Spotlight & Giveaway: The Maui Effect by Sara Ackerman

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Sara Ackerman to HJ!

Hi Sara and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, The Maui Effect!

And welcome to Maui, I hope you enjoy the ride…
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

The Maui Effect is about a conservation biologist on Maui, who breaks her number one dating rule when she falls for a big wave surfer from the mainland. It’s a love story, but so much more, and it begs the question: opposites might attract, but are they meant to last? I like to think of this book as an Endless Summer for modern times, as we follow ‘Iwa and Dane and crew first around Maui, and then around the world and back as they navigate deadly waves, disappearing rainforests and matters of the heart.
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

You have to rely on your animal senses, and feel the waves coming before you see them. The ability is in here already, she would say, tapping on his salty head as they stood on the beach pulling on their stiff, secondhand wetsuits and getting ready to paddle into a white void.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• The title of this book was originally Over the Falls
• My father pushed me into my first wave on a surfboard when I was 4, and I’ve been surfing ever since
• Dane Parsons’ (male MC) name is a compilation of Dane Kealoha and Mike Parsons, two legendary surfers
• The largest wave ever surfed was in February, 2024 and topped off at 28.57 meters (93.73ft) in Nazaré, Portugal. To measure it, they used state-of-the-art drone technology developed by Porsche Engineering and Team Steudtner
• I had not planned on having a dog in the story until the very moment she showed up in the scene

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

Dane falls under ʻIwa’s spell when she’s singing at the restaurant the surfers go to after the big contest at Pe’ahi aka Jaws. He admires her feistiness and could-care-less attitude. ‘Iwa thinks Dane is hot, if not a little full of himself, but has promised to not date any more surfers because she knows firsthand their one true love is the ocean. In time, though, she’s drawn to his quiet strength and his willingness to help her cause––trying to save a remote waterfall in a forest of endangered species from a developer.

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

I always cry when I write my books, and when I do, I know I’ve tapped into the heart of the story. I cried a few times when writing this, but especially in the final scene. I just thought it was so touching and I love a good full-circle moment.

Readers should read this book….

…if you want to be vividly transported to remote parts of Maui where you’d never normally go, as well as to Portugal, Mexico and the California Coast. If you are up for a wild, sexy adventure and are not scared of a little (or a lot) adrenaline, this book is for you. And lastly, if you like inspiring, hopeful and satisfying reads I hope you will consider giving it a chance.

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

I am juggling a few projects right now. I’ve just turned in a round of revisions to my editor on a dual timeline novel set Waikiki in 1905/2005 inspired by the (unbelievable) true story of the mysterious poisoning of Jane Stanford, founder of Stanford University (releasing Sept 2025) and I’m partway through writing a novel that involves sharks (that’s all I can say right now), set on the Kohala Coast of the Big Island (releasing January 2026). Eek, crazy to think we are talking 2026 already!
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: Giving away 1 finished copy of THE MAUI EFFECT. US Only.

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Do you (or have you in the past) have any dating rules? Dealbreakers?

 
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Excerpt from The Maui Effect:

What the actual hell? The traffic was backed up again on the Hana Highway, mostly rental cars. Not only that but they were parked on both sides of the road, blocking driveways and making a big mess of things. A lady two cars up decided to pull a U turn in the middle of it all, and Iwa pressed her hand on the horn and didn’t let up. Tourists thought that no one actually lived on Maui. That everyone was on vacation and you could walk down the middle of the road staring at your phone for directions to the nearest waterfall, drive five miles an hour in a thirty mile an hour zone, and wear hideous aloha print wear made in China. The No Trespassing or Kapu signs meant nothing to them.
Coming back to Pāʻia after a few days of work in the forest always seemed to magnify the issue. The absolute definition of culture shock was going from time spent alone with trees and rare plants, swimming in mossy rock filled streams, listening for vanishing bird song, to the overcrowded roads and beaches and stores. She rarely ever went to Kihei or Lahaina anymore, it was too disheartening. If she had her way, she’d live in a tree house high on the eastern slopes of Haleakalā. Maybe come down every few weeks or so to see her dad and get provisions. But her dad needed her and she had a life.
A few minutes ago, she’d passed the old cane road down to Pe’ahi, and seen the mud tracked out onto the main road. A big man in a black shirt had been standing at the entrance of the red dirt road, arms crossed like a human gate, and a bunch of trucks filled with surfboards were backed up on the side of the road to get in. Pe’ahi must have been breaking. She’d caught glimpses of huge surf along the way. Driving past, she thought nothing of it, mind bent on getting to the restaurant on time, but this was worse than usual. The driver side window was stuck closed and the afternoon sun turned the cab of her old Toyota truck into a steam bath.
Back at the trailhead, she had rinsed off in the stream, knowing she would just make it in time for her shift. Now, she’d be at least ten minutes late. When she hit Pāʻia, all parking spots were taken, even the one reserved for Uncle’s , home of the best food on the island. After searching for five minutes, she hopped the curb and parked up the road under Mr. Kinoshita’s mango tree. It was winter, so her truck was safe from falling fruit. She’d bring him a piece of pie after work and he would forgive her, like he always did. Scrambling over the gear shift into the passenger seat, she pulled on her jeans and work shirt and slid out the door as quietly as possible.
Sundays were usually quiet, but when she walked in, half the tables were already full. She dipped into the bathroom, smoothed down her hair and tied it in a low knot, dabbed some lipstick on and poked her head in the kitchen.
“Sorry I’m late, Pe’ahi traffic and there was no parking. Again. What’s the special?” she said.
Uncle’s was one of those hole in the wall places that didn’t look like much from the outside, but pleasantly surprised you when you walked in. Streetside, it might have been any old little plantation house with faded green paint and a rusted tin roof, but step through the door and you entered a warmly lit room with board and batten walls painted a fresh white, a tall ceiling with exposed trusses, and an open air lanai out the back shaded by a big milo tree. The tables were handmade and each one had an old bottle with a fern sticking out of it. The menu was written on a chalkboard wall, but most people who came here didn’t need a menu. They already knew what they wanted––one of Uncle’s famous bowls.
But on a day like today, there was bound to be more tourists than locals, and she was already annoyed at their intrusion into her life and town. She had to remind herself to be nice, that the tourists helped keep the town afloat now that sugar was gone.
Within an hour of arriving, every table in the place was taken, and she picked up on fragments of the day’s events at Pe’ahi, which pretty much everyone in the surf industry just referred to as Jaws. The room was buzzing with surfing tales––the bomber set that broke on the outer reef, Petey Jones’ spectacular wipeout, the sheet glass conditions, and that final wave. But the thing was, she just wasn’t interested. Everyone here was obsessed with the ocean, but give her a mountain any day.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

A dazzling new romance by USA TODAY bestselling author Sara Ackerman.

They say opposites attract, but are they meant to last?

‘Iwa Young’s life is high in the Maui rainforest. As a field biologist, she’s happiest in the company of trees and birds and waterfalls. When a developer arrives with plans for a so-called eco resort in the middle of a forest full of endangered species, ‘Iwa puts all her energy into the fight to protect it. But a chance encounter threatens to distract her. His name is Dane Parsons, a big-wave surfer from California. ‘Iwa has a few unbreakable rules, and at the top of her list: never date a surfer.

Dane is part of an underground group of big-wave riders, and his connection to the ocean runs deep. When he meets ‘Iwa, he can’t get her out of his mind. But ‘Iwa wants nothing to do with Dane until he offers to help protect her beloved forest and waterfall. Always on the hunt for the ultimate ride, Dane suddenly glimpses something even greater.

In this thunderous love story, we travel deep into the Maui rainforest and hop across the globe from Hawai’i to California to Portugal, chasing waves the size of nine-story buildings—where the unthinkable is always just one breath away.
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Meet the Author:

Sara Ackerman is the Hawai’i born, bestselling author of historical & romance novels set in the Islands. Her books have been labeled “unforgettable” by Apple Books, “empowering & deliciously visceral” by Book Riot, and New York Times bestselling authors Kate Quinn and Madeline Martin have praised Sara’s novels as “fresh and delightful” and “brilliantly written.” Amazon chose Radar Girls as a best book of the month, and ALA Booklist gave The Codebreaker’s Secret a starred review.
She lives in Waimea with her family, and spends most of her spare time in the mountains or the ocean.
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