(Heather Plunkett and Cindi Whittemore - owners of Ink Spell Books)

An interview with me by Suzanne Kamata is up now at the Women on Writing zine.

Check out my MySpace page and come be my friend.

Midori by Moonlight has been selected for
St. Martin's Read It First program.

Midori by Moonlight now has cover art and will be out in September 2007.

MIDORI BY MOONLIGHT – A Novel by Wendy Nelson Tokunaga

A smart and witty tale that explores the theme of why some people feel the need to trade in their native culture for a new one.

St. Martin’s Press, Available September 2007

ISBN: 0312372612

Midori Saito's dream seems about to come true. Too independent for Japanese society, Midori is a young woman who has always felt like a stranger in her native land. So when she falls in love with Kevin, an American English teacher, she readily agrees to leave home and start a new life with him in San Francisco—as his fiancée. Kevin seems to be the perfect man. That is, until he dumps her for his blond ex-fiancée, whom Midori never even knew existed. With just a smattering of fractured English, not much cash, and a fiancée visa set to expire in 60 days, Midori realizes she’s in for quite a struggle. Unable to face the humiliation of telling her parents she's been jilted, she decides to go it alone, surprising even herself as she proves she will do almost anything to hang on to her “American Dream.”

Advance Praise for Midori by Moonlight

 

“Wendy Nelson Tokunaga's charming heroine 'severed the seven-thousand-mile umbilical chord' and moved to San Francisco to marry Kevin. Ditched a week later, Midori Saito ("crisis is her middle name"), takes us with her on an American adventure. Midori is endearing, feisty and funny; the novel is a delight.”

–Ellen Sussman, editor of Bad Girls and author of On a Night Like This

 

“It's a shame there isn't a word to convey 'more charming than charming' because that's exactly what Wendy Nelson Tokunaga's MIDORI BY MOONLIGHT is, a delightful fusion of East meeting West, as if Banana Yoshimoto and Meg Cabot got together to create a romantic comedy.”

-Lauren Baratz-Logsted, author of Vertigo

“Midori by Moonlight is part wasabi, part ginger, and as scrumptious as a California roll. You'll devour this book in a day!”

–Cara Lockwood, bestselling author of Dixieland Sushi

“Wendy Nelson Tokunaga finds grace, strength and humor in Midori Saito’s unlikely and highly entertaining journey from jilted fiancée into an enterprising young businesswoman who is determined to make it on her own in San Francisco. Shedding light on Japanese culture and modern dating, relating and living woes, Nelson Tokunaga
–Margo Candela, author of Life Over Easy blends both with an insider’s eye for nuance and a real love for her characters. Delightfully sweet, just like Midori.”

Midori by Moonlight is now scheduled to debut sometime in Fall 2007.

Sept. 25, 2006 - from Publisher's Marketplace:

Wendy Nelson Tokunaga's MIDORI BY MOONLIGHT, which follows the misadventures of a Japanese Bridget Jones who has escaped the straitjacket society of Japan to start a new life in San Francisco, only to find that her American Dream isn't all it's cracked up to be, to Jennifer Weis at St. Martin's, in a nice deal, in a two-book deal, by Marly Rusoff at Marly Rusoff & Associates (World English).

Wendy is represented by literary agent Marly Rusoff of the Rusoff Agency.

She is currently hard at work getting her MFA in Creative Writing.