I’d like to encourage you to post an image of the book’s cover on your reading device or, if you don’t have one, simply share the cover I’ve posted to one or more of your social media accounts and tag me in the post. It can be Insta, Twitter or FB or anywhere else.
I will choose the names of 3 persons to fit in as side characters to include in the sequel of my fiction world after you.
For example, your name could appear as a witness in a newspaper article, a police officer, a florist or even one of the group of characters I am developing.
Of course, you will get a copy of the book, signed and acknowledged by me, when it gets published. I’m still working on it, so it’s going to take a while. The sequel takes place against the backdrop of Southern California with the same characters.
So, what’s in store for me in 2020? Well, for the things that I can see in the near future, is the release of my new crime thriller, Spiral, which is set against the South Australian backdrop.
Meanwhile, I’m working on the sequel to Gun Kiss. Same characters: Blake Deco, Hollywood movie star Goldie Saint Helen, and Jack, a character that many readers tell me they love.
I don’t know how long it will take me to finish the manuscript, but I hope to make the story longer than my previous one. After that, I might try my hand at a historical thriller set in Singapore during the Japanese occupation. The idea of a historical thriller came about after I posted a photograph on Facebook, and fellow Carmen Amato was quick to suggest it. Let’s see how it goes.
I do have characters and the setting in mind, but what I don’t have is a plot. I’ll need to get out of my mind for a while to find it, and I expect a lot of research effort. Now, where can I get some powerful vitamins to get me going?
Random Thoughts
Speaking of movie stars, Singapore, and its history, here’s a photo of Hollywood movie star Ava Gardner at The Raffles Hotel in Singapore. The photo was taken in the 1950s. She visited for the Asian premiere of her film The Barefoot Contessa and stayed at the Raffles Hotel. But where else?
Ava Gardner at The Raffles Hotel.
Other famous names who visited the island included Elizabeth Taylor (1957), Roger Moore (1969), Jack Lord (1979), and Charlie Chaplin (1932). I was 14 in 1979 when Jack Lord came to shoot an episode of Hawaii Five-O. Everybody wanted to meet Jack Lord.
Singapore is no longer exotic
But the Singapore of yesterdays is different from Singapore today. Truth? It’s less exotic and charming and somewhat of a tight-ass environment compared to the previous nonchalant, breezy atmosphere. Excuse my candor, but that’s how I feel. Anyway, I want to make this piece an enjoyable read — shoo away the bad energy, embrace the positive.
Well, let me think this through and see what kind of plot I can come out with for a new book.
Hahndorf. A quaint German town in South Australia. I escorted a group of journalists from Singapore and Malaysia during a Familiarization trip. It was arranged by the South Australian Tourism Commission.
Hahndorf is a pretty place to go for a holiday, especially if you like peace and quiet. From here, you can branch out to other tourist destinations.
I didn’t include this place in Spiral (instead I focused more on wine region Clare Valley, capital Adelaide, Kangaroo Island, and the Fleurieu Peninsula). But it was here in Hahndorf I saw a gang of bikers rumbling down the road before stopping at a restaurant, and it gave me some ideas for the story.
To escape religious persecution back home, Germans started arriving in South Australia in 1836. Politics and religion aside, this is a wonderful place to retreat if you want to write a book or spend some time painting. No traffic… only chimes.
