First things first. Thank you to all who read my book, especially those who review and rate them. Nothing helps a writer more than genuine feedback. (There are times authors don’t feel that way, but good writers learn to appreciate readers’ reactions.)
Between sales, Kindle Unlimited readers, promotional giveaway, several thousand copies of each novel have been read, with hundreds of ratings and reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, and several readers have contacted me directly.
Sadly, few readers post comments on this blog. The posts are being read; that’s established by analytics, but few comments or likes follow. Both are valuable guides in determining what interests readers. The numbers tell me which posts and short stories drew the most visitors and how long they remained, but not if they liked or disliked the piece, or why.
On the other hand, I am more than pleased with reader response to the two novels in my NJA series, Bangkok Shadows and Bangkok Whispers. Writing two novels taught me more than I ever learned in school, reading books on writing, or all-night bull sessions with poseurs. I almost always learn from reader feedback. A serious writer constant seeks to improve, with no ceiling on the quality of writing possible. (Nor is there any floor if a writer grows sloppy or disinterested.)
A writer who steadily produces and considers what readers tell them, is more likely to improve than one who ignores anything but their own opinion.
Note the distinction between “improve” and “grow.” They are related but distinct A writer improves by becoming more adept in structure, and learning to keep readers interested through time-honored devices to prevent the reader from closing the book before the ending: stakes, risks, unresolved conflicts, mysteries, betrayal, dangers . Improvement does not happen in total isolation; constructive criticism is a must. There are ways to improve the quality of dialogue, teach you to edit out unnecessary words, and stay on track with the plot. These must be mastered if a book is to please readers. There are ways to learn; find them!
It is essential for the beginning writer to have some group or person to guide them along the above paths. Writers groups are an available way to receive constructive criticism from other authors and see how they handle the same issues. The advice varies, just like the quality of the writers. I was fortunate to find perfect writing group when my passion to write emerged in full bloom, and you should too!(See KEYBANGERS BANGKOK).
Being technically more proficient dos not necessarily make the content better. Technically perfect writing, can be incredibly boring if it lacks the essence of good fiction: plot, tension, dialogue, character, description. Fiction needs a soul, not always easy to embed in a piece. Writers groups and proofreaders will are not the final arbiters of a writer’s success with these components. Only readers can make that ultimate determination. That’s why we writers want to hear from you readers!
A writer grows by seeing what works with readers and what does not. Readership numbers are one indication, nut if you are nor doing well, the numbers don’t say why. (If your book is dong well, you’re likely to stick with what is working.) What readers say about a book is quite different than what you gain from the constructive criticism of other writers. Readers generally provide less “technical” or “professional” feedback. nor do they offer marketing tips or advise on how to secure an agent; they are far more likely to inform what they liked and did not like, which is what an author needs to hear. Readers will never waste your time with pseudo-literary gibberish like “information dump” or “arc of the story”, nor will they push books on writing they swear will lead to a best-seller. (Though such dilettantes never explain why it hasn’t worked for them.) Readers will usually just say what they liked and didn’t like.
I’m not going to give away the plot of the third novel, Bangkok Blues, but can share some interesting tidbits:
Bangkok Blues Is Written in the Third Person
Bangkok Blues and Bangkok Whispers were written in the first person, the eyes of American expat criminal lawyer Glenn Murray Cohen. Glenn is wealthy and intelligent, yet often hopelessly insecure and conflicted, or oblivious to the obvious. Part of the fun is watching Glenn come to understand what is happening, and rise to the occasion through his brainpower.
First person is a perfect vehicle for developing a protagonist, certainly easier for a writer, especially a first or second time novelist. There’s only one point of view to consider. Human beings are generally programmed to go for the easiest option. Of course, in writing as in life, nothing is quite as it seems, and first person presents obstacles as well as benefits. It’s harder to reveal the thinking and feelings of characters other than the protagonist. Every one of their words and deeds are seen and interpreted through the main character, and thanks to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Nick Carraway, narrator of The Great Gatsby, readers never know if the protagonist/narrator is totally reliable.
Everything we know about the other characters in the two novels is what Glenn wants us to know. It is all his view, his take on things. We can accept what Glenn tells us, or question his observations, but all is dependent on him.
In Bangkok Blues, readers will travel into the minds of the General, Oliver, Sleepy Joe, Wang the Cook, Edward the Money Launderer, and a host of brand new characters, Thai and expat, male and female. Readers will learn what these people think of Glenn, each other, themselves, Thailand, and the world at large. If readers already know them from the first two novels, know, they will know them even better!
I gave great thought to this shift in point of view. My goal was to provide deeper understanding and context for my characters, without changing their essence or the way they relate to each other. Would knowing how each person really feels change the relationships? Will it change the way readers receive them?
The answer is that no one knows until the book is written.I believe it will be the best of the three books, but then again, I may be slightly biased.
I have enjoyed the change to third person. I have gotten to know the supporting cast in the same way readers of the first two novels came to know Glenn: through his own words and recollections. This is the first time I’ve gone directly into the minds of Sleepy Joe, Oliver, the General and the rest of the permanent cast. In Bangkok Blues, I meet them where they are, not where Glenn perceives them. I’ve worked with all of these people through two books, and know them as well as anyone; they are my creations, after all. Yet many times, after setting up the circumstances of a scene, I am surprised where my muse takes them. This is fiction writing at its most most rewarding, at least for me.
Glenn Will Continue Expressing his Political Views
Glenn Murray Cohen holds strong political views; he is a virulently anti-Trump progressive Democrat. A few readers have commented unfavorably on Glenn’s references to our not-so-dearly-departed former President, particularly Glenn’s references to Russian interference in the 2016 election, and their collusion with people in Trump’s campaign orbit.
In Bangkok Blues, Glenn’s political views will continue to expressed his views unabated. The setting is late 2019, early 2020, pre-COVID, just as the America election cycle heats up. I’m not going to change Glenn-or any character- just because their views annoy a few Trumpie crackpots. I have a well-informed and educated speculation that for every Trumpie who is enraged, there are dozens of readers who share my views, or at least understand them as the feelings of one character in a novel. In the real world, people have political opinions; why wouldn’t this be true of characters in a novel?
Both books are filled with characters whose views are y at odds with Glenn’s. Oliver, his dear friend and source of any needed information, is a staunch supporter of the Australian Conservative Party. The General, a retired military officer, is a monarchist and member of the wealthy Bangkok elite. He is fiercely anticommunist, strongly pro-American, enamored of Ronald Reagan and the Israeli Defense Force. Rodney Snapp, Glenn’s fascinating “frenemy” in the CIA, is a seemingly decent and patriotic man willing to commit terrible and criminal acts on behalf of his country, rationalizing all of them as necessary. Rodney ‘s code is diametrically opposite Glenn’s yet the two respect and like each other beneath the layers of mutual suspicion. Sleepy Joe, Glenn’s best friend and male soulmate, is a professional killer who shares little of Glenn’s humanitarianism and compassion. Yet these strange and diverse men band together as brothers, willing to de for each other. No political views will ever come between them. The novels show how people of different backgrounds and cultures grow to respect and love each other like brothers. (I’d like to add “sisters”, but aside from Glenn, these guys are hardly feminists. Recognizing this, I try to add several women characters in each book, as diverse as the men. Namwahn, the trained killer who became Sleepy Joe’s girlfriend by the end of Bangkok Whispers, is thus far the only woman to make it into the guys’ inner circle. It helped that she can use an assault rifle and is a trained firearms instructor.) The Trumpies who complain cannot imagine a world where people can think differently but along so well. They wouldn’t be Trumpies if they understood this.
Glenn may be principled and decent, but like all of us, can be a great hypocrite as well. He became independently wealthy by stealing a dead drug dealer’s money before the police found it, and used his gray-market lawyer buddy, Charlie, to be able to live without Uncle Sam knowing he had it. Glenn increased his wealth by working for the CIA, where he engaged in just about every action he otherwise condemns. Glenn had his reasons, but doesn’t everyone? The fun part of both writing and reading fiction is untangling these crossed strings, and coming appreciate the depth of interesting characters.
Readers may wonder what qualifies me to state what expats in Thailand thought about American politics. I lived in Bangkok during the 2016 primaries and elections and the following few years, and learned firsthand what expats thought and said. The race for the Presidency, and the subsequent disaster of the Trump Administration were constantly discussed among expats of all nations, and few were shy about expressing their opinions. Everything my characters say about politics was said in some similar form by voices I heard. One cannot write a novel about an American expat living abroad during the election cycles of 2016 and 2020, and completely ignore American politics. It determines why some people are expats, and whether they and others will ever return home.
Tt is entirely possible – if not likely – that an agent or publisher might tell a writer to keep their politics to themselves, because they will offend some readers. Isn’t that the case with any topic ? What good is the First Amendment if we are pressured to not exercise it? That’s why I am a proud independent published author, writing what I feel, not for an agent, not for a publisher, surely not for the Trumpies.
Any writer should be pleased when something in their work prompts a strong response from a reader, even not favorable. I’m pleased if I cause any reader to think about my work, and if it pisses off a Trumpie, that’s icing on the cake.
It's Not a COVID Novel
Since it seems every other writer in the world plans a COVID 19 novel, I decided to merely nibble around the edges. Bangkok Blues takes place just before the pandemic was fully realized as such, and the knowledge base of the characters reflects those times. This is a noir novel, so the impeding nightmare looms large in the background, but no actual signs of it. No people dying of the virus, no ventilators. (We all know that’s coming.)
There is an other reason for this, besides trying to stand out from the crowd. Many readers and reviewers have praised the two novels for bringing the reader into Thailand, and introducing a wonderful people and culture. A few kind folks have actually said they felt as if they had been transported to Thailand! In both novels, the characters travel about the city and Kingdom, meeting and interacting with Thais and foreigners. It would be exceedingly difficult to portray this again if the characters are in a Thailand subject to lockdown and travel restrictions.
There Will Be a Box Set
Of course there will be a box set, as e books and print on demand. (I’m considering adding audiobooks as well,) The box set will be sold at a discount. I do a lot of giveaways, mostly the first book, Bangkok Shadows, so many readers will be purchasing the box set to read the other two books, and there should be a deal for them. Not to worry. I’ll be running regular sales where the three book box set will be available for less than the price of two separate books. Like any obsessed author, I want as many people as possible to read my books.
Once Again, Thanks for Reading!
