Generally speaking, we don't take much stock in astrology, but when our April Playmate, Denise Michele, informed us that she fits every characteristic of a Gemini woman to a T, we couldn't resist the temptation to compare our interview notes with her horoscope. "Gemini women," our book says, "are attracted to sunny climates."

Check; Denise has lived in Kailua, Hawaii, since she was eight. "They resent the drudgery of routine jobs." Right again; Denise has been a model for the past three years, because "it's a job I can do freely without having to work in an office." So far, so good. "Geminis have a way with words and often become writers." Sure enough, Denise is a part-time poet. (Example: "If you're afraid to love, to care/Because of hurt or pain,/By the time you decide to trust,/I'll be gone.") Geminis have mercurial moods. "Sometimes I'm easy to get along with," says Denise. "Other times, I'm temperamental." They're contradictory. "I like a man to dominate me, but I also need my freedom." Hmmm. It was sheer astrological probability that we even came across her in the first place. She was working at a temporary job in Hawaii when the soon-to-be man in her life walked into her office. Knowing a good thing when he saw it, he promptly asked her to lunch. She accepted, they hit it off, but Denise was going out with another man at the time and decided the best course was to leave town for a few weeks. So she went to L.A., where she just happened to walk into an employment agency one day. She was sent to Playboy Models and from there she was just a lens click away from becoming a Playmate. Most of the photographs on these pages were taken on the island of Maui and on Big Island (Hawaii). Denise notes, with some amusement, that exactly one week after the shooting, a dormant volcano erupted on Big Island, not too far from where her pictures were taken. How's that for fooling with Mother Nature? Looking back on it all, Denise says that if it hadn't been for her guy, she wouldn't have become a Playmate. Maybe not, but we think it was in the stars all along.

---- Photography by Ken Marcus

AMBITIONS
To become a high-fashion model and also sell real estate in Hawaii.. And of course I want to be happy and make others happy.

TURN-ONS
Hawaii.

TURN-OFFS
Procrastination.

IN MY SPARE TIME
I enjoy sewing, writing poetry, practicing tai-chi, chuan and hula and cooking.

PEOPLE I ADMIRE
Anne Frank. She saw good in everyone. Also John F. Kennedy, for his charisma.

IN MY FUTURE
I'd like to work with runaways and children with disabilities.

AS A KID
I was 10 when my family moved from California to Hawaii.

BEDTIME READING
Sun Signs and Cosmo.

I LOVE HAWAII
Because it's so beautiful and a great place to raise kids. The weather's great and the people are warm-hearted and friendly.

IN MY BEST MOMENTS
I am daring.

MY WEAK SPOT
Is procrastination. I think it's from being a Gemini.

I LOVE BEING A PLAYMATE
Because it's an honor. Playboy also hasn't had a Polynesian Playmate in a long time.