“Does it matter in what order I read your NJA Club Series?”
That’s a question I’m frequently asked. I understand why, as all voracious readers encounter two types of series: one which must be read from first novel forward in order to understand the subsequent books, and another type where a reader can read the series novels in any order they choose.
No matter which path a writer follows, they must decide the role of successive novels in a series. Fictional characters change and develop just as real people do, and a person’s actions and thoughts are shaped by their past, so it can’t be totally ignored. On the other hand, a writer does not want to limit their readership to only those who have read their prior work.
That’s why the author Jay McInerney said that hardest job a writer can face is working on a series where they must strike that balance between making the past novels relevant without confusing those who haven’t read the earlier book. Jay was astute; it’s really difficult, and it takes a few novels to get it really right.
THE NJA CLUB SERIES WAS DESIGNED TO BE READ IN ANY ORDER
The collection is called the NJA Club Series because the main characters all met and congregate at the mysterious NJA Club, where people of all backgrounds mix, the common denominator being their strangeness.
The first novel in the Series was Bangkok Shadows. It is the first book I ever published, and when I started writing it, there was no intention of starting a series. I had retired from the practice of criminal law and was living in Bangkok when it dawned on me I could start doing what I always wanted to do, before I ever thought of law school: write fiction. My MA degree in Creative Writing had been forlornly staring at me from my wall for many decades. I had the time, the stimulation of an exotic locale, and a new Apple notebook (which I’m still using.)
Bangkok Shadows didn’t even start as a novel. I had just joined Keybangers Bangkok, my beloved writing group, and wanted to have recent work to bring for critique. I started writing a series of character sketches which were greatly exaggerated composites of people I’d met throughout my life, placing them in Bangkok. These early sketches led to the full development of the major characters who have graced the pages of the series ever since: Glenn Murray Cohen, the contradictory but lovable US expat criminal lawyer, Sleepy Joe, the Australian Special Forces veteran who is part hippie and part killing machine, the elusive but wise and generous retired Thai officer known as the General, Oliver, the big, boisterous yet all-knowing Aussie information expert, the man who can find out almost anything, and Phil Funston, the talented but unbearably obnoxious American guitarist. The sketches also created the most important secondary characters: Lek, Glenn’s building concierge and good friend, plus Ray the Bartender, the greatest raconteur in Bangkok (and that’s a steep hill to climb) and Edward, the untrustworthy would-be money launderer.
I had no thoughts of creating a series when I decided to turn my sketches into a novel. I was totally consumed with the problems of developing a plot and storyline that would keep people reading. I decided to base the story on a true incident where the US essentially kidnapped from Thailand a Russian arms dealer wanted in America. In my book, the CIA recruits Glenn and his friends to do the dirty work for them. It was only at the very end of the book that I realized I could keep the option open, though it wasn’t my immediate intent. Like every writer, my plans were to move on to writing books I thought would be more significant contributions to world literature.
Then a strange thing happened: people liked Bangkok Shadows. Five years later, it still sells and gets large numbers of KU readers. I’m pleased to say that many readers go on to enjoy the other books. There’s no greater motivation to write a second novel and create a series. That’s how Bangkok Whispers came to be. Bangkok Whispers continues to attract readers in the same numbers as the first book, and from I can see, many readers move on the the third novel, Bangkok Blues.
Bangkok Whispers tells the tale of an old friend of Glenn’s who comes to Bangkok seeking protection from people who are out to kill him, but he offers little information about who or why. There’s more overt violence than in the first book.
Bangkok Blues finds Glenn managing the career of Phil Funston, and going nowhere fast. He and his friends meet an american scientist investigating claims of a deadly virus in China. Strange thugs tail the scientist, and the NJA gang must come to the rescue.
The fourth novel, Bangkok Changes, has just been released. A crew from the Brooklyn Mafia is in Bangkok, trying to extort local businesses to buy booze they hijacked back home. I loved mixing the Mafia and Bangkok, two subjects I’ve explored so often in my writing.
BANGKOK BLUES MARKED A CHANGE IN STYLE
The third novel, Bangkok Blues, marked a significant shift in writing style, which I like to attribute to my developing as writer. The first two novels were written in the first person, which is a common voice and point of view in the kind of exotic noir thrillers I believe I am writing. It is also generally considered easier for authors, as there is only one person’s thoughts and perspective to focus upon. Every character is seen through the prism of that first person narrator. The secret in writing first person is to do what F. Scott Fitzgerald did in The Great Gatsby: leave with the reader the possibility that this narrator is not always accurate or correct.
I switched to third person for Bangkok Blues because I wanted to show scenes where Glenn was not present (impossible in first person) and show the thoughts and actions of Thai people but not solely through the eyes of Glenn Cohen. I quickly came to realize that I was now presenting Thai people through the eyes of Steve Shaiken, but that’s what writers do. I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to represent Thai characters in a believable way, since I am not Thai, but it worked out. I like to think that even if no farang can ever fully grasp the mind of a Thai, a good writer with on-the-ground experience can do a very credible job of portraying how an objective outsider sees and presents them. Bangkok Blues greatly expanded the role of the Lieutenant, an honorable and extremely smart Thai police officer who was a patrolman in Bangkok Whispers. It also introduced two of the General’s military friends, who may or may not be back someday.
I enjoyed the greater artistic range the third person allowed, and continued with it in the fourth NJA Club novel, Bangkok Changes. The Lieutenant plays an even greater role in this book, and s Thai women and a female FBI agent characters play important supporting roles. I’ve tried to populate my novels with as many non-stereotyped woman as possible. We’ve seen Thai women as money launderers, condo managers, waitresses, as the General’s troubleshooter (literally), as masseuses, bank employees, and despite Glenn’s best efforts to avoid them, the occasional hooker. In Bangkok Changes, the NJA Club gang meets Fah, a well-educated, brave and independent woman who to me represents the best traits of the Thai people.
EVERY NOVEL HAS A DIFFERENT VILLIAN
You can’t have a thriller without a villian, can you? Some series keep the same villain and the ongoing battle with the protagonist is the plot that reaches from one novel to the next. That’s not the case with the NJA Club Series. Every novel is a standalone and they can be read in any order.
The plot and the villains are vastly different from book to book, and while readers might enjoy watching the characters develop chronologically, it isn’t by any means necessary. The essential personas of all major and recurring minor characters remains the same from one book to the next. It’s the dates and the circumstances that change.
In Bangkok Shadows, the villains are a Russian arms-dealing gangster and a psychopathic CIA agent. In Bangkok Whispers the enemies are North Korean hitmen and their American flunkie. In Bangkok Changes, it’s the Chinese government trying to suppress news of COVID at the start, along with some elements of the U.S. government. In Bangkok Changes, the villain is the Brooklyn Mafia, come to Bangkok to force local businesses to buy their hijacked liquor.
The novels are not interconnected even though the character are. As one reads more of the series, the relationships between the characters become more meaningful and a simple reference to the past will mean more to one who read the prior novels. However, a reader can start with any one of the four novels and can read them in any order they like. This is especially true due to the change in point of view after the second novel.
All NJA Club Series novels are available as ebooks or print editions and all are available on KU.
The NJA Club Series novels are published by Crosswinds Press
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Hi Stephen, Very glad to hear the fourth book in the NJA series has been released. I really enjoyed reading your blog posts and the first three books in the NJA series. I read them in order of release over a few weeks and I could definitely see your progression and development as a writer. I reckon the new novel will be just as good. Thank you!
Thank you!