I haven’t read this book yet, however it definitely sounds like a book I want to read. That’s why it’s on my “To Be Read” list. Take a look at this trailer…
An Island Tale of a Reclusive Poet, A Muse and the Search for Eternal Love Author, poet and aquatic nomad Kenneth Zak pens his debut novel, chosen by Romance Writers of America as a Golden Heart® Award finalist.
In The Poet’s Secret, Elia Aloundra, a young lit student, sees the reclusive poet Cameron Beck recite a poem at a campus pub before he vanishes—for a second time. Ten years earlier, Beck had dropped from the public eye leaving only an acclaimed collection of odes to an anonymous muse and a decade of speculation over his disappearance.
Elia sets off in search of Beck, longing to know the man whose words have moved her so, hoping perhaps the ghost poet will unveil the secret to eternal love. What she doesn’t know is that as her quest begins, Beck is perched atop a cliff on a remote Caribbean island and about to attempt suicide. As Elia faces off with Beck’s protective circle on the exotic island hideaway, the same island where decades earlier a Spanish shipwreck entombing mystical Aztec relics was found, she finds herself swept up in the mystery of the muse. What Elia cannot fathom is that Beck’s secret will change both their lives forever.
Author Kenneth Zak conceived of The Poet’s Secret in a taverna on the island of Crete. At the time, he was on a three-year sabbatical—an adult “time out,” recovering from a life that had left him feeling hollow. For months he wrote, swam with sea turtles in the Aegean Sea and disappeared into the remote, antiquated Greek village of Avdou. He dedicated himself to “living in the present,” and says, “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 people around me like never before.”
Ken 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. As an avid surfer and free diver, Ken’s life “has always been about the water. 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.”
The Poet’s Secret explores this great aquatic connection, spinning a suspenseful tale of passion, heartbreak, healing, life and love. Each chapter of The Poet’s Secret begins with a short poem, causing the reader to slow down and contemplate —to be present in the moment—before continuing on the narrative journey.
An early draft of The Poet’s Secret was selected as a Golden Heart® Award finalist in romantic suspense by Romance Writers of America. Penju Publishing is a member of 1% for the Planet, and for every copy of The Poet’s Secret sold, $1 will also be donated to The Surfrider Foundation, an organization dedicated to preserving the earth’s oceans, waves and beaches.
Born in Parma, Ohio, Kenneth Zak is an aquatic nomad of Bohemian-Polish ancestry. 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,
sunken treasure and a young woman’s search for a reclusive poet, his muse and the myth of eternal love.
A summa cum laude graduate of The Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Science in Business and special interest in Art History, Zak went on to receive his Juris Doctor and follow the waves to California. He eventually shut down a successful law practice in quest of a deeper purpose, freeing his creative self in a mountaintop village in Crete where he began his debut novel,
The Poet’s Secret, continuing work on the manuscript and his poetry in Bali, Costa Rica, Thailand, Cambodia and South America.
An avid surfer and free diver, Ken’s passions also include reading, music, ocean swimming, the Tibetan Rites and yoga.
He currently serves as General Counsel for a large private brokerage company and resides in San Diego, California.
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