I'm from California. I have a master's degree from the University of California and a second dan black belt in Okinawan Karate. I have explored the USA but lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for most of my life. Hence, I'm familiar with its ethnic, architectural, and epicurean nooks and crannies. In my fiction, I describe the exotic areas of The City and they are characters themselves in the stories. I admire the beauty, humor, and energy of hardboiled colloquial American English and write in that style.