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Author Bio
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"Let me tell you about my writer; not just because he created me, but because
he’s an interesting guy. He’s an ex-marine, who likes to run, play softball,
ski, and dive. He has two ex-wives who don’t think much of him, a dog that loves
him, a cat that ignores him, and a sweetie who can’t decide if she loved him or
not (especially since he took so much time creating me). He’s a former Rotarian,
Boy Scout leader, and the best thing he ever did in his life was give a kidney
to his sister. He was also a volunteer educator at the Marine Mammal Center in
Sausalito, CA before he moved back to New Jersey. He would have made a good father too, but he never had a kid.
Maybe that’s why he created me.
"He went to college at U.C. Berkeley, back in the days when they had student
riots. Then he earned a graduate degree at Cal in public policy."
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"What's that?"
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"It's like an MBA for government. In his first job after graduate school, he
was a project director at the Institute for Local Self Government."
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"Who?"
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"They do research for cities and counties. Now, stop interrupting me and let
me finish. He researched and wrote four books at the Institute and presented
research findings to the California State Legislature. After that, he went into
the financial planning business and started building a practice but his business
faltered in the late '80s after tax reform. Then he tried to go back to public
policy but he couldn’t get a job in the recession of the early '90s. So, he
figured, when you get lemons, make lemonade.
"His nephew, TC, was nuts about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. One day he
watched a TV news story about the turtles. That’s when he decided to create me.
He was a diver, he liked dolphins, and he thought he could make a non-violent
story about us. He knew we had large brains and he wondered what we would say if
we could communicate with you. He was tenacious about it too, because he didn’t
want to go through life wondering what might have been if he didn’t write my
story.
"So, he took writing classes at a junior college. Writing fiction is quite
different. In non-fiction, you research and report the facts, but in fiction,
you paint a picture in the reader’s mind. It’s more than an investigation; it’s
an art form. But creating me took a lot of time and financial sacrifice. He gave
up making money and took temporary jobs as a waiter and an accountant, just to
make ends meet. Sometimes they didn’t. Then he became a substitute teacher cause
he likes kids, but that didn’t pay much either.
"When he started our story,
he read more than a hundred books about whales and dolphins and interviewed
marine biologists, government officials, administrators at marine parks and
research centers. He researched environmental issues, especially the two dolphin
disasters – you’ll find out about that in my book. He joined critique groups,
went to writer’s conferences, and served on the
Board of Directors, Marin branch, California Writer’s Club. He also joined the
Bay Area Independent Publishers Association (BAIPA). In 2005, the California
Writers Club honored him with the Jack London award and BAIPA named "The Dolphins'
View" the best science fiction story of the year.
"He nourished the kid within himself too. He swam with dolphins in the
Florida Keys and kayaked with orcas in British Columbia. He said it was a thrill
to get within ten feet of an orca with a six foot tall dorsal fin. Thrill? More
like a chill, if you ask me. He’s crazy - I wouldn’t want to go anywhere near
them. They scare the shit outta me. That’s why I can’t believe what he did to
me. He made me get close to them in the book.
"Anyway, he tried to strike a balance in writing my story. You see, we
dolphins have some grievances about the way people run the world. But we have
fun loving dolphinalities too, so we can’t take things too seriously. Every day
must have its joy. So we decided entertainment was the best way for us to
communicate with you.
"You’ll find parts of my story pretty funny, especially the ending in Book 3.
You’ll learn a lot about us too, when you read my story. He’s blended a lot of
little known facts about dolphins into the chapters - quite clever the way he
did it too. And wait until you meet my buddy Doak, and Nina - ah, what a
dolphina! You’ll like her hana too.
"Anyway, back to my writer. He’s developed a marketing plan for my story and
it’s dolphinately working."
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"Dolphinately?"
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"Hey, sometimes you gotta put up with the bad to get the good stuff - just
like the way people are, you know. So, this crazy guy, my writer, struts around
in a dolphin costume pretending he’s me. It’s OK though. Nina, Doak and I think
of him as an honorary dolphin. He's a speaker too and a member of the National Marine
Educators Association. He has a PowerPoint presentation, "The Wonders and Perils of
Dolphins," that he shows to libraries, schools, environmental groups, and community
colleges. It's not directly releated to our story, but he made it entertaining and
thought provoking and it celebrates the nature of dolphins.
"It took my writer more than ten years to create me. He doesn’t know if my
story is going to be a success or a flop, but he decided long ago that defeat is
not the worst failure. Having a dream and not having the courage to try – that’s
the worst failure. And so my writer told me to tell you: Follow your
dream, and if you do, you will find that the worst day in your future will be
better than the best day in your past."
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Buy copies of each novel or find collector's item T-Shirts of your favorite characters here!
[Online Store]
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