Grumpy Old Bookman has an insightful summary of Victorian morality and the knock on effect it had on newspapers, magazines and books during the reign of Queen Victoria. Any scenes involving sex guarantee the banning of a book. Wikipedia observes: “Those going for a dip in the sea at the beach would use a bathing machine. Verbal or written communication of emotion or sexual feelings was also often proscribed so people instead used the language of flowers.”

If you ran out of flowers and talked about the real thing, that was a problem, as Michael Allen has noted:

“By 1872, the Society [for the Suppression of Vice] was able to report that within the last two years it had 'been the means of bringing to punishment, by imprisonment, hard labour, and fines, upwards of forty of the most notorious dealers, and within a few years has seized and destroyed the following enormous mass of corrupting matters: 140,213 obscene prints, pictures, and photographs; 21,772 books and pamphlets; five tons of letterpress in sheets, besides large quantities of infidel and blasphemous publications; 17,060 sheets of obscene songs, catalogues, circulars, and handbills ; 5,712 cards, snuff-boxes, and vile articles; 844 engraved copper and steel plates ; 480 lithographic stones ; 146 wood blocks ; 11 printing presses, with type and apparatus; 81 cwt. of type, including the stereotype of several works of the vilest description.'”

The results of the ban were wholly predictable: the creation of a large, profitable underground publishing industry. One of the founders of W.H. Smith was at the forefront of the movement to ban books with sexual content. It is amusing that Mr. Smith also advocated long books divided into three installments to maximize profits. There are parts of the modern world that continue the Victorian tradition of censorship, including a system of fines and imprisonment. With the Internet opening a new window on publishing, the censors now must rely upon co-operation of search engines and software developers to restrict access to what authorities decide is “obscene.”

Charles Dickens who was the major author of Victorian times.

Human nature being what it is, there will always be a tension between what the authorities view as appropriate and decent and what people wish to see and read in the privacy of their own home or office. Some wish there would be no discussion of sex, or if one must discuss it, then it is within the confines of procreation. Any hint of pleasure or that sex might have (horror of horrors) a recreational aspect would have in Victorian times guaranteed a knock on the door by the authorities. Not surprisingly this smacks of the prototype police state. Not much different from Sharia law (which governs public and private conduct) but is based on private intervention premised on Christian morality.

The Victorian desire to suppress and repress did not end with the death of Queen Victoria in 1901. The censorship legacy which not only continues to the present day but shows signs that parts of the world live inside the bubble of a new Victorian age.

Many authors find it tough to find a conventional publisher for their fiction. With thousands of writers competing for a few slots on any publisher’s fiction list, the odds of making an NHL hockey team are better than getting a novel published. Skating skill and aggression count for a lot in hockey. Something along similar lines applies to writers of fiction. What is a writer to do? Especially if there is a burning desire to have his or her novel read by others?

Many writers have taken the step to self-publish novels set in Southeast Asia. If you want background on the jungle path self-published authors face, have a look at POD-DY Mouth a website by an author (conventionally published) which is devoted to finding the needle (meaning it is competent) in the haystack (mostly useable only for feeding livestock) of self-published books.

One self-published writer is an American named Sean Bunzick who divides his time between Cape Cod and Chiang Mai. Sean has two novels available online and in some Thailand bookshops (like Bookazine). Next time you are browsing for books set in this region, have a look for Missing in Asia and Air Thermae.

Missing in Asia. This is a paperback edition and is priced at US$15.50

Join Harwich as he leaves the familiar world of his hometown and returns to the hills and jungles of Indochina where he risked his life during the 1970s in the Vietnam War. Harwich is going because an old friend of, Glenn Lucas--a former Flying Tiger—asked him to come to Thailand for help. Once in Bangkok, Harwich learns that he and Glenn are in Asia because the leaders of a Hong Kong Triad want the two Americans to rescue their eldest brother, a man Glenn lost in Laos when his DC-3 crashed there in 1949.

Air Thermae This is a paperback edition and is priced at US$15.50

John Harwich, a Special Forces vet with multiple tours in Indochina, finds himself being captured and abducted by Shan hill tribe guerillas across the border into the Burmese side of the Golden Triangle. He is brought to meet up with one of the region’s notorious opium warlords, Khun Yim who explains to Harwich that the reason he has evidence of a priceless jade elephant with a mounted Khmer apsara--a warrior goddess--atop the elephant’s back. Harwich helps Khun Yim to escape from Mae Hong Son to Bangkok, Phnom Penh.

A good friend from Portland recently asked me to recommend a reading list for an American expat who planned to live and work in Thailand for a 1 to 2 year period. He asked for a list that was restricted to non-fiction titles.

The books below won’t tell the entire story, but for anyone wishing to have a greater understanding of Thai culture, history and language, it is a good jumping off point. There is no written examination for anyone who reads all of the nine titles below. Your passing mark will come from the knowing smile of Thai nationals with whom you have business or social contact after you have absorbed the knowledge in these books.

Disclosure of financial interest: In case you are wondering, I receive no commission or kickback from amazon.com on any sale. I closed my affiliate account with amazon as they were incapable of mailing cheques to Thailand. I was pleased to read amazon has gone into the grocery business. That move seems to suit their local business model. For Heart Talk I receive a royalty for each copy sold.

The Reading List

In His Majesty’s Footsteps (2006) by Pol Gen Vasit Dejkunjorn (The first personal memoir written in English by a palace official and published in Thailand.)
Available from Heaven Lake Press.







Heart Talk (July 2006) by Christopher G. Moore (a guide to expressing feelings and emotions in the Thai language). Having written he book I am naturally biased. It is the book I would have wished to could have bought when first arriving in Thailand 23 years ago.
Available from Heaven Lake Press.







Siam Mapped (1994) by Thongchai Winichakul (this is a classic must read work)

Available from amazon.com.







The Revolutionary King by William Stephenson (controversial and banned in Thailand)
Available from amazon.com.







Letters from Thailand by Botan (another classic, the story of Chinese immigrants to Thailand)

Available from amazon.com.







The Dream of a Thousand Lives: A Sojourn in Thailand by Karen Connelly (a first hand account by a young Canadian woman)
Available from amazon.com.







Four Reigns by Kukrit Pramoj (another classic that is highly recommended)
Available from amazon.com.







A History of Thailand by Christopher Baker and Pasuk Phongpaichit (a good introduction to the history of Thailand by two resident experts)
Available from amazon.com.







Bangkok Inside Out by Guy Sharett, Daniel Ziv (playful and colourful presentation of the City of Angels)
Available from amazon.com.

Amazon.com has a place for reviewer comments. And reviewers are entitled to make their views known. I respect and indeed encourage this. 

For the Vincent Calvino title Cut Out a reviewer named J.K Langlois wrote:

“Overall a good read of the Calvino series, BUT BEWARE, Moore deceptively has re-released this book under a new heading "ZERO HOUR IN PHNOM PENH." I mistakenly purchased this new book and discovered the name scam. I later emailed Moore about the deception and he characteristically ignored my email inquiring as to why I was duped into buying the same book under a different title. Again beware!! Do not buy the same book twice!!”

I’ve been trying without success to post this reply on amazon.com

 When the German language publisher brought out Cut Out under the title of Zero Hour in Phnom Penh, my publisher thought the German’s had a better title. When Zero Hour won a German Critic Crime Fiction award in 2004 (Dennis Lehane’s Mystic River had won the same prize the previous year), they reissued an English reprint titled: Zero Hour in Phnom Penh. I warned them that the title change could cause trouble. They said, no worries, the publisher’s page disclosed the book was previously titled Cut Out. This disclosure, they promised me, made it idiot proof. I didn’t buy it. I suggested a notice in newspapers worldwide to be on the safe side. They said that would cost millions. So they declined what I thought was wise and sound advice.

Obviously I was right; they were wrong.

I thank J.K. Langlois for drawing to my attention to what can only be described as a hidden agenda. I had no idea that the title change really was an Enron like scheme to defraud legions of readers. I can’t say if the Thai/American extradition treaty covers this crime, but my lawyers are looking into it. 

  Also beware: Cold Hit was released by the crafty Germans under the title: Nana Plaza. More than one native English language reader has bought Nana Plaza, and after getting home, stretching out for a good read, opened it for the first time to discover it is in German. Not just one page, mind you, but the entire book was printed in German. So far I have won the battle to retain the title of Cold Hit against the appeasement like behavior of the Thai publisher who insist a reprint with the name of Nana Plaza is part of their boiler room plans to clean up. The bastards know no shame. Again, my lawyers are looking into the matter. I can’t say without further investigation whether the Germans and Thais publishers are in this literary ponzi scheme together. But personally I smell a larger conspiracy.

There is a lot of talent in the world. But talent in most activities, writing included, while necessary is not sufficient to make others take more than casual notice. A literary agent who blogs observed, “I think writers assume that good writing is enough. Well, it’s not. You have to couple good writing with an original storyline—something that will stand out as fresh and original. A story never told in this way before (even if elements are similar to what is already out on the market).”

Preparations are underway for me to promote Gambling on Magic in Istanbul in mid-September 2006.

The Turkish title is Büyüyle Kumar Oynamak 

According to wikipedia, “Istanbul is chosen as the European Capital of Culture for 2010. Istanbul is nicknamed "The City on Seven Hills" because the historic peninsula which is the oldest part was built on seven hills, also represented with seven mosques, one at the top of each hill.”

Venüs Yayınları, the publisher, has brought out a Turkish edition of Gambling on Magic. Interviews, book signings, and talks are being arranged. This will be my first trip to Istanbul and from the old hands who are world travelers, I am told this is one city not to miss.

The response to the front cover was overwhelming. I had many good suggestions, and a lot of encouragement and support. The cover designer has gone back to the drawing board, and this is the new front cover for The Risk of Infidelity Index. The red is gone. In place of red is a sea of blue.

Writing the second draft is the best part of the process. You already know the story, the plot and sub-plots, the arc of the action and the relationship between the characters. At this stage, it is the fine work of knitting together the elements so that they are seamless, providing texture and nuance, and adding necessary backstory. The terror of not being certain where the story is going or the motive of the characters vanishes. The first draft is always a nightmare of endless choices. In the second draft the fog has cleared, and you no longer worry about getting stuck by turning down a dead end road.

Let me know whether the new front cover is one that would make you want to pickup the book from a bookstore shelf.

A number of my earlier novels suffered from typos. It was as if the ghost of a long dead printer had returned and left his mark. Not one or two typos, mind you, but many. In the last few years, Heaven Lake Press has hired professional copy editors and proof readers in England and the USA for my novels. The result has been a dramatic reduction of mistakes. Not that the typo ghost can ever be defeated. Some have suggested this is because the publisher is in Asia.

Oh really. Next time you form the opinion that only New York publisher publish books which are typo free, feel free to remember the book cover above.

Philip Roth’s publisher of American Pastoral is hardly an Asian publisher. The publisher is Vintage, one of the major US publishing houses. Where is the typo? Have a look at the blurb on the front cover. (courtesy of POD)

That’s the title of the new Calvino novel. Here is the first draft of the cover design. I’d appreciate hearing your views about the cover. Any comments, suggestions, recommendation that you have, please send them along.

Part of Risk is the story of a group of expat wives who hire Calvino to follow their husband whom they suspect are cheating. Not that such a thing could ever happen in Bangkok, except, of course, in fiction. One of the husbands turns up dead. That does, of course, happen.

In reality, there are indexes for about everything under the sun. IQs, AIDS, heart disease, income distribution, literacy, education, etc are the subject of surveys and indexes. The conceit here is that there is an Index for infidelity, ranking countries and cities around the world. The index in the new novel has placed Bangkok near the top of the list of places where wives ought to be worried about the faithfulness of their husbands in the face of multiple temptations. The expat wives in Risk are keen readers of weekly updates to The Risk of Infidelity Index. They are obsessed like investors who habitually check stock indexes. And for the same reason, to check on their view of what makes them feel safe and secure.

Getting away from Bangkok is the only way I can finish a draft of a book. This time it was on Koh Chang Island in the South of Thailand. I took along my laptop and set up office in my hotel room. Bhumiyama Resort to be precise. This is a hotel that I can recommend (at least during the week before the big wave from Bangkok arrives on the weekend). Fully booked I found their power generators couldn’t keep up with all the air-conditioners running full blast. The last night the power cut out four times.

While on Koh Chang, I finished the first draft of the 9th Calvino on 9 June 2006. My maid is buying lotto tickets with the number 696. Ever since I won a small lotto prize after I bought at ticket at Erawan Shrine, the maid thinks I have good luck. When a German documentary film crew was in town filming me at various locations, including Erawan Shrine, they had the cameras rolling as I bought what would prove to be a winning ticket. The documentary has yet to air in Germany so perhaps my luck was all used up with the lotto win.

The first draft of a novel is always the crucial one for me as the structure and character development is laid down. But a first draft is not a ‘book’. Gambling on Magic. went through six drafts before it was published. Most of the Calvino novels go through at least three drafts, and within the second and third drafts there are a fair number of rewrites as well.

The first draft has 23 chapters. I am targeting mid-July for completion of the second draft.

I have finished the first twenty-one chapters of the first draft. I figure another two chapters will round off this draft. I am going into isolation mode the next few days to finish the book so I won’t be posting until early next week.

In Asia, this is considered a platform:
Platform Diva :

It is popular in New York publishing circles to talk about a writer’s platform. But they aren’t talking about shoes. If you host your own network TV show, people know who you are, and the theory is all those millions who tune into your show will also be potential buyers for your book. Of course there are platform and there are platforms. Some platforms tower over a cultural landscape that can be seen across oceans; others are the size of a garden birdbath. Books have slipped into the entertainment and celebrity industry. They compete with other celebrity artifacts.

Of course there will be exceptions to the rule that publishers want authors with a large platform before signing them on. J.K. Rowling and Dan Brown were living on platforms so small before they hit the big time that it is doubtful they would have been visible to their neighbors.

The problem is this what is happening only seems to be counter intuitive. The book business to a romantic should be run like a small, exclusive chateau in France. And editors should acquire books the way a greater lover of wine acquires a new case of claret. Is there anyone left in publishing who keeps their job by acquiring books with these sensibilities? An editor who believes that your book is like a vintage bottle of claret, rare, smooth, and desirable for a niche market of readers will not be an editor for long. It is more likely that his or her job security demands the equivalent of a twist off cap bottle of chateau plonk that promises millions of people getting drunk on the entertaining story told by a celebrity.

Have a look at Sheelah Kolhatkar’s article “If You Build it, They will come – Hot in Publishing: Platform! and you will come away seeing that even the old hands in publishing have been sucked into the vortex of swirling platforms. Escher would have drawn a quite remarkable painting of the endless platforms, like tadpoles changing into frogs, transforming into infinity.

“The subject of platforms also inspired a bit of nostalgia for Larry Kirshbaum, the founder of LJK Literary Management and former chairman of Time Warner Book Group (platform’s Grand Central, along with Judith Regan’s ReganBooks).’When I started in the business—we’re talking in the early 70’s—books were sold on a literary basis: how great they were, how important their ideas were in helping to mold society or change the culture, etc.,’ Mr. Kirshbaum said. ‘Nowadays, we are using terms like ‘brand’ and ‘platform’ as a very important ingredient in the success of the book. You can have a great idea, but you need the platform.’”

What has become of the review culture? Remember the time when people read reviews of books and bought books according to strength of the review? Apparently that time ended with the electric typewriter, and it is only now that we are finding this out.

“The rise of inexpensively mounted cyber-platforms ‘means, in essence, that review culture is dead.’ said another publisher requesting anonymity. (The review culture may be dead, but that doesn’t mean this person wants to piss off The New York Times.) “They”—meaning reviewers—‘can love your book, and you know, it helps if all of them simultaneously love your book; that’s a great thing. But they don’t have the persuasive power that they used to.’”

Bottom line: if you have to explain your platform, you likely don't have one.

No it isn’t a book with all the Thai words that have a root in the word “vampire.” Jim Newport is the author of a series about a Siam Vampire, and the third book in the trilogy titled The Reckoning is now in bookstores in Thailand. He will be reading from his new book and signing copies at the Neilson Hays Library (195 Surawongse Road) on Thursday June 8 from 6:30PM-8:00PM. Jim makes his living in Hollywood. And his reading skills are awesome. When you listen to Jim read passages from his book, it as if a professional actor is giving the reading. He pulls you straight into the story. Please support Jim Newport by turning out for his reading.