The Poet's Secret is an upmarket romantic suspense exotic adventure novel powered by two remarkable yet fractured characters: Elia Aloundra, a young lit student, and Cameron Beck, the reclusive, suicidal poet she is on a quest to find. Decades earlier, Beck penned his acclaimed masterwork inspired by an anonymous muse, only to thereafter disappear. Elia always found sanctuary within the works of the literary greats and considered Beck worthy of that pantheon. Hoping that the poet will unveil the secret to eternal love, Elia faces off with Beck's protective circle on an exotic island hideaway, the same island where decades earlier a Spanish shipwreck entombing mystical Aztec relics was found. What Elia cannot fathom is that Beck's secret will change both of their lives forever. Selected as a Golden Heart Finalist by the Romance Writers of America (romantic suspense); "A Beautifully Crafted Gem" - Dirk Cussler, Best Selling co-author of Dirk Pitt adventure novels, with Clive Cussler; "Exotic Mystery and Romance" - Judy Reeves, author of Wild Women, Wild Voices; "A thought-provoking blend of romance, poetry and adventure. The Poet's Secret satisfies on many levels. Elegant prose explores the infinite promise of art, while a quickening pace unveils the story of star-crossed lovers, whose union feels timeless and exceptional at the same time. More than just a good read, this is a book to savor." - Kim Fay, Edgar Award Finalist author of The Map of Lost Memories. The Poet's Secret is filled with aquatic imagery and also subtle conservation and slow movement themes. The author wrote the novel while on a three-year personal pilgrimage while traveling abroad, writing, reading, surfing and slowing down his existence. Thus, the original manuscript was conceived in a hovel perched atop a one-table taverna in the hillside village of Avdou, just a scooter ride from the blue waters of the Aegean Sea on the island of Crete. Each chapter begins with brief excerpts of poetry from the reclusive poet before moving into the narrative prose. The author's influences include Pablo Neruda, Rumi, Wallace Stevens, Paulo Coelho, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Haruki Murakami and others. Penju Publishing is a member of 1% For the Planet, dedicating 1% of sale proceeds from The Poet's Secret to conservation causes. In addition, the author, an avid surfer, will donate $1 for every book sold to the Surfrider Foundation, an organization dedicated to preserving our oceans and beaches. Born in Parma, Ohio, author Kenneth Zak is an aquatic nomad of Bohemian-Polish descent. As a lad, he dove into Lake Erie in search of a silver coin. Decades later, he surfaced off the island of Crete with a tale filled with mystical sea turtles, mermaids, sunken treasure, and a young woman's search for a reclusive poet, his muse and the secret to eternal love. Zak now resides in San Diego, California. The poem "Two Bits" from The Poet's Secret previously appeared in Kelp Magazine. Zak's short fiction "A Promise" appeared in A Year in Ink, San Diego Writers, Ink Anthology, Volume 4 and his short fiction "Thea" appeared in A Year in Ink, San Diego Writers, Ink Anthology, Volume 8. The Poet's Secret is his debut novel.
Goodreads Summary
Q&A:
What
inspired you to write The Poet’s Secret?
At the time I wrote The Poet’s Secret, I was on a personal
pilgrimage. I essentially took a threeyear sabbatical, sort of an adult “time
out,” and embarked on a new path. I dedicated myself to explore the meaning of
life and love and particularly the arc of passion. I became consumed by the idea
of living in the present, honoring the “now” as the only real moment in time,
the only authentic eternity, which allowed me to both disconnect and connect
like never before and let go of the constructs of past and future as fictions
created by the mind. I gained a new appreciation for relatively brief moments
and encounters as having potentially profound effects. I was living abroad,
reading, writing, surfing and slowing down my existence.
The tale that became The Poet’s Secret was conceived in a hovel
perched atop a onetable taverna in the hillside village of Avdou, just a
scooter ride from the blue waters of the Aegean Sea on the island of Crete. I
was sequestered alone, halfway around the world from my home, and recovering
from a life, and a relationship, that had left me hollow, or at least I thought
at the time. But it turned out words kept flowing out of me, first in raw,
chunky verse that faintly resembled poetry and then in images and scenes that
bore an even fainter resemblance to a novel. For months I wrote, swam in
healing waters and disappeared into this remote, antiquated Greek village. I
had never done anything like that before, but at the time it was the only
existence that made any sense.
So many miracles
happened during those months. I experienced a cleansing, a healing and an
awakening, and I began to perceive light and water and imagery and words and
the souls around me like never before. I eventually returned to California, and
then traveled to Bali, Mexico, Costa Rica, Thailand, Cambodia and South
America, following the sea and surf with laptop in hand and continuing to
write. The backstory to writing The
Poet’s Secret is a story in itself.
How did
you select the locations for the novel?
It
was tempting to set the bulk of the novel in Greece, a country I adore.
However, as the story evolved the compass for the island setting spun toward
the West Indies, and the story’s life raft washed ashore on the fictional
island of Mataki. I was fortunate to spend a good part of my sabbatical on
tropical islands and coastal villages that certainly informed the setting. As
for the early campus setting, I based it on a fictionalized version of my
beloved alma mater, The Ohio State University.
What
was your particular process in terms of plot, outlining and character?
I
essentially began the novel with two scenes that were haunting me. First, I had
a reclusive poet on a remote island cliff about to attempt suicide. Second, I
had a bookish young woman captured within the confines of the great romances of
literature. I really had no idea about their connection, if any, but those two
images would not let go of me. As I began to write, the concept of the woman
yearning for what nearly kills the poet began to take hold.
The
process was fairly organic. I let the characters breathe and lead me into the
story. I wasn’t even sure whose story it was until shortly after the first
draft. Once the closing scene appeared to me I realized that it was really
Elia’s story. I then just had to navigate getting there. While I did not
develop any formal outline, I downloaded scenes as they appeared, stockpiled
them and later wove them in when they seemed to make sense. It was a bit like
swimming across a sea, not sure which direction land might be but hoping that
if I kept going I would eventually find my way.
Stumbling,
a bit blindly, through this creative process was both exasperating and
exhilarating. As I was working on revisions, I attended several writers’
conferences that stressed the necessity of thorough plotting, which made me
feel a tad vulnerable. I later read an interview about Michael Ondaatje’s
process in writing The English Patient
and realized I was in good company.
The
novel is filled with excerpts of poetry, which came first, the poetry or the
narrative arc?
Most
of the poetry was written before any narrative took form. The poetry came in
often painful and soulsearching flourishes, and then was revised over time.
There is a line in The Poet’s Secret
where Dean Baltutis refers to the poet’s inspiration being “survival.” That is
precisely how it felt at times. I also wanted to combine both poetry and prose
into one novel and attempt to slow down the reader a bit at the beginning of
each chapter to contemplate and absorb the poetry, to be in that moment so to
speak, before continuing on the narrative journey.
What in
particular surprised you about the process of writing The Poet’s Secret?
I
didn’t want to force plot twists or preconceived outcomes. I let the characters
find the story. I let go of expectations and trusted the story to evolve.
Tapping into this creative process was freeing, exhilarating and challenging,
sort of like jumping off a cliff into the sea for the first time. I had never done
anything quite like it, but this particular process for me felt authentic. I
certainly was surprised how well the early drafts of the poetry and manuscript
were received, which bolstered my confidence to pursue the project through
publication.
Water
imagery is abundant throughout the novel, what is the particular connection for
you with water and particularly with respect to this novel?
I
was thrown onto a swim team at age 8 even before I passed beginners swim
lessons (I was terrible at the back float). But water soon became my life and
in many ways my salvation. Throughout my youth I swam, played water polo,
lifeguarded and hung around Lake Erie in northeastern Ohio. Somehow, I didn’t
even see an ocean until I was 18. But I recall climbing out of the backseat of
a Datsun 210 hatchback (or what they claimed to be a backseat) after driving
for twentytwo hours to Ft. Lauderdale for spring break and telling my college
buddies to just pick me up in a few hours. I was mesmerized. I sprinted into
the Atlantic Ocean and swam and bodysurfed until dark. Today, I surf or swim
almost every day. I feel like I am about eighty percent water, the remaining
twenty percent made up mostly of curiosity and mischief.
Much
of the water in the universe is said to be a byproduct of star formation. I’m
no scientist, but I like the way that sounds. Because when I look up at the
night stars it feels a lot like gazing west an hour before the sun dips into
the sea, at least at my secret little spot by the water. Flickering diamonds
scatter everywhere along the surface, and if I squint just right, I forget the
sea is even there. Instead, it looks like a galaxy of stars shimmering right
into me, washing across my heart, reflecting off my smile and filling me with
the belief that I can just float away into the universe. So I often do.
Spiritually,
water often represents purification and healing. To me, water represents so
many things, perhaps most importantly love and life and the sacred feminine. I
once nearly died underwater while surfing in Uluwatu, a place few have ever
heard of and even fewer have visited. But I know on so many occasions water has
saved me, water has healed me, and water has reset my compass when I have been
spinning in some uncontrollable vortex. So for me, my life and my love seem to
be tied to returning to the great aquatic source, again and again, maybe just
to fill the chasm that still exists in me, and maybe to some degree still
exists in all of us.
I
have been fortunate to swim with sea turtles and dolphins in the wild on many
occasions. When I stare into the eyes of a sea turtle or a dolphin I cannot
help but believe that they understand this great aquatic connection, a
connection beyond humanity, beyond species, beyond even the stars. So when I am
writing about passion, heartbreak, healing, life and love, it is only natural
for me to write in a particularly aquatic language and style.
My favorite place to write is on that
squeaky metal spring cot in that hovel above Mihalis’ taverna in Avdou, Crete.
After that, any place as long as I have my noise cancellation headphones. I’ve
written and revised all over from kitchen tables to airplanes.
How long have you been writing?
I’ve been writing over thirty years
now in one form or another. I wrote a bit of poetry in high school and then did
a bunch of required writing in my legal profession. It was sometime after law
school that I penned my first novel (unpublished), and then about ten years ago
when the idea for The Poet’s Secret
first took flight. I also have some published short fiction and poetry.
Who are
some of your favorite authors?
Pablo
Neruda, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Haruki Murakami, Carlos Ruiz Zafon, Paulo
Coehlo, Milan Kundera, John Steinbeck, Michael Ondaatje, Jorge Luis Borges,
Rumi, A.S. Byatt, Carl Safina, Tom Spanbauer and so many more.
How did
those authors influence your work?
My
favorite authors inspire, entertain, challenge and provoke me. I don’t try to
write or emulate any particular style. But when I read the opening of Cannery Row time stops.
How did
you become affiliated with the Romance Writers of America?
Someone
recommended I send an early draft of The
Poet’s Secret to the RWA. While The
Poet’s Secret is by no means a traditional genre romance, it was selected
an RWA Golden Heart Finalist in romantic suspense. I was the only male
nominated that year (attending the national conference and award ceremony is
another story altogether). When my face went up on the Jumbotron in front of
thousands of mostly female authors at the award ceremony it was a bit
unnerving. Writing anything can be fraught with selfdoubt. The RWA could not
have been more welcoming and supportive and certainly gave me a bolt of
confidence to continue writing and revising, as did the nominee class from that
year, the appropriately named Unsinkables.
How did
your professional career as an attorney influence your writing and how do you
balance the two careers?
I
think practicing law actually spurred my interest in creative writing. While I
was in private practice, I felt constrained by the form restrictions requisite
within the legal profession. I also felt a lot of legal writing often served
more to obfuscate than illuminate and writing poetry and fiction allowed me the
freedom to explore and express myself in a different medium. The Poet’s Secret is not “another
lawyer’s courtroom thriller” in any respect, nor am I particularly drawn to
that genre since I’ve lived it. Nonetheless, my legal career (now as General
Counsel for a large private brokerage company) is both fascinating and
challenging. I draw some inspiration from the poet Wallace Stevens who for
years continued his vibrant writing career while an executive for an insurance
company. As far as balance goes, my evenings and weekends are spent around the
keyboard as much as possible.
Tell us
about your involvement with 1% for the Planet and The Surfrider Foundation.
Perhaps
only a poet would give away money before it is even earned, but that is what I
felt compelled to do given my love of the ocean and conservation causes. In
addition to ocean swimming, free diving and water polo, I have been an avid
surfer for nearly two decades and have surfed around the world. Subtle
conservation themes are laced through The
Poet’s Secret, but my love of the ocean and our planet is anything but
subtle. I hope to leave this world and particularly our oceans better than I
found them. Penju Publishing’s membership with 1% For the Planet and my pledged
donations to The Surfrider Foundation are an effort to spread awareness, give
back and pay it forward.
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