February 5, 2025
New Year, New Book
Brazos Bookstore is still carrying my book. About 5 months.
The good news is that I’ve finished a first draft on Number Two of the Trilogy. It looks like a big fat outline at this point; all of the essentials are lined up, it’s structured the way I want. Now comes the fun part—the revision. I have the editor lined up for May and I have the Beta-Readers expecting a call this summer. I’m shooting for August. Unlikely. Anyway, the working title is The Dragon at War, but that won’t happen because Amazon already has a couple with that tag. But, its setting is WWII… I’m thinking. I’m thinking.
November 5, 2024
Reviews
It’s odd what moves you. Today I received a very nice note from a friend of my sister who had been given a copy of Follow the Dragon. She liked the book, briefly told me the characters she liked best, and was taking it to Australia intending to pass it on there! What better feedback could I ask for.
In addition, about 6 weeks ago my local bookstore, Brazos Bookstore in Houston, a highly regarded independent, accepted the novel to display and sell on their shelves; after reading and critiquing it, “a good read”, the book buyer told me with a smile. That was definitely not a “mercy review” by any means and I was on a cloud.
But let me tell you about my Kirkus review. First, they put it in their Recommended Buy category. Second, they did a 250 page review which was generally descriptive but included: “Daniel delivers a first-rate adventure and mystery that’s well-paced and skillfully plotted. The narrative is awash in local color… A promising mystery debut that vividly describes its intriguing setting.” And they’re planning to include the review in their monthly newsletter.
Some days just go my way. And I appreciate every review, written or verbal, that I have received. Keep ’em coming and thanks.
August 24, 2024
Publication Day
Publication Day for Follow the Dragon was August 20 for the eBook. However, the paperback went out at least two weeks earlier and I’m gradually receiving good reports. Readers love the cover to start with. I have to say I think the designer knew what she was doing. I’ve also heard from readers who I consider to be reasonably unbiased and they enjoyed the story. That really counts. Just this evening a lady I had just met told me that in the first chapter she felt like she was in Hong Kong. “There was the good smell of leather seats in the old Mercedes that picked up Jake at Kai Tak airport at midnight,” she recalled feeling. I could have given her a hug.
July 27, 2024
The Marketing Side
Like many writers I have read about, self-publishers especially, the least enjoyable time spent is on marketing. Although I spent a career in sales, after all a banker is a salesman, that was not the aspect that I enjoyed the most. My beat was London and Auckland and everything in between. I was paid to travel, meet people, support projects, and make geopolitical risk decisions… and to manage a load of international branch offices. Those were the enjoyable bits.
But now I’ve written a novel and it must be marketed. So I’m now typing on a new website, jwdbooks.com, and I’ve opened a Facebook page. After all, what was it the sage said? “No one has ever said on their death bed that they wished they had spent more time on social media. No one.” But I do have to get the book out there. I need for the reader to make up her mind if it’s her cup of tea. She has to be aware of it in the marketplace first. But so far book marketing has been a fairly pleasant experience. I just really want to get back to creating and developing and editing that new story or two on my faithful Mac. That’s what I want to do. More thoughts on that later.
July 20, 2024
Hurricane Beryl !
7 days without power will put writing on dead stop. No air-conditioning — 100 degrees plus in Houston. No internet, therefore, no computer. We left town.
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June 28, 2024
The Richness of Hong Kong as a Fictional Backdrop
My novel is not merely a gateway to the imagined lives of diverse characters; it is a journey into the vision of an expatriate’s Hong Kong. My knowledge of the city—garnered from a significant tenure as a banking executive in the Colony—breathes, I hope, authenticity into the scenes of my work. It has helped paint a picture of the city’s British colonial era, transporting readers to a time of both turmoil and exhilaration.
I am currently spinning new tales set in south China and Hong Kong. A coming prequel focusses on the tumultuous era of World War II and existential colonial issues stemming from that time, as well as a Chinese historical event related to the mysterious monastery which the Dragon supports. A coming sequel, with previous as well as new characters, pursues a new take on the world surrounding the Dragon. My books in process promise a fusion of rich historical detail and solid storytelling, set against the dynamic backdrop of one of the world’s most interesting cities.
John Daniel Books 