Lucia and the Starfish

This was more challenging than I thought. I asked a reader of my novel to give me some passages that were her favorites. She gave me nine pages..... Now asking the author to choose her favorite is akin to  asking  a mother to chose her favorite child - actually that might be less challenging for some mothers.

In keeping with the animal theme of the passage I chose from the first book, this one mentions creatures of the sea. Rachel, one of the characters, the matriarch to be exact, narrates this scene in chapter Six of Lucia M of Singapore.


"........we crossed the causeway to Lido Beach in Johor where there were so many starfish. It was our favorite place to have chilli crabs. On one of the trips, we brought Lucia, who collected all the starfish she could find and left them in a pile by the beach. After we had lunch at the beach side restaurant, she returned to pick up her starfish but could not find them. Raul told her that the tide had come in and washed them away."

Next post, we will have a scene about school bullies and Lucia in her words.
PC Nicholas

The Family Band

I thought this would be my New Year's treat for my readers and followers of  TransformYourLife. This is the complete poem taken from my latest novel,  LUCIA M OF SINGAPORE.   I have had interesting comments from those who have bought my novel on this opening poem. So enjoy and comments would be appreciated.

                                                                     The Family Band
As fingers of your hand differ,                                                           
             so do members of the family band.
Each with a unique contribution,
            as fingers in a hand do work.
If the Hand was all thumbs or pinkies
           Oh what chaos that would be.

Pull one part of the hand,
           the rest follows in quick motion
Negative - the vibrations
          that weaken the family band
Positive - the vibrations
         that infuse health to the family band.

Copyright/2009 PC Nicholas

A New Year of Possibilities??

Yes this is what I wish for all my readers, especially the readers who have supported me. I am very grateful for what I have received in the year 2009 - the ups and downs, the many challenges - they were sometimes not pleasant but that did not stop me from achieving some of my goals, especially writing and self-publishing these novels. Now I can add that 50% of the copies of each novel have been purchased.

My little tip for all of you - if you think you can, you will and if you think you can't, you won't! Do not put limitations on yourself or your worth. I think each of you deserve the best and you were created out of love and if you doubt that, please send me an e-mail and I will attempt to show you that you were created from Love!
Wishing each of you a Joyful and Healthy New Year!
PC Nicholas

Lucia M of Singapore -back cover

My second book appears to be doing well - almost 50% have been purchased. One of the purchasers told me that it could stand on its own i.e - you could read the second one without reading the first one which is "Beneath the Singapore Sky".
As promised a couple of weeks ago, here is the back cover.

Wishing each of my readers, a wonderful Christmas and a New Year filled with Hope, Joy and Peace!
PC Nicholas

Let me introduce you to LUCIA M of Singapore

    It was a fantastic weekend for Lucia M of Singapore. Once again, the sequel to Beneath the Singapore Sky was a limited edition. Yet before it was printed, some copies were already sold. As of now, which is Thursday 10 December over 30 copies have been sold.

   This is the front cover of the book and next week, I will include the back cover!  If any of you would like to purchase a signed copy, you could do so by leaving a comment with your e-mail address and mark private, so that it will not be published in the comment section. Thanks.
PC Nicholas/2009

Lucia M of Singapore - debuts next week!

If you're wondering what is happening, I've been busy getting my second book published. Some computer glitches, so that my corrections and editing were not saved & went to the printers minus the edition. Finally the printer realized it had something to do with a defective program that I was using. Glad to report, everything has been ironed out.
Lucia M of Singapore will now be in print by next Thursday? How many of you would like to see the front and back covers?  Next weekend, there will be a book signing at the Book Stop in Ottawa, Ontario for 2 hours, commencing at 11.30 am    So if you're looking for Christmas presents for your family or friends, drop me a line and I would tell you how you could obtain a copy or the set of two books.
PCNicholas

Lucia M of Singapore - opening poem

Let me get the announcements out of the way
. Author Readings - Historical Novel - Beneath the Singapore Sky by PC Nicholas
1.Tomorrow, 4 November 2009, I will be giving a reading in the Ottawa Public Library on Metcalf St. It will be at 7pm at the auditorium of the main library at 7pm. Ottawa is in the capital of Canada and the main library is located a few blocks from the Parliament Buildings.
2. Book Signing - New Book - Lucia M of Singapore
This sequel to Beneath the Singapore Sky will be ready for purchase on the last Saturday of November 2009
My books will also be presented at some Christmas bazaars.

The second book begins with a  poem and here is the first stanza.
         The Family Band

As fingers of your hand differs,
so too members of the family band.
Each with  unique contribution
as fingers in a hand do work.
If the Hand was all thumbs or pinkies,
My, what chaos that would be?
copyright/pcnicholas 2009

A hat on your head, a book in your hand

If you could picture the graphics of the title phrase, it was how it went at Gwendolyne's Hats in Toronto which was the location of  the book signing of Beneath the Singapore Sky.

Where did I meet Gwendolyne? She visited my blog through Blog Catalog and left a comment. When I visited her blog - Atellier Gwendolyne, I was captured by the beauty of hers and her creations of hats and craft. One day, I suggested if she would be open to having a book signing at her place, and she said Yes!


Many people I knew in Toronto attended my signing. Some were former colleagues and some were old friends. I did not meet any of  Gwendolyne's clients, although there were a couple of people browsing through her hats but they did not seem to have the time to look at my novel. Remember, it is Toronto, I said to myself, a place of perpetual motion

Hats - Gwendolyne knew her craft and how to find the appropriate hat for people. Her designs are one of a kind. She looks at the shape of your head, face and coloring and pulls out the perfect hat or hats for you. Her passion for her craft was palpable. She spent hours on each hat creation but she felt that her hat creations will soon vanish from society. William her partner in life, takes care of much of the business side of Gwendolyne's Hats. He, too, an artist creates some wonderful virtual sites.

On the first evening of the event, I read some excerpts from Beneath the Singapore Sky and also an excerpt from the sequel Lucia M of Singapore. The next afternoon, I had friends show up from out of Toronto. I treated everyone to soft rice cakes, mini custard tarts and mango or coconut juice.  On both days, my friends had an added bonus of sampling Gwendolyne's hats with her expert advice. Some have planned to return to Gwendolyne's for their Christmas shopping.
 Of course, I left Toronto with my own Gwendolyne Hat for winter.

Beneath the Singapore Sky-5 -Train Trip

     Arriving at the station about forty minutes before departure, I was pleasantly surprised to find I was the twelfth person in line. I left my suitcase and went to the little cafe to get a hot chocolate and when I returned, I smiled at the lady in front and asked if her destination was Toronto as the train was passing by several towns on the way.

VIA train in Ottawa (Wiki)
 
         She stated that her destination was Windsor as she was returning home after visiting a relative. So I told her I was going for a book signing of my novel Beneath the Singapore Sky.
Her eyes widened and I asked if she like reading. She loved reading, she said.    "I'll show you my novel then," said I.

    After rummaging through my hand luggage, I realized, all the copies of Beneath the Singapore Sky was in my heavy suitcase. The lady was looking expectantly at me.
" Will you hold this for me?"
I handed her my cup of hot chocolate and proceeded to unzip my suitcase. I took a couple of books, placed one in my hand luggage and handed the other to her, while retrieving my hot chocolate and sipped it ,as I looked behind me to see that the line-up had grown.

    When I returned my gaze  to her, she asked,
" Will you sign it for me?"
"Do you want to buy it?" Sounded silly as soon I voiced it. I was stunned or perhaps sleepy as I had awaken about 5 am much too early for me.
The line started to move, so she told me she would pay me on the train. I trusted her.

    On the train, she found me and since the seat next to me was empty, she asked if she could sit there. I had no problems with that.                                                                                      
We spent much of the trip reading or meditating on my part. She told me of her friend who was in charge of the bookfest in Windsor and asked if I was interested in participating. She was going to show my book to this friend. I told her I really appreciated that.
I wondered what the rest of the weekend would be like? Fantastic surely? If you would like to know, please check my next post.
PC Nicholas