I am a lucky man. Born and pretty much raised in Hawaii, I graduated from the US Naval Academy and became a Naval Aviator. There are no smarter, more genuine, more professional people than those that you will find in the American armed services. I am honored to be a veteran. There are also no better toys than Navy jets, and there are few adrenaline-pumping routines on this planet that can match landing on or taking off from an aircraft carrier. I was also privileged to be a regular watch-standing officer-of-the-deck, underway, on board the USS Hancock, a WWII vintage attack carrier.

After six years in the Navy (the Vietnam War was ending), I went to work for the next quarter-century or so in Silicon Valley, California, where I was again privileged to work with individuals of exalted intelligence and ambition: entrepreneurs. Working primarily in manufacturing and later in project management and customer service, I participated in the technological miracle of lasers, computers, and corporate software almost all at the start-up company level. Believe me, if you want to have fun (and angst) working, go join a start-up in the San Francisco Bay Area...

I have always enjoyed hiking and the outdoors and have come to believe that humanity's most important asset (after our respective families) is the Earth beneath our feet. That love of nature and my experiences in the military and high-technology companies define my novels.