My name is Scott Kikkawa, and I write crime fiction, specifically noir detective fiction set in postwar, pre-statehood Honolulu— a tiny time window of about fifteen years from 1945 to 1959.
I did not live through that era, which makes it “historical” for me, but I find it interesting and I have an aesthetic obsession with it.
I understand that to call my work noir is debatable; the French would say my writing falls short of the ideal because my protagonist doesn’t get sucked down a spiral to his doom thanks to his poor choices. Although my detective doesn’t experience a downfall himself, he’s certainly witness to many such downfalls.
I have a zero social media footprint (except for here on Substack). I cherish my anonymity. I am a fountain pen nerd and all of my first drafts are in longhand. In cursive. I mourn the passing of American-made, Florsheim shell cordovan longwing bluchers and have acquired pairs in my size on the secondary market where possible.
I don’t think you should eat, drink or smoke anything that doesn’t taste good: excess kills, impeccable taste does not. Frank Sinatra had the most iconic voice in 20th century American music, and Miles Davis was a genius.
Ask me anything and I’ll give you an answer, unless prohibited by my day job. As of this post, I have three novels out: Kona Winds (2019), Red Dirt (2021) and Char Siu (2023). I have a fourth for early 2026, Sporting Girl.
I also have short stories in the Chris McKinney-edited Honolulu Noir (2024). You can also read my pieces in The Hawai’i Review of Books (THROB) and in Kyoto Journal.
E komo mai. Welcome to my world. Stay as long as you can stand it.
