Aloha Wanderwell Takes the Wheel

Coming May 22, 2026 from Syllibine Press.

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Learn more at alohawanderwelltakesthewheel.com.

Welcome!

The second most exciting thing in life for me has always been learning something new. The first? Getting to share what I’ve learned with others. My life has given me so many opportunities to do both—as a professor (retired), as a historical novelist, and as a cruise lecturer.

My goal as a historical novelist is to provide you, the reader, with high-quality fiction about women and the forgotten and undervalued roles they played in their societies. Whether it’s the real-life physicist Emilie du Chatelet, the literary heroine Penelope, or women who have sprung entirely from my imagination, I offer you stories true to the facts of a time and place, to bring history alive for you and make you feel as much a part of other cultures as you do your own.

As a world-wide lecturer for several cruise lines, I use my career as a college professor of humanities to find the stories that make travel more exciting and memorable.

If you have either met me recently or been in my life since I was a teenager (or younger), you may know me by my birth name, Laurel Weeks.  I have been using this name in my private life for several years.

Please check back from time to time for updates on my new projects and schedule, and drop me a line at laurelcoronabooks@gmail.com to let me know you’re out there reading and traveling!

From my diary

  • Flurrying
    This, according to meteorologists, is the first completely snowless winter in Victoria in recent memory. I was gone on purpose for most of the gray and gloomy months, leaving when the last golden leaves were still falling from the trees and coming back when the same trees were covered in blossoms. But still, when I think of ways to describe my life these days, the word “flurries” comes to mind. I made a big mistake when my first novel, The Four Seasons, came out. I had the idea that the publicist assigned to my book would put the necessary effort…
  • Real. Really!
    I know people who have published dozens of books. I know people who have published just one. I’ve published five to date. The number doesn’t matter when it comes to how one feels when the whole multi-year project falls into place. The biggest excitement comes when a box of copies arrives, and for book number six, ALOHA WANDERWELL TAKES THE WHEEL, I am still more than a month away from that. Last week I saw the typeset pages, but the even bigger thrill came a few days ago when I saw the cover. Yes, it’s really happening! Here it is!
  • Ready, Set, Go
    As usual, I can forget I have a blog for months at a time. Like everyone else I know, I get so busy I would forget to breathe if that were possible. My last few months have been taken up with the work of getting lectures in place for a couple of months of cruise assignments. I’ve lost count now of how many I have prepared this time, but my guess is it’s over 40, and I’ve been working on it since April. There’s a look people get sometimes on the ship and I know what they’re thinking, that they…