Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Be Back Soon!
ZIA blog is temporarily on hiatus while I complete an adult fiction novel. See you in 2012!
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Very Nice Blog About ZIA
Brianna from Kentucky had a very nice mention about ZIA in her blog at you-aint-asian.blogspot.com You Ain't Asian. I really appreciate her positive comments, and if you enjoy K-Pop, K-Dramas and the like, you will definitely want to follow her blog. Someone else started a tumblr for ZIA at http://ziabyterrylovett.tumblr.com/, so if whoever it was is reading this, thank you! I didn't even know what a tumblr was! And, at Amazon.com, a reader has started a ZIA discussion group. It can be found by scrolling down past the reviews. Thanks to all these people for "finding" ZIA and helping get the word out!!!
Thursday, July 14, 2011
ZIA Available on Nook
ZIA is now available on Nook through Barnes & Noble.com. Price for both the Kindle and Nook has been reduced to only $.99.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
ZIA in Top 100 on Amazon Kindle
Never mind that ZIA is like #1 million plus in Amazon book sales, today I discovered it is in Kindle's Top 100 for Fanatasy, Futuristic, Ghost Romance novels. Squeezed in at #96! Thanks to everyone who bought ZIA on ebook and for the very nice feedback left on Amazon.com.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
K-POP, LEE MIN-HO, & ASIAN ALIENS
I've had several people contact me through FaceBook to ask about the origins of my novel's two male characters, Kiel (pronounced Kyle) and Kim. They were fascinted with my choice of ethnicity for the Caucasian heroine's love interests. If the blog title didn't say it all, I will - they are both Asian.
Actually, Kim is Asian, specifically Korean. And yes, I realize that Kim is a Korean last name, not a first name. Most American readers wouldn't know the difference, but I do explain his surname reversal in the chapter "Seoul Kiss." As for the character of Kiel also being Asian, well...HE IS and HE ISN'T. Although his appearance may suggest otherwise, he can't be from Asia if he isn't from Earth.
Now, to get back to the original question. How in the world does an "over-thirty" Caucasian-American writer decide that her teen novel's male protagonists should both be Asian? Simple - I am the mother of a teen daughter who is part of the growing subculture of American females obsessed with Korean boy bands, better known as K-Pop. I doubt there is another woman of my age anywhere in the USA who has been subjected to more hours of Korean television than I have. Not that I'm complaining. It's a taste that actually isn't all that hard to acquire (whether you use a fork or a pair of chopsticks.)
I was indoctrinated a few years ago. It began with a continuous barrage of Supior Junior songs blaring from our living room stereo. Soon, other groups joined in - 2 PM, Shinee, B2ST, Big Bang, and MBLAQ to name a few. Eventually, listening to the music wasn't enough, and I was required to watch hours of K-POP music videos. I have to admit that looking at Super Junior's Choi Siwon isn't exactly torture (more on him later), nor is the opening sequence of MBLAQ's video "Give It To My Y." So, as a loving parent, I willingly complied. But our household's teenage females needed an even bigger Korean-boy fix and began indulging in Korean TV shows. I succumbed as well, watching every single episode of "Boys Before Flowers," "You're Beautiful," "Personal Preference," "Coffee Prince," "Naughty Kiss" and "My Girlfriend is a Gummiho."
Asian overload, you might ask? At times, yes. Still, when I began writing my YA romantic fantasy, ZIA, I knew it would include Asian-American characters. As I saw more and more of my daughter's now college-aged friends fall prey to K-Pop's undeniably handsome young men (they call it that "Asian Persuasion"), I knew it was time for an American teen novel to feature male love interests who were not your typical Caucasian fare. Hence, Kiel and Kim were created. And it is there, that I will finally answer the original question put to me on Facebook. Were either of them based on real people?
The answer is no, not based on, but rather inspired by. And I will tell you who they are - the basis for Kiel and Kim's physical descriptions. Kiel is a combination of actor Lee Min-Ho and singer Lee Joon (remember that opening scene in MBLAQ's video?); and Kim is a combination of actor/singer Kim Hyen Joong and singer/actor Choi Siwon ( I told you I'd mention him again.)
So, if you decide to read ZIA and need a visual image for either character, now you have it. And if you don't know any of these Korean superstars, start Googling. Like my daughter, you'll be glad you did!
Actually, Kim is Asian, specifically Korean. And yes, I realize that Kim is a Korean last name, not a first name. Most American readers wouldn't know the difference, but I do explain his surname reversal in the chapter "Seoul Kiss." As for the character of Kiel also being Asian, well...HE IS and HE ISN'T. Although his appearance may suggest otherwise, he can't be from Asia if he isn't from Earth.
Now, to get back to the original question. How in the world does an "over-thirty" Caucasian-American writer decide that her teen novel's male protagonists should both be Asian? Simple - I am the mother of a teen daughter who is part of the growing subculture of American females obsessed with Korean boy bands, better known as K-Pop. I doubt there is another woman of my age anywhere in the USA who has been subjected to more hours of Korean television than I have. Not that I'm complaining. It's a taste that actually isn't all that hard to acquire (whether you use a fork or a pair of chopsticks.)
I was indoctrinated a few years ago. It began with a continuous barrage of Supior Junior songs blaring from our living room stereo. Soon, other groups joined in - 2 PM, Shinee, B2ST, Big Bang, and MBLAQ to name a few. Eventually, listening to the music wasn't enough, and I was required to watch hours of K-POP music videos. I have to admit that looking at Super Junior's Choi Siwon isn't exactly torture (more on him later), nor is the opening sequence of MBLAQ's video "Give It To My Y." So, as a loving parent, I willingly complied. But our household's teenage females needed an even bigger Korean-boy fix and began indulging in Korean TV shows. I succumbed as well, watching every single episode of "Boys Before Flowers," "You're Beautiful," "Personal Preference," "Coffee Prince," "Naughty Kiss" and "My Girlfriend is a Gummiho."
Asian overload, you might ask? At times, yes. Still, when I began writing my YA romantic fantasy, ZIA, I knew it would include Asian-American characters. As I saw more and more of my daughter's now college-aged friends fall prey to K-Pop's undeniably handsome young men (they call it that "Asian Persuasion"), I knew it was time for an American teen novel to feature male love interests who were not your typical Caucasian fare. Hence, Kiel and Kim were created. And it is there, that I will finally answer the original question put to me on Facebook. Were either of them based on real people?
The answer is no, not based on, but rather inspired by. And I will tell you who they are - the basis for Kiel and Kim's physical descriptions. Kiel is a combination of actor Lee Min-Ho and singer Lee Joon (remember that opening scene in MBLAQ's video?); and Kim is a combination of actor/singer Kim Hyen Joong and singer/actor Choi Siwon ( I told you I'd mention him again.)
So, if you decide to read ZIA and need a visual image for either character, now you have it. And if you don't know any of these Korean superstars, start Googling. Like my daughter, you'll be glad you did!
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Start of Sequel
I finally had time this week to start transcribing all my notes, scribblings, etc. over to the computer and began work on the sequel to ZIA, INAMORATA'S PASSAGE. About four chapters have been completed, but with the way I rewrite and rewrite and rewrite, the next book probably won't be out till the end of the year. After sorta, somewhat resolving my issues with Goodreads, I noticed that Amazon had added the "Look Inside" gadget to ZIA. I was very excited to see it up and running until I realized that the ENTIRE book was included and not just the first chapter! After a frantic call to Author Central, the folks at Amazon quickly resolved the problem, and I was able to fixate on other problems - namely my obsession with the Casey Anthony trial.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
ZIA finally available in print!
ZIA became available earlier this week in a paperback version exclusively through Amazon.com for $11.99. An abridged interview I did with pr.com for the book's release can be found at http://www.pr.com/press-release/324133. If you enjoy romantic young adult sci-fi/fantasy, please check out ZIA!
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Welcome
If you've found this blog, then I'm pleasantly surprised because ZIA has yet to be published. The Kindle version was released earlier this week, but the print version won't be available until later this month. If you have found this page and wonder who Zia is, please check out our facebook page or go to Amazon.com.
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