about me

I am the quintessential cultural mongrel, not quite sure from day to day who I really am. Born in Canada, I spent my early adult life in India, where I adopted the culture and faith of that incredible country. In my later years, I immigrated to America and am now settled in Hawaii, where I am a professional jeweler and graphic artist.

In my early years, growing up in Montreal, I planned to become a concert pianist, and in fact graduated as a Canada Council Scholar, from Juilliard. But after my marriage, while living in Mumbai (which was then known as "Bombay"), I began working as a graphic artist. My art became quite well known but eventually after a dark period, where I was being consumed the tormented imagery of my work, I turned to art criticism. Moving out of my self absorbtion into a milieu where others and their work became my focus..... a most effective recipe for curing depression. As an art critic, I was widely published in India and later, here in Hawaii.

Along the way, I stumbled into many amazing situations and gradually became aware that there are no coincidences .... even the smallest fragment of serendipity carries within it, a seed of something wonderful and life- enhancing. Being here on "authonomy" is just such a coincidence ... a chance Email sent to me by a friend who liked the site and who had no idea I was writing a book at the time, propelled me to investigate "authonomy" out of sheer curiosity.

I liked what I saw ....

This will be my first submission to "authonomy". Like most thinking people, I have acquired my own set of personal biases and interests. In this case I am utilizing knowledge I gained when I began the study of Native Hawaiian featherwork here in Hawaii almost twenty years ago. That study was another of those "God winks" which changed the course of my life. I learned not only this ancient art, but also the Hawaiian language .... and eventually stumbled across rumors and secrets which both disturbed and intrigued me. So I used this background to create a tale ... which might be true .... could be true.

The background is authentic and because so many of these cultural details are unknown to a public which sees Hawaii as coconut trees, ukuleles and pretty hula girls ... I feel this story will intrigue and excite my readers as living through it has excited me. Because buried in this incredible story of the greatest secret kept by generations of Hawaiians, are fragments of the truth. I will be inevitably questioned if this book ever reaches a broader public .... but I will keep the secret buried as close to my heart as my heroine does.

My grandfather, a raconteur of amazing stories, would have said, " It's a smashing good tale" ......

favourite books

"Excuse Me, Your Life is Waiting"
"The Thornbirds"
"The Poisonwood Bible"
" The Bhagavad Gita"

Everything ever written by Michener and Yasunari Kawabata
Most of Hemmingway

my websites

TheGleefulGuru.WordPress.com     TheHappyPianoProfessor.WordPress.com