C.L. Hoang's Blog, page 2

A Dash of Sunshine

We can probably all agree that 2020 was one of, if not the worst year in recent memory. And so it was with grateful relief that I embraced the few good news that dropped in my mailbox just before year's end, news that I'm excited to share with you now.

First of, Best Indie Book Award announced their 2020 winners on the very last day of the year, and I was thrilled to learn that In the Shadow of Green Bamboos had won the Short Story category. And yes, that gleaming trophy shown in the picture is real, and it is being shipped to me as we speak! :)

The book also earned a Crowned Heart of Excellence review with InD'tale Magazine and was featured in its Giant Holiday issue. Part of that review reads: "Beautifully written, (this collection of stories) reaches out and touches the soul, lingering with the reader long after the pages of the book are closed." You can read the entire review by clicking HERE.

Also stuffed in my Christmas stocking was a short and sweet email to let me know that In the Shadow of Green Bamboos had been picked up by a book club to read in the new year. All together, these good tidings brought a dash of sunshine into my dreary Holiday lockdown, and for that I'm truly thankful.



Dreary though it was, the lockdown did allow me an opportunity to work on a couple of video trailers to accompany the short audio samples (3 to 4 minutes each) from the audio versions of Once upon a Mulberry Field and In the Shadow of Green Bamboos. I now invite you to kick back and enjoy them.

The first sample is from Green Bamboos, narrated by Leyna Nguyen, the four-time Emmy Award-winning journalist and TV Host from Los Angeles. Click HERE to view and listen to it.

The second sample is from Mulberry Field, narrated by Treg Monty, an actor and voiceover artist. Click HERE to view and listen to it.

I hope the trailers bring you a bit of fun diversion from all the noises out there---a dash of sunshine in your wintry day.

Before signing off, I would like to ask you a favor: If you've had a chance to read or listen to In the Shadow of Green Bamboos, would you consider leaving a quick review on Amazon and/or Audible? Your feedback does matter. It helps authors know whether our books entertained you, gives us motivation to keep on writing, and help other readers learn about our books. I thank you for your kind support.

May 2021 bring you and your loved ones all the great things and happiness that you deserve but didn't get in the past year, and so much more.


C.L. Hoang
Amazon Page: https://amzn.to/3irSIRO



C.L. Hoang
Amazon Page: https://amzn.to/2XdywMr



C.L. Hoang
Amazon Page: https://amzn.to/39Ml0Cn

Stories -- In Spoken Word

Hurrah!! After an (unexplainable) 3-month holdup at ACX-Amazon, the audiobook for my new collection of short stories, In the Shadow of Green Bamboos, has finally been released to retail on the Amazon and Audible websites.

The principal narrator of In the Shadow of Green Bamboos is Leyna Nguyen, the four-time Emmy Award-winning journalist and former TV news anchor in Los Angeles, and an actor in her own right. I am so appreciative that she has taken time out of her busy schedule to work with me on this audiobook, and I'm thrilled to have the stories brought to life by her warm and expressive voice. Take a moment and listen to the Audible sample on the Amazon book page (click HERE ) and you'll understand why.

The audiobook now complements the Kindle and paperback editions, which have received kind words of support from readers. I can't tell you how touched and humbled I am by all your encouragement:
"A veritable Pandora's Box of gems that invite introspection and healing . . ."
"A superb storyteller . . . Be sure to have plenty of tissues on hand."
"(These stories) are expressions that transcend the atrocities of war. . . . (Something) deep and loving comes out of something awful. . . ."
"Each story is beautiful, poignant, powerful, delightful, moving. . . . This book made me smile and made me weep."

Thank you with all my heart. And now I'm beyond excited to finally be able to share with you those very same stories--in spoken word.

By the way, there's an interesting writeup by Seth Combs in the Sunday edition of the San Diego Union Tribune of my recent interview with him about In the Shadow of Green Bamboos. You can click HERE to read that article.

There's one more piece of news I'd like to share with you. Since my three books all have Vietnam (and the Vietnam War) as their central theme, I've decided to gather them into a book series titled "A Time of Mulberry Sea." I've even made a short video trailer for the series, which looks kind of cool, if I do say so myself! It took a little doing, I must admit, but I had fun having a go at it. Who says you can't teach an old dog a new trick, eh? Due to the format restrictions within Goodreads, I can't embed the trailer in this post for your viewing convenience. But no worries: you can simply click HERE to watch that fun trailer.

Once again, thank you kindly for your support, which keeps me writing on. I wish you a safe (as in lockdown safe) and wonderful weekend.


C.L. Hoang
Amazon Page: https://amzn.to/3irSIRO



C.L. Hoang
Amazon Page: https://amzn.to/2XdywMr



C.L. Hoang
Amazon Page: https://amzn.to/39Ml0Cn

Headphones on? Sit back. Enjoy!

It's been a wild fun ride for the past four months, and after some long delays at Amazon-ACX / Audible due to the pandemic, the audiobook for Once upon a Mulberry Field is finally here! Yes. For real. And it sounds like a million bucks, well worth the wait---thanks to Treg Monty, my narrator and producer.

Mulberry Field is a pretty big book (400 pages), filled with characters of diverse backgrounds---Vietnamese, French, and American, male and female---speaking in three languages with various accents (four if one also counts the military acronyms as a mysterious language with a pronunciation all its own). To make his task even more challenging, the narrator has to try to convey the characters' states of mind (often in great turmoil) while not letting himself get swept away by the emotions of the moment.

I knew better than to attempt it myself. Entered Treg Monty, a professional actor and musician who I met after conducting an audition on Amazon-ACX. And the rest, as they say, is history. We worked really well together as we both shared a deep appreciation for the material and brought perspectives to it that might sometimes seem different at first but often turned out to be complementary.

The result is, in my opinion, a phenomenal audiobook that really brings to life this complex story that I had lived and breathed for six long years. I couldn't be happier, and I even dare venture the same for Treg.

The audiobook is now listed on Amazon alongside with the paperback and Kindle editions. To open the link, click HERE.
It is also listed on Audible (click HERE) as well as on iTunes. When visiting these websites, don't forget to listen to the 3-minute sample.

Last but not least, to celebrate this exciting occasion I am offering the Kindle version of Once upon a Mulberry Field at $0.99 for a limited time. Please help spread the word. On a happy ending note, the Kindle book is performing really well: it became, for the first time, the #1 Bestseller in Vietnam War History on Halloween Eve (Friday October 30). As I'm writing this post on Saturday afternoon, it is still perched at the top, hopefully for a while yet. The longer the better, as far as I'm concerned!

And now, put your earphones on, kick back, and enjoy a listen!





C.L. Hoang
Amazon Page: https://amzn.to/3irSIRO



C.L. Hoang
Amazon Page: https://amzn.to/39Ml0Cn



C.L. Hoang
Amazon Page: https://amzn.to/2XdywMr

The Book is Out: In the Shadow of Green Bamboos

B'gosh, the Big Day is here! At long last.

As promised, my new book,  In the Shadow of Green Bamboos , is being released into bookstores today. Not without a little hiccup, mind you, but then again this whole year 2020 has been one giant hiccup itself, so I'm just elated to have crossed the finish line. Well---almost, at any rate.

The paperback and eBook editions have been relatively smooth sailing, but the audiobook (my exciting new venture!) is taking longer than expected to get through QA at Amazon ACX/Audible for final approval: more than 6 weeks already since the day we submitted it. All because the pandemic has thrown a monkey wrench into their quality control line, or so I was told. But not to worry. The audiobook should be here any day now; I will certainly keep you posted.

With that out of the way, I can't wait to tell you a little bit about In the Shadow of Green Bamboos .

It is very much in the same vein as my earlier book,  Once upon a Mulberry Field ---a composite account of the Vietnam War with its long shadow and lasting impact on the people, both Vietnamese and American, whose lives had been touched by it. The only difference is that I use the short-story format this time around, instead of writing a novel as before. This, I feel, allows me to give equal attention to a wide array of characters (rather than to just a few main ones), and to capture a more intimate close-up snapshot of them at a spontaneous moment in their lives.

I'm humbled and grateful to have received some heartwarming encouragement from early reviewers:

". . . Revolving around the family and the bonding that grows out of dark times into moments of light, these stories journey back and forth between war-torn Vietnam and the U.S., and between the now and the then―a veritable Pandora's Box of gems that invite introspection and healing."
 
"C. L. Hoang is a superb storyteller who weaves deeply emotional tales enhanced by rich memories of his childhood in Vietnam. . . . Be sure to have plenty of tissues on hand."

You can click  HERE  to read all the reviews in their entirety.

I also invite you to read a short excerpt from In the Shadow of Green Bamboos  by clicking  HERE .

As I had so much fun doing the audiobook for Green Bamboos , I decided to go back and do one for Mulberry Field  as well. And let me tell you straight away: I couldn't have been more fortunate or picked better narrators to lend me a hand (and their golden voices) in bringing to life the stories in my books. Green Bamboos was narrated by Leyna Nguyen, the popular Emmy Award-winning journalist and TV host from Los Angeles.  Mulberry Field  was enacted by the multi-talented Treg Monty, a professional actor and musician.

But you don't need to take my word for it. Just listen for yourself to the two sample audio tracks (about 3 or 4 minutes each), from the respective audiobooks, which again are due out ANY day now. I hope you'll enjoy them as much as I do. Click HERE to listen.

As you can probably tell, these are my passion projects and I'm thankful for the opportunity to share them with you. Please feel free to share them with your friends and to give me your thoughts and feedback, which are always welcome and appreciated.

Fall seems to have finally arrived in Southern California (until the next heat wave, that is). I wish you and your loves ones a lovely and peaceful weekend!


C.L. Hoang
Amazon Page: https://amzn.to/3irSIRO



C.L. Hoang
Amazon Page: https://amzn.to/39Ml0Cn



C.L. Hoang
Amazon Page: https://amzn.to/2XdywMr

New Book Release

With everything that has been happening, this year has been flying by at a frightening pace. Luckily for me, however, there's a bit of a silver lining. I've been keeping my nose to the grindstone for some time now, and I finally have some very exciting news to share with you.

In less than two weeks from today, on Friday October 23rd I will be releasing my new book, titled In the Shadow Of Green Bamboos . It will be available on all the online bookstores.

It is a collection of stories about love and hope, resilience and survival, from the Vietnam War. Some of the main characters from my first book, Once upon a Mulberry Field, will be back along with a cast of new characters. Below is some advance praise for it:

". . . Revolving around the family and the bonding that grows out of dark times into moments of light, these stories journey back and forth between war-torn Vietnam and the U.S., and between the now and the then---a veritable Pandora's Box of gems that invite introspection and healing."

"C. L. Hoang is a superb storyteller who weaves deeply emotional tales enhanced by rich memories of his childhood in Vietnam . . . Be sure to have plenty of tissues on hand."

Along with the regular paperback and eBook (Kindle, Nook, Apple, Kobo) versions, I will also be introducing the audiobook version for this new title. It will be available on Amazon (via Audible) and Apple, and possibly a few other vendors. This is a first experience for me, and like with any new thrill, it comes with a lot of challenges---and headaches. The vetting time to get approved and listed on Amazon is rather long and unpredictable, which makes it hard to line everything up for a firm release date. But it has been a wild fun ride!



So much so I have gone ahead and worked on the audiobook for Once upon a Mulberry Field in parallel, which should---I hope---also be available in time for my launch date of October 23rd. I'll keep you all posted and will be back on the Big Day with behind-the-scene stories about this new audiobook venture.



In the meantime, if you're a member of Goodreads, you can click HERE to enter a give-away contest for a chance to win an autographed first-edition copy of In the Shadow of Green Bamboos. 

The countdown is ON! I still can't believe it. See you all back on Friday October 23rd, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed!


C.L. Hoang
Amazon Page: https://amzn.to/3irSIRO



C.L. Hoang
Amazon Page: https://amzn.to/39Ml0Cn



C.L. Hoang
Amazon Page: https://amzn.to/2XdywMr

In the Time of Covid-19

It's hard to believe it has been 6 months since most of us first hunkered into lockdown. Half a year already, like a blink of an eye---but an eternity at the same time. I hope all of you and your loved ones have been staying safe and healthy, and that you've discovered interesting new ways to work as well as to spend your free time.

For my part, I still can't seem to find enough hours in the day to write, edit, and learn new software tools to assist me in my craft (Pixlr, Book Brush, and Canva for graphics, and Audacity for audio). It's mind-blowing what amazing freeware one can find on the internet these days. As a result, I will have some very exciting news to share with you in the near future---hopefully in my next post.

One of my 2020 resolutions is to go back and tackle some books I've had on my to-read list for quite a while now. For unexplainable reasons, I've picked up these books before, gone through the first 30-50 pages, and somehow ran out of steam (interest) to continue. This happened to me more than once (sometimes twice or thrice) before with these books. And they are widely acclaimed works by well-respected authors too, not just some random bad picks, mind you. But over the past 6 months I stuck to my guns, and my books, and I'm glad to report that I have now finished, and thoroughly enjoyed, The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy, Midwives by Chris Bohjalian, All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot, and The Deep End of the Ocean by Jacquelyn Mitchard. Aside from those titles, I also read and reviewed The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Vietnam War by Phillip Jennings, a Vietnam War veteran and a new friend.

For my new writing projects, I've had to go back and revisit my first book, Once upon a Mulberry Field. I was reminded of how much effort I had put into recapturing the late sixties' atmosphere for the book, partly through the music of that time. It gave me a great excuse to wander down memory lane and re-listen to old songs (Vietnamese, French, and American) that were all the rage during my middle and high school days---again courtesy of the internet, via YouTube. There wasn't a single title, no matter how old or obscure, that I wanted to find but could not. It is truly a great wonder of technology to be able, at the click of a mouse, to bring back memories of a bygone time.

And that's how I've been keeping myself busy the past few months, which helped take my mind off the crazy happenings of this crazy year. What about you? Do share some of your experience here with us, won't you? Keep safe and sane and healthy, until we meet again, hopefully soon!


C.L. Hoang
Amazon Page: https://amzn.to/3irSIRO



C.L. Hoang
Amazon Page: https://amzn.to/39Ml0Cn



C.L. Hoang
Amazon Page: https://amzn.to/2XdywMr

Book Lists and Libraries

TIME's Person of the Century, Albert Einstein, once said, "The only thing that you absolutely have to know is the location of the library." I couldn't agree more. As a book lover, libraries--both public and academic--have always been among my favorite places. And as a writer, nothing gives me greater pleasure than to have my books included in the catalogs of libraries of any type, where, hopefully, they can be looked up and checked out for a long time to come.

Remember Ken Burns' TV series about the Vietnam War, back in September 2017? About a year after the series had aired, a friend of mine sent me a link that he had stumbled across by chance. It pointed to a PDF document jointly issued by PBS and the ALA (American Library Association) prior to the broadcast, a programming guide for public libraries (click HERE for the actual website page).  At the end of it was a long list of recommended readings, both fiction and non-fiction, to go with the TV series. My eyes practically popped out when I spotted Once upon a Mulberry Field among the recommended fiction list. Talk about a rush, as I had no idea how it had ended up on the list.

Spurred on by this delightful surprise, I scoured the Internet for any other revelations. I found two other lists just shortly before the pandemic hit (and all the libraries closed down). The first one was a list of romantic fiction recommended by the staff of the public library in Hillsborough County in Florida (Tampa Bay). Mulberry Field was featured on that list (click HERE for the actual web page) alongside works by Erich Segal (Love Story), Nicholas Sparks (The Notebook), Debbie Macomber (Looking for a Hero), Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water) etc. It was quite a jolt (and a thrill) to see the cover of my book highlighted next to all the others.



The second list I came across was an online write-up about "Vietnam Today" published by the staff at the Washington DC Public Library (click HERE for the web page). Their short list of recommended reading mentioned my travelogue Rain Falling on Tamarind Trees along with works by former BBC News correspondent Bill Hayton (Vietnam: Rising Dragon) and Pulitzer-Prize winner Viet Thanh Nguyen (Refugees) as well as the latest travel guides by Lonely Planet Country Guides and DK Eyewitness Travel. The library even held a book club discussion of Tamarind Trees around that same time. Needless to say, I was extremely appreciative of these diligent library staffs who had noticed my works and were kind enough to recommend them to their patrons.



Through the Internet and the World Catalog, I was also excited to discover that one or both of my books are owned by public libraries in several US and Canadian cities as well as some large national libraries such as the Library of Congress, the British Library, the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, and the National Library of Australia. To my great surprise and delight, the books also figured in catalogs of academic libraries at Stanford, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC Irvine, Columbia, Cornell, Vanderbilt, Georgetown, Carnegie Mellon, U. of Michigan, New York U., U. of Florida, Tulane, Brigham Young, etc. as well as overseas: University of London (School of Oriental and African Studies), Australian National University, University of Alberta. 



More than any book sales, rankings, or awards, I consider the inclusion of my books in these libraries my proudest and most gratifying achievement in my short "writing career." As a thoughtful man once said, "A great library contains the diary of the human race" (George Mercer Dawson). Hopefully, I will be inspired to add yet a few more lines to that living diary we all contribute to.

As always, thank you all for your kind support. Do stay safe and healthy in this time of Covid-19. Happy Reading, Writing, or any other creative activity of your choice!


C.L. Hoang
Amazon Page: https://amzn.to/39Ml0Cn


C.L. Hoang
Amazon Page: https://amzn.to/2XdywMr

Old Friends

As readers, we have all experienced that mixed feeling of happy fulfillment and wishful regret when we get to the last paragraph of a great book. Wishing that the wonderful story didn't have to end there and that we could hang out a little longer with our favorite characters. Some of us may even go back and read the book again after a while, much as moviegoers may sometimes watch a picture they loved more than once. Do you have such books or movies that left you wanting more? Please feel free to leave a comment and share them with the rest of us.

Speaking from experience, I'd say that a similar sentiment can also happen to a writer. I still remember the great elation, and huge relief, that I felt after typing up the final sentence in my novel, Once upon a Mulberry Field. At the same time, however, I was almost instantly filled with something akin to sad regret, at having to say goodbye to all those characters that I had lived/worked with almost every day over the six-year gestation of the book. I had been there with them at momentous events in their lives and had shared their fears and hopes, loves and losses. In the process, they had become very real to me, and more than just friends.

A short while ago, years after the publication of Mulberry Field, that feeling of nostalgia finally got the better of me. I set everything else aside, grabbed the book, and sat down to read it again in one (long) sitting. It was a tremendous experience, immersing myself once more among old friends, and reliving with them our shared adventures. It felt so good, in fact, that it has inspired me to start a new writing project which involves some of the familiar characters from Mulberry Field. I'm really excited about this new project and have been hard at work on it. Hopefully, I will have some great news to share with you soon (perhaps even before year's end).

Meanwhile, I hope you're all doing well and staying safe and healthy in these crazy times. In celebration of all moms out there, I'm making my Kindle books available for free (in addition to Kindle Unlimited) this coming Mother's Day Weekend (Sat May 9 through Sun May 10).

"Once upon a Mulberry Field": an award-winning novel about love, loss, and redemption set in Vietnam at the height of the war, and

"Rain Falling on Tamarind Trees": a travelogue of my return visit to Vietnam after a decades-long absence.

Please pass the word along. Enjoy, and happy reading!



C.L. Hoang
Amazon Page: https://amzn.to/39Ml0Cn


C.L. Hoang
Amazon Page: https://amzn.to/2XdywMr

To-Read List about Vietnam Today

I am thrilled and honored that the Washington DC Public Library has recently recommended my travelogue "Rain Falling on Tamarind Trees" as one of 5 books to read about Vietnam Today.

Click on the following link to read the article and the complete list of recommended books:

https://www.dclibrary.org/node/61152




C.L. Hoang

Amazon Page: http://amzn.to/2hHGXxi

Writers/Authors In The Movies

Recently, without setting out to look for them, I stumbled upon a handful of movies about writers which I found totally fascinating as well as relatable on many levels. You've probably seen one or more of the movies already, but just in case, I'm sharing my short list below.



The first movie is an 'oldie'  from 2004, called "Finding Neverland." It details how author and playwright Sir J.M. Barrie, upon a chance encounter with a widowed mother and her four young sons, discovered new inspiration to overcome his writer's block and pen what would become his best-known work, Peter Pan or The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up. It is a touching story about compassion and love, the pursuit of passion and excellence in the face of adversity, and the sacrifices that all that entails.



Next is a 2016 movie titled "Genius." It chronicles the special but turbulent relationship between famed editor Maxwell Perkins (who worked closely with F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway) and talented newcomer Thomas Wolfe. It highlights the struggle between two geniuses at work, whose talents beautifully complemented each other's, and who constantly challenged and pushed each other to new heights, oftentimes to the detriment of their health and personal lives.



"Rebel in the Rye," a 2017 movie, follows celebrated author J.D. Salinger as he fought to overcome his father's disapproval, his own self-doubt, early rejections, heartbreaks, and severe PTSD following WWII, in order to keep writing and finish his masterpiece, "The Catcher in the Rye." The viewer also gets a glimpse into his single-minded pursuit of his own truth (writing for an audience of one---himself) even if he had to turn his back on fame and fortune as well as the rest of the world, including his own family.



Another movie from 2017, "Goodbye Christopher Robin," depicts the loving relationship between A. A. Milne and his young son, Christopher Robin (Billy Moon), whose toy animals inspired the enchanting adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh that brought immense comfort to England following the Great War. Unfortunately, the unexpected worldwide fame that ensued proved too much for the family to cope with and forever shattered their idyllic existence.

All four movies are real treats for me as they reconfirm the universal truths about talent nurture and fulfillment in spite of self-conflicts and the creative struggle, as well as the pursuit of a life's purpose over obstacles along the way. Truths that apply indiscriminately to each and every one of us, from the common folks to the supremely talented. I hope you'll enjoy the movies, too.


C.L. Hoang

Amazon Page: http://amzn.to/2hHGXxi