Happy New Year

The year is over? I almost forgot its another end of the year. I've been so busy trying to upload some books to Kindle. Don't you love Youtube University, you can learn a lot from these young people. I'm amazed at what they know and I'm trying to learn from them. One thing about ebooks especially Kindle books is they should be short and sweet and to be the point. We're not writing our opus so why does it take so long. True, true, I'll get it. I'll take tomorrow off to cook and then its back to the books! Happy New Year. Here am I years and years ago, maybe more than ten, in Carcassone, France.

Kindle, buy with i-click

My first book is now on Amazon's Kindle. Buy with i-click and for $2.99 you can download it to read it. OMG, after 9 years of writing, the times are finally ripe, no need for book proposals, no agents, with just a pc and a program to format the manuscript and I'm being published. This is so awesome. I have 4 other manuscripts being formatted as I write with many more to come. I even designed the cover. How great is that?

Matera, Italy

It's official, just booked my flight to Rome leaving Feb 1 and then heading down South to Matera. I have a reservation to see 'the crypt of original sin' on Feb 4th. I'm excited.

Kindle publishing

I have a mac and a new pc. The Kindle publishing software only works with the pc. I have five manuscripts waiting to be formatted and uploaded into Kindle. I completed the uploading of one a few minutes ago. Kindle says it will take 12 to 48 hours before it'll appear on Kindle. This is so exciting. I've been too excited to sleep lately. Got to get back to work to upload the rest of the manuscripts.... what a year it has been, full of new and strange things. I hope I'll be able to share what happened to me lately. It's too painful to share right now.

Matera, Italy

Picture of Matera taken in 1951 by the French photographer, Henri Cartier-Bresson. This picture, at a recent Christie's auction has the price tag of 20,000 euros on it. Matera was poor and miserable but his photos of it raised the impression of Matera that a group of locals decided to search and document all the cave churches in the area. They discovered at least 147 and most of them still has frescoes in them. Their most important find is the 'cave of hundred saints' or the 'crypt of the original sin. A lot of the frescoes were fast disappearing because of climatic conditions and a group of Germans were suspected of stripping the walls of the frescoes, it became a case for Interpol. Now Matera is protected under a UN charter being a Unesco World Heritage site. Now everyone wants to return to live in Matera when once they couldn't wait to leave. I was in Matera in 2007 after watching the movie 'the Passion of the Christ' which was filmed on location here. I'm returning on February 1st and I have a reservation to see the crypt of the original sin on February 4th.

Merry Christmas

This is not my picture but I got it from Seventeen doors at lovelylife.se. Thanks.

Kindle publishing

I just now signed up to be published on Kindle. I now have my own account. How great is that. Now all that is needed is to format all the manuscripts I have already made ready onto the Kindle format. These are exciting times.

Merry Christmas

Have a very merry Christmas.

Monreale, Palermo

I made this sketch in 2007 while on a trip to Sicily. This is the exterior of the cloisters of Monreale cathedral. They closed for lunch, we had already eaten and am waiting for the church to reopen. I made a quick drawing. Three things I learned about life....it goes on! This year is almost over. In spite of whatever is happening in my life, its been a great year.

Morocco, a sensual journey

The manuscript is ready, need to type it out on word then convert into KDP and it'll be ready. Phew, what work!

Kasbah Ait ben Haddou, Ouarzazate, Morocco

Kasbah like this dot the Moroccan countryside. They are made from rammed earth, the same earth where they are situated, consisting of clusters of houses built closely together and surrounded by high walls. Inside is a self contained village with water supply and whatever is needed for daily life. This is the famous Ait Ben Haddou just a few miles outside Ouarzazate and is a Unesco World Heritage site, fully restored.

Berbers of Morocco

I'm doing research on Morocco for my book. Fascinating history that I found on Youtube. The Berbers ruled the Maghreb long before the Arabs. They were the Moors who conquered Southern Spain. One time they had two capitals, Marrakech and Seville. Now they are relegated  to the fringes of society. Their language and cultured is being wiped out and they are being arabized. Berber means 'wild' or 'from the forest.' They prefer to call themselves 'Amazigh' which means 'free' or in Taureg  'noble'. Now they've become tourist attractions, both them and their culture. I remember running after them to take their pictures. Now I feel very ashamed.

Rabat, Morocco

Today I'm starting my ebook on Morocco.

Startup

 I've become an author, an illustrator and a publisher. I've become my own startup! I'm making my own zines, with just paper, ink, water colors, a copier and a long reach stapler and you're in business. Its a lot of work and also a lot of fun.

Don't log in annechung.com yet. I hope by January 1, 2015 it will be online. I've owned my own name for 8 years. Each time I call to renew the registration, I'm always asked what I do. Nothing yet but its coming soon.

Working on a few zines

There's a lot of avenues for the selling and trading of zines even in Los Angeles. I just found this out and I'm hard at work making more. It's a lot of fun.

Zine fest Los Angeles, Feb 15, 2015

What's a 'zine"? It is a handmade book. With just paper, a long reach stapler, some color and pen, we can write anything to make a zine. Some are comics, it could be anything. They are usually sold on websites and at fairs. There is going to be one on February 2015 which I'm going to participate in. I'm hard at work now truing to finish at least 5 for the show and for sale. I'm really excited.