Interview
“Tell us about your book”
It’s the life story of Emma Spreckels, the daughter of Sugar King Claus Spreckels during the gilded age. Emma loves Hawaii and its culture. Emma’s struggles with her father parallel the loss of Hawaiian sovereignty in the 1890s.
“Why did you write it?”
There is a mystery among surf historians. There is a woodcut drawing of a girl surfing on a plank in an 1888 edition of the New York Police Gazette. The story originally appeared in the Philadelphia Press and described the “Sandwich Island Girl, Gay Queen of the Waves.” There were no names in the article, but clues included that the girl’s father was a wealthy planter of the Sandwich (Hawaiian) Islands. The significance is that this would push back the first documented surfing on the East Coast by ten years and move the location from Wrightsville North Carolina to Asbury Park New Jersey.
I took it as a personal challenge to solve the mystery. There were limited plantation owners in Hawaii and their movements between the islands are well documented. I tracked each owner and manager, and their daughters. Emma Spreckels at 18 was the only one who was there in the summer of 1888.
After learning this, I focused on learning about Emma’s life, and it’s quite the story.
“Why a novel? Why not straight history?”
I have narrowed the possible surfer suspects to Emma. I have a motive, opportunity, and means. I don’t have definitive proof. I left room for doubt in the surfer part of the story. The fiction leans heavily on real history, but my main goal was to explore the broader relationships between Emma and her father and the King of Hawaii.
“Why will people want to read your book?”
The true drama in Emma’s life was incredible. Her father was the richest man in the country and she had the courage to defy her father at a time when it was rarely done. Any young woman can relate as Emma struggles to find friendship and love and to establish her own identity under the shadow of her parents. She travels the world in uncommon opulence, lonely, with Hawaii never far from her thoughts. There are lessons for us all.
Does your book’s title have special meaning?
After a decade of influence and support, Emma’s father turned his back on the Hawaiian King, leaving him to his enemies. In the same way, Emma would turn her back on her overbearing father, who by then was routinely referred to as “The Sugar King”.
What was the most challenging aspect of writing this book?
Getting into the head of a teenage girl. The facts of the story were documented by the Newspapers of the time, and four years of research prepared me to tell her tale. To tell it from her perspective, I leaned on my experience as a husband, father, and brother. The frustrations of women have some common themes, which I hope ring true.
What was your favorite scene to write?
I’m most familiar with the Jersey Shore near where I live. To have my characters make the familiar ride up the Monmouth Coast 125 years ago, was quite fun. It’s also the scene of Emma’s secret surfing trip, which was her first serious act of defiance at a critical time for her father. Asbury Park is such a unique city. I’m so glad it can lay claim to the honor of hosting the first surfer on the coast.
Who is your favorite character in this book?
Samuel Shortridge, the man who leaked the rumor that he was to marry Emma on more than one occasion. His pomposity and ambition made for a great outlet for Emma’s frustrations.
Give us a sneak peek of what you’re writing next!
Engineer H. H. Yard of Belmar owned more beachfront at the Jersey Shore than any other person, and he paid little or nothing to get it. After years of local battles, he took his schemes west where he owned more mining claims than anyone else. He acquired prime timberland for nothing. Was he a financial genius, or a scammer? I do not know yet, but he was one of the Shore’s most enigmatic characters.