Honey Ko Video Ad
My first attempt at a video ad. Thoughts? Continue reading Honey Ko Video Ad
Tag: Honey Ko
Self-Marketing a Self-Published Novel
Writing a novel is easy. Marketing a novel is hard, especially when you’re not fond of selling yourself or trying to get a stranger to buy a product. It’s a special type of person who not only enjoys enticing people to buy their products, but who can also smile in the face of rejection. I disliked going door-to-door as a young boy and selling things. … Continue reading Self-Marketing a Self-Published Novel
Coming Soon: Honey Ko, A Novel
Thank You
Thank you to everyone who read, liked, and commented on my recent flurry of Novel posts. Most were long reads–over 2,000 words–so I appreciate that you took the time to read them. I’ve finished revising the novel from third-person POV to first-person POV and the difference is remarkable. It was a lot of work, but the story is now a much better read. I’m working … Continue reading Thank You
My Spanish Love
I wondered for a moment if she were kneeling, perhaps stocking the shelves, she barely peeked over the bar, but her Spanish green eyes were bright when she smiled and she told me she didn’t live far; she reached to my shoulders in her bare feet, not much higher in heels, and from my towering perch I never mentioned the few stray, white hairs she couldn’t … Continue reading My Spanish Love
My Restless Muse
The rain is come, the day is drear, I must be dreaming of you dear; It’s days like this, I treasure most, Floating echoes of my restless host. When we met, I found my muse, Sheltered by whispered I love you’s; Shrinking from, the spilling clouds, I pulled you from the phobic crowds. Purposeless, and aimless thought, In my arms your love is caught; Your … Continue reading My Restless Muse
Critique My Pitch: Part Four, A Wished-For Love
“Two dead women, a death in Vietnam, and an infant hastily given up for adoption stand between Aida and marriage to Tom, the man of her dreams.” This is the pitch I’m using in the pitch event over at SavvyAuthors blog. The Pitch Event runs through midnight 17 September. You may pitch to both agents and publishers. Continue reading Critique My Pitch: Part Four, A Wished-For Love
Critique My Pitch, Part Three: A Wished-For Love
“Decades after their tragic deaths, two women haunt the lives of two men broken by grief and a hasty adoption. One of the men finally comes to terms with his loss and finds love again. One cannot.” I didn’t provide a description of my story in previous posts, so I’ve added one here to help you critique my pitch. You’ll note there are two Susannas. … Continue reading Critique My Pitch, Part Three: A Wished-For Love
Critique My Pitch, Part Two: A Wished-For Love
“Two dead women stand between Aida and marriage to Tom, the man of her dreams.” Thank you to everyone who commented on my original pitch. This is my latest draft. Comments and suggestions welcome! Continue reading Critique My Pitch, Part Two: A Wished-For Love
Critique My Pitch: A Wished-For Love
Critique this! Does this query pitch pique your interest? “Crippled with grief after his fiancée’s death, Tom Nelson shuns love lest he betray Susanna’s memory. When he meets Aida, he finds love again, but will Susanna let him go?” Continue reading Critique My Pitch: A Wished-For Love
Pitch: A Wished-For Love
This is the Pitch I submitted to two agents yesterday: Pitch: Decades after their tragic deaths, two women haunt the lives of three men separated by grief and a hasty adoption for twenty-three years. Two of the men come to terms with their loss and find love again. Sam will mourn forever. I’m going to poke my eyes out now…. Continue reading Pitch: A Wished-For Love
A Wished-For Love, Second Beta Review
I can’t count the times I’ve been asked by a writer to provide “an honest” critique or review of his work. Invariably, I think to myself, “What? I’m going to give you a dishonest review? I’m going to lie to you?” I think what they mean is they don’t want me to spare their feelings. I never ask for an honest critique. Last month, I … Continue reading A Wished-For Love, Second Beta Review
Editing — A Wished-For Love
I read constantly that editing is hard. No. Editing is not hard. Writing is hard. Editing is tedious. Excruciatingly boring. Gut-wrenchingly, the-sun-is-shining-for-the-first-time-in-weeks, birds-are-singing, optimism-is-everywhere, but-I’m-stuck-behind-this-desk-in-pursuit-of-my-laudable-goal, boring. Oh, look; Gone With the Wind is on TV! Oh, oh, oh! A Gilligan’s Island rerun marathon! Continue reading Editing — A Wished-For Love
Susanna X
Aida was the one all along, Susanna. Yes, Tomás. She has given me the half of my heart I buried with you. Yes, Tomás. I knew love would come to you again. I grieved so long for you, Susanna. Yes, Tomás. Too long. Aida makes me feel like you and I are together again. I know, Tomás. I can’t bring you back, Susanna, so I … Continue reading Susanna X
Write Tight
Writer’s dilemmas are a part of writing. They occur with every well-thought out novel. If you don’t find yourself boxed in somehow, then you probably have not written a plot complex enough to grab the reader and hold her attention. Plots should resemble life in its complexities. They need twists and turns, unexpected outcomes, surprises, and falls from cliffs with protagonists clinging by fingertips to … Continue reading Write Tight
Sasi and Tom, A Wished-For Love, Chapter Twenty-One
I’m pretty happy with this chapter 🙂 Ten minute read Tom grinned when Sasi waved and called to him from her balcony. He returned her wave and walked faster. When he looked again she had gone. He pushed through the revolving door and strode through the lobby to the elevator. The clerk called to him but the words didn’t register. The elevator doors opened and … Continue reading Sasi and Tom, A Wished-For Love, Chapter Twenty-One
Sasi II
From Chapter Twenty-One of A Wished-For Love She turned to face the sea and he joined her, standing so close that their shoulders bumped. He inhaled the thick, jasmine scent of her perfume. The nearness of her body sent a thrill through him, lifting the hairs on the back of his neck. The thrill passed, but the feeling remained, a warmth that seemed to buzz … Continue reading Sasi II
Tom and Sasi
Chapter Twenty-two from “A Wished-For Love.” 2,929 words. Tom looked up to Sasi’s balcony on the top floor directly over the pool. He wasn’t surprised to see her waving and calling to him. He returned her wave and walked faster. When he looked again she had gone. He pushed through the revolving door and strode through the lobby. The clerk called out but Tom ignored … Continue reading Tom and Sasi
The Wedding Band
They bury their dead in vaults. Long rows of casket-sized holes stacked six bodies high. Mourners shuffle along behind the men struggling beneath the weight, the dead weight, inside the casket. Mostly, they do. Her casket was featherlight, the body inside so nearly weightless it seemed heartless to call it dead weight. The men carrying her body stood ramrod straight, as men are wont to do … Continue reading The Wedding Band
George, Part I
Tom had the cavernous C-130 cargo bay to himself. He wrapped a wool US-issue blanket around his shoulders and stretched out on the webbed jump seats to read. The low hum of the turboprop engines lulled him to sleep after a few paragraphs. He woke to the loadmaster shaking his shoulder. “Hey.” The crewman raised his voice over the sound of the engines. “We’re twenty … Continue reading George, Part I
Sasi Part I
After finishing the letter, Tom unpacked and showered. Refreshed and dressed – jeans, loose shirt, flip-flops, and sunglasses, he stepped out of his room and walked to the lobby. A new desk clerk was on duty. He gave her his room key. She was beautiful, tall for a Thai woman. Her black, braided hair was wrapped around her head. She smiled at him. “Yes, sir?” “May … Continue reading Sasi Part I
Sasi Part II
“You’ll have to tell me how to make a gimlet.” Tom spoke from behind the bar as he opened the refrigerator. “I may have tasted one, but I’ve never made one.” He removed a pitcher of sangria and poured a glassful. “I think I’ll have sangria instead of beer.” “One part sweetened lime juice, four parts gin,” Sasi said. “Add a slice of lime too. No rocks. … Continue reading Sasi Part II
Susanna IX
Is she the one, Susanna? I do not know, Tomás You must know, Susanna. Why, Tomás? She makes me think of you. She is not me. I want you back, Susanna. I’m dead, Tomás. You died too soon. Yes. Why? Why? Tell me. It was my time to die. It isn’t fair. Life is not always fair. Sasi makes me feel the way you did. … Continue reading Susanna IX
Lamao Limay
*Third line of each stanza is read rapidly without pause. Smiles are bright on brown faces I have known, eyes crinkled against the sun; Home is a shack with thatch for a roof and a barrel that caches the rain as it runs; An old woman sifts rice in the shade of acacia as her husband and sons fish from a boat not far from … Continue reading Lamao Limay
Pitching to Agents: My Duh Moment
Hello lovely people, I received another polite frownie-button rejection email today. That brings me to five rejections from twenty-two submissions. That’s okay, though. I never expected my journey to be easy, and I expected rejections. That’s the way it is. However, rejection doesn’t have to lead to dejection. I may feel otherwise if I reach one-hundred submissions without having an agent fly to … Continue reading Pitching to Agents: My Duh Moment
Pitching to Agents: Lessons Learned
Dear lovely people, I’ve submitted my query letter for Honey Ko to twenty-two literary agents since May 9th. I’ve received four rejections so far, which is pretty good considering all agency websites inform you that, due to the high volume of submissions, they cannot respond to every submission. They tell you they can only respond if they want the writer to provide more information, as … Continue reading Pitching to Agents: Lessons Learned
Literary Agent Pitch for Honey Ko
Dear lovely people, What do you think? Does my pitch grab you by the lapels and make you shout, “OMG! I have to read this book NOW!” Let me know what you think. “Dual timelines carry the reader on an emotional journey of love and betrayal, loss and discovery as two couples, threatened by forces of nature and war, find love while confronting weakness of … Continue reading Literary Agent Pitch for Honey Ko
Writers Envy 