The main objective in entering any book contest is to get a rough idea how your work may be viewed by people outside of your supportive network of family and friends. Unfortunately, for practical reasons most book contests only give you a Pass/fail Win/lose categorical answer that leaves you with … [Read more...]
At some point in our lives, no matter how far we have wandered, most of us have probably felt the desire to look back at those long ago places where we grew up---where it had all begun for us. In my case, that special place is Saigon, Vietnam, just before and during the war, back in the late … [Read more...]
I'm so appreciative and excited to have some good news to share with you: A couple of days ago, I was notified that my book, Once Upon a Mulberry Field, had received an Honorable Mention as a finalist in the Writer's Digest 22nd International Self-Published Book Awards. In this day and age, one … [Read more...]
Over the next thirty days, I'll be giving a talk about my book Once Upon a Mulberry Field at some branch libraries around San Diego. The talk is approximately 45 minutes long followed by an always lively questions-and-answers session at the end. If you'll be in town, mark your calendar and come join … [Read more...]
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...]