After years of hiding, I am coming out as a ’60s dropout. Without that college degree, I had to chart a wriggly path. I finally discovered something I enjoyed and was pretty good at—writing and interviewing. I am now some years into being an established author and professional oral historian. I have interviewed celebrities, written several books, and ventured into entrepreneurship producing heirloom books for family and company histories.
 

Through research and conversations with my clients we capture their memoirs and family or company stories. These interview sessions are then transformed into engaging storylines. Notable clients include actor Robert De Niro, other Oscar winners, and the owner of the San Francisco Giants baseball team. In my book, Storytelling: How to Write an Inspiring Memoir, Oral History, or Family Genealogy, I share the techniques I have honed over the past 30-plus years. Solano’s Gold: The People and Their Orchards is based on 60 oral history interviews that resulted in a museum exhibit. A Gold Hunter: Memoirs of John Berry Hill was drawn from my ancestor’s California gold rush journal and was named an official California Sesquicentennial Resource. Building Baydelta explores a major tugboat company in the San Francisco Bay. First to Die chronicles the 1928 sinking of the steamship Vestris, where 111 passengers perished, and the captain went down with his ship.

I began my career as the inquiring photographer columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle. The column, Question Man, was acclaimed as one of the best in its genre, earning me notable recognition, including a day in San Francisco named in my honor. I enhanced my research skills with a five-year feature on California history, Echoes of Solano’s Past, and produced a television documentary that won a Cablevision Award. I continue to write and work with clients on preserving their stories and histories.