Eclectic crime fiction & informed, irreverent non-fiction from Asia & beyond
Sacred Skin, my book on Thailand’s spirit tattoos, Sak Yant, photographed by Aroon Thaewchatturat, has garnered more than 25 reviews, including positive coverage in TIME, Die Zeit, El Mundo, The South China Morning Post, the Asia Wall Street Journal and Courier International. This week, the book gets a mention on the Tattoo Arts blog. Thanks!
Continue ReadingSacred Skin – Thailand’s Spirit Tattoos, photographed last week at Suvarnaphumi International Airport in Bangkok, where it is still selling very well, has had another couple of positive mentions in the media. Books about Thailand had this to say: An interesting read is this book about the sak yant, Thailand’s religious tattoo tradition. Besides describing […]
Continue ReadingWho Killed Chea Vichea? is the featured film on the opening night of the Chiang Mai Documentary Arts Festival, which runs February 24-26, 2012. WHO KILLED CHEA VICHEA? Friday, February 24th at 7:00 pm Documentary Arts Asia Center Gallery 12/7 Wualai Road Soi 3, Haiya District Muang, Chiang Mai, Thailand In 2004, Cambodian union president […]
Continue ReadingI have been interviewed by Marco Ferrarese about my book Sacred Skin on the website of travel writer Rolf Potts. Read the full interview here. In July 2010, Rolf Potts interviewed me about the craft of writing. I talk about how I managed to get into the writing business – read that full text here. […]
Continue ReadingSacred Skin, my book on Thailand’s sacred tattoos, for sale at Phnom Penh Airport, Monument Books. But who’s the dodgy looking guy on the left?
Continue ReadingYesterday, Achan Neng Onnut, a Sak Yant tattoo master who supported the research of my new book Sacred Skin, the first English language publication on Thailand’s sacred tattoos, celebrated Wai Khru Day. During the course of the day, hundreds of his devotees visited his home in Bangkok to pay their respects to the master and […]
Continue ReadingA Bangkok Post review of my new book Sacred Skin – Thailand’s Spirit Tattoos, co-authored with photographer Aroon Thaewchatturat, has just been reposted on the Awesome Tattoos blog. The review includes an interview with Aroon. Photo taken at Bangkok International Airport.
Continue ReadingAchan Neng Onnut, one of several tattoo masters featured in my recent book Sacred Skin, the first English language publication on Thailand’s spirit tattoos, Sak Yant, has posted a number of images of the shoot for two documentaries on the book. Check out the images here. Director Marc Eberle shot an 8 minute docu on […]
Continue ReadingRegional news round-up publication AsiaViews republishes a great review by Ezra Kyrill Erker, of my new book Sacred Skin, which originally ran in the Bangkok Post in July 2011.
Continue Reading“Sacred Skin Thailands Spirit Tattoos, the new two-hundred page, eight-by-ten-inch guide to sak yant protection tattoos by Tom Vater, with color photography by Aroon Thaewchatturat, is a beautifully organized, visual treat for both tattoo artists and collectors. Divided into easily navigable sections (Sak Yant, Master and Devotees, Sacred Images, Wai Khru the annual day of […]
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