Gestation and birth are words often used to describe the writing and publishing of a book. The book is the baby, the creation of it is a gestation, and the presentation of it to the world is a birth. This is not an analogy I’ve ever used myself. Having gestated and birthed two children, it’s…

My publisher is a small, start-up press based in Hong Kong—too small and too new to send its authors on book tours, it if believed in such a thing. And because I can’t afford to hire a publicist, booking readings is up to me, which I’m perfectly willing to do. Or so I thought. My…

So I have a website now and this blog, too. The reason? My novel When the de la Cruz Family Danced is being published this June. According to common wisdom, a presence on the web is essential to increase one’s visibility. Such a notion requires a certain amount of faith given that there are over…