with me, Valerie. Now, your wife Kristen has been here before, but this is your first time on the Big Island. So, tell me: what do you think?

Valerie: [Frowns as she stares down at the brand new rubber slippers on her feet.] Well, to tell you the truth, it’s not exactly what I expected….

Leslie: What did you expect?

Valerie: I dunno. White sand beaches lined with waving coconut palms under a cerulean blue sky? Sunny days spent by the pool with a Mai Tai in one hand and cozy mystery novel in the other? [An embarrassed laugh.] I know, that sounds so cheesy.

Leslie: Yeah. [Stands up to close the window against the driving rain.] Well it can be rather dreary sometimes on this side of the island, so I get it. But it doesn’t always rain here in Hilo. You’ve just hit a bit of a wet patch, is all. Though, of course, it is the rainiest city in the United States—which is why we have such amazingly beautiful tropical gardens here. It’s largely because of the rainy, windward side of the island that it gets its name, “the Orchid Isle.”

Valerie: Uh-huh. Kristen said the same thing. And that I’m gonna really love it once we get out and do some snorkeling and see the tropical forests an’ all. It was her idea to come here—mostly because her surfing buddy Isaac offered us a free place to stay—that and the fact that he says the best surfing spot on the island is here in Hilo. [A quick glance outside at the wind whipping the raphis palms back and forth.] But…well, can I be honest?

Leslie: Of course. You do realize there’s nothing about you that I don’t already know, right?

Valerie: So why the interview?

Leslie: For our readers. Unlike me, they don’t know anything at all about you yet. You’re still a woman of mystery to most of the world. Though, of course, that’s about to chance. [A devilish grin.]

Valerie: Ah, right. I guess that makes sense. Well, anyway, what I was going to say is that I was also pretty taken aback by how bleak so much of the island is—which is weird, when you think about how lush it is around Hilo. But the whole other side of the island is more like an arid moonscape than the tropical paradise you read about in all the tour guides. I couldn’t believe my eyes when we came in for our landing at the Kona airport—the entire coastline was just one enormous swath of black, black rock as far as the eye could see. “This is your idea of a Hawaiian vacation?” I said to Kristen. “You gotta be kidding.” 

Leslie: Yeah, well, that’s what happens when the island consists entirely of five different volcanoes—three of them still active. 

Valerie: [Laughs.] True.

Leslie: So, speaking of the volcanoes, have you been out to see the hot flowing lava yet? Folks I’ve talked to who’ve gone out there say it’s within easy walking distance of the end of the road right now. You really do need to get out there to see it while you’re here.

Valerie: No, we haven’t been yet, but Isaac said he’d take Kristen and me out there this weekend.

Leslie: Glad to hear it. Because that’s what makes this place so incredibly special. The island is alive: it’s still in the process of being created! You get to experience new land being formed before your very eyes—the newest land on the planet. 

Valerie: That’s exactly what Isaac said. And that once I’d seen it, I’d be forever changed. [Shrugs.] He says the volcanoes are the heart and soul of the Big Island, that a huge part of the Hawaiian culture here is based on the goddess Pele and the beauty—and threat—of the active volcanoes. But I have to say it seems pretty creepy to me, living like he does on the slopes of an active volcano, where a river of lava could take out your house at any time. I’ll take our earthquakes back in California, any day. 

Leslie: So are you scared about hiking out to see the lava flow this weekend?

Valerie: No, not really. I mean, it’s bound to be pretty amazing, right? And Isaac says it’s perfectly safe—that the lava is way too hot for you to get near enough for it to cause any harm. We’ll just stand at a distance and watch from afar. So hey, what could possibly go wrong?

BUY HERE

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About the author: The daughter of a law professor and a potter, Leslie Karst waited tables and sang in a new wave rock band before deciding she was ready for a “real” job and ending up at Stanford Law School. It was during her career as a research and appellate attorney in Santa Cruz, California, that she rediscovered her youthful passion for food and cooking, at which point she once again returned to school—this time to earn a degree in culinary arts.

Now retired from the law, in addition to writing, Leslie spends her days cooking (and eating!), gardening, cycling, and observing cocktail hour promptly at five o’clock. She and her wife and their Jack Russell mix split their time between Hilo, Hawai‘i and Santa Cruz, California.

Tags: . women writers, featured

Category: On Writing