Taking inspiration from California’s breathtaking landscapes, history, and distinctive ways of life, Where Light Take Its Color from the Sea reveals a writer’s keen appreciation of place. This selection of James D. Houston’s essays and short stories illuminates the themes and styles he has explored in his forty years as a writer.
Santa Cruz, Houston’s home—a radiant city by the sea, enclosed by densely forested mountains—provides both a literal and figurative vantage point from which to stand and observe. From the cupola of his historic house, Houston describes the timeworn candy store across the street, the touch of light on the mountains and the sea, his forebears’ journey to California; it is a history, an appreciation, a map of human emotion. Skillfully and thoughtfully, Houston weaves the compelling story of America’s fascination with the West as he shares his personal fascination with his own home. In this examination of the particular, he reveals the universal, showing us why he is one of the nation’s most celebrated contemporary writers.
James D. Houston was born in San Francisco and received his master’s degree in American literature from Stanford, where he studied under Wallace Stegner, Irving Howe, and Frank O'Connor. Among his many fiction and nonfiction books are Bird of Another Heaven, Snow Mountain Passage, Where the Light Takes Its Color from the Sea, Surfing: A History of the Ancient Hawaiian Sport, Californians: Searching for the Golden State, Hawaiian Son: The Life and Music of Eddie Kamae, and Farewell to Manzanar, the last of which he co-authored with his wife, Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston. Over the course of his prolific career, Houston won many awards and honors and taught creative writing at a number of universities and workshops. With Jeanne, he divided his time between Hawai‘i and an old Victorian home in Santa Cruz, California. Visit his website at 
