Now Available from Down & Out Books: LEON'S LEGACY by Lono Waiwaiole

TAMPA, Fla. - Feb. 13, 2017 - PRLog -- Down & Out Books is pleased to announce that LEON'S LEGACY, a prequel to the Wiley crime novels by Lono Waiwaiole is published this week in trade paperback and ebook formats.

"As a reader I enjoy prequels, getting to know the backstory to characters in books I've read," said Eric Campbell, Publisher of Down & Out Books. "I was thrilled when Lono mentioned he was considering a prequel to his Wiley crime novels, a series I have a lot of respect for. I think LEON'S LEGACY is an outstanding contribution to both the series and the crime genre in general."

About LEON'S LEGACY …

The three novels in Waiwaiole's dark and dangerous Wiley series chronicle the tragic twists and turns in the lives of two old friends after those lives have completely gone off the rails in Portland, Oregon.

In LEON'S LEGACY, Waiwaiole goes back to where it all began — back when Wiley and Leon were high school kids pursuing the state basketball championship. Unfortunately, it was also the year that the crack gangs from California began to sink their talons into Portland's inner city, a juxtaposition that threatens not only their hoop quest but also their lives. An inner-city high school teacher and basketball coach when this actually occurred in Portland, Waiwaiole has a wealth of first-hand exposure to this story and the writing chops to deliver it convincingly.

Praise for LEON'S LEGACY …

"Lono Waiwaiole writes with a command you don't see much anymore. He is the opposite of the winking hard-boil writer of today. He writes authentically and knowingly about America's underclass, the streets and being an outsider. Leon's Legacy is an unexpectedly honest novel about a violent teenage world, peopled with intensely believable characters whose upside down humanity will grab you." —Kent Harrington, author of The Red Jungle and Rat Machine.

Meet the Author …

Lono Waiwaiole is the only half-Hawaiian writer of noir crime fiction in the world. His four novels include Dark Paradise, an examination of the underside of his ancestral homeland and still the harshest light ever brought to bear on that topic. He writes full-time (now that he's too old to do much of anything else) in his adopted home of Portland, Oregon. He was previously a newspaper and magazine editor, a high-school teacher and basketball coach, and a professional poker player. Leon's Legacy is a prequel to his three Wiley novels — Wiley's Lament, Wiley's Shuffle and Wiley's Refrain.

About Down & Out Books …

Founded in 2011, Down & Out Books (DownAndOutBooks.com (http://www.downandoutbooks.com/)) is an independent publisher of literary and crime fiction based in Tampa, Florida. For more information about the book, or to request an interview with the author, contact lance@downandoutbooks.com.