Eclectic crime fiction & informed, irreverent non-fiction from Asia & beyond
Cambodia: Journey through the Land of the Khmer with photos by Kraig Lieb and my text remains a bestseller in Cambodia. The second edition came out late last year. There’s currently a great light display for the book at Phnom Penh airport.
Continue ReadingSacred Skin -Thailand’s Spirit Tattoos by Tom Vater and Aroon Thaewchatturat, published by Hong Kong imprint Visionary World, was first published 8 years ago. The highly acclaimed best-selling title, currently in its second edition, garnered more than thirty reviews, including a three page spread in TIME Magazine. Sacred tattoos, called ‘sak yant’ in Thailand, have […]
Continue ReadingI just finished translating Figures Libres, an incredible book that documents how tattoos morphed from back alley subculture to global pop culture. Published by Noir Meduse, Figures Libres features crazily beautiful portraits by Dom Pichard aka P-mod & a colorful round-the-world-to-follow-the-needle essay by Laure Siegel. Figures Libres is out in September in French and English. […]
Continue ReadingCambodia: A Journey through the Land of the Khmer by Kraig Lieb, with my text, continues to shift copies in Cambodia. Photo taken at Monument Books, Siem Reap.
Continue ReadingBurmese Light, the beautiful illustrated book by photographer Hans Kemp with a text by myself, gets a great review at Woasis this week. “…both a wonderful introduction to as well as a useable memoir of a country that is increasingly the focus of travelers seeking to explore a world less traveled.” Read the full review […]
Continue ReadingEnjoyed the book launch for Cambodia: Journey through the Land of the Khmer with photographer Kraig Lieb. I participated in a panel on travel writing with Lonely Planet authors Greg Bloom and Nick Ray in front of an animated audience at Meta House in Phnom Penh. Thanks to everyone for turning up. Photo by Hans […]
Continue ReadingAn extract of my new book – with renowned American photographer and Lonely Planet veteran Kraig Lieb – Cambodia: A Journey through the Land of the Khmer, is featured in The Advisor this week. Read the text – about the country’s capital Phnom Penh – here.
Continue ReadingCambodia: A Journey through the Land of the Khmer has just been published. It’s currently only available in SE Asia but this will change soon. I am told the book will be available on Amazon soon. It’s been a great project to work on with photographer and publisher Kraig Lieb. And it’s the heaviest book […]
Continue ReadingJennifer Jerome interviews me about Thailand’s sacred tattoos for The Chiang Mai City News this week. Read her story Ink of the Gods: The Myth and Magic of Sak Yant here. And check out my bestselling book on Thailand’s spirit tattoos, Sacred Skin, with incredible photography by Aroon Thaewchatturat. Sacred Skin is available in good […]
Continue Reading“For the armchair traveler, Mr. Kemp’s “Burmese Light” may be the most entertaining introduction to the country. Originally from the Netherlands, Mr. Kemp has lived in the region since the 1980s and is known for books from Vietnam and Cambodia. “‘Burmese Light’ is really about this moment in transition,” he explained before the book’s launch […]
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