“Look, Mom. I wrote a book!” Approval from Mom. That’s all we want, isn’t it? Well, maybe when we were three and Mom equaled the world. But now, isn’t it the world’s attention we’re really after? Okay, maybe not the world. But some very modest portion of it. A sliver. Because writers spend a good…

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…