The book cover of my new Australian thriller, Spiral. To be released by World Castle Publishing. No dates yet. This is a story about a Sydneysider who moves to South Australia to begin a new life. But like his past, new trouble starts to follow him.
The novel was inspired by my past work as an external public relations consultant to the South Australian Tourism Commission to the Singapore office. An account I managed for slightly more than a decade. Part of my role included escorting journalists to various parts of the State on a familiarization trip. So, I thought since I know the place well, why not write a story set here?
Some of the scenes in the novel are real, particularly my encounter with a platoon of penguins on Kangaroo Island around midnight marching outside my hotel room. This island is outrageously beautiful. Would you believe it? The island is like 7 or 8 times larger than Singapore with differing landscapes. You could find yourself in the desert, in the bush land, by the ocean and in the woods with winding rivers.
There are five-star resorts overlooking amazing views, and there are rough-it-out campsites, so the choice is yours. Either way, you’ll be close to nature. I remember during one trip we drove past a Koala who sat by the side of the road. There is always something extraordinary about seeing animals in their natural habitat instead of a zoo.
Spiral takes begins in one of the State’s key wine regions, Clare Valley, before the novel stretches to other parts, including Adelaide, Kangaroo Island with some smaller scenes taking place in Sydney. One of the things I’ve done in this book is to avoid cliches; I am not talking just dialogue but things often associated with Australia. Mind you, it’s there, but not as much. There is a misconception in the form of a stereotype that Australia is Crocodile Dundee. It’s not. The one thing you’ll discover about the city of Adelaide is that it has a European feel to it. I must confess it’s not as exciting as Sydney but some parts can be fun, like Glenelg, the beach-side suburb. I’d visit it again if I had the chance.
By the way, if you are not familiar with South Australia, the capital is Adelaide. Too many people make the mistake of thinking I am referring to Tasmania because of the reference made to the south.
Here’s the teaser trailer of Spiral on YouTube.
Spiral is my fourth work. Meanwhile, I am working on the sequel to Gun Kiss, which is again set in SoCal.
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“Is this your Easter egg?” A reader’s message to me after noticing that I had planted a tiny mention in every book of mine. Now he’s wondering where I’ll put the next one. Have you spot them yet?
Alcove, located in Hillhurst Ave, Los Angeles, has such a lovely, garden patio with many locals enjoying the sunshine with their cocktails.
In Gun Kiss, I wrote a scene that takes place at this popular place. So, I thought it’ll be nice to give you a taste of the place that goes beyond the pages of the book. So, I contacted the management and asked them if they’d be kind to contribute a recipe for one of their drinks.
Here’s a cocktail recipe, courtesy of Alcove, for one of their most popular cocktails. The cocktail Tigermom Gimlet is named after the bar manager, Cari Hah.
Recipe for Tigermom Gimlet
Ingredients:
- 2oz Bombay Sapphire east
- 3/4oz fresh lime juice
- 3/4oz kaffir lemongrass syrup
- 1/4oz quinquina
- 2 dashes of miracle mile bergamot bitters
Method:
Shake/strain into cocktail glass
Garnish with a kaffir lime leaf.
Enjoy!
A report from my publisher revealed that Gun Kiss is one of the Top 5 selling ebooks for the month of January 2018. It kinda feels like a pop singer trying to climb the music charts. This was a fun book to write, and thankfully my sentiments are shared by readers. The novel also comes in a paperback version, available at your usual stores.
I saw the paperback version of Gun Kiss on the first day of the new year when the courier guy arrived with a box from the publisher. Here it is. What do you think? By the way, can you hear the birds in the background? That was coincidental, not planned.
The book is available at your usual stores along with the Kindle version, which is still on sale until 7 January. Personally, I’m not too bothered whether I read books on electronic devices or on paper. I’m flexible that way, having been introduced to Kindle by someone. Of course, there was some slight resistance in the initial, but having experienced it first hand, I find that it works for me too. So Kindle or paperback, it’s all the same to me. Naturally, if you are a traditionalist, you want to feel the paper in your hand. But I wonder what the ancient Egyptians would have thought of paperback books against their mud tablets. See my point?
Still, it’s nice to have a paperback version of a book. But having the best of two world’s is much better.
I said no to romance, but then I changed my mind. Even so, I wrote it my style minus the fluff.
This is a video I made to explain why I wrote Gun Kiss the way I did. But I’ve explained myself in this blog post.
https://iloveromanceblog.wordpress.com/tag/khaled-talib/
