It was exactly a year ago on Valentine’s Day that my book Once upon a Mulberry Field was published.

I remember it like yesterday. It was early February and everything was set to go, except for one small but important detail: an official publication date for record-keeping purpose. It had to be something that I could easily remember when called upon. So what’s an easier date to remember in February than—Valentine’s Day, right?

To me, it also seemed quite befitting because even though Mulberry Field is set against the tumultuous backdrop of the sixties and the Vietnam War, it is first and foremost a love story. And not just the romantic kind of love, but something larger. The love that people have for their homelands; a celebration of the human spirit in its varied and wonderful manifestations; and a tribute to my heritage and to all the people whose lives had been touched, changed, or untimely shortened by the war. It may sound like a cliche, but Mulberry Field is truly my labor of love.

In previous posts I already shared with you some milestones during this first year, so I won’t bore you again by repeating them here. Suffice it to say that it has been a wild and crazy ride, a journey that has left me feeling both humbled and enriched. And I have you, my friends and supporters, to thank for it.

Have a wonderful Valentine’s Weekend!