We are learning that writing is only one part of the job of a novelist. Another job is helping our publisher, River Books, get people to read it. About a million new books were published in 2020, so it is easy for a first novel to get lost in the crowd.
Helping us was the beautiful book cover commissioned by River Books. It was designed by Cover Kitchen, a Bangkok-based company that does nothing but design book covers. Cover Kitchen founder and owner, Xavier Comas says he sought a design that suggested a tone “both melancholic and romantic.”
We had a wonderful book launch party hosted by River Books owner M.R. Narisa Chakrabongse that attracted key booksellers, journalists, authors and friends. We had a chance to talk about the book. Many of the questions were about how we decided on the story line and how we worked together as married co-authors. It was great to engage with potential readers. We look forward to doing that again at the Bangkok Edge Festival, the Foreign Correspondents Club, the Rotary Club and possibly some Thai book stores.
We had a great turnout for our book launch party at the beautiful Chakrabongse Villas.
We also need to attract sales online through the website of River Books and various bookshops. To help do this we have come up with a fuller promotional piece for the book we thought our followers might like to read. This may be altered to fit the requirements of different vendors, but here is the draft as of today:
An epic saga of ambition, love, violence and political intrigue, Beads on a String is set among wrenching changes in the exotic world of southern Siam. Beginning in 1896 as the reign of the powerful King Chulalongkorn nears its end, the novel is based on true family stories, intermingling historical and fictional characters:
A young Muslim Malay unjustly convicted of rape, reinvents himself as a Siamese aristocrat in royal service. He faces the cultural challenges of his new identity while trying to forestall a Malay rebellion and stave off the colonial powers that have already taken over all of Siam’s neighbors.
A beautiful young Thai woman seizes control of the family casino, defying bans on gambling and the efforts of a competing Chinese secret society. She strives against the indifference of her father and the schemes of her older brother.
A guilt-ridden Thai-Chinese sailor seeks enlightenment and purpose as a wandering Buddhist monk. He sets up a new kind of Buddhist temple that tries to clear Buddhism of the overlays of myth and superstition found nowhere in the original teachings of the Buddha.
A former slave fights to escape the domination of a Chinese gangster and rise in the increasingly powerful police force. At the same time he remains a slave of his obsessive love for the casino owner and his faith in magical symbols.
The authors weave together these tales and others with exciting storytelling, unforgettable characters and vivid historical detail. Different concepts of family ties and obligations clash as the key characters attempt to form alliances based on sexual passion, revenge and power.
Some initial reactions:
“This family saga of ambition, identity and love in turn-of-the-century Siam is spellbinding,” – Suzanne Fisher Staples, award-winning author of Shabanu.
“Profound, sensitive and attuned to cultural gravitas, Beads on a String captures a sense of historical urgency during a momentous period in Siam.” – Kong Rithdee, leading Thai author and critic.
“While much of the book is indeed fiction, history buffs will be pleased with the insights it provides on King Chulalongkorn’s subjugation of the provincial areas under central, Bangkok administrative rule, overturning the looser semi-autonomous system of the past. Cultural and societal scars still remain from this period, most strikingly in the ongoing Pattani rebellion, reignited in 2004, that has claimed 7,000 lives over the past 16 years.” – Peter Janssen, reviewer for Nikkei Asia
Does this interest you in reading the book? Let us know.
Beads on a String is already available at the following Thai bookshops: Kinokuniya, Asia Books and Open House. It can also be purchased online at the River Books website (http://www.riverbooksbk.com/index.php/luangprabanglovestory-189-detail.html). Deliveries to bookstores in neighboring countries should come early in the new year with countries further away getting the book a bit later. Publication of an ebook version will follow.
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