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...]
The Vietnam War played a crucial part in my younger life, directly resulting in my starting over in this new homeland in America. I sometimes relive it, in bits and pieces of memories that surface in my dreams and eventually ended up on the pages of my book Once upon a Mulberry Field. Likewise, … [Read more...]
My novel Once upon a Mulberry Field was released on Valentine's Day 2014, not so much because it is a love story during the Vietnam War but because that's an easy date to remember for record keeping purpose. That publication date also allowed me to enter some popular book award contests that … [Read more...]
It's common knowledge that nowadays most authors have to do their own book marketing. That's a given for self-published authors, the so-called "indies" whose ranks are swelling like never before. But even traditional publishers, in constant struggle mode in an ever-evolving and fiercely competitive … [Read more...]
With this post, I am going to break a couple of my own rules. First, I'm not attaching a picture to the post as usual, since nothing can compare to the breathtaking scenery you're about to behold. And then, with no adequate preamble except to say that Ha-Long means "Descending Dragon(s)" in … [Read more...]
I've often been asked: "Where did the title of your book, Once upon a Mulberry Field, come from?" The short and simple answer has always been: It was derived from the two famous lines in the Vietnamese masterpiece popularly known as Truyện Kiều (The Story of Kiều) by the celebrated poet Nguyễn-Du … [Read more...]
The 2014 Writers Expo sponsored by the Palm Springs Writers Guild and the Rancho Mirage Public Library was held in the beautiful Community Room at the library this past Wed. from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Research based on library attendance had indicated that it was the best day and time of the week for … [Read more...]
Happy Friday! I just have a couple of quick announcements: 1. I'm excited to be participating (for the first time) in the Desert Writers Expo at the Rancho Mirage Public Library, scheduled for next Wednesday April 2, 2014, from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. This is an annual event sponsored by the Palm … [Read more...]
In Eastern cultures, going back to times immemorial, the lotus has always held a special place among flowers for its beauty, fragrance, and purity. In Buddhism in particular, it has come to symbolize spiritual awakening, so much so that Buddha has often been seen depicted sitting in meditation pose … [Read more...]