Conversations

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JWH: I'm a "project" writer, not a disciplined, organized writer like Jim. I have my own office with all my equipment, shrines, memorabilia, and fetishes cluttering up a large converted closet. (Victorian houses have closets the size of most modern-day kitchens.) Usually at dinner we discuss the day's work, and we always read early versions of our manuscripts. I depend on Jim's view of my writing and lectures.

WBR: What are you both working on right now?

JDH: I have a contract with Knopf for another historical novel, propelled by another strange turn in the wheel of my life. But it's too soon to say much about that.

JWH: I'm hoping to adapt Farewell to Manzanar into a musical movie. Then it's on to another novel.

WBR: Is there a particular author, past or present, who has influenced your writing?

JDH: There are many, from Herman Melville to Maxine Hong Kingston. But the first storyteller to catch me and really hold me was John Steinbeck, mainly because he wrote from a world I knew, growing up as I did in northern California with working-class parents from Oklahoma and Alabama. Whether he was an influence on my work or way of seeing, I can't say. The most you can say is you have your favorites. There are writers you admire. And there are writers to whom you're powerfully attracted, who speak to you, or speak for you, sometimes with a voice that could almost be your own.

JWH: I guess I have been most influenced by Japanese writers Junichiro Tanizaki, Yasunari Kawabata, and Fumiko Enchi. I'm attracted to their understated sensibility. But my most inspirational present-day writer is Maxine Hong Kingston, for her deep humanity and unique voice that meshes two cultures.

WBR: How do you find peace of mind in your everyday life?

JDH: I meditate. For over 30 years I've practiced yoga. I listen to Bach, Mozart, Vivaldi, Brahms, Scott Joplin, Django Reinhardt, Oscar Peterson, and Joe Pass.

JWH: Meditation and lap swimming. I also go to movies as often as I can, mostly matinees. I don't particularly like videos. I love the theater ambiance. I'll check out any movie as long as it's in Technicolor, not too violent, and the place smells of fresh popcorn.

WBR: If you weren't a writer, what would you be?

JDH: A musician. All through college I made money playing acoustic bass in dance bands and jazz groups. Later on, when we moved to Santa Cruz and I started trying to write novels, I made a living for a few years teaching classical guitar, folk, and flamenco, and playing bass in a piano bar.

JWH: A painter. The beauty of colors and form is so pleasurable. And, unlike writing, which takes such linear concentration, painting is basically a right-brain expression.

WBR: How do you spend your time when you're not writing?

JDH: I play the piano and a l954 Martin tenor ukulele and walk on the beach. We see our kids a lot—no longer kids, of course. All grown and married but still here in town. There's always something to do around the house. Having a place 100 years old is like maintaining the Golden Gate Bridge: you get one end painted, the other end is rusty again.

JWH: When I'm into a project, I tend to get so involved I work for long hours at a time, neglecting the home and my friends. So when I'm not writing, I go back to cleaning the house and restoring order and socializing with friends.

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