August marked the six-month anniversary of the release of my novel Once Upon a Mulberry Field. It seems much longer than that, yet it also feels like just yesterday. On this last day before Fall, I'd like to take a moment to look back on that first leg of the journey and share some milestones with … [Read more...]
Long ago, in my younger years, I used to go camping (almost) every summer. My favorite camping grounds were scattered throughout the Eastern Sierra Mountains, from Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks to Mammoth Lakes and Yosemite, to Lake Tahoe. It was impossible to pick a favorite among … [Read more...]
Just a short post to share the latest good news with my friends and supporters. Yesterday I got word that Once Upon a Mulberry Field had been named the Gold Medal Winner (for Historical Literature Fiction -- Contemporary) in the 2014 Global Ebook Awards. This is one of the biggest eBook … [Read more...]
As Once Upon a Mulberry Field approaches the six-month mark since its publication date, I think it's time for me to take a bird's eye view of my eBook sales to try to understand this relatively new market. Being an unknown debut author, I'm aware that whatever data I can gather on my book to this … [Read more...]
Just like that, July has come and gone. It started out with a bang as I got word that Once Upon a Mulberry Field was named the Grand Prize Winner of the 2014 annual book contest sponsored by LuckyCinda Publishing in Palm Desert, California. A social media push soon followed in order to spread the … [Read more...]
What comes to mind when you think of summer? Surf, sun and fun at the beaches? Hiking and camping in the mountains? Lazy days and balmy nights---and spontaneous road trips to unknown destinations? For me, though, summer evokes a particular image imprinted on my mind since my early childhood in … [Read more...]
It's pretty obvious: Writing is a lonely pursuit. One holes up in one's "office" (any place conducive to a self-hypnotized state) for hours on end, hoping to sweat out precious words onto blank pages. Day in and day out. Rain or shine. Inspired or not. But always consumed by a desire to project … [Read more...]
Earlier this week I did something fun. I drove three-and-a-half hours from San Diego to a remote spot northwest of LA but inland from Ventura---a small valley nestled against the mountains and named Ojai, from an old Indian word meaning "Moon." Residents of the quaint small town that bears the … [Read more...]
When I first saw this May 24, 2014 article in the New York Times, my mind flashed back to the recent news of the two hundred schoolgirls kidnapped from their public school in Chibok, Nigeria, and to another related tragedy from a couple of years earlier---the near-death shooting of another … [Read more...]
It's a wonderful feeling to receive positive feedback on something you have poured yourself into for years, even when recognition wasn't what motivated you in the first place. I was the lucky recipient of such good news when I got notification last week that my six-year labor of love, Once upon a … [Read more...]