On Writing and Storytelling: ‘Reunion: Coda’ and PR Adventures

Midday, Wednesday, April 16, 2025, Miami, Florida

Hi there, folks. It’s a warm, if a bit cloudy, spring day in my corner of South Florida. Currently, the temperature is 78°F (26°C) under mostly sunny conditions. With humidity at 52% and a north-northwesterly breeze blowing at 5 MPH (8 Km/H), it feels like 88°F (32°C) outside. We can expect mostly sunny skies and a high of 82°F (28 °C). In short, it’s going to be a hot, somewhat sticky day in the subtropical zone.

I spent most of yesterday trying to write a script for a promotional YouTube video about my novel, Reunion: Coda. I’m not really an advertising or PR expert; if I were, I would have written the first draft of the promo pretty quickly. Back in college in 1987, I took an Intro to Mass Communications course that covered the basics of public relations and advertising, but my focus was on journalism. So, creating PR materials isn’t exactly my forte—otherwise, I’m sure my book sales would be higher than they are now!

Still, I know I need to drum up some sales. I can’t afford to give away too many copies of Reunion: Coda to friends because of the costs involved. A promo video seemed like a good idea, so I pushed myself to write a script for it. The video will be somewhat similar to the one my friends Juan Carlos Hernandez and his wife Adria made for Reunion: A Story back in 2023, but it will mostly be different in style and content.

Late yesterday afternoon, I sent the first draft of the script to Juan. He said the concept is solid and that he liked it. His feedback was encouraging, and it gave me a bit of confidence that this promo might help boost my book sales.

I don’t know when the video will drop on YouTube. It’ll be a while before Juan and Adria can film and edit it; I’ll let you know as soon as I hear from them.

Aside from that, I don’t have much to say. I have not received my “dead trees” copy of Reunion: Coda yet; Amazon hasn’t shipped it, even though it is supposed to arrive Friday. (I do have the Kindle edition on my Amazon Fire tablet and PC; the former needs the updated edition, while the latter is fully updated and corrected.)

I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to those of you who have already purchased either the Kindle or print edition of Reunion: Coda. Your support means the world to me. If you’ve finished reading, I kindly ask that you leave a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads. Reviews are incredibly helpful; they not only provide me with feedback but also help raise awareness of the book.

For those who haven’t yet ordered Reunion: Coda, I hope you will consider giving it a chance. Your support, whether through a purchase or a review, helps me continue to share my stories with a wider audience. Thank you all for your time and consideration.