Aki Liao

The Cheongsam Bombshell Aki Liao

Publisher Marketing: Christmas 1949 and all Frank Keegan, ex-US Navy Gunner's Mate and former San Diego Police detective wants, is to get into his refurbished boat into the water and sail over the horizon. Or the edge of the earth. Six months earlier, the boat was high and dry, and Frank was perpetually wet at the bottom of a bottle of dark rum. Enter Julie Flynn, former taxi-dancer turned bartender, who pulls him out of the bottle and into her arms. However, as one of Frank's few friends observed, an ex-cop and a call girl with ties to the Chinese mob isn't exactly a match made in heaven. Especially when Julie's estranged grifter mother shows up out of the blue on Christmas Day, leaving Frank and Julie thinking it the perfect time to sail into the sunset. When Julie is first attacked, and then framed for murder, Frank has to keep the head-strong girl under wraps while clearing her name. His efforts take him from seedy world of Honolulu's Chinatown to the home of one the island's wealthy patriarchs, who may be shipping contraband arms to Communist rebels in the Philippines. Then there's Carmen, the patriarch's unstable, power-hungry daughter, who might hold the key to clearing Julie, if Frank is willing play ball. She's just his type and nothing but trouble. With HPD and the real killer bearing down, sailing off looks more attractive by the day. If he can just find Julie and get her on the boat before it's too late. Contributor Bio:  Liao, Aki Aki Liao and Al McDermid met as graduate students of the History Department of the University of Hawai'i at Manoa in 1990. They met again in New Jersey in 1998, at which time they decided to write A Halo for Red Betsy. Their professors are no doubt shaking their heads, and thinking this is what they did with their degrees! Aki Liao Aki Liao was born in Paris, France, but at an early age emigrated with his family to New York and eventually to New Jersey, where he spent his formative years. Aki is a graduate of Yale University (1989) and received his M. A. from the University of Hawaii at Manoa (1993). After spending over a decade working in NYC, he now lives in Taipei with his wife, Tammy, and three children. A Halo for Red Betsy is Aki's first published eBook. Al McDermid Al McDermid was born in Michigan, where he spent most of his life until joining the U. S. Navy upon graduating high school. Remaining in Hawaii when his tour ended, he attended the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa, receiving his B. A. (1990) and M. A. (1997) in History. He now lives in Tokyo, Japan with his wife, Kaoru Iwabuchi, and a Russian Blue named Anais Nin. He published his first eBook, All That Is: 81 Meditations Inspired by the Tao Te Ching in August 2012. Contributor Bio:  McDermid, Al Aki Liao and Al McDermid met as graduate students of the History Department of the University of Hawai'i at Manoa in 1990. They met again in New Jersey in 1998, at which time they decided to write A Halo for Red Betsy. Their professors are no doubt shaking their heads, and thinking this is what they did with their degrees! Aki Liao Aki Liao was born in Paris, France, but at an early age emigrated with his family to New York and eventually to New Jersey, where he spent his formative years. Aki is a graduate of Yale University (1989) and received his M. A. from the University of Hawaii at Manoa (1993). After spending over a decade working in NYC, he now lives in Taipei with his wife, Tammy, and three children. A Halo for Red Betsy is Aki's first published eBook. Al McDermid Al McDermid was born in Michigan, where he spent most of his life until joining the U. S. Navy upon graduating high school. Remaining in Hawaii when his tour ended, he attended the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa, receiving his B. A. (1990) and M. A. (1997) in History. He now lives in Tokyo, Japan with his wife, Kaoru Iwabuchi, and a Russian Blue named Anais Nin. He published his first eBook, All That Is: 81 Meditations Inspired by the Tao Te Ching in August 2012.