The scene is set in this multi-cultural novel as Kelia Nimura, a strikingly beautiful, part-Hawaiian, part-Japanese, high school graduate relocates from Hilo to Honolulu in 1964 to start a Commerce degree at the University of Hawaii and finds herself embroiled in several passionate relationships with attractive but dangerous men. From a naive, small-town girl, hoping only for a marriage to a handsome Marine, Kelia grows to be a self-sufficient activist and hula teacher dedicated to the betterment of Native Hawaiians.
Born Vancouver, B.C. - Unusual childhood - Mother was Mentally Challenged, Father died during the war. As an only child I witnessed the unthinking behaviour of my mother's relatives towards her. Her relatives treated her as some kind of a joke and were always putting her down. The result of witnessing this treatment taught me a lot about discrimination. I pursued knowledge about mental illness when I was older eventually resulting in three University degrees including a Ph.D. from Simon Fraser Univ. and a career as a School Psychologist.
I started writing as an extension of Psychology and Education to raise awareness about various discrimination issues. I decided to write in a fictional format to reach readers about various social issues who normally did not read non-fiction. My first novel came out of my experience in my province's institution for the mentally challenged. The novel was called "Alias the Tank", the nickname for the Access Mobility Wheelchair System. A series of novels followed embedding the actual facts of the history of Hawaii from 1820 to 2000 into a five novel series to bring the actual facts alive such as the overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani in 1893.
Other novels about social issues have followed including one about nuclear testing on the Mururoa Atoll, aboriginal treatment in Australia, First Nations history in British Columbia, seniors issues, culture clash in Malaysia, capitalism without social responsibility in California, and recently the terrible treatment of Sikh, Chinese and Japanese immigrants in the logging industry in B. C. at the turn of the century.
My novel "Aloha and Mai Tais" about music and musicians in the 1930's received a five star review from Midwest Book Review and my screenplay "Journey Great Barrier Reef" was a winner in the 2003 Telluride Indiefest Screenplay contest.
Currently I do Vocational Assessment in my office in beautiful Qualicum Beach, B.C. and have branched into self-help writing with the publication of my book about 55 Plus Non-Retirement Retirement called "Way of the Supernova."
