Happy New Year! - My Top Ten Books Of 2015

Well, it’s just ahead of us. I’m talking about 2016, of course. In fact, in just nine hours (here on the United States’ east coast, anyway), we’ll be toasting 2015 out and welcoming 2016 in. So, before I go no, let me say Happy New Year! I wish you a healthy, happy and successful 2016. 

This is also the time of year when all the various Top Ten lists come out in magazines, newspapers, entertainment and news shows and, of course, blogs. Not wanting to be left behind, as I do every year, here is my Top Ten list of books from 2015. Well, they’re the top ten of the books that I read in 2015 so some of them may have been published in previous years.  Anyway, here they are. Maybe you read some of them this past year too.

1. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami. Translated by Philip Gabriel. Vintage Paperback, 2015 (First published in 2013)

2. Monkey King, volume 19: Masters and Disciples by Wei Dong Chen, Chao Peng (illustrator). JR Comic, 2012.

3. The Stranger by Harlan Coben. Dutton Hardcover, 2015.

4. The Wicked Will Rise (Dorothy Must Die #2) by Danielle Paige. Harper Collins, 2015.

5. Saints (Boxers &Saints #2) by Gene Luen Yang. First Second Paperback, 2013.

6. Boxers (Boxers &Saints #1) by Gene Luen Yang. First Second Paperback, 2013.

7. The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri. Vintage Paperback, 2014.

8. Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña. G. P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, 2015.

9. Tina’s Mouth: An Existential Comic Dairy by Keshni Kashyap, Mark Araki (illustrator). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Hardcover, 2012.

10. 1Q84 (1Q84 #1-3) by Haruki Murakami. Knopf ebook, 2011.

Honourable Mentions: The Young Elites (The Young Elites #1) by Marie Lu, Star Wars: Aftermath by Chuck Wendig, We Are In A Book by Mo Willems, Guardian (Proxy #2) by Alex London

Review: "Champion" by Marie Lu

Daniel Altan Wing isn't the only champion here. Marie Lu is one as well - of the YA dystopian genre. She has managed to conclude the Legend series without declining the intensity of the story and without deviating from the core of her characters' - Day's and June's  - identities. She's maintained the tone of the series throughout all three books - something I felt was lost in the final books of The Hunger Games and Divergent trilogies (just for the record, though, I did enjoy those series as well; just not the third books as much I did in this one).  

Lu also manages to keep the genre fresh. With more and more YA dystopian novels coming out, and many with strong female protags and with the Legend trilogy coming out so soon on the heels of The Hunger Games and side-by-side with Divergent, Lu's voice and vision avoids the reader from developing a feeling of 'been there, done that.' 

Great stuff! I'm very much looking forward to what Lu gives us next; perhaps a Legend spinoff with Tess as the protag or something new set inside a video game. Whatever it is, I know I'll be getting a copy on release day.

Review: Proxy by Alex London

In a word, Alex London's Proxy is 'lux.'

I didn't know anything about Proxy when I first saw it at Barnes and Noble. The YA sci-fi dystopian was in its own display rack, adjacent to the other teen and YA books, and its shiny cover, with mirror image faces, like when you look into a brook, and catchy one word title caught my attention. So, I walked over and grabbed a copy. Then I flipped it over to read the book blurb but what I found was not the book blurb but, probably something more influential. (When I was growing up, book blurbs seemed always to be on the back cover. Nowadays, with hardbacks anyway, sometimes they're on the front flap.) My instinct to turn to the back, then, wasn't fluke or happenstance. What I found was advance praise from two authors who are among my favourites; authors who've been very supportive of my own work and one of them is someone I've  studied under - Marie Lu (Legend, Prodigy) and Matt de la Peña (Ball Don't Lie, Mexican WhiteBoy, The Living). Seeing their endorsements of Mr. London's Proxy was enough for me to buy the book and, once I turned the final page, I am (not surprisingly) glad to report that both endorsements are spot on.

In a future  where the rich have everything and the poor much less of it - strikingly similar to our world in 2013 - the rich have the additional luxury of having their debts and punishments satisfied by someone else. Hence the title. But as things come to a head that even Knox, one of the book's protagonists - the rich one - can't simply turn the other way and let the system run as it normally does, he decides to help his proxy, Syd, escape from one destiny to fulfill another. Accompanying them is Marie, another affluent member of society, who has her own set of reasons to flee the city for the outskirts of a deserted wasteland in search of the rebel group known as The Rebooters. Pursued by Knox's powerful father on one side and underground mercenaries, The Maes, on the other Syd, Knox and Marie undergo a breathtaking, twist-turning series of adventures that sets the stage for volume two in the series. For those of you of a certain age and who enjoyed the movie Logan's Run, reading Proxy made me, on more than one occasion, think about the 1970s sci-fi thriller. I emailed Mr. London and asked if the movie had served as any kind of inspiration. He replied by telling me it hadn't, since he hadn't seen it, although he did say he may need to watch it since I wasn't the first one to bring up this similarity. Publisher's Weekly did so in its review. 

Proxy is a fast read, with its exciting storyline and (gentle) slap in the face twists. Mr. London deftly executes page turning excitement with efficient, yet, illustrative sentences and relatively short chapters; the average being about 10-12 pages long. One of the passages that stuck out for me the moment I read it and echoed in my head every time a Guardian appeared happens on page 174. As Syd and Knox begin their escape, one of The Guardians, the police force who are genetically manipulated to be strong, fast, single-minded in their approach and gorgeous to look at, pursues the two boys. Mr. London describes her pursuit like this: "She moved with  the easy grace of practiced violence. She was built to catch them. This was her nature." 

In addition to the action, Mr. London sends each character on arcs that happen naturally. Nothing in Proxy feels forced and the way he weaves in the dynamic of teenagers getting to know one another, in spite of the life-threatening circumstances surrounding them, possesses something natural that further pulls you into their story. In a word, Mr. London's starring characters -Syd, Knox, Marie - are believable and because of that you feel for them and you root for them.

In his endorsement on the back cover, Mr. de la Peña uses the word "groundbreaking" and, indeed, Proxy is. There are certain traits about each character that we don't often see - at least not obviously and/or with main characters - in other popular YA fiction. Additionally, Mr. London appears to have made a blatant decision to diversify in the ethnicities of his characters and the trappings of his novel. Yet, he does this without stereotype or alienation. There is nothing token about Mr. London's work. Yiddish plays a big part in the novel. Marie's father's name is Dr. Xiao Alvarez. There is a (secondary) major character with dreadlocks. Syd is described as having darker skin. One of the teachers in Syd's school is Indian and so too might be Mr. Baram, Syd's friend and employer; although with what you'll learn about him, he could be Israeli or Jewish. Moreover, while you can identify who the bad guys are and who the good guys are, each character is complex in that they all show traits and reactions from both sides of the right/wrong spectrum. 

I didn't know, when I finished reading Proxy, if it was a standalone novel or the first in a series. After reading the final sentence, I hoped it was a standalone. I say that ironically, though, as I am currently writing the first book in two different series. Obviously, I don't have anything against a book series. However, the ending of Proxy is so powerful that I liked the idea of  the reader having to think about and decide for him or herself what happens to the characters and the world in which they live. Such is the skill with which Mr. London writes, however, because the ending deftly leaves itself open to being continued while, at the same time, the entire story could end where it does without leaving the reader dissatisfied.

Even though I hoped Proxy, based on its ending, was a standalone, I am very much looking forward to reading the Guardian, book two in the series. If you're fan of of Ms. Lu's Prodigy, Veronica Roth's Divergent and, of course, Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games, as I am, once you've read Proxy, you'll be adding Alex London to your list of favourite authors. 

One Year On - Ten Things I Learnt The Year After My Book Came Out

 One Year On - Ten Things I Learnt In The Year After My Book Came Out

A year ago, on 7 February, my debut novel, Back Kicks And Broken Promises, came out. After years writing and creating several versions of the work, and after thoughtful feedback from fellow writers, I decided on first person POV and a linearly told story. Also, after some positive responses, over three years of trying to solicit an agent but failing to do so, I decided to self-publish and get my book ‘out there.’ Overall, I’m happy with my decision to go indie but, as with anything else, hindsight is twenty/twenty and there were some lessons learnt.

Here are the ten most influential things I learnt about the publishing process and myself, as a writer, over the last twelve months. For those of you who’ve already published, indie or traditional, they might be lessons you’ve yet to learn or they might be things that happened to you as well. And, if that’s the case, feel reassured that you’re not alone. If you’ve yet to publish, maybe my experience may benefit you as you forge ahead in publishing your own work.

1. Believe in myself. When I began the publishing process, and after my novel came out, every discussion I had with a rep from the publisher, every production item I approved (cover, inside layout, etc), every email I sent to a bookseller, I left with feelings of doubt. I second-guessed everything. After all, who would want to read anything I’d written? What did I know about any of this, having never done it before? I kept thinking that anyone I tried to promote my novel to would think that I was just some guy who wrote a book - and, everyone can write a book, right? Big deal. But, once I calmed myself down, I reminded myself that I’d taken this book through three rounds of workshops at The Gotham Writer’s Workshop in New York City, one of the best (my and others’ opinions) and most respected writing programs around. I’d done the hard work. No one panned my work and some of my fellow writers even picked out sections they really liked. I also realised that my book does not define me as a person. The book that came out last year, Back Kicks And Broken Promises, is fiction, while also being semi-autobiographical. In that regard, it is very personal. I also put a lot of my life into the writing and production of the book but, even then, if it’s hated or loved that doesn’t meant I’m hated or loved. As a writer, I can be judged by my work and how it moves the reader but it doesn’t define me as a man.

2. Promotion is hard. I knew, going indie, that I was going to be responsible for the promotion of my book. Even some traditionally published authors have to do their own promoting. From what I’ve read and heard at conferences, it’s the big names - the Kings, Rowlings, Meyers, Picoults, Franzens, etc - who get their publicity done for them. Even then, some of are still doing their own promoting. Many of us who indie-publish still work a day job (and maybe a night or second part-time job) and, like everyone else, we have other parts of our lives that need to be taken care of. So, promoting one’s work can, sometimes, be that ‘extra’ thing to be done at the end of an already long and arduous day. Nonetheless, it has to be done. A Facebook page, a website, a blog and a Twitter account are the minimum you’ll need. You’ll need to build your platform; the 'who you are, what you’re about' centre of your writing and public persona. Do all of that even before you get your book into a publisher or agent’s hands.

3. Print out pages. I thought I was being efficient when I reviewed the PDF copy my publisher sent me on my laptop. Papers can get bulky and we’re in the ‘e age’ anyway, right? On some level, too, I thought I was saving money. However, looking back, I regret not printing out a hardcopy. PDFs don’t always look like a Word document. They’re not brightly lit. It looks like the page in a book and, sometimes, on the screen, unless you magnify a lot, they can be hard to read. Add to that, I probably need a new glasses prescription and I do most of my writing at 3am, with tired eyes, so I was bound to make mistakes and miss things. A writer will always miss stuff in his own work. That’s normal but it doesn’t help when he doesn’t review the final copy the properly. As a result of my efforts at being efficient, I discovered some typos in the final product that I need to correct. And I will correct them but that’s another out of pocket expense with the publisher. If I had printed out pages, I might have caught more of the errors I missed.
4. Have a budget before you start (It doesn’t have to be a big one). When I decided to self-publish, it was the end of the summer. It wasn’t until the following December and January when I had to start paying for things. The money was there for the publishing process. It’s the after stuff where a pre-determined budget comes in handy. Revisions (beyond the free first round), promotion, entering contests for self-published books, paying for book reviews (from companies like Kirkus Indie or Blue Ink) are where the budget will really be needed. Treat your writing as a business, if you’re looking to make a profit, from the start and not just after the book comes out.

5. POD (Print-On-Demand) pricing can be prohibitive. I published through Abbott Press, A Writer’s Digest Company, and I’m very happy with what they did for me and for my book. Probably, the only thing I wasn’t happy with is the retail price of my books. The ebook, at $3.99, isn’t bad. The hardcover, though, at $39.99, and the paperback ($22.99) are not so favourable. It was explained tome that the number of pages of my novel and because of the POD mode of publishing, the cost will be higher than traditionally published or small press books per unit for the reader. Outskirts Press, another POD company, has an option that allows the author to price his own book but it has limits and will reduce royalties. Even with this option, the price to the consumer is still on the higher end. If I indie-publish again, I might go a different route. Amazon’s Createspace, I believe, allows the author to determine his book’s prices but I think they specialize in ebook and paperback formats and not hardcover. Or, I might try a fixed run at a small press or something in the middle, like Book Baby. So, before you publish, make sure the end retail price is not going to price your book out of sales. Good writing will trump a high retail price but we live in leaner times and consumers are tighter fisted with their resources.

6. Learn formatting and industry specs. I mention this, specifically, because of my book’s cover. I’ve gotten a lot of praise for my book’s cover. And, after reading it, you’ll see how it fits nicely with the plot and theme. What I learnt about a book’s cover, when I got my feedback from the judges of The Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards, is that a book’s title should be readable from six feet away. This makes it better seen on a bookshelf, which is key if the book makes it onto a shelf in a bookstore. Unfortunately, I didn’t know this and, while my book is aesthetically and stylistically appealing, it doesn’t meet this standard.

7. Make connections. Writing is a very lonely profession. The people around me - my wife and my close friends - have been, and continue to be, very supportive. However, unless they’re also writers, I don’t think the people around us can truly appreciate the isolated and internal way of life being a writer is. Having said that, however, unless you’re Forrester, Sean Connery’s character in Finding Forrester, writers need support from other writers. Whether it’s to promote each other’s books, beta-read first drafts, offer suggestions to battle writer’s block, writers need writers. We can find each other on Twitter but, more specifically, connections are also made in website communities like The Independent Author Network, Your Book Authors, Goodreads, Scribophile, and others. More than the tangible benefits you can get from being connected to other writers, there is the sense of community you’ll feel. In addition to be pursuing a, naturally, lonely endeavour, writers also need validation. This doesn’t mean we need to be told our work is brilliant, whether it is or isn’t. Rather, it’s reassuring to know that our efforts and reasons for writing, as varied as they are, are worth something and that we are not alone, even if we’re lonely. Through the connections I’ve made and re-made since my book came out, I and/or my book has been featured in two newspapers, a magazine and reviewed once. At the time of this writing, Back Kicks And Broken Promises is being reviewed, for free, by Indiereader.com thanks to a connection I made.

8. Always have a copy of your book with you. You never know when you might be in a position to promote your work. You never know whom you might meet someone who has contacts and can/will/might talk about you and your book. Sometimes, though, you do and you’re not prepared. Last year, after reading Legend, I emailed the author, Marie Lu, to tell her how much I loved the book (her debut novel) and that I’d written a review of it. She was very flattered by my review and since then we’ve had some Twitter and e-mail exchanges; enough, I think, to the point that she might actually recognize my name. Well, shortly after our first email exchange, she gave a reading and book signing with three other authors in New York City. When I lined up to get my copy of Legend signed, Marie looked at me with recognition, probably from my Twitter picture. As we chatted, she asked if I had a copy of my book. Ugh! I didn’t and I kick myself (metaphorically) every time I think about this episode in my life. Having had a copy of my book to give her might not have led to anything but, then again, who knows? The worst part about this story: I’d thought to bring one then I decided against it, fearing I’d come across as presumptuous. Then, I decided to bring it anyway but I left it on my dining table.

9. Enter contests. Apart from the chance you might win or place - and many contests come with some kind of publisher/agent contact as a prize - you often get valuable insights into your book and/or a review of some kind. Most require some kind of entry fee (see Number 4 above) but it’s not usually so large that it’s unaffordable. I participated in NaNoWriMo last November and I completed the challenge. I ‘won.’ I finished writing the first draft of a novel in thirty days, which has jumpstarted my writing and there are even tangible prizes that come with it. I can get free copies of my book from Createspace and there are several discounts for various writing resources, as well. So, contests and challenges are beneficial.

10. Believe in my work. As soon as my book went live, butterflies lived inside me for a good two weeks. I was filled with anxiety that no one would buy my book. I’m pretty sure that’s common for every writer. More than that, however, were feelings that the entire reading world would buy my book and call me out as a hack or fill my blog comment form and email inbox with challenges to every thought, word, reference, you name it that I put to paper. My fears, so far, haven’t come true. My book has made some sales, although VERY modest numbers, and no one has taken me to task on the content of my book. It’s fiction, after all, and semi-autobiographical at that. Even if someone were to come at it/me, I’ve come to accept that (and I knew this before) some people will love my work, some will hate it, and some will be indifferent to it. Either way, I wrote a book that has received more words of praise than otherwise and I did so with full commitment of mind, heart and soul. I hope it will entertain, educate and touch the minds and hearts of its reader and, from the feedback I’ve gotten, it has done that.

So, that’s what I’ve learnt about writing, publishing and myself since my book came out a year ago. As I work on my next book, the first in a Chinese-American fantasy series, I have some wisdom to turn to and an awareness of things to do, do better and to avoid. I don’t plan on indie-publishing for my next book, but I didn’t either for my debut novel. Hopefully, I’ll catch the proverbial break and get agent representation and a book deal. In the meantime, I’m going to tap my keys like the rest of us.

I hope what you’ve read here is useful in as you pursue your writing endeavours. If you have insights of your own, please share.

Happy writing all!

Getting Giddy Over Books And Movies

Getty Giddy Over Books And Movies

I read a lot because I enjoy it. I also read because I'm a writer and writers need to read. So, it was with extra excitement that I picked up Prodigy, Marie Lu's follow up to her highly successful and acclaimed debut novel, Legend; a book I read last year and absolutely loved. Prodigy came out yesterday and, at my first opportunity, I ran out to my local bookstore (less than a quarter mile from where I teach) and got it. The store had one copy and now it's mine. Legend came out in the fall of 2011. I read it in January 2012 and waited a year, with other Legend/Marie Lu fans, for Prodigy to come out.

Lu's Legend, which is the subject of the very first book review I've ever written (click here for the review),  is so engaging, interestingly written with two superb protagonists, that it was with great anticipation that I counted down the days until Prodigy was released. And, forty-some pages in, it's living up to its predecessor. If I wasn't before, I'm definitely a Marie Lu fan now; although anyone who knows me and/or has read my posts, knows I already was.

The last time I was this excited for something like this, counting the days like a child waiting for Christmas morning, was when I found out that The Life Of Pi, another of my favourite books, was being made into a movie. Before that, off the top of my head, it was with the release of Episode I: The Phantom Menace, the first movie in the prequel trilogy of George Lucas' Star Wars movies. Since Prodigy has come out, and I have it, my next countdown is for the first movie of the upcoming Star Wars sequel trilogy to come out. And, with J. J. Abrams who, in my opinion, hasn't produced anything bad, signed on to direct, I'm doubly giddy.

On some level, as a forty-three year old husband and father, who worries about keeping his family housed, clothed and fed, I feel a little silly being childishly excited about the release of movies and books. You'd think as a writer, I wouldn't feel silly about getting excited about books but, sometimes, I do. I know they aren't mutually exclusive - being excited about such things and worrying about the banal things in our lives - but sometimes I feel guilty if I'm not worrying about world peace, my son's future, the state of our economy, war in the middle east, etc. On another level, however, I'm glad I get this chuffed or, as we say in Tagalog, gigil, about these, for lack of a better word, trivial things. I think it keeps me young, shows my son that life is to be enjoyed, and it reminds me to see the lighter side of things. And, for me, that is exceptionally important because I tend to be very serious, sometimes to the point of being glum.

So, do share. What was the last thing you got this excited about? And, if like me with Prodigy, since it's already come out, what are you counting down to now?

First Reading

So, I did my first reading the other day.

It was for Read Across America and I was asked to read for a class of eighth graders. I didn't read from my own book, however. I was asked to read when our librarian found out my novel, Back Kicks And Broken Promises, had just come out. At first, I was supposed to read from it but I decided against it for the following reasons: 1. It's not a YA book, dealing with adult issues and themes and containing adult language, that I felt it was difficult to find an appropriate passage for the students to listen to and 2. As a teacher in the building, I didn't want to get accused to soliciting on school grounds; especially since my book is intended for an older audience. 

I decided to read from Marie Lu's Legend. I really loved this book and I love seeing students reading in class when their work is completed and there's only a minute or left before dismissal and during my lunch duty when some of them are sitting with their friends reading and/or talking about what they're reading.  (I wrote a review of Legend in a previous blog post. You can find it here if you're interested.) Anyway, I chose Ms. Lu's book because it's exciting and has a male and female protagonist and I know many of my students have read The Hunger Games books and Legend would be right up their alleys. Without giving anything away, I read from an early section that sees June, the female protagonist, make a vow of vengeance. I'd asked Ms. Lu if she had any suggestions on what I should read and she was spot on with that passage. 

The class of about thirty - and the teacher and an aide - listened attentively and asked some really good questions after I was done. They asked about writing, my own book, how a book gets made into a movie and where they could get Legend. One of the students, a self-proclaimed non-reader even said that he liked it, that it sounds really good and that he might try reading it. Another student, yesterday on the way out of our cafeteria, showed me a copy he'd obtained from the local library. He said that he's really enjoying it and this particular student is an ELL (English Language Learner) student. 

It's really exciting to have seen the class's response to the reading. Legend is a fantastic novel, so it's not a surprise that they were into it, but for them to think about taking the next step and to get it and start reading was extra reward. I've been exposed to books all my life and been a reader for almost as long so to witness how a book has directly transformed someone was truly special. 

In addition to hopefully promoting reading and books and to have, maybe, converted a couple of our students from non-readers to readers, I had a lot of fun. The reading also gave me practise for if or when I get to have a reading for my own work. (I'm trying to sort out a couple of possibilities locally and I'd love to do a blog tour but nothing's materialised yet.) I'd rehearsed the passage while my wife and son were still asleep that morning so I made sure I knew exactly how I was going to read each paragraph and how to read the dialogue in the way Ms. Lu tagged how her characters say the words. I also prepped, on the drive to school, how I might answer some questions that might get asked. 

So, if I can offer a bit of advice to other newly published authors like me, it's this: read in front of an audience and any audience so you can. And, read from your work or someone else's. It's all good fun and good practise for when the reading is all about you and your book. If I ever get to have that experience, I'll let you know how it goes.

Good Advice - Write Bad Stuff

I don't consider myself to be a new writer. I am a newly published author but not a new writer. I do, however, regard myself as a writer who can still work on his craft and still has much to explore in finding his own style and voice.

As I've developed so far as a novelist, I have repeatedly been reminded - either directly by a writing group or mentor or indirectly through a conversation with someone else or by reading an article - of the most common pieces of advice: "show, don't tell," "character IS action," "everything must move the story forward," "your protagonist must have a need" and "your first draft is going to be junk and don't worry about that because you're going to edit anyway." All of this is good advice and stuff that I passed on in a recent interview I did for The Manila Bulletin (The Philippines' largest daily newspaper) and its Student and Campuses section.

One piece of advice that I heard recently, from Marie Lu, the author of Legend, at a reading and signing in New York takes the 'first draft as junk wisdom' one step further. Not only did she allude to a novel's first draft as being something that will need editing and revision, she also said that new writers should not be afraid to write bad stuff. What she meant - and the other authors in the panel (Beth Revis, Jessica Spotswood and Andrea Cremer) agreed - was for the new writer to write short stories, novellas and even novels that aren't necessarily intended for submission but for the development of the writer and his or her craft. Simply, those pieces of work become practice; the training ground that transforms the person fron writing neophyte to author.

It's like running a marathon in The Olympics. You don't just get to The Olympics. You have to train and run shorter races - 5ks and 10ks and half marathons - and even other marathons before running for your country. On race day, the marathon you've run after all that preparation is the best marathon it can be. So, it's just like writing a novel. The finished novel is the best version of that novel it can be. The author's next novel is akin to the runner's next race. With every race under his shoes, the subsequent race is tackled with more experience and, yet, because of a different venue, the changes in weather, the runner's own altered mindset and whatever other bits of wisdom the runner has gained, the new race is a better one but it is still something completely unique experience.

So, new writers, fear not. You have something to say and we, the reading world, want to read it. Just don't rush to get it out. Take your time to make it right and, in doing so, it's okay to get it wrong.

Social Media And Books Making A Connection

Social media. That’s what sites like Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook are called. However, while professionals do market their talents and products on Facebook and people do make actual friends via Twitter and LinkedIn, I dare say that Facebook is probably the one that is the most social. Social, to me, connotes a sense of personal and not professional. However, and this is going to sound contradictory, it is often through those personal connections that professional ones develop.

A week ago, I was in my local bookstore on a Saturday with my wife and son and I was hoping to catch the person who I think is the owner. I’d e-mailed him earlier in the week, announcing the upcoming release of my novel, Back Kicks And Broken Promises, and I asked if carrying my book is something he’d been interested in doing. I explained that I reside locally, that I teach in the middle school down the block and that my book is set in New Jersey. He replied with interest in carrying my book and that, perhaps, we could arrange a reading.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t there but, being a lover of books, we browsed and checked out what was new. My son sat in the children’s section and flicked through some picture books. My wife checked out the new YA books, which she’s completely into after reading the Twilight series twice and devouring The Hunger Games series in a matter of days. I checked out the fiction sections.

As I perused the shelves and displays, I noticed a poster advertising that Naomi Benaron was going to do a reading from her new book, Running The Rift, this coming Saturday. I picked up the book, about a Rwandan boy who takes up running during the height of ethnic tensions in the 1990s and how his running helps him come to terms with his own identity. I’m also a runner so I was instantly interested in Naomi’s book. My own novel deals with identity issues so I was drawn to Running The Rift for that reason as well. In 1996, I wrote a science fiction screenplay, that got some agent interest, called Aliens Among Us, Part I: Discovery. The central theme of the script is racial tolerance and ethnic cleansing. With that as its theme and having written it in the 1990s, Naomi’s novel really seemed to be calling to me on a very personal level.

My wife bought me the book and I began it immediately. It’s a wonderfully written book with exciting running segments, a main character I wish I could meet in real life and revelations of what was going on in Rwanda during the 1990s. I’m still speeding through it but I was extra motivated to finish it in time for the reading. I also found Naomi on Facebook and sent her a message letting her know that I’m enjoying her book and that I was looking forward to the reading. She replied and, unfortunately, she’s had to cancel the reading due to illness. There is another reading on Monday, February 13, in Brooklyn but I don’t think I’ll be able to get there.

We exchanged a couple of messages. She told me to introduce myself if I am able to attend and she also wished me luck with my novel and my running. About my novel, she also asked for its title so that she could pick it up. That just made my day and, in a way, my entire writing career so far. I've had Twitter chats, albeit brief ones, with Lisa See and Marie Lu and Cindy Pon, all established writers. I also know Matt de la Peña, who I regard as a writing mentor, and he endorsed my novel. As a writer, part of me feels that I should take her request in stride but Naomi’s an award winning author and her book’s gotten all sorts of praise so, for someone of that stature to ask for the title of my book so she can go pick it up, I can’t help from feeling excited. It’s like Kobe Bryant asking someone who plays pick-up basketball on the weekends to play with him and share a thing or two about the game. It’s the equivalent of Chuck Norris asking me to go to his school and teach his martial arts classes.

I guess, what I’m saying is that there is definite value in connecting through social media. Most of you reading this already know that, owning your own Twitter and Facebook accounts in addition to websites dedicated to your novels and such. I’ve never met Naomi Benaron and I can’t profess to being able to call her a friend but we are fellow writers doing something we both love while trying to earn a living - or part of a living - doing it. I feel that through the simple and personal message I sent her, as a new fan of her work, I’ve also managed to make a professional connection of some kind.

So, for those of you who are unsure about getting into Twitter and Facebook and whatever else is out there, don’t be. Yes, idiots and hackers can send you all sorts of stupid - usually pornography - links and they can get into your accounts. Just be vigilant about changing your password and login settings and don’t put anything up that you don’t want anyone to see. Really, if a hacker wants to get in they will. They’re merely the dark side to the light of those people who write the security programs to block them. Most people I know - myself included - have been victims or know someone who’s been a victim but, in the end, things are restored and fixed.

The benefits, though, are worth it. I’ve made a professional contact with a well-regarded author through Facebook. On Twitter, I’m now a part of a large community of writers, indie and traditionally published, who support each other’s endeavours. With my novel about to come out, that’s particularly important. Beyond that, I get some love and validation and support for what I’m trying to do and for those times when it becomes overwhelming to do it. You’ve got nothing to lose. Give it a shot and if you don’t like it, just like at the party whose lights have flicked ‘last call’ and the kegs are drying up, you can always leave.

For me, I’m sticking around for a while. And, who knows? Some of my online friends and connections may even become real ones.

Book Review: "Legend" by Marie Lu

Book Review: Legend by Marie Lu

In books and films, it is often a bad thing if the reader or viewer can guess what’s going to happen next or where the story is going to end. Sometimes it’s extremely difficult to tell a fresh story from a seemingly hackneyed theme; in this case, dystopia.  Sucker Punch, Terra Nova and, of course, The Hunger Games series come to mind. Picking Legend up at my nearby Barnes and Noble, knowing that it’s the first book in a series, I did turn to the first page with certain expectations for when I got to the last one. So, in that regard, there are certain things the reader can predict but it’s how Marie Lu gets there that is the brilliance of her novel – and her writing talents.

I was first attracted to Legend by its cover. The gold insignia, the sign of The Republic, caught my eye. It made me think of the Chinese character for ‘double happiness’ on boxes of matches that used to come with the cigarettes my father used to send me to pick up for him, when I was a kid in Hong Kong working as the office errand boy. (I’m glad to say that my father stopped smoking cigarettes in 1984.) Then I saw the author’s name and, as an Asian-American myself, there was greater interest in the book. A week or so later, I read a review of Legend in The New York Times’ Book Review. The reviewer stated something to the effect that Legend will fill the void of YA dystopia fans that was created by the conclusion of The Hunger Games series with the last page of Mockingjay. Coincidentally, on the visit to Barnes and Noble, I did buy a paperback of The Hunger Games. I didn’t buy Legend.

My wife read The Hunger Games in three days and went on to buy Catching Fire and Mockingjay and finished both books within the following five days. A couple of weeks later, we were Christmas shopping and ended up back at the Barnes and Noble. I handed my wife a copy of Legend, telling her what the New York Times Book Review said, and she started to read some of its pages. While playing with our son at the Lego table, she came back from the New Releases shelf grinning widely and said, “We have to get this.” And we did.

If you’ve read my blog on reading habits, you’ll know that I read four or five books at a time, devoting 15-20 minutes a day for each book. I like doing that because it keeps me reading and I get to experience a variety of books that fit in with my various tastes and moods. It also means I take longer than most to finish any one particular book. Well, just before the New Year, I started Legend and, a month later, I’ve finished it. I don’t mean that to say the other books I’m reading are badly written or aren’t holding my interest. They are all very good. I’m reading Lisa See, after all. Legend is just that good. It’s been a while since a book kept me turning its pages in such a way that Legend did; a way that makes me want to put everything else aside and just keep reading. The last books to do that for me were The Namesake (Jhumpa Lahiri) and The Road (Cormac McCarthy). Legend is in good – no, great – company.

Lu’s interpretation of Les Miserables, with Los Angeles as its backdrop and Day and June, the two protagonists, taking over for Gavroche and Eponine (Day) and Cosette and Marius (June) in combination and sometimes gender-reversing roles, is fast-paced brilliance. Each character is expertly fleshed out and complex. It’s an old story – the rich power machine versus the poor and struggling – but Lu makes it fresh by creating characters with which the reader can sympathise and emphathise. There is nothing gratuitous in Legend and Lu sets up every twist and turn with meaningful and exciting – sometimes jaw-dropping – payoffs. Whether you enjoy YA books or not, Legend is a must read. It’s entertaining, exciting, well-paced and visual. To say the least, it’s simply a page-turner. It’s excellent, excellent stuff. (That’s two superlatives, folks.) She also tells the story from both protagonists’ points of view, switching between each character in alternating chapters, without repetition of thought or action. She moves the story forward deftly and seamlessly. Reading Legend is like hanging out with Day and June, listening to them tell the same story without skipping a beat or missing a detail.

As I mentioned earlier, The New York Times reviewer said that Legend will fill the void, for fans of YA dystopia, created by the end of The Hunger Games series. Generally, I don’t like to compare books and authors. I believe they all need and deserve to stand on their own and be liked or disliked on their own merits. However, with the Times’ juxtaposition of Legend with the successfully popular series and all the excitement and praise The Hunger Games has received, I can’t help from making my own comparison of sorts. I haven’t read The Hunger Games yet but it’s next on my list of reads for 2012. Lu informed me, in a quick Twitter exchange, that the follow up book to Legend will be coming out this fall. I wish I didn’t have to wait. I wish I could get hold of an advance copy or galley. Unfortunately, I don’t have the resources at my disposable to do that. In the meantime, I hope The Hunger Games can fill the void left by my finishing Legend.

Postscript: Legend has been picked up by CBS Films for a slated 2013 movie release. Naturally, I’m very excited to see the film version and, with Marie Lu on board as an executive producer, I’m sure it’s going to be a great success that maintains her tone and vision. I’m also a big fan of Avatar: The Last Airbender and I was equally excited for the movie to come out. Sadly, in so many ways, I was disappointed. The casting, in particular, left much to be desired.  Please, Ms. Lu, make sure the casting stays true to your vision and doesn’t fall prey to Hollywood’s whims and/or its deep pockets.

Reading Habits

During my time off from work, in addition to the holiday prepping and celebrating, I was able to really delve into my Twitter account, read posts and accompanying links without being rushed, and make new connections while promoting my upcoming debut novel, Back Kicks And Broken Promises. One of the connections I made was with another author and blogger who very kindly said he'd profile me in his blog's spotlight of new indie authors when my book's out. Naturally, I took him up on his offer and promised to send him a copy when my novel's ready.

Looking at his Twitter profile, he describes himself as an 'avid reader.' I like that and I have been called one myself. It got me to thinking, though. What is an 'avid reader' and am I one? As a writer and lover of books and words, I should be one I think. Primarily, I read for entertainment but, as a writer, I also read for research, style, motivation, inspiration and comparison.

These days, I'm reading Inheritance, the concluding book in Christopher Paolini's fantasy series that started with Eragon; Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See; Age Is Just A Number: Achieve Your Dreams At Any Stage In Your Life by Olympian Dara Torres; Legend by Marie Lu; and The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks. That's five books. The way I do it is by reading 15-20 (sometimes more) minutes a day of each book. There are some days when I read much more because I'm so drawn in. Other days, I don't get to some or any of them because I'm swamped and, to be completely honest, on some days I just want to sit on the sofa and catch up on something I've got on DVR or play a little FIFA 12 on my Wii. I finish everything I start reading but sometimes it takes me a long time to finish a book or two. I started Vikram Chandra's Sacred Games in 2009 and finished it just last autumn. In between I did start and finish other books (about 20) in a more reasonable time.

My wife, however, reads one book at a time. If she feels like she needs a break from it, she'll take one and go onto another book. She always goes back and finishes what she started but she'll jump around somewhat. Recently, though, I bought The Hunger Games. It was on sale so I jumped at buying it. I was going to anyway, at some point, but the sale price made me go ahead and buy it when I did even though I was already reading several books and didn't play on starting it until I was done with one of my current books. My wife, who also wanted to read it, picked it up and finished it in three days. She went on to buy Catching Fire and Mockingjay and devoured both of them within the remaining four days of the same week. Now she's back to the third Tattoo Girl book, which she'd started but had to put down after devouring the first two a few months ago because she needed a break from those characters. When she's done with that, she'll likely pick up Legend. After that, she might take a break from reading for a bit before jumping onto something else. She's also currently breezing through the Twilight books to get full appreciation of the nuances of the characters that aren't revealed in the movies.

So, I'm just curious. Which one of us is the avid reader? Are both of us? Or, is being an avid reader something that has neither a wrong nor a right way about it? Sometimes, as a writer, I feel like I'm supposed to be reading all the time and, perhaps, I should only be reading certain books - like those in the genre of my work in progress or by authors whose style, genre or tone my work is similar to.

From the writing workshops I've taken, the coolest bit of advice I got is that, while there are rules to writing, the rules can be broken. I suppose reading - and reading as a writer - follows the same approach. The other thing that all writers are told to do: JUST WRITE. I guess the same can be said for reading, too. JUST READ.

What are your reading habits? Are you an avid reader?