He had not expected the families of those on board to hear about the book, let alone be distressed by it.
A reporter had told her about it and asked her opinion.
The 45-year-old, who now lives in Malaysia, said he was inspired to write the book after a frightening experience on a flight between Malaysia and Vietnam a week after MH370 vanished.
"I was damn scared. Flying doesn't usually bother me, but knowing that another aircraft had just vanished on the same flight path made me very, very jittery."
The scare got him thinking about possible causes for the jet's disappearance, and by the time his flight landed he had come up with a story he felt compelled to write down.
It took two months to write and another to edit and publish in e-book form. He described it as a twist-type thriller focusing on a passenger's involvement in an international intrigue.
Maka attended Kerikeri High School and worked in the Bay of Islands as an orchardist and beekeeper until 1994.
He trained as a journalist, working at the New Zealand Herald, Waikato Times and Bay of Plenty Times before heading overseas, initially to teach English. He returns regularly to Northland to see his relatives in Kerikeri and an 18-year-old daughter in Whangarei.
Maka has previously written a full-length novel, as yet unpublished, and another novella due for release as an e-book later this year.
Meanwhile, a new international crowdfunding campaign, Reward MH370: The Search for the Truth, was launched on the website Indiegogo yesterday.
The campaign offers $3.5million for information about the flight.
