Ron Konzak and Mickey Molnaire offer a tourist guide for the island and peninsula.

When it comes to tourism in Kitsap County, Ron Konzak and Mickey Molnaire wrote the book. Literally.

“Across the Sound: A Guide to Interesting Places West of Puget Sound,” ($19.95, Wind Harp Press) may be the only travel book to focus exclusively on the charms and attractions on Bainbridge Island, the Kitsap and Olympic penninsulas, Hood Canal and Vashon Island.

The project was a natural for the Bainbridge innkeepers, who compiled a list of sights and day trips for guests at their authentic Japanese guest house, Fuurin-Oka Futon and Breakfast off Day Road East.

“People would ask us, ‘What is there to do?’ and to avoid repeating ourselves, we started making a list that got longer and longer,” Molnaire said.

One day, the couple – themselves inveterate travelers – knew they had the makings for a good regional guide book.

While Bainbridge Island and the Kitsap and Olympic peninsulas garner a page or two in the Seattle travel guides, the couple say there wasn’t anything on the shelves that provided comprehensive travel information about local attractions, not to mention sights and wonders off the beaten path.

Their book seeks to change that. With 60 years on Bainbridge Island between them and a love of local exploration, “We have discovered some really neat places,” over the years, said Konzak, who used to lead “tours where people don’t go” for a friend’s tourism company.

The couple’s favorite places — Lake Cushman and Kalaloch, Dosewallips and Rocky Brook Falls, Cape Flattery and the Hansville lighthouse – all have made their way into the guide, likely to appeal to locals as well as tourists.

It was written for people like the guests who come to their inn: folks with a car and a few days to explore the natural beauty and landmarks of the region.

“We put in the book what we found interesting,” Konzak said, noting that draft copies were provided to guests during two years of revisions and additions.

The couple took turns writing the short, narrative chapters on various destinations, including towns, gardens, parks, lakes, harbors, lighthouses, museums and even naval installations.

Sometimes, one spouse finished a chapter the other had started; after a 20-year partnership and 13-year marriage, they find their writing voices merge rather seamlessly.

The book includes a chart that gives mileage and travel-time estimates for every destination listed. The comprehensive appendix provide lists of seasonal events, climate and weather, flora and fauna, geology, restaurants, lodging, a place name pronunciation guide, and where to get Internet access, ride a bicycle, birdwatch and play golf.

Since its November release, more than 400 copies have been sold at local bookstores, inns and gift shops.

They hope to update the entries every two years, and there are other books in the works for the Renaissance couple, who write from inside their cozy, Port Blakely-style farmhouse that architect Konzak designed and built in 1986. He also built the guest house nestled in a nearby stand of bamboo.

Molnaire is writing two cookbooks, as well as working as a computer consultant and running the inn. Konzak is writing about traditional Japanese baths, which he said used to be quite common on the island.

“Across the Sound” is Konzak’s third book.

His first was a self-help book called “Lifegraph,” and his second, written with Molnaire, was “The Book of Ramen,” a whimsical cookbook that he began during his bachelor days, when the noodles were a staple of his diet.

Together, the couple has an eclectic range of experiences and interests.

Molnaire previously taught English overseas, and worked and lived in Germany, Switzerland and Iran. Konzak spent many years in Europe as the musical director of a dance troupe, journeyed through Japan with Buddhist monks and lived in a rural Korean village for a time. He also is a woodworker and harp maker.

The couple play Celtic music together, and were married in Scotland.

“We’re not bungy-jumping types, but we love other languages and cultures,” Molnaire said of their adventurous past.

Writing “Across the Sound” offered the opportunity to explore their homeland with the wonder of a newcomer, like the guests at the inn who inspired it.

They dedicated the book to those guests, for “keeping us continuously aware of the beautiful, magical place in which we live.”