Fiction Works
- Two Nails, One Love: a novel about the relationship between a Sansei son and his mother that evolves—and heals—as he learns devastating secrets about her traumatic childhood during World War II (Black Rose Writing, published in September 2021)
- “Finding the Right Keiko“: a short story about a Sansei man’s grief over the loss of his parents (The Baltimore Review, Winter, 2021).
- “The Poker Table“: a short story about a poker gang of Nisei men who fought in the 100th Battalion during World War II (Gordon Square Review, June 2023).
- “A Belated Reparation”: a short story about a Nisei woman’s fight for reparation for having been incarcerated in a U.S. concentration camp during World War II (to be published in the Bamboo Ridge Journal, Fall 2023, issue no. 124).
- “The Maneki-Neko“: a short story about a gay Sansei man’s struggle to be accepted by his traditional Nisei mother (to be published).
Personal Essays
- “Life Lessons of Mottainai“: on the downside of saving things for that “special occasion” (Discover Nikkei, April 21, 2023).
- “When We Enable Racism“: understanding the slippery slope of racism (Discover Nikkei, March 17, 2023).
- “The Search for Truth: Piercing Three Layers of Deception“: delving into my family history required the piercing of different layers of deception (Discover Nikkei, February 8, 2023).
- “Black Mermaids and Nikkei Superheroes“: on our struggle for greater representation and increased diversity (Discover Nikkei, November 3, 2022).
- “Sansei Natsukashii“: trying to describe my nostalgic longing for the land of my ancestors (Discover Nikkei, July 19, 2022).
- “Was It Racism?“: on the subtle, often indeterminate forms of racism (Discover Nikkei, February 22, 2022).
- “What Nobody Can Take Away“: memories of a crucial lesson that I learned from my Nisei mother’s hardships in World War II (Discover Nikkei, September 10, 2021).
- “Finding My Way Home“: my recollections of being a Sansei who happens to be gay, versus being a gay man who happens to be Japanese American (Discover Nikkei, August 31, 2021).
Non-Fiction Works
Before turning to fiction, I spent my entire career writing/editing about science, technology, and business. Here are some of the articles and books that I’ve worked on:
- When to Trust Your Gut,” Harvard Business Review (February 2001): pages 59-65.
- “Mommy-Track Backlash,” Harvard Business Review (March 2001): pages 33-37.
- “A Greene Universe,” Scientific American (April 2000): pages 36-40.
- “Pinker and the Brain,” Scientific American (July 1999): pages 32-34.
- “Why Picasso Outearned van Gogh,” MIT Sloan Management Review (Fall 2008): pages 11-12.
- “What Can Managers Learn from College Basketball?” MIT Sloan Management Review (Spring 2009): pages 22-24.
- “What’s the Best Way to Pay Employees?” MIT Sloan Management Review (Winter 2007): pages 8-9.
- The Five Paths to Persuasion (Warner Books, 2004).
- Jumping the S-Curve (Harvard Business Review Press, 2011).