In 2008 when I started writing my book Once upon a Mulberry Field, a big concern I had was the size of it---how much material to include in it. From what I was able to gather at the time, the ideal length of a book should be anywhere between 60,000 and 90,000 words, which roughly translates into 200 … [Read more...]
Sweet Images
Warm greetings! The last few months have been busy for me, but it has been a good kind of busy (except for the tax returns, of course). I was invited to speak about my book at various venues and gladly accepted all those invitations, thus spending a lot of time on the road rather than at the … [Read more...]
A Writer’s Journey
James Michener, with his meticulously researched, epic tales of exotic locales, has always been one of my favorite writers. Recently I ran across a book by him that I had read before, titled The Novel (Random House 1991). It is fiction but undoubtedly drawn from his own experience as a successful … [Read more...]
Veterans Day 2015
This year, in the weeks leading up to Veterans Day, I've had the privilege and pleasure of being involved in several meaningful and fun events. In early October I was invited by the Incline Village/Crystal Bay Veterans Club to attend its 2015 Community Ball, which was to pay tribute to Vietnam … [Read more...]
A Special Trip
Last week I had the honor of attending the 2015 Community Ball hosted by the Incline Village/Crystal Bay Veterans Club in North Lake Tahoe to pay tribute to the Vietnam War veterans. My gracious host, Colonel Steve Price, USAF Retired, had been present at the Cathedral City Rotary Club during my … [Read more...]
Readers’ Favorite Book Award
I'm thrilled to share the good news with you: Once upon a Mulberry Field has just won the Bronze Medal for Cultural Fiction in the Readers' Favorite 2015 International Book Award. In their own words, "Readers' Favorite is the fastest growing book review and award contest site on the Internet. We … [Read more...]
Sun, Surf, Cars & Girls
To me, one of the really fun things about writing is the research part of it. Recently, for my next book, I've had to do research on some aspects of life in America in the 1960's, specifically about the Beach Boys in their early singing years, and I've come across some fun trivia I'd like to share … [Read more...]
Weekend Surprise
There couldn't have been better news to wake up to on a weekend! This morning Once upon a Mulberry Field hit the #1 spot on Amazon's Top-Rated in Asian American Literature list. I am just so thrilled, stoked, psyched---and any other adjectives you want to throw in! Once again, I want to send a … [Read more...]
The Colors of Summer
As mentioned in an earlier post, the summers of my youth in Saigon were painted in brilliant red and orange from luxurious blooms on poinciana trees all over the city. But here, in sun-drenched Southern California, summer ushers in a different color---the purple-blue freshness of jacaranda blooms. … [Read more...]
Book Talks
Over the past year, I have gone around and given presentations to introduce my book Once upon a Mulberry Field to the reading public, and to share some of the memories and stories that had inspired me to write it. Many friends and supporters have asked me what the responses from such live audiences … [Read more...]