Several people have jokingly said to me, “Now that you’re a published novelist-don’t forget those that knew you when.”

Believe me, when you look at the statistics regarding first time novelists and how successful they might be, there is now way one would get a swelled head.

1. According to Wikepedia, there are 304,912 books published every year. I don’t believe this counts self-published books.
2. Based on 2007 statistics-43,000 fiction books are published each year and that does not include self-published novels.
3. Bubble.com states that most authors sell less than 1,000 copies, with many selling much less.
4. The NY Times reported a new fiction book is published in the US every 30 minutes.
5. R.R. Bowker, a company who compiles a database on books published, reports 1 in 8 authors sell 5,000 copies .
6. Harper Collins reports that 93% of authors sell fewer than 1,000 copies.

As you can tell the statistics are all over the place and none of them are encouraging for first time authors or authors period. So how can one be over confident. Few  will become household names in the literary world.

By the same token, I reached my long time goal of being a published author. That has given me great satisfaction. I feel complemented that one of the directors at my publisher’s compared my novel to something that Nicholas Sparks or Nora Roberts would write. So, I’m in a happy place.

I have started a second book, non-fiction. It is on Alternative Healing-Tong Ren

Well today I did have an interesting experience with the Lawrence, MA, Community Television Station. They have a program titled : Books and Authors or Authors and Books. It is a 29 minute broadcast on Comcast Ch 8 or Verizon Ch 40 in the Lawrence, North Andover and Andover area. It was a comfortable atmosphere and everyone made me feel at ease.

Talk about what a small world it is, the interviewer is a woman I went to grammar school with. Yep, we went to school grades 1-6 together. Her name is Terry Kelly. I moved to Methuen after the sixth grade.I’m surprised she remembered me. She also has a sixth grade photo of me. She promised to send me a copy of it.

Ginny Alexander, the Executive Director, said the show would be posted on FB and on YouTube. They have to go through the editing process  before posting it. I’ll let you know when, as soon as I know.

Needless to say I was a bit nervous. The lights were so bright that I couldn’t see anyone in front of us. What made me feel good was that both Terry, the interviewer and Ginny liked the novel.

I’ll keep you posted.

I was contacted by the Lawrence Community Access Television station about doing an interview with them on their program titled, “Books and Authors.”

I’m scheduled to be interviewed on Monday, March 30th at 1:00 PM. As soon as I know the date it will be televised, I’ll let you know.

They claim that they also post it on You Tube as well. This cable television station covers the Lawrence, Andover, North Andover and other Merrimack Valley  communities.

I’ll keep you posted.

Many of you know that I am a proponent of the Tom Tam’s Tong Ren Healing Practice. Tom will soon be publishing a new book.  I decided to write a testimonial to be included in his new book.

As an aside, I have started my own book on Tong Ren. I’m only 15 pages into it, but it is a start.

Testimonial For Tong Ren-Ron Penczak

I have been fortunate in that I have not incurred any serious or debilitating illnesses during my 75 years. Over the past several years I know that the Tong Ren Healing System has played a major role in keeping me healthy.

And not surprisingly, I have been WOWED by the successes of the Tong Ren Healing System in controlling and curing major ailments such as cancer, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s and more. Since the summer of 2009 I have beens zealously attending the Tong Ren sessions conducted on Thursday mornings. I rarely miss a session. It appears that at each session there is a new Good News story regarding a person’s illness. I have witnessed success and know that the Tong Ren Healing System works. I can’t understand why it isn’t practiced by more individuals world-wide. It is becoming more popular, but, in my opinion, not fast enough.

Oops, I digress. From a personal viewpoint Tong Ren has gotten me off of all my medications.

Let me start at the beginning and list all of the nuisance ailments I had. Beginning from the top of my head and moving down to the bottom of my feet I will tell you my tale of working my way back to good health through Tom Tam and his group of devoted disciples.

My doctor told me that I had cataracts and within a year or two I would require surgery. It did take  more than one year of attending healing sessions but – a few years ago, during my annual eye exam the doctor got me worried. He kept going back and forth examining my eyes. I said, “Doctor, what’s wrong? Are my eyes getting worse?” His response was, “I don’t understand it. Your cataracts are nearly gone.” I have had several eye exams after that visit and he no longer brings up the subject of cataracts.

Years ago as a young field engineer I worked on radar and air-defense systems. End result, I incurred a serious hearing loss at specific frequencies. This was before the protective ear muffs were available. Yes, I am that old. Because of Tong Ren my hearing has remained stable and has not deteriorated. The doctors warned me that as I got older my hearing would become worse. Not true, through Tong Ren, my hearing has stabilized. It is not better, but not worse. That is a Win-Win for me.

I had an issue with acid reflux, but it wasn’t annoying enough for me to bring it up during the healing classes. Yet, just by attending these group sessions I have not been bothered by acid reflux issues. Oops, let me take that back, I did have one bout since 2009.

I did have serious asthma and allergy issues. I lived on inhalers and antihistamines. To me, this was my most serious issue. This took some time to resolve. However, after a few months I started seeing improvement and over a period of approximately a year I was off of all my medications.

I was bothered with a hiatal hernia. Again, not bad enough to make an issue of it during the healing sessions, but I have not been affected by this in several years.

Oh, I almost forget. I had arthritis so bad in my neck that I could not turn it, right or left very much and I was in constant pain. To meld with traffic on a highway from the on-ramp, I would have to turn my whole body to the left to determine if any traffic would hinder my approach. Now, I have no issues turning my neck, left or right. Best of all, I am pain free.

For several years I had to undergo an annual echocardiogram to check on a leaky heart valve. More than two years ago my cardiologist said, “I don’t want to see you unless you start experiencing any problems.” To date, no problems.

I did have an enlarged prostate. I was getting up five or six times a night to urinate. Lo and behold, I now get up once a night. My urologist said my prostate is now normal. Again, years earlier, he was talking about surgery.

Finally, we arrive at my feet. I did have a serious issue with plantar fasciitis. This took several months to resolve, but it was resolved and I have been pain free for a few years now.

As you can guess, I am a believer in Tom Tam and his healing system. You can call it “guinea pig sessions” “voodoo” or whatever. It works.

Let me tell you about the Tong Ren Healing routine I have been practicing for the past three years, and this, I believe, has kept me in good health.

I go to Tong Ren Healing sessions in Haverhill, Massachusetts, two times a week. I go on a Wednesday afternoon and stay for Tai Chi. On Thursday mornings I attend a Tong Ren Healing session, receive an acupuncture treatment and a short Tui Na massage. I attend Tai Chi classes every Friday morning as well. My Primary Care Physician agreed that this is a good program to pursue, especially as one gets older. It helps one maintain their balance, relieves tension and brings about a good feeling.

Every two weeks I have a healing session with one of Tom Tam’s long term practitioners. It is typically a one hour session that includes a little bit of Tong Ren and a lengthy Tui Na massage.

To further ensure that I am doing all I can do to stay healthy, I have purchased several of Tom Tam’s Tong Ren devices and I use them religiously at home. I won’t go into the technology of these devices, that is a story for another day. Suffice it to say, that they work. There are two that I wear and use nearly every day. One is the Cable By-Pass Patch with piezoceramic discs and is similar to an EKG patch and cable. The patch is covered with a gel for sticking and conductivity. One can use them on any ouch points or wherever one feels the need. The second, is what I call the Horse Collar. They can be used on whatever ouch points one may have. The horse collar is made of material similar to what is used on stealth aircraft and has two piezoceramic discs on the center of this material. I typically wear this collar around my neck and it keeps my neck flexible and loose. No more crackling sounds when I turn my head. You can use it on other ouch points on your body, for example, an arthritic knee.

While at home or while watching TV, I will wear Tom Tam’s Piezoceramic headset with the brain entrainment feature.

Periodically, while at home, I will wear Tom Tam’s Ultrasound and Brainwave Entrainment headset. This headset has a module that addresses twenty-one electronic files for healing. They range from general healing, cancer, neurology, cancer/painkiller, weight control, emotion, arthritis, metabolism, thyroid, eyes/ears and more.

As I will tell anyone who will listen, I believe consistency in practicing the Tong Ren Healing methodology is what works. One can’t go to these healing sessions one, two or three times and hope to be cured. I know of others who have attended daily healing sessions and used Tom Tam’s devices fervently and have made great gains with improving their health. One person suffering from MS came into her first session hardly able to walk with a cane and in a lot of pain. One year later, after attending nearly daily Tong Ren sessions and using these devices, she is without pain and just carries her cane for security. She walks without a cane. Better news yet, she is off of all her medications. There are many other devotees that I have observed to that have made miraculous recoveries from all sorts of illnesses, ailments and diseases.

In conclusion I just want to emphasize Tom Tam has a record of being successful in curing many serious illnesses and many that fall into the non-critical category. Attend these healing sessions and do it consistently and I would wager a bet with you that you will experience an improvement in your health. Remember, consistency is the key to good health.

I’m new at writing a blog, so bear with me.

I spent nearly ten years  working and living in the Far East, most of it in Korea. Naturally while in country I tried to  learn as much as I could about the Korean people and their culture.

During the early sixties I dated a Korean woman who worked as a waitress in one of the 8th Army Officer Clubs. As our relationship progressed she told me she had a son. The father was a US Army officer. They were suppose to marry just before he was transferred back to the states. Because of family pressure he backed out of the marriage and left his girl friend as a single mother.

Because he was of mixed blood, and as a result of this, and to use a term familiar to all of us, he was bullied in school. I met the boy and he was a handsome young lad and extremely intelligent.

Over time and as I became more acquainted and familiar with the Korean people, their customs and culture I understood that they wanted to keep their race pure. This resulted in children of mixed blood to be ostracized, ridiculed and be bullied by their peers and adults. It made me think of what the blacks in our country encountered.

In 1964, I wanted to write a novel that was entertaining, meaningful and would pass on a message about the children in Korean who were of mixed blood. This was the start of me wanting to write this novel.