An evocative adventure/love story from the author of The Illusion of Gravity.
In 1966 Manila, an American teenager courts a CIA recruit several years his senior. It’s a mismatch, a scandal. When she ships out, it’s over. Maybe.
An uncommon spin on the coming-of-age theme, informed by an upbringing in mid-century Asia. For Young Adult shoppers, a tale about good character as a strategy for creating a successful life. For readers, an immersive journey to a time and place now gone forever.
Let’s share an experience. It won’t take more than a minute unless you want it to. Call it a favor, an act of generosity. Click in the box below the image where it says ‘Free Preview’.
Read a page or two. See what happens. I’ve been writing for ten years. This is my best work. It deserves an audience.
In a few days, after I receive my Logitech Litra Glow Premium LED Streaming Light, I’ll recite the script for my latest video. Those who’ve been following my essays know what this is about — I’m trying to hook an audience for my novels. Come now BookTok, BookTube, and Bookstagram. I sure hope it’s worth the trouble.
And who knows but there might be a more productive outcome if people start sharing these posts. Just mentioning it, in case there’s a button under your finger that could make that happen, and thank you.
On October 4th and 5th, someone read my novel Elberton Kindle Unlimited, most of it on the second day. Woo! Exciting, right?
Wait, it gets better. On October 8th, someone started reading The Anye Legacy Complete Collection. Non-stop. Going through it like a woodchipper, for a grand total of one-thousand-eight-hundred-six pages so far. Only about a hundred-forty to go.
It’s right after a new book launch. It has to be the same person, discovering my material for the first time. If whoever it is starts reading Silken Thread next, I’ll pop a gasket.
Let this be an example. This could be you, having a great time in your easy chair, hooked on unexpectedly intriguing literature. Click here to visit my Amazon catalog. Wonder awaits!
By the way, not everything I publish on these pages is self-promotion. There's something here for everyone. Please consider subscribing.
My wife has for some time recommended that I classify my novels in a Young Adult category on Amazon. This morning, I read up on the topic and it’s starting to sound like a good idea.
I do not write with that audience in mind. However, the launch of my latest novel motivates me to examine who my readers might be.
In his essay ‘The 3 golden rules of writing a young adult novel’, author Robert Wood describes juvenile literature as ‘a gateway into sincere reflection on (adult-themed) topics’ and ‘a tool a YA reader can use for introspection and interrogation of the world around them.’
The Anye Universe books are literary science fiction — action, adventure and family drama against a sci-fi landscape. Content is generally wholesome in nature. I wouldn’t object if someone called them morality plays.
Even my novel Silken Thread, which contains a spicy passage or two, might pass muster for endorsing good character as a strategy for creating a successful life.
It’s a new train of thought for me. Feedback welcome. Find my catalog on my Amazon author page.
If one is to succeed as an author he must say words that will inspire readers to buy books. If this can be accomplished in one or two sentences, the author will have discovered his story brand.
So, I’ve been pestering everyone who’s read my work to wax eloquent, such that keywords might be extracted. To my surprise, a fellow author said my novel Elbert is sentimental.
I tend to agree. The storyline, set in the late 1920s, is nostalgia-inducing by default. That said, it didn’t feel like an idea I could use to describe the entire catalog.
A review of synonyms ensued. I dithered over ‘old-fashioned’ and ‘homely’. I wrote a ream of ad copy. Nothing clicked. I kept coming back to ‘sentimental’, a longing for the good old days, when everything was better, or at least seemed like it.
Even though most of my books are Science Fiction, I have to admit the word ‘sentimental’ covers a lot of ground. I’ll hold onto it for a while. In other news …
I assembled a book trailer video, which you may peruse via the link below. All of the art was created by others, except the script, which is only ‘art’ in the sense that I strained myself writing it and now cannot bear to read it without editing.
Composed in DaVinci Resolve. A testament, of sorts, to what a person can learn from YouTube tutorials.
This coming October I’ll publish, I hope, a breakout novel. ‘Elbert’ is action, adventure, and family drama — a fusion you don’t often see in Science Fiction. It’s a fun ride across an unlikely landscape, a moving tale with a positive vibe.
I’m staking out my own territory with original and intelligent stories, written for thoughtful readers. ‘Elbert’ isn’t rocket ships and ray guns. It’s about challenges we face creating successful lives, a noble existence, a hopeful future.
I’m shopping for word-of-mouth publicity. If you like the pitch, follow the link. If you like what you see, please tell your followers.
Manila, Philippines. Circa 1958. A year before this photo was taken, Mom took me to visit a friend who lived in an apartment near downtown Manila. I had never been in an apartment before. I didn’t even know such things existed.
The lady had a dachshund named Gretchen. I had never seen a Dachshund before.
Gretchen knew a trick. The owner balanced a cookie on the dog’s nose. The dog stood still. The owner said, “Okay.” The dog flipped the cookie into the air, and ate it. I had no idea dogs could learn tricks.
Gretchen had a litter of puppies. I had never seen puppies before.
Can you believe it? I was seven! Anyway, we took one home, and someone in the family, probably Mom, named her Hildegard. We called her Hildy. Years later, Mom claimed the dog’s name was actually Brunhilda. It was Hildegard. These were important events for me. I remember everything about it.
One day, Hildy had puppies. I had no idea how that happened, but I got to pick one for us to keep. I named him Mercury. We called him Mergy.
These were standard Dachshunds. Mergy weighed about twenty pounds as an adult. See the photo, Mergy and me, circa 1965.
It never occurred to anyone to teach these dogs tricks, but they did have a behavior. They hunted rats, big old Chinese Brown Rats, about a third their size. They’d bag them early in the morning, after Lucina got up, and stack the bodies on the front porch. Dad would come out for the newspaper to find Hildy and Mergy guarding their catch, waiting to be praised.
Technically, Mergy was my first pet, and I’ll always remember him that way — but both dogs slept with Lucina, so they probably thought they were hers.
At the time, I had no idea that was an option.
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