wow chrish thanks, you can see why I could not remember his name or the spelling as it is very Maori, I hope it proves to be worth while reading, sounds good, a friend told me about it, then low and behold he was interviewed on our good morning show yesterday, he is a really sweet man, very humble, and has two daughters he loves so much, one of his books is dedicated to her, might be skydancer not sure.

I have not seen whale rider myself, but it has been a hit in America for sure, did you know only 3 of the actors are professional, pretty amazing really, I am waiting for its release on video then I will get it, hope they showed some nice scenes in NZ.

Cheers everyone.
p.s that pic of him is way outdated, he is much much older now, probably early 50s lol.
Gosh I never knew he wrote whale rider in 3 wks and in usa, WOW!!!