The Story Behind An Ocean Life

An Ocean Life started as a fable over five years ago. I was fascinated with Hawaiian legends which told the story of men spawned from sharks and the reincarnation of the dead as sharks. From this, the basic story evolved into something more grounded, less magical, but equally fantastic. The novel tells the story of a frustrated entrepreneur who takes his family to Hawaii as a way to reconcile with his wife and children. A frightening episode with an apex predator on a routine dive dramatically changes his life, leaving him adrift and almost alone in the Pacific Ocean. Almost alone.

In fiction, sharks are often depicted as menacing, mindless monsters. Something to be feared. I had a clear goal while writing this novel not to demonize sharks, or any ocean lifeform for that matter. Most of the ocean is still unknown to us, and within its mysteries there is something captivating about it, something that draws us.

It is a story about fate, love, rage, redemption, and to a large extent, our relationship with the oceans. I used a unique perspective to get my story across, along with my thirty years of diving experience. I have always loved the sea, so this novel is my homage to all creatures, great and small, that live in it.