Biography [Full]
It was the heyday of the sugar plantation and pineapple era of Hawaii when I was born. My part Hawaiian parents operated a movie theater in the small, multi-racial town of Kapa'a. The town mirrored the rainbow society produced by the importation of foreign farm laborers to work on the plantations.
I obtained a bachelor's degree and law degree from Stanford University. After practicing law in Sunnyvale, CA and serving on its City Council, I became a Superior Court judge in Santa Clara County, CA.
My writing emphasizes the struggles of a people to adapt to changing times and politics in Hawaii. I have written two novels and a published non-fiction work.
The first novel, Splintered Paddle, deals with slavery and human sacrifice in the time of King Kamehameha's wars of conquest in Hawaii. The second novel, John Tana, tells the story of a clash of cultures. A young Hawaiian man is dispossessed of his land by the sugar plantation and is forced to cope with a new world of capitalism and private property.
My family history book, Rainbows Over Kapa'a, is now published and available for purchase. It tells the story of the struggle of my Euro-Hawaiian parents to succeed in the paternalistic world of the sugar plantations.
Married to Judith, we live part time in California and Hawaii where we watch the waves and explore our creativity. I have four grown sons and eight grandchildren.
