Another Book Blurb

HAPPY 4th of JULY to all AMERICANS! And to all of you English, better luck next time mate!

Too sad was the opening reaction to the two people who commented on my book's cover blurb. Thanks for that. Let's give this one a try. If you like this one better, please let me know in the comments. I actually don't hear much of anything on the comments these days, is their anyone still reading this? Sometimes I feel this blogging thing is not my calling. Anyway, here is the probabable back of the book:



ECHO POOL

Spending money in Thailand is much easier than making it. DUKE, a mid-thirties bachelor, has learned this lesson the hard way. His business has failed, and the savings he’d built, while living a duel life as both a high school teacher and a professional gambler. He is also feeling emotionally bankrupt as his Thai girlfriend, ARRAYA, a beautiful and compassionate young lady, is harboring a desire for marriage. This realization sends Duke into an introspective journey deep within the echo pool – the place where past lives reside – in order to learn from his past and find direction for his future.
His life in Bangkok is an exciting one, as his wealthy Thai friends are generous entertainers; but no matter what diversions he finds within one of Asia’s most exciting cities, everything seems to trigger the memories of his lost home. But if Duke wants to survive, he must relive the lessons of his father – as painful as those recollections are – in order to find his roots and strength again.

ECHO POOL is COMING SOON

It appears we have a JULY DELIVERY DATE set.

The publishers of my new novel, BANGKOK BOOK HOUSE, have sent me the final edited copy of ECHO POOL. I've also been working on the final cover blurb so that we can attract a little attention to this story. Sadly, cover design and the 150 words we come up with for the back of the book will probably decide if we have a success or a failure. I couldn't be happier that this book is finally coming out. It is a very personal story and so in some ways it will be very difficult for me to share this one with the world. I do feel it is a story that needs to be told. My father was a great man and this piece, although much of the novel is fictional and crafted around Duke's escape to Thailand, details the lifelong teacher that my father was. It also deals with his agonizing battle with lung cancer and his final days. Is the book fiction? "Yes and no." It's a novel that pulls so closely to my life story that anyone who knows me or has been in my life will probably see themselves in parts of it, but it has been crafted -- formed to work around the narrative which I created. But the stories about Duke's father, come directly from my memories of my Dad.

I have written 3 possible back cover summaries. The one following this is top of the list so far:

ECHO POOL

Yearning for a better future while being tethered to his past, DUKE has escaped his chaotic life in the United States where he was a teacher by day and a professional gambler by night, hoping to start again. But spending money in Thailand is much easier than making it. His life savings is lost in a business venture gone bad and he finds himself living on the edge of financial ruin. This is further complicated by the fact that his Thai girlfriend ARRAYA, a beautiful and compassionate young lady, is harboring a desire for marriage. This realization sends Duke into an introspective journey deep within the echo pool – the place where past lives reside – in order to learn from his past and find direction for his future.

Memories are venom to a man running from himself. But if Duke wants to survive he must relive the lessons of his father – as painful as those recollections are – in order to find his roots and strength again.