Leave Mr Leather Be !

[chonabot]

Whilst I find the thread about crap novels based in Los quite amusing , I feel it a bit harsh toward Stehen Leather . Ok granted " Private Dancer" is not his best works , the guy is a very talented Author,

Books like " The Bombmaker" " The Stretch" and " the Chinaman" are excellent pieces of fiction with an incredible attention to detail. He has had several TV mini series based on his books and the guy has more talent in his signature than most of us have in our............whatever .

My Mother , Christina Hall, is a published Author , only 2 books, but I saw the work and creativity that she put into those. After suffering a near fatal Brain tumour she is halfway through her third.

I digress.......hic

I realise some of the " Dross" that gets allowed on the shelves of DK bookshops et al can be laughable.

Stephen Leather may or may not be risking a very good reputation by publishing this easy to read and enjoyable novel , but at least he has a database of Million selling novels to back it up.

My favourite books on Thailand are

" A Good Woman of Bangkok" by Jack Reynolds ( I have 3 copies..lol )

"Letters from Thailand" by Botan ( Translated by Susan Fulop)

" Jasmine Nights " by SP Somtow

Expat style books that are quite good

"Borderlines" by Charles Nicholls

Various Colin Piprell and Chris Moore books are descriptive enough.

If you want to read a Stephen Leather book set in Thailand , without the bargirl scene being prominent try " The Stretch"

Or alternatively carry on slating an Authour whose works you haven't really scratched the bookmark of.

Disclaimer : Chonabot is not on Mr Leather's Payroll and has received no monies for this sketchy post.....

Edited February 15, 2005 by chonabot

[Khutan]

His books are an easy read, but then if you want something to amuse you easily then that is what you want.

I am not sure what people are expecting when they pick up his books.

He certainly researches his work well, and gets into the genre of the characters.

I have met him a few times, and is an interesting guy to talk to and have a beer with, so really his stories are just an extension of that.

[taxexile]

has anybody read the new blockbuster that seems to flying off the shelves at poxy phils second hand book emporium in soi blowjob down there in pattaya?

its called "carry on thaivisa in bangcock....ooh matron ! ",

.... and it features a motley crew of zany characters struggling to come to terms with the strange twists of fate that finds them lurching from disaster to beer bottle in the exotic and humid east in their struggle for supremacy over internet mogul and mr. big ( george ) , the evil brains behind thaivisa.com , sitting in front of banks of computers 60 stories up in an underground hong kong high rise with some pussy on his lap , he pulls the strings and beercan tops whilst trying to control his wayward empire.

blast your way through this unputdownable pageturner as he tries to prevent a rag-bag bunch of no-mark illiterates , low - life expats and would be pundits from ruining his baby and gravy train by clogging up useful bandwith , bandwidth that could be bringing in millions in tax free offshore advertising revenue..... if only ..

if only those drunken expats would raise the tone of the discussions a bit , then he could get some decent advertisers here instead of all those cheap links to khao san road travel agents , samut prakaan shirt factories , soi cowboy webcams , all those moneypit bars that sunbelt asia want to offload and internet antibiotic and textured condom suppliers.

george is helped in his struggle for world domination by his trusty gang of moderators , led by the enigmatic dr. pat pong. thought by many to be a supporter of islamic expansionist policies this stern no nonsense enforcer has racked up a staggering 5000 irreversible fatwahs against those who have dared to cross his narrow path.

an expert in the labyrinthine ways of the thai legal system he can hunt down and humiliate a poverty packer , illegal soap dodger , or scamster before they have left the airport .

other moderators , trained in the tough unforgiving world of school prefects and library silencing try , usually unsuccesfully to retain the moral high ground , so beloved of advertisers and officialdom.

attempting to subvert the operation and drag it down into the natural habitat of all web forums , the rat infested gutters of bad taste , are the army of posters.

expat stereotypes and wannabes , hucksters , snake oil salesmen , shagmeisters and mad shysters use ever more subtle tactics to steer the threads down the populist tabloid paths of alcohol abuse , self abuse , the duplicitousness of the thais , anti americanism , prostitutes and those who marry them , political incorrectness and those old favourites , sure to garner sympathy from sensitive readers.... annoying the housewives and schoolteachers...... easy targets to wind up as they are too busy ironing or marking to answer back

laugh as ageing lovesick posters are bankrupted by bargirls ,

weep as heavy hitting stockbrokers lose fortunes ,

recoil in revulsion as it rains suicide victims in pattaya ,

smirk with sarcasm as newbies ask stupid questions .... the same ones that you asked when you first arrived here ,

dance with delight as the dollar descends to errrrr.., deep depths ,

chuckle cheerily as cheeky chappie chonabot tries unsucessfully to promote the juvenile doodlings of wannabe james ellroys as they struggle to bring to life even one dimensional characters.

go green with envy as lying bastards tell you how many bargirls they have had in the past week for free ,

mop your brow with misery as mega - rich taxexile goes on and on and on and on about how he isnt going to pay yet another racist 5 baht overcharge ,

pray profusely that smarmy wideboy land agents lose everything in a property crash ,

wank with wonderment as best selling authors , even ones who think they are a little bit famous , manage to type words of two syllables ,

thank your lucky stars that you live in bangkok as you hear how skilled isaan engineers build georgian mansions out of bamboo and banana leaves for only 5 million baht ,

thank the good lord that you have at least one brain cell still functioning as you hear about those who have travelled half way around the world and spend most of their free time eating pork pies in mock english pubs ,

lock up your daughters as 30 times married geriatric casino operators threaten to move here ,

express your feminine side as the pavillion end bowling society demand that the gay forum background colour is changed to pink ,

scream "oh no not again" , as the right on and in your face all american superhero katwoman tries to save the world from , well the threat of the day.

sit down and have a cup of tea and a biscuit as you learn that simple simon has finally discovered the answer to the question that has until recently remained unanswered (and unasked) , do prostitutes sleep around? are you sitting down ? the answer may surprise you.

and have the chance to take vicious nasty cowardly potshots at anybody you dont like , even if you have never met them...... especially if you have never met them.

its a classic struggle for supremacy , all human (and quite a lot that isnt) life is there.

its the story they said would never be told , but you can read it now , its free , just log on to thaivisa.com.,

"what time is it".....b.trink.

"i wish i could rite as good as wot this books been ritten like".... s. leather.

Edited February 15, 2005 by taxexile

[lampard10]

has anybody read the new blockbuster that seems to flying off the shelves at poxy phils second hand book emporium in soi blowjob down there in pattaya?

its called "carry on thaivisa in bangcock....ooh matron ! ",

.... and it features a motley crew of zany characters struggling to come to terms with the strange twists of fate that finds them lurching from disaster to beer bottle in the exotic and humid east in their struggle for supremacy over internet mogul and mr. big ( george ) , the evil brains behind thaivisa.com , sitting in front of banks of computers 60 stories up in an underground hong kong high rise with some pussy on his lap , he pulls the strings and beercan tops whilst trying to control his wayward empire.

blast your way through this unputdownable pageturner as he tries to prevent a rag-bag bunch of no-mark illiterates , low - life expats and would be pundits from ruining his baby and gravy train by clogging up useful bandwith , bandwidth that could be bringing in millions in tax free offshore advertising revenue..... if only ..

if only those drunken expats would raise the tone of the discussions a bit , then he could get some decent advertisers here instead of all those cheap links to khao san road travel agents , samut prakaan shirt factories , soi cowboy webcams , all those moneypit bars that sunbelt asia want to offload and internet antibiotic and textured condom suppliers.

george is helped in his struggle for world domination by his trusty gang of moderators , led by the enigmatic dr. pat pong. thought by many to be a supporter of islamic expansionist policies this stern no nonsense enforcer has racked up a staggering 5000 irreversible fatwahs against those who have dared to cross his narrow path.

an expert in the labyrinthine ways of the thai legal system he can hunt down and humiliate a poverty packer , illegal soap dodger , or scamster before they have left the airport .

other moderators , trained in the tough unforgiving world of school prefects and library silencing try , usually unsuccesfully to retain the moral high ground , so beloved of advertisers and officialdom.

attempting to subvert the operation and drag it down into the natural habitat of all web forums , the rat infested gutters of bad taste , are the army of posters.

expat stereotypes and wannabes , hucksters , snake oil salesmen , shagmeisters and mad shysters use ever more subtle tactics to steer the threads down the populist tabloid paths of alcohol abuse , self abuse , the duplicitousness of the thais , anti americanism , prostitutes and those who marry them , political incorrectness and those old favourites , sure to garner sympathy from sensitive readers.... annoying the housewives and schoolteachers...... easy targets to wind up as they are too busy ironing or marking to answer back

laugh as ageing lovesick posters are bankrupted by bargirls ,

weep as heavy hitting stockbrokers lose fortunes ,

recoil in revulsion as it rains suicide victims in pattaya ,

smirk with sarcasm as newbies ask stupid questions .... the same ones that you asked when you first arrived here ,

dance with delight as the dollar descends to errrrr.., deep depths ,

go green with envy as lying bastards tell you how many bargirls they have had in the past week for free ,

mop your brow with misery as mega - rich taxexile goes on and on and on and on about how he isnt going to pay yet another racist 5 baht overcharge ,

pray profusely that smarmy wideboy land agents lose everything in a property crash ,

wank with wonderment as best selling authors , even ones who think they are a little bit famous , manage to type words of two syllables ,

thank your lucky stars that you live in bangkok as you hear how skilled isaan engineers build georgian mansions out of bamboo and banana leaves for only 5 million baht ,

thank the good lord that you have at least one brain cell still functioning as you hear about those who have travelled half way around the world and spend most of their free time eating pork pies in mock english pubs ,

lock up your daughters as 30 times married geriatric casino operators threaten to move here ,

express your feminine side as the pavillion end bowling society demand that the gay forum background colour is changed to pink ,

scream "oh no not again" , as the right on and in your face all american superhero katwoman tries to save the world from , well the threat of the day.

sit down and have a cup of tea and a biscuit as you learn that simple simon has finally discovered the answer to the question that has until recently remained unanswered (and unasked) , do prostitutes sleep around? are you sitting down ? the answer may surprise you.

and have the chance to take vicious nasty cowardly potshots at anybody you dont like , even if you have never met them...... especially if you have never met them.

its a classic struggle for supremacy , all human (and quite a lot that isnt) life is there.

its the story they said would never be told , but you can read it now , its free , just log on to thaivisa.com.,

"what time is it".....b.trink.

"i wish i could rite as good as wot this books been ritten like".... s. leather.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Put me down for a dozen copies,I'll sell them in the pub to anyone who aint got a computor

[Khutan]

thank your lucky stars that you live in bangkok as you hear how skilled isaan engineers build georgian mansions out of bamboo and banana leaves for only 5 million baht

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That is a good one.

You forgot the coconut husks.

So you have the storyline, when is the book coming out, and who is the publisher ?

[chonabot]

Bunch of Phillistines.......stop copying your posts over to other more important Threads Tax....

The point of my thread was...try and write a book , I have several times , it isn't easy , even a crappy Pattaya Bar girl book would be beyond most of you.

Except Taxexile of course.

Edited February 15, 2005 by chonabot

[chonabot]

His books are an easy read, but then if you want something to amuse you easily then that is what you want.

I am not sure what people are expecting when they pick up his books.

He certainly researches his work well, and gets into the genre of the characters.

I have met him a few times, and is an interesting guy to talk to and have a beer with, so really his stories are just an extension of that.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ok so Stephen has been in the Bomb Squad , done 10 years inside , smuggled vast amounts of Contraband.

Wow , of course he has.....

[chuchok]

While I did not care too much for the story line, there were some very enjoyable passages that really made me laugh.

[The_Eye_Of_Sauron]

Tax Exile is going to post his magnum opus on any topic resembling literary themes from now on !

450 baht for all of these in hardback (i.e 50 baht each) from Silom Road

'Snakes':........... ............ .....Wimon Sainimnuan

The Field Of the Great' :........ Marlai Choophinit

'Of Time and Tide .................Atsiri Thammachoat

'An elephant named Maliwan'....Thanorm Maha Paoraya

'The path of the tiger' .............Sila Khoamchai

'Time in a Bottle' ..................Praphatsorn Seiwikun

Wanlaya's Love.....................Seinee Saowaphong

20 best novels of Thailand (anthology).......Marcel Barang

This is writing by Thais - about their country, their culture, not a bargirl in sight. No drunken washed-up farangs.

Believe it or not the Thai literary scene has some gems.

[taxexile]

stop copying your posts over to other more important Threads Tax....

when you've got it , flaunt it.

ooooooooooh matronnnnnn !

Edited February 15, 2005 by taxexile

[The_Eye_Of_Sauron]

What's Tax Exile doing with Kenneth Williams?

I wrote my Thai novel 3 years ago, took me 2 months - 1000 words a day. Honestly it was awful, unmitigated bolix. I finished it, but I couldn't even bring myself to do the second draft.

Writing wise-guy forum postings is one thing.....

Bit like these bar-room wags who then think they can do stand-up at Comedy Clubs ....and stink.

Edited February 15, 2005 by The_Eye_Of_Sauron

[taxexile]

Writing wise-guy forum postings is one thing.....

i once tried to write a short story for a magazine , and failed miserably.

i re - read it six months later and almost died of embarrasment.

my jibes at mr. leather are purely in jest , its all too easy to knock people from behind the keyboard , and as i havent read the book , i cant criticize it.

good luck to anybody who can write and hold someones interest over 200 pages , and get people to buy it too when there are hundreds of books in competition with yours.

and what's dross to one person is a good read to someone else.

sometimes you need an easy read , sometimes you need something that takes a bit of effort to get through.

but i would encourage anyone who thinks they have got a story to tell to try and put it down on paper , its a good exercise , and will show them just how difficult it is to write.

[chonabot]

Writing wise-guy forum postings is one thing.....

i once tried to write a short story for a magazine , and failed miserably.

i re - read it six months later and almost died of embarrasment.

my jibes at mr. leather are purely in jest , its all too easy to knock people from behind the keyboard , and as i havent read the book , i cant criticize it.

good luck to anybody who can write and hold someones interest over 200 pages , and get people to buy it too when there are hundreds of books in competition with yours.

and what's dross to one person is a good read to someone else.

sometimes you need an easy read , sometimes you need something that takes a bit of effort to get through.

but i would encourage anyone who thinks they have got a story to tell to try and put it down on paper , its a good exercise , and will show them just how difficult it is to write.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It's a nice change from the usual BG thread , keep it up Tax , I've already sent your first posting to my Mum's publisher ( Birlinn) the cheques is on the way sir!

[britmaveric]

but i would encourage anyone who thinks they have got a story to tell to try and put it down on paper , its a good exercise , and will show them just how difficult it is to write.

Anyone can write, but the better question for you.... Is it worth reading?

[The_Eye_Of_Sauron]

Writing wise-guy forum postings is one thing.....

I wasn't referring to you Exile, that would have been most impertinent and rude of me. I was referring to me in self-deprecating way.

Writing a quip or two is easy, but doing it for HUNDREDS of pages is hard.

Sometimes I think about putting together a compendium of all my best, most rib-tickling posts and selling them on this Forum for B 450.

Any takers?

[taxexile]

not a bad idea , there are some great threads in the archives of thaivisa , and with some judicious editing somebody should be commissioned to put together a book of threads.

plenty of humour , and plenty of serious stuff.

would make a good read and probably sell a few copies as well (to naive newbies ) a bit of profit for george (after deductions for royalty payments to selected posters.) i should think.

Edited February 15, 2005 by taxexile

[The_Eye_Of_Sauron]

Well, I was thinking about just confining it to my own posts.

"The Wit and Wisdom of Sauron - his most beloved Thavisa Posts"

Hey, if 'Thai Girl' can get into Asia Books.

(Still: The Gay Forum lads should club together and publish their philosophizing. Tragic that some of their heartfelt ruminating just ends up relegated to the bottom of some unread internet thread. They really put in a lot of effort).

[ProfessorFart]

If I want to read a mainstream (non academic) expat author writing about Thailand I'll look no further than William Warren who is simply magnificent. Other notables are Denis Segaller and Peter Pannapadipo.

If you are serious about actually learnig something about Thailand from your reading then I'll second TEOS' list and also add

Behing the Painting by Siburapha which has an excellent introduction by translator David Smyth

A Drop of Glass by Sidaoruang which also has an excellent intro by translator Rachel Harrison.

The Teachers of Mad Dog Swamp and Khru Marisa by Kammaan Khoamkhai.

The Judgement, Mad Dogs and co, No Way Out, and Time by Chart Korpjitti.

All are available in English translation and you will learn more about Thailand in one paragraph of the above than you will in all of Stephen Leather et al's published works!

[lampard10]

I agree in some ways with everybody that has posted here. When I joined Thai visa,I thought here was a site to look,read, listen & learn,putting acrooss your points of view at the same time and discussing with others the merits or mistakes of things in general in Thailand.

Now after two months here I see it's a site to look,read,listen,learn then take the piss out of anything you don,t agree with or more commanly things you know nothing about. Mind you saying that I have seen some absolutely wonderful mickey takes. I must admit I'm a person that takes everything at face value. I hardly ever comment on things I havn't done myself or know nothing about.

I am a publican. I hear everything,see everything and say nothing. Although my customers would disagree on that one

Why not read a book that is exciting,full of action and bordering on the truth. After all the bible was just that. I myself have written Newspaper articles,short stories,poems,songs and even put together a small pop opera (though it was never done). I even tried my hand at writing a novel. Unfortunately someone borrowed the only proof I had and never returned it.

What annoys me about people that give their opinions is most of them say

'That is crap' or 'this story is terrible' where they should be saying 'I think it is crap' or 'I think it is terrible' Who are they to give the final judgement on any works of literature?

O.K. I've had my whinge. Over to you

[buadhai]

TaxExile -- it's true, all true. Since subscribing to TV I haven't felt the need to purchase a single work of crap expat Thai fiction. All the local color, drama, crummy writing, and inexplicable twists of fate I need are here. Here, I say, and all for free!

[boris]

Whilst I  find the thread about crap novels based in Los quite amusing , I feel it a bit harsh toward Stehen Leather . Ok granted " Private Dancer" is not his best works , the guy is a very talented Author,

Books like " The Bombmaker" " The Stretch" and " the Chinaman" are excellent pieces of fiction with an incredible attention to detail. He has had  several TV mini series based on his books and the guy has more talent in his signature than most of us have in our............whatever .

My Mother , Christina Hall,  is a published Author , only 2 books, but I saw the work and creativity that she put into those. After suffering a near fatal Brain tumour she is halfway through her third.

I digress.......hic

I realise some of the " Dross" that gets allowed on the shelves of DK bookshops et al can be laughable.

Stephen Leather may or may not be risking a  very good reputation by publishing this easy to read and enjoyable novel , but at least he has a database of Million selling novels to back it up.

My favourite  books on Thailand are

" A Good Woman of Bangkok" by Jack Reynolds ( I have 3 copies..lol )

"Letters from Thailand" by Botan ( Translated by Susan Fulop)

" Jasmine Nights " by SP Somtow

Expat style books that are quite good

"Borderlines"  by Charles Nicholls

Various Colin Piprell and Chris Moore books are descriptive enough.

If you want to read a Stephen Leather book set in Thailand , without the bargirl scene being prominent  try " The Stretch"

Or alternatively carry on slating an Authour whose works you haven't really scratched the bookmark of.

Disclaimer : Chonabot is not on Mr Leather's Payroll and has received no monies for this sketchy post.....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Look I'm sorry but by no stretch of the imagination is Stephen Leather "a very talented author" even taking subjectivity into account.He admittedly does have a pulp fiction professionalism which eludes most other hack writers who deal with Thailand, but in the overall scheme of things is still third rate.I have elsewhere recommended the late Jack Reynolds but am under no illusions he was a great writer.Of the authors you mention there is in my view only one remarkable talent and that is Charles Nicholls.

[chonabot]

Here's Stephen talking a bit about his published books , feel free to add comment , even you Boris( Charles Nicholls is a decent Author , but what bestellers has he produced? and that is a sign of a talented Author)

This excerpt reveals that Mr Leather is not a "Thai Hack novellist" . His background and his novels cover a wide base , and they appeal to many different audiences.

Stephen Leather

I made several attempts to write while I was at university, but never managed to get beyond a few pages. It wasn't that I couldn't write, it was more a case of not having enough experience to draw on. I found plots difficult, and had no idea how to construct believable and sympathetic characters,

I didn't start writing again until I was in my late twenties and working as journalist. I'd studied biochemistry at the University of Bath, but had decided that I didn't want a career as a scientist. During my third year at university I'd worked as a barman, and one evening had fallen into conversation with a drunken journalist. He made his job sound so much fun that I decided there and then that I was going to be a reporter.

After graduating, I was offered a place on the Daily Mirror Graduate Training Scheme, where I was trained as a journalist. They taught me how to ask questions, how to gather facts, and how to construct a story. In short, they taught me how to write. And once I was in the habit of writing a couple of thousand words a day, I had the confidence to start writing fiction again.

I wrote my first book, Pay Off, while I was working as a journalist in the City office of the Daily Mirror newspaper. Harper Collins bought it, and my next thriller, The Fireman, which I wrote while I was working as Business Editor of the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong.

Hungry Ghost was my second book to be set in Hong Kong, and then I returned to London to work for The Times as a night news editor. It was at the time of a major IRA bombing campaign and I wrote The Chinaman, the story of a man whose family is killed in a terrorist bombing. I'd left Harper Collins by then and The Chinaman went to auction and was bought by Hodder and Stoughton, who have been my publishers since 1992. It was my first real bestseller and is still selling well. It has been translated into more than a dozen languages.

I started writing full time after I sold The Chinaman, and returned to Hong Kong to write The Vets. It was my biggest book by far - in terms of words written. The first draft was more than 300,000 words and I ended up throwing away 50,000 words. Generally I try to write books between 120,000 and 160,000 words.

Then I started spending more time in the United States, mainly in Baltimore, and I set my next two books, The Long Shot and The Birthday Girl, there.

After publication of The Birthday Girl I moved to Dublin where I wrote The Double Tap, then I returned to the Far East to write The Solitary Man (Hong Kong and Thailand) and The Tunnel Rats (Thailand and Vietnam).

My publishers were keen for me to start setting my novels back in the UK (I'd had a run of stories set in South East Asia) so I wrote The Bombmaker, which was published in 1999, a kidnapping story set in Dublin and London. It was filmed for Sky One with the marvelous Dervla Kirwan playing the part of Andrea Hayes, an IRA bombmaker who is forced out of retirement by the kidnapping of her young daughter. Mark Womack played the part of Martin Hayes, her husband.

I wrote another TV drama for Sky called The Stretch. It's a two-part London gangster story and featured Eastenders stars Leslie Grantham and Anita Dobson. Hodder and Stoughton were keen to have The Stretch as a book and it was published in 2000. It was the easiest book to write by far as I already the dialogue in the scripts and I'd had the opportunity of seeing Anita and Leslie playing the roles. The book took less than three months to write, much less than the year it usually takes me.

My next book was Tango One, published in February 2002. It's about an undercover police operation to bring down a multi-national drugs dealer, Den Donovan. Donovan has more than the undercover cops to worry about - his wife and accountant have stolen $60 million from him, a Colombian gang is after his blood and he has to bring up his young son alone. All this while he's Tango One - number one on HM Customs and Excise List of most wanted criminals.

The Eyewitness was published in February 2003 and is a dark, gritty, story about a forensic detective working in Sarajevo who tries to track down the only witness to a mass murder in the killing fields of the former Yugoslavia. The hero, Jack Solomon, comes up against corrupt cops, the Albanian mafia and Maltese gangsters as he tries to bring the killers to justice.

The book published in 2004 was Hard Landing, the story of an undercover policeman who is sent into a maximum-security prison in the UK to bring down a drugs baron who is running his organisation from behind bars. As part of the research for Hard Landing I spent a day inside Belmarsh Prison in South London, where best-selling author Jeffrey Archer was a recent guest. I was chuffed to discover that my books were a big hit in the prison library. The hero is SAS-trooper turned undercover cop Dan ‘Spider’ Shepherd. I intend to make Spider Shepherd the hero of my next few books. One of my big regrets was killing off Mike ‘Joker’ Cramer who appeared in The Chinaman, The Long Shot and The Double Tap. I won’t make the same mistake with Spider!

In Soft Target, published in 2005, I have Shepherd investigating a rogue armed police unit, a woman who wants her gangster husband murdered, and terrorists planning a major bombing campaign on the Tube.

Most of the books I write are big international thrillers, but I like to stretch myself by writing in other genres. The problem is that they are not the type of books that my publisher, Hodder and Stoughton, wants to publish. I’ve put them on this website as free downloads on my Unpublished Work page. The unpublished books are: Once Bitten (a British psychologist tracks down vampires in Los Angeles); The Basement (a serial killer story with a great twist) and Dreamer’s Cat (a virtual reality murder mystery). I think they are among the best things I’ve written. Read them and judge for yourself!

For many years I had a book called Private Dancer as a free download but it is now available in print. I think it’s one of my best books. It’s set in Thailand in 1996 and is the story of Pete, a young travel writer, who wanders into a Bangkok go-go bar and meets the love of his life. Joy is the girl of his dreams: young, stunningly pretty, and one of the Zombie Bar’s top-earning pole dancers.

What follows is a roller-coaster ride of sex, drugs and deception, as Pete discovers that his very own private dancer is not all that she claims to be. And that far from being the girl of his dreams, Joy is his own personal nightmare.

Private Dancer is available in bookstores throughout Thailand, or you can buy it on line by following the link below.

So far as the future is concerned, I’m working on a new Spider Shepherd novel, and I am writing a book called Confessions Of A Bangkok Private Eye, based on the real-life investigations of a private detective friend of mine. Watch this space!

ps , If you're reading this Stephen , you can pm me for which address to send the commision cheque......

Edited February 16, 2005 by chonabot

[taxexile]

The Gay Forum lads should club together  ..... They really put in a lot of effort

must be a real uphill struggle.

[chonabot]

The Gay Forum lads should club together  ..... They really put in a lot of effort

must be a real uphill struggle.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Through the Gardens ?

[boris]

Here's Stephen talking a bit about his published books , feel free to add comment , even you Boris( Charles Nicholls is a decent Author , but what bestellers has he produced?  and that is a sign of a talented Author)

This excerpt reveals that Mr Leather is not a "Thai Hack novellist" . His background and his novels cover a wide base , and they appeal to many different audiences.

Stephen Leather

I made several attempts to write while I was at university, but never managed to get beyond a few pages. It wasn't that I couldn't write, it was more a case of not having enough experience to draw on. I found plots difficult, and had no idea how to construct believable and sympathetic characters,

I didn't start writing again until I was in my late twenties and working as journalist. I'd studied biochemistry at the University of Bath, but had decided that I didn't want a career as a scientist. During my third year at university I'd worked as a barman, and one evening had fallen into conversation with a drunken journalist. He made his job sound so much fun that I decided there and then that I was going to be a reporter.

After graduating, I was offered a place on the Daily Mirror Graduate Training Scheme, where I was trained as a journalist. They taught me how to ask questions, how to gather facts, and how to construct a story. In short, they taught me how to write. And once I was in the habit of writing a couple of thousand words a day, I had the confidence to start writing fiction again.

I wrote my first book, Pay Off, while I was working as a journalist in the City office of the Daily Mirror newspaper. Harper Collins bought it, and my next thriller, The Fireman, which I wrote while I was working as Business Editor of the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong.

Hungry Ghost was my second book to be set in Hong Kong, and then I returned to London to work for The Times as a night news editor. It was at the time of a major IRA bombing campaign and I wrote The Chinaman, the story of a man whose family is killed in a terrorist bombing. I'd left Harper Collins by then and The Chinaman went to auction and was bought by Hodder and Stoughton, who have been my publishers since 1992. It was my first real bestseller and is still selling well. It has been translated into more than a dozen languages.

I started writing full time after I sold The Chinaman, and returned to Hong Kong to write The Vets. It was my biggest book by far - in terms of words written. The first draft was more than 300,000 words and I ended up throwing away 50,000 words. Generally I try to write books between 120,000 and 160,000 words.

Then I started spending more time in the United States, mainly in Baltimore, and I set my next two books, The Long Shot and The Birthday Girl, there.

After publication of The Birthday Girl I moved to Dublin where I wrote The Double Tap, then I returned to the Far East to write The Solitary Man (Hong Kong and Thailand) and The Tunnel Rats  (Thailand and Vietnam).

My publishers were keen for me to start setting my novels back in the UK (I'd had a run of stories set in South East Asia) so I wrote The Bombmaker, which was published in 1999, a kidnapping story set in Dublin and London. It was filmed for Sky One with the marvelous Dervla Kirwan playing the part of Andrea Hayes, an IRA bombmaker who is forced out of retirement by the kidnapping of her young daughter. Mark Womack played the part of Martin Hayes, her husband.

 

I wrote another TV drama for Sky called The Stretch. It's a two-part London gangster story and featured Eastenders stars Leslie Grantham and Anita Dobson. Hodder and Stoughton were keen to have The Stretch as a book and it was published in 2000. It was the easiest book to write by far as I already the dialogue in the scripts and I'd had the opportunity of seeing Anita and Leslie playing the roles. The book took less than three months to write, much less than the year it usually takes me.

My next book was Tango One, published in February 2002. It's about an undercover police operation to bring down a multi-national drugs dealer, Den Donovan. Donovan has more than the undercover cops to worry about - his wife and accountant have stolen $60 million from him, a Colombian gang is after his blood and he has to bring up his young son alone. All this while he's Tango One - number one on HM Customs and Excise List of most wanted criminals.

The Eyewitness was published in February 2003 and is a dark, gritty, story about a forensic detective working in Sarajevo who tries to track down the only witness to a mass murder in the killing fields of the former Yugoslavia. The hero, Jack Solomon, comes up against corrupt cops, the Albanian mafia and Maltese gangsters as he tries to bring the killers to justice.

The book published in 2004 was Hard Landing, the story of an undercover policeman who is sent into a maximum-security prison in the UK to bring down a drugs baron who is running his organisation from behind bars. As part of the research for Hard Landing I spent a day inside Belmarsh Prison in South London, where best-selling author Jeffrey Archer was a recent guest. I was chuffed to discover that my books were a big hit in the prison library. The hero is SAS-trooper turned undercover cop Dan ‘Spider’ Shepherd. I intend to make Spider Shepherd the hero of my next few books. One of my big regrets was killing off Mike ‘Joker’ Cramer who appeared in The Chinaman, The Long Shot and The Double Tap. I won’t make the same mistake with Spider! 

In Soft Target, published in 2005, I have Shepherd investigating a rogue armed police unit, a woman who wants her gangster husband murdered, and terrorists planning a major bombing campaign on the Tube.

Most of the books I write are big international thrillers, but I like to stretch myself by writing in other genres. The problem is that they are not the type of books that my publisher, Hodder and Stoughton, wants to publish. I’ve put them on this website as free downloads on my Unpublished Work page. The unpublished books are: Once Bitten (a British psychologist tracks down vampires in Los Angeles); The Basement (a serial killer story with a great twist) and Dreamer’s Cat (a virtual reality murder mystery). I think they are among the best things I’ve written. Read them and judge for yourself!

For many years I had a book called Private Dancer as a free download but it is now available in print. I think it’s one of my best books. It’s set in Thailand in 1996 and is the story of Pete, a young travel writer, who wanders into a Bangkok go-go bar and meets the love of his life. Joy is the girl of his dreams: young, stunningly pretty, and one of the Zombie Bar’s top-earning pole dancers.

What follows is a roller-coaster ride of sex, drugs and deception, as Pete discovers that his very own private dancer is not all that she claims to be. And that far from being the girl of his dreams, Joy is his own personal nightmare.

Private Dancer is available in bookstores throughout Thailand, or you can buy it on line by following the link below.

So far as the future is concerned, I’m working on a new Spider Shepherd novel, and I am writing a book called Confessions Of A Bangkok Private Eye, based on the real-life investigations of a private detective friend of mine. Watch this space!

ps , If you're reading this Stephen , you can pm me for which address to send the commision cheque......

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The blurb above demonstrates to me that Stephen Leather is a hack novelist not the reverse.There's nothing wrong with this and there is always a popular market for trashy fiction, for example Barbara Cartland in a completely different field.Where you are completely and totally wrong is your assertion that to write a best seller is the sign of a talented author.Itr's such a crass comment that it rather undermines your credentials.The reality is that Charles Nicholl is in a wholly different league to Stephen Leather, and it is foolish to compare the two.The true benchmarks for someone like Leather are writers like Le Carre, Len Deighton etc.I leave it to others to decide whether he measures up.

[chonabot]

Bozza , could you tell me which of Mr Leather's books you have read and give me a brief synopsis on each one? ( without using google )

btw I said that A sign of a talented Author is if he is a besteller.

Not the only sign , but one of many.

Talents come in many shapes and forms.

Charles Nicholls has written some great books ,and I very much enjoyed " Borderlines" and " Fruit Palace"

Yet talent can be shown by Mass appeal as well as writing for the more discerning amongst us.

My Mother , bless her , is a talented Author of sorts , she sold about 10,000 of her first book , mainly because it is on the curriculum for Scottish Schools ( History ) , but her 2nd book sold far less and is considered , buy critics , to be a better piece of work. So I agree that my point could be construed as " Crass"

Consistency and the ability to stand the test of time is also an indication of talent , n'est pas ?

Edited February 16, 2005 by chonabot

[lampard10]

Bozza , could you tell me which of Mr Leather's books you have read and give me a brief synopsis on each one? ( without using google )

btw I said that A sign of a talented Author is if he is a besteller. 

Not the only sign , but one of many.

Talents come in many shapes and forms.

Charles Nicholls has written some great books ,and I very much enjoyed " Borderlines" and " Fruit Palace"

Yet talent can be shown by Mass appeal as well as writing for the more discerning amongst us.

My Mother , bless her , is a talented Author of sorts , she sold about 10,000 of her first book , mainly because it is on the curriculum for Scottish Schools ( History ) , but her 2nd book sold far less and is considered , buy critics , to be a better piece of work. So I agree that my point could be construed as " Crass"

Consistency and the ability to stand the test of time is also an indication of talent , n'est pas ?

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Well I think that Mr Leather is a very good AND readable author

[boris]

Bozza , could you tell me which of Mr Leather's books you have read and give me a brief synopsis on each one? ( without using google )

btw I said that A sign of a talented Author is if he is a besteller.

Not the only sign , but one of many.

Talents come in many shapes and forms.

Charles Nicholls has written some great books ,and I very much enjoyed " Borderlines" and " Fruit Palace"

Yet talent can be shown by Mass appeal as well as writing for the more discerning amongst us.

My Mother , bless her , is a talented Author of sorts , she sold about 10,000 of her first book , mainly because it is on the curriculum for Scottish Schools ( History ) , but her 2nd book sold far less and is considered , buy critics , to be a better piece of work. So I agree that my point could be construed as " Crass"

Consistency and the ability to stand the test of time is also an indication of talent , n'est pas ?

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[/quote

I don't have any gripe about Stephen Leather and I have already acknowledged his professionalism.Because of his reputation in Thailand I picked up a couple of his paperbacks at Don Muang.They were trashy thrillers which I couldn't finish.There's nothing wrong with his books however:they are just simple minded thrillers for the easily satisfied.

I note you are backtracking now on your foolish comment about writing a best seller as a sign of talent.At least you can recognise the indefensible.

[The_Moog]

The true benchmarks for someone like Leather are writers like Le Carre, Len Deighton

How are you qualified to make that comment?

A lot of intellectual snobbery is emerging in these topics.

Commercial Writers try to make a living. If they can get a Blockbuster at the top of the paperback Best Sellers, that pays the bills.

When has Leather ever said he wants to win the Nobel Prize for literature?

Charles Dickens wrote fiction published in weekly affordable pamphlets. Now its considered Classic. Just try Vanity Fair though, one might mis-assume that he'd set out to write the definitive work.

[chonabot]

I note you are backtracking now on your foolish comment about writing a best seller as a sign of talent.At least you can recognise the indefensible.

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I don't suppose I could say I wrote that line on purpose , just to see if you would pick up on it ?

Didn't think so.