Tribute to Pele

Pele 

(Edson Arantes do Nascimento 

23 October 1940 – 29 December 2022)

 

I never saw him play live, in person or on TV, but for a long time after I was introduced to football he was the standard by which all footballers were measured. I’m writing, of course, of The King – Pele. I’m not going to go through his history in this blog post. Pele’s life story is well documented and easily accessible.  I’m merely going to express what he meant to me, as he did to the majority of football-loving fans, young and old, around the world. 

 

When I first heard about Pele, he was already playing for the New York Cosmos, the star-studded marquee team of the former NASL (North American Soccer League). I did get to watch the Cosmos play live on a vacation to the United States in 1982. My brother and I went while my sister and parents went to see a Broadway or Off-Broadway play. I think they went to see The Fantasticks.Around the same time, the movie Escape to Victory (released in some outlets as Victory) came out. It stars Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine, and a bunch of footballers (Ossie Ardilles, Russell Osman, John Wark, Sir Bobby Moore, to name a few) playing prisoners of war during World War II. The movie was about their exploits playing a match against the German team and planning their escape with the help of the French resistance. Pele played one of the POWs. I recall his character being from Trinidad. 

 

While the movie is obviously scripted and choreographed, it’s evident that Pele was artistry in motion. Watching news reel footage of his career in various stages, you can see how his levels of brilliance, creativity, grace, and beauty never waned. They just became more amazing as he got older and became the legend that he is. I recently saw a post on Facebook showing clips of Pele doing all the amazing things that today’s stars do. The clip was called something like ‘Pele did it first’ and, while I admire Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, and others for what they’ve done in their careers and what they do on the pitch, for me, Pele will always be the best. The only player to have won the World Cup three times, he set the standard. He was the best. To use today’s parlance, Pele is the goat. To paraphrase Neymar, who tweeted after Pele’s passing, football was just a sport before Pele. Pele turned it into art and entertainment. Due to Pele’s magnificence, the number 10 shirt became something to covet and something to fear. If you were given the number 10 to wear, it meant you were different, special, and big things were expected of you. Pele is to football what Muhammad Ali is to boxing and Bruce Lee to martial arts. In my opinion, as a form of tribute, it would be fitting to acknowledge the impact Pele had on football if for the remainder of the current football season around the world all players wore black armbands and there were a moment of silence before every match. 

 

As I grew into football, as a fan (I support Arsenal and Hamburger SV), player (I played during my school days for Island School (Hong Kong) and in a local grass roots league organised by some of my schoolmates), and coach (Hanover Park HS Boys Junior Varsity, Passaic County Community College Men, Solomon Schechter Day School Boys and Girls Varsity), I learnt of other legendary players (such as Franz Beckenbauer, Eusebio, Johan Cruyff, The Charlton brothers, George Best) who elevated football. Eventually rising stars became the talk of the media, claiming Pele’s mantle as the ‘best ever.’ There were Zico and Diego Maradona, who I was fortunate to see live in Hong Kong when he was still playing for Boca Juniors. Around the same time, there was Michel Platini wowing football fans with his skill and cool demeanour. Then came the likes of George Weah, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho. A little after came Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, both many consider are the best to ever play the beautiful game. Crossing with their careers came Neymar and Mbappe, already a star at twenty-four years of age and sure to lead the next generation. Mbappe is a two-time World Cup finalist (winner in 2018 and runner-up in 2022) and has already surpassed many of Pele’s World Cup exploits.

 

All these players and all players around the world, all fans of every generation owe Pele a giant thank you. He may not have been the reason we got into football but I’m sure he’s a reason – if not THE reason – we love it. He inspired the players who came after him. So, too, were the ones he played with and against. If for nothing else, Pele motivated them to be better.

 

More than football, although some would argue what else is there other than football, Pele brought the world together with his infectious good nature, professing words of peace and love, and brandishing his trademark smile. He was an ambassador. He promoted the game he loved and now we love it too. He promoted humanity and love and peace through that game and you can see, in video clips and interviews, the innocence and unadulterated joy on his face when he talks about these things. It’s the same feelings one gets when watching him play and the elation on his face when he scores. He had the talent on the pitch. He had the humility on and off the pitch. He had the love for all mankind and he made us love him in return. He had longevity, sharing all of this and himself with us for eighty years. In all of these, he will be missed.

 

Thank you, Pele. God bless you and your family. Rest in peace. On behalf of those of us you’ve left behind, I promise that we will do our best to be worthy of being the custodians of your beautiful game.

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!

A Year in a Writer's Life - 2012

Last year, I did a two-part post on my birthday that looked back on my successes and failures of the previous twelve months. Since turning forty - well, since my mid-thirties, really - I've been looking back, taking strolls down memory lane, to see what I've done, where I've been and how I've ended up where I am. In doing so, I've tried to assess the things I've done well and succeeded in and the things I've totally botched up and failed in and sometimes miserably.

 

So, turning forty-four a week ago, I've been thinking about these things yet again. And, this year, they're more impacting. I don't know if that is because my successes and failures - particularly my failures - mean more because of my age. They seem more depressing because, even though I'm still young, with every passing year there's less time to turn those failures into successes. Perhaps, it's because next year is the midpoint year of my fifth decade and I'm feeling pressure to have made an impact on this world in a small or - why not? - large way.  I remember how glum I was turning forty. I can only speculate that turning forty-five on 31 January, 2014 isn't exactly going to be any better. The following May, my wife and I will celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary. So, next year, is a big year for us. But that's next year. This year is still young and will, hopefully, see more successes than failures.

In the meantime, though, here's a look back on 2012.

January -

2012 was, in the Chinese Lunar Calendar, the Year of the Dragon. The dragon, the animal in Chinese mythology that represents the highest ideals, made 2012 a year full of optimism and bullishness. And, things looked that way for me. In the year's first month, I reconnected with a former student - someone I hadn't see or been in touch with since 1999 - and he became a major help in the promotion of my book. Ryan, my former student, is now a successful boxing pundit who lives half the year in New York and half the year in Manila. Yes, he's Fil-Am like I am. Funnily, reconnecting with him also saw me reconnecting with another Filipino writer, Carissa Villacorta. In 2006, Carissa and I connected via email about her book, Serendipity. It was by chance, in casual conversation, when I discovered that Ryan and Carissa are an item. So, 2012 was looking up. Connecting with fellow Filipino-American writers boosted my excitement that 2012 was going to be a good year for me as a writer.

February -

My writing took a boost in February when my debut novel, Back Kicks And Broken Promises, came out. Naturally, and I'm sure my fellow writers, especially the indie authors, will relate to how I checked my book's sales ranks in every outlet that was carrying it. I was very excited to find out that W. H. Smith, England's Barnes And Noble, had it in its database. I was equally excited - and very pleasantly surprised - to discover that an outlet in India is selling my book, too! (Now, if I can only get it to stores - even if  just online - in The Philippines and Hong Kong (where I was born and where I grew up and call home, respectively) I'll be really happy.

February was extra special because my niece from England, my eldest sister's daughter, came to visit us. It was her first time in America and she'd come for a dance show/audition being given by a K-Pop group. During my niece's week with us, Legend and Prodigy author, Marie Lu, with writers Beth Revis, Jessica Spottswood and Andrea Cremer gave a reading and Q&A in New York. Having just finished reading Legend, and loving it, I HAD to go. And I did, bringing my wife, son and niece with me. Before going, Marie and I had exchanged some tweets and, when I got to meet her, it was with a sense that she knew who I was or, at least, recgonised my name. Naturally, that made me feel great but it also made me feel a part of the larger writing community. Like a dope, I'd forgotten to bring a copy of my book with me. It wasn't until I was on the train that I realised I'd left it at home. I think, subconsciously, I didn't want to appear presumptuous but I felt instant regret, and anger at myself for not bringing my book, when Marie asked if I had a copy. Argh! Despite that, it was a great night.

While not wanting to be pushy by bringing my book, perhaps I was too pushy in trying to get my book into a couple of stores. Or, maybe, because it's indie-published it was doomed from getting onto a bookshelf from the start. I'd made contact with a couple of local bookstores and they said they'd love to carry my book, especially since I'm local; my book is set in New Jersey, etc. Well, as you can imagine, my book never got on any of their shelves; although I do know of some people who've ordered it from them.

February saw me do my first two author interviews. One was for The Filipino Reporter by my friend (and former student) Ryan. The other was via email for The Manila Bulletin. The Bulletin interview was extra special because that newspaper, the largest daily in The Philippines, came to me. It was until recently that I found out they were alerted to my book by dad, who’s the Managing Editor on The Manila Times, another daily newspaper in The Philippines.

March -

As far as my writing life, March was a pretty quiet month. I spent more time trying to promote my work then create new stuff. And, hindsight being twenty-twenty, I think that was okay. Like marathoners who crash, emotionally as well as physically, at the conclusion of their race, I crashed after Back Kicks came out. From start to finish, I'd spent almost ten years on it. Intuitively, as much as I wanted to write, I was struggling to do put anything down. Eventually, I would give a go at adapting one of my screenplays into a novel - a project I've put on the side for now while I finish revisions on my second novel, Sage Of Heaven.

So, for March, the big things were my defense of the New Jersey State Taekwondo title I'd won in 2011 and my return to running, in the hope that I would get into the NY City Marathon via its lottery system.

April -

Good Friday was a big day for me. April 5, 2012. I'd seen my name in print before but that was for articles I'd written for various martial arts magazines. This time, though, my name was in the paper - The Filipino Reporter - in the article Ryan had written. When I opened the issue and saw my picture and read the piece, I recall my heart was racing. Yes, I was excited but there was also a touch of nervousness and trepidation running through me. Other than tweeting about my book and offering a giveaway through Goodreads, this was the first time - and, at this point - the largest exposure my book was getting. While one part of me hoped and prayed that the piece would yield mega book sales, the other part feared rejection and being called a 'fraud' as a writer and as a Filipino-American writer. (Click here for the article.)

At around the same time, I'd gotten a rejection letter from Barnes and Noble about carrying my book on its shelves. I'd expected as much, since my book is indie-published and POD at that, but the retailer's rejection only exacerbated the insecurities I'd felt about being accepted into the Filipino-American community as one of its literary voices of the current generation.

As a martial artist, who calls Hong Kong home, the one thing that, as silly as this is going to sound, made me feel really good about the article was my name being used in the same sentence (when read, said with the same breath) as Bruce Lee. And, not only are our names said with the same breath, they're used in the same context. I'm no way the quality of martial artist that Bruce Lee was but, perhaps, because of the contextual similarity, I may possess some of the qualities of the kind of man and Asian-American man, he was.

While there was this martial arts related joy, there was martial art related sadness too. The Taekwondo classes I had been teaching were ended due to lack of enrollment due to a variety of factors. The bottom line, though, was that my second go around at being the master of my own program failed. At least this time, I didn't have my own commercial space and the headache that comes with giving that up. It also, however, means that my son will probably have to learn from another master and my hope and dream of him carrying on the Bas Taekwondo tradition, in the old way of passing lessons down from father to son, is not likely going to happen. It doesn't look like we're going to go the way of Al and Mark Dacascos, Ernie Reyes, senior and junior, Ed Parker and his son, Tiger Kim and his sons, and other father-son martial arts dynasties.

April 25 was another big day for me as I was accepted into the NYC Marathon. That would determine a lot in the upcoming months. Some of it good, some of it not so good.

May -

Ryan and Carissa came to New York in May and we got together for a dim sum meal in Chinatown, NYC. It was great to see Ryan again, for the first time since 2000! And, it was super nice to meet Carissa in person. Getting to spend time with them, talking about the Philippines and writing, was a thrill; probably more than they are aware. Ryan is a renowned boxing journalist. Carissa is a respected and known writer and PR professional. I consider both of them friends first but, because of who they are and what they've achieved, and me knowing them personally, there's a certain validation to my identity as a writer. Slowly, with each connection I make, post-publishing my book, I feel like I'm getting deeper into the writing community.

May also saw the interview I did with The Manila Bulletin come out (click here for the article.) and I did my third interview, this time for Hyphen Magazine. That interview just came out in Issue 26 (January 2013) and I was one of several authors questioned about being a self-published Asian-American author, the state of publishing and Asian-American representation in popular literature. The editor at Hyphen who wrote the article, books editor Abi Licad, also assigned my book for review. So, all in all, May was a big month for me and Back Kicks And Broken Promises.

June, July, August - 

These were fairly light months all around. That's what the summer is for, anyway, right?

As far as writing goes, it was this time that I returned to putting pen to paper full-time, so to speak. I began adapting my screenplay Aliens Among Us into a novel but I still haven't finished. I was also rereading Back Kicks to make revisions, additions and correct the typos I'd discovered. (That, in and of itself, is something I'm going to write about in my next blog post.)

The summer also saw the US National Taekwondo Championships take place - this time in Dallas - but I wasn't able to go. I was hoping to go and try to better my tenth place finish in 2011. Maybe I'll get to try, this year, in Chicago, instead.

We did get to have a mini-vacation on Long Island again. My wife's friend has a place in Montauk and we were able to use it for a few days. What was really exciting, as a dad, was to see how my son reacted to being there again. We'd gone in 2010 and Jude seemed to remember some of the places we visited, even one of the beaches. He even got braver with the water, venturing closer to it and even getting in it without insisting on our help. In fact, there were times when we wouldn't let him because the waves were too strong and, without our support, he'd have gotten sucked out. These trips - to the beach, to Manila, excursions across the country for Taekwondo events - are so good for him that I can't express with enough gratitude for my wife's friend's generosity.

September -

School's back in session and so is the volleyball season (I'm our high school's head coach) and we had the best season since I've been involved with the program. Not a lot of writing got down during September and October but the review of my book, in Hyphen, came out. It was another one of those good days turned to sour, in a way. 

It was September 27 and I'd arrived home from a volleyball match. We'd won, to go 6-3 for the season and we were on a five-match winning streak. So, naturally, I was on a high. After reporting the match to the newspaper and updating the girls stats in various volleyball website, I checked to see if the review had come out. And it had. The reviewer gave it his opinion and I appreciate him for it. And, someone did remind me that it's the reviewer's opinion and just one opinion, at that. Other than this, I'd gotten some really good comments for Back Kicks. Regardless, it still stung. It wasn't a scathing review. In fact, the reviewer, G. Justin Hulog, did have some praise for parts of my book. (Click here to read it.) It wasn't a raving review either. I quickly consoled myself by recalling a couple of things I'd been told before: "All press, even bad press, is good press" and "Being talked about negatively is better than not being talked about at all." I don't know if I believe either of these things wholeheartedly but when you're trying to market something there might be some truth to them.

October and November -

What a mess this month was with Hurricane Sandy hitting New Jersey, New York and other parts of the eastern United States. In a way, though, the effects of Sandy, which weren't too bad for me personally, were great for my writing. We didn't get flooded but we did lose power. With no TV watch and, with the gas shortage and rationing, no place to go, I relied on hanging with my family, reading and writing to pass the time. After attending mass, I discovered that the church had opened its hall for residents to charge devices, use the internet, etc. Well, we were there and I wrote. And it was perfect, too, because I decided to enter the NaNoWriMo challenge to finish writing a novel, of at least 50,000 words, in the thirty days of November. And I did it. There are revisions to be done, which I am doing now, but I managed the first draft in the month. (Click here for more on NaNoWriMo). So, in the 'take the good from the bad' frame of mind, Hurricane Sandy was the boost my writing endeavours needed.

As a result of Sandy, I didn't get to run the NYC Marathon because it was cancelled but I was okay with that. I felt it should've been cancelled in light of the devastation the storm caused and where it hit hard (parts of the marathon course). Others disagree, but I think it would've been in poor taste to run the race and, thanks to the storm, I wasn't in the right mind to run it.

Writer's Digest has its Self-Published Book Awards every year. Entry is in May and, in October, they notify entrants whether they won or not and they give all entrants feedback.  I didn't win, place or get any kind of honourable mention but I did get some praise and, more importantly, constructive feedback for future books I write, regardless of whether I indie pub or not.

Lastly, in these months, my son saw his first Broadway show (Peter and the Star-Catcher) and I came to realise how much I love Thanksgiving. Christmas is still my favourite holiday but there's something special about Thanksgiving that makes it a close second. Watching the Macy's Parade with my family, the lead-up to the holiday season proper holds a special place in my heart. I find it a little curious that Thanksgiving holds such a special place in my heart considering I didn't have it growing up in Hong Kong. While many immigrants hold on, sometimes illogically to things from home or their past, just because they're from home, I've taken to Thanksgiving like I've always had it. There could be a story here. Hmm.

December -

And, finally, it's December. Not much happened except for our early Christmas in New Jersey and our trip for Christmas to Manila. Busy popping from one place to another to see various family and friends, I didn't get much writing done - other than a few blog posts - but I did get to marvel at my son. I'm not the 'gushing dad' type but it was great to see Jude try Hot Chocolate for the first time. He's become an ube ice cream fan (just like his dad) and he watched his first Filipino movie in the theatre. While he didn't understand the Tagalog (I barely did), he got the entire story, has become enthralled with the Filipino superheroes in it and he's starting to appreciate his Filipino-ness.

And, with our layover in Hong Kong, he's coming to understand that his mother and I have interesting backgrounds and that there's this really amazing and interesting place, called The World, outside of New Jersey. As he puts it, "Daddy, when you were a kid, your world was Hong Kong. Mommy's world was Manila and my world is New Jersey."

So, those were the highlights for me in 2012. Some of you may have found it boring and a complete waste of time reading it. For that, sorry. Some of you may have found some entertainment in it. Others, maybe, found something useful - a tidbit about Taekwondo or indie-publishing, perhaps. Either way, whether you're forty-four, twenty-four or ninety-four, it's always good to look back. It helps you assess where you want to go and how to get there. It helps you appreciate where you've been. And, as a writer, it can serve as good writing material. But, most of all, it helps you appreciate who you are and who you want to be. And, without that, all of the outside stuff has no meaning.

Thanks for stopping by and, as Chinese New Year approaches, best wishes for 2013 and Gung Hei Fat Choi!

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?

Katniss meets June in Dystopian Crossover Book

Okay, so there isn’t one; at least not that I know of, anyway. Crossovers, though, are the subject of this blog post and wouldn't a Katniss and June meeting be really interesting?

Generally, I’m not a big fan of mixing things up in books and movies but when two comic book heroes or two TV shows join forces for an episode or two, or even a series of episodes, it can sometimes lead to entertaining and intelligent reading or viewing.

I remember in the late 1970s/early 1980s there were a Superman/Spiderman crossover and a couple of Marvel/DC crossovers. In the 1990s, shows of similar genre had characters jump from one show to another - and I’m not talking about characters who were on one show, are now the star of their own show and returns for a guest stint on the original show. I think there were a couple of Law & Order crossovers with The Practice. Personally, I wanted to see a Chicago Hope/ER crossover.

Literature, I don’t think, really lends itself to such things because the protagonist in a book is so deeply involved with everything that’s happening on and between the pages of his or her own book that to mix in another protagonist with his or her own depth can be a major challenge to reconcile. It’s harder still, I think if one character is written through a different POV (third vs. first person, for example) and voice (conversational vs. formal, for example) than the other.

However, as I read The Hunger Games, with its strong teenage female lead, and, having recently read and loved Legend, that also has a strong teenage female lead, I was hit with the following thought: what would happen if Katniss and June met? I don’t have an answer. I haven’t read Catching Fire or Mockingjay and I’ve done a good job of steering clear of spoilers and I don’t know what Marie Lu has in mind for June (or Day, the male protagonist in Legend) in books two and three of her dystopian series. Maybe Katniss and June both die and there’s no way for them to meet. Or, a la the Star Wars books, they could meet in a book that regales events that happen somewhere in between their own stories.

Thinking about this, however, made me wonder of other possible crossover pairings. Perhaps, Holden Caulfield, Salinger’s frustrated east coast teen, could meet up with one of Matt de la Peña’s many soul-searching Mexican-Americans on the west coast. Or, Don Lee’s cast of characters from Wrack & Ruin could run into Miles and Jack from Sideways. Or, Once A Runner protagonist, Quenton Cassidy, could (literally) run into Jean Patrick Nkuba from Naomi Benaron’s Running the Rift. Now that I’m on a roll, perhaps, it can be done. The ideas and shenanigans that these characters could get into and the morality tales they could present are spinning tornado-like in my head.

But, these were what I came up with. Do you have any of your own? Do share and, even though it’s early, Happy Easter, Passover and whatever else is being celebrated this time of year.

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.

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?