A Design of His Own

About the Book

A Design of His Own is Hawaii resident, Michael Eaton’s story as a boy who grew up near the Pacific, learned the value of work at an early age, stuck to his principals, got some lucky breaks, knew a smile always helped, and brings few regrets to this late stage of life. His shaper’s touch came after driving hotrod Yellow Peril across Route 66, encountering pirates outside Singapore, gliding California valleys, surfing waves, and going solo with his business. There’s wisdom, humor, and more than a little adventure in the tales of his remarkable life, mostly told in Mike’s words after illness robbed him of ability to write.

About the Author

“This book isn’t about promotion (Eaton) surfboards. The story’s mine, a California boy who grew up in surfing’s golden age. I couldn’t weigh the gold, but I felt it. It was the age before commercialization and crowds, before the hordes arrived. If I omitted anyone, it was inadvertent. If I included everyone who influenced my life, it would look like the phone directory.” (Mike Eaton’s adventures include cars, boats, gliders, families, surfboards, and paddling oceans.) “As a Hawaii tale-teller, Mike had me hooked long before we began his life’s story. They usually ended in a chuckle, often at himself. While writing, I gained great respect for a man who kept his smile as he broke records, shaped surfboards, gained friends, and met late-life health challenges. He exemplifies his own advice, ‘Don’t give up!’” (Virginia Fortner has published poetry, short stories, travel articles, essays, biographies, a novel, At the Edge.)