Maui publishing firm to showcase new books

By Mary Kaye Ritz
Advertiser Staff Writer

Inner Ocean Publishing, a Maui-based company, has launched itself onto the national publishing scene with three new books geared for release in the fall.

This trade publishing house, timing its launch to this weekend's Maui Writers Conference, is setting itself apart from many other local publishing outfits in that it is aiming for a national distribution.

While guarding against the label "New Age," Roger Jellinek came very close to sounding that way when he described, in his very proper Northeastern accent, on which aisle one might find the new offerings under the general heading "Self-Help," clicking off "personal journey, conscious business, personal growth, new science and inspirational nonfiction."

As for the weekly commute to Maui, the O'ahu literary agent behind the popular "God's Photo Album" said: "It takes me less time to go from Manoa Valley to Makawao than it took from my home in Rockland County when I worked in New York City."

"Exploration, Inspiration and Transformation" is the motto for Inner Ocean, whose mission is "to publish books that touch the spirit and make a tangible difference in the life of individuals and their communities."

While the books are not set for sale until Oct. 15, Inner Ocean's books (and authors) will be at the writers conference:

• O'ahu-based motivational speaker Paul Pearsall has updated his "Miracle in Maui" New York Times best-seller of 10 years ago, about his recovery from Stage IV cancer. The publishing house is repackaging the book, and his next, "Toxic Success: Its Causes and Cures" is set for spring release by Inner Ocean.

• Kent Keith's "Paradoxical Commandments" is based on the Roosevelt grad's manifesto, which he wrote as a student at Harvard University in 1968 (before he went on to become a Rhodes scholar, later head of the state Department of Business and Economic Development under Gov. George Ariyoshi, and Chaminade University president).

• "The Soul in the Computer" is by Barbara Waugh of Palo Alto, who transformed the corporate culture of Hewlett Packard. A new title by Jean Houston is also coming in the fall.