Wednesday, May 31, 2023

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and My Books



The Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month draws to a close today. I thought it might be interesting to discuss how my Geomancer’s Apprentice books reflect the experience of Chinese immigrants in the United States.

First off, it’s important to note that the Chinese diaspora encompasses millions of disparate experiences based on the time period in which it took place, as well as family and individual circumstances. I wanted my characters to reflect this diversity.

To recap, my protagonists are Junie Soong and Joe Tham, a pair of feng shui consultants from Chinatown, Washington, D.C. The books—especially The Forgotten Guardian, the second book in the series—focus mainly on how Joe’s family came to America.

Joe’s grandfather Tham Tiar Lung (placing the family name first, as is the custom for ethnic Chinese people) came to the U.S. in the early 1930s. Like many others before and after him, he used his connections to find a way around the Chinese Exclusion Act. The legislation—from the time it became effective in 1882 all the way to its repeal in 1943—barred the immigration of Chinese laborers to the U.S. for 10 years. However, merchants, students, travelers, teachers and diplomats were excluded from the law’s restrictions.

Tiar Lung set up his feng shui business in Chinatown, which was a magnet for Chinese immigrants at the time. Joe’s father, Tham Jing Lung, had taken over the business by 1968, when Chinatown was hit hard by the D.C. race riots sparked by the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

Joe’s mother came to the U.S. via a totally different route. Elsie Tham was the daughter of a wealthy Malaysian tin merchant. She was educated in British boarding schools. Elsie was studying law at Oxford University when she visited the U.S. on holiday and met Joe’s father in Chinatown.

Like many descendants of immigrants, Joe and Junie aren’t all that familiar with their mother tongue and culture. On the other hand, they are wholly American. Their stories, if real, would fit easily in the patchwork quilt that makes up the United States.






May Urban Fantasy Book Giveaway



The May urban fantasy book giveaway draws to a close today with a fantastic bang!

I’ve been so happy to be part of this event and to interact with so many readers. It was a blast 😁

There's still time if you'd like to participate. Please visit my Facebook author page for details on how you can win over 30 ebooks plus swag from 30 amazing urban fantasy authors from all around the world.


Sunday, May 14, 2023

An Eerie Tale for Mother's Day



Happy Mother's Day everyone! 

My mother was a teller of ghostly tales, all true, or so she said. I should have told her more often how much I enjoyed her stories. They inspired me to write my own. 

I'm sharing one of Mom's stories as a tribute to her on this special day. To read it, please head on over to my blog or my Facebook author page 😄


Tuesday, May 9, 2023

'The Four Perils' Is Now Available in Paperback, Ebook Formats

I’m happy to announce that The Four Perils, the fourth book in my Geomancer’s Apprentice series, is now available in paperback as well as ebook format!

You can also read it for free if you’re an Amazon Kindle Unlimited subscriber.

The latest book continues the adventures of Joe Tham and Junie Soong, two underdog feng shui consultants in D.C. who find, to their dismay, that they must save the world.




Blurb for The Four Perils

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Where one door closes, another opens …

Underdog geomancers Joe Tham and Junie Soong face their strangest mystery yet: why are ghosts in Washington, D.C., suddenly turning violent? And what’s reanimating the dead animals in the area?

Junie is adjusting to life without Noah and her trusty wooden sword. She trains hard at her fighting and she unlocks her latent magical abilities with help from the Golden Dragon’s journals. Just in time. The new cases will stretch her strength, skills, and ingenuity.

And as the feng shui consultants delve deeper into the problem, they find a conspiracy that may unleash an event of cataclysmic proportions not just for D.C., but for the world. To foil the plot, the two make a bargain they may come to regret.

The Four Perils is the fourth book in an urban fantasy series featuring Asian magic and mysticism, and terrifying monsters from Asian folklore and mythology.

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Buy the book

Check the series out on Amazon