Master of Ceremonies Richard Silverberg welcomed everyone
to the Sunday September 12 meeting of the Pattaya City Expats Club at the
Tavern by the Sea Restaurant. After the usual opening announcements, he
called on Harry “Sig” Sigworth to introduce the Club’s guest speaker Dean
Barrett. Dean has lived in Asia, mostly Hong Kong or Thailand, for over 25
years. He is the well known author of over a dozen books, mostly mystery
with a Thailand or China theme.
Club
member Bruce Hoppe, Regional Vice President of Emerson Electric (Thailand)
Ltd., reminisces about the day trip he recently organized for our Club.
Lucky PCEC members and friends thoroughly enjoyed a tour of one of Emerson’s
huge manufacturing plants as well as the Jelly Belly candy factory which
produces 120 flavors of gourmet jelly beans. The day was topped off by an
American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) networking event sponsored by Emerson
Electric and very ably catered by the Amari Orchid Resort. What a great day!
Dean said that he had previously lived in New York where
he wrote plays and some stories. One of these was Murder in China Red
about a Chinese detective from Beijing who has vowed to track down the
killers of the woman he loved. He said that after writing this book, he
planned to make it a series, but his decision to move to Hong Kong made it
difficult to continue to write about a character living in New York. Dean
said that when he moved to Hong Kong, he was involved with a publishing
house there. Since their business included some Thai publications, he made
frequent trips to Thailand. He later moved to Thailand and now resides in
Bangkok.
Bangkok
novelist and playwright Dean Barrett holds his audience spell bound as he
speaks to the Club about his latest novel set in Thailand, Permanent Damage.
He described some of the problems in getting the large
publishing houses to take interest in a novel. Primarily the need for a
literary agent and to develop a following; consequently, many authors write
a series of books involving the same characters. For those in Thailand that
may write a novel, they may be prematurely perceived as a “sexpat” writer by
the big publishing houses, which will not bother to read their manuscript.
However, Dean said there are many good professional writers that write
novels with a Thailand theme. He pointed out that his latest book,
Permanent Damage, a sequel to Skytrain to Murder, does not have
any bedroom scenes; there was one in Skytrain to Murder. Another
drawback in interesting the big publishing houses in a new manuscript is
whether they think it will sell at least 30,000 copies, which is what they
need to make it financially worthwhile.
Professional photo journalist and Club member Sermsakdi tells about an
interactive photography workshop he will be presenting soon along with a
photo exhibit honoring His Majesty the King. MC Richard Silverberg looks on
pensively.
An alternative to a publishing house is to self publish,
which at times makes sense. But it is not necessarily easy to self publish
because the author has to be aware of many things that are needed. He
pointed out that one of the benefits of self publishing is the author has
control over the number of copies to print, the cover design, and the type
of binding. Another benefit is speed. The large publishing houses usually
take 18 months to publish a manuscript; sometime 24 months. By self
publishing, you get it out when you want. When you self publish, you deal
with the printer on all aspects of the book - cover, binding, etc., and you
can arrange to print on your schedule. However, one of the negative aspects
is that you pay for everything including the bar code that is required by
the book sellers. Another negative is getting book reviewers to review and
comment on the book. A good review is very helpful because it can generate
interest in the book. He pointed out that the New York Times will not review
a self published book, so you hope that other reviewers will notice it and
publish their reviews. Another important step in self publishing is to get a
distributer, such as Asia Books to place your book on their shelves.
Proclaimed writer Dean Barrett’s fluency in Mandarin and his deep interest
in Chinese culture is reflected in one of his earlier novels, Murder in Red
China.
In conclusion, he did caution against using “vanity
publishers.” These are companies that advertise they will publish your
books, for a price. He said their services are usually costly and above what
you should be paying. Further, these publishers often print and bind only a
small number of the copies they charge you for because they do not expect
the book to sell. Dean again mentioned the need to get your book reviewed,
which will be difficult if using a vanity publisher as reviewers will not
bother to look at books they publish.
After Dean answered many questions from the audience,
Richard Silverberg called on Sig to conduct the always informative and
sometimes humorous Open Forum, where questions about living in Thailand and
Pattaya in particular are asked and answered.
Surat
Mekhavarakul (front left) presents the drug-testing kits
to Superintendent Col. Nanthawuth Suwanla-ong.
Boonlua Chatree
The Mike Group donated 3,000 drug-testing kits to the Pattaya
Police as part of a drug addict suppression and rehabilitation program.
Surat Mekhavarakul, Mike executive committee chairman, and
Chonburi MP Pamual Empia presented the kits to police Superintendent Col.
Nanthawuth Suwanla-ong Sept. 2 at the Mike Shopping Mall in central Pattaya.
The donated kits and supplies will be used to test for
illegal narcotics. If suspects are found positive, they will be sent for
rehabilitation as part of the city’s efforts to eradicate drugs and bolster the
city’s image, Nanthawuth said.
Kylie
Grimmer
WWM has been raising funds for the neediest of children
living in Thailand since early 2005. Working initially in the tsunami affected
areas of southern Thailand, WWM projects now include support of boarding houses
in Tak Province in northern Thailand and income generating projects for
handicapped families living in the Chonburi region.
In 2009 our fundraising efforts raised over B220,000 allowing
us to help feed, clothe, educate, shelter and keep clean over 300 children
living along the Thai/Burma border. This could not have been accomplished
without the support of the following sponsors: Dana Spicer Rayong, DHL, GAC
World, Waste Management, private donors and the many golfers that joined us for
a great day of golf. Many vouchers from local restaurants and business help to
raise even more funds.
“We believe
that these children and families deserve the opportunity to reach their full
potential.”
Continuing our support of handicapped families living locally
within the Chonburi region, WWM have supplied tanks, catfish fingerlings and
fish food to twenty-one families. Once grown, the fish are sold at local markets
and income is reinvested into the project, helping to provide added income for
the families.
We believe that these children and families deserve the
opportunity to reach their full potential.
On October 29, we will host our second annual Charity Golf
Tournament at Patana Golf and Sports Resort to raise funds to continue
supporting projects under the WWM umbrella. Join us for an afternoon of Best
Ball from 12:30 p.m. B2,500 per golfer (B10,000 per team of four).
We would like to thank this year’s sponsors: Dana Spicer
Thailand, Gac World, Albatross Logistics, Inergy Automotive, Pattaya Sports Club
and the many more that will help make this year’s tournament a success. Contact
us soon as numbers are limited to 110 players.
Contact: Rosanne Diamente, 081-065 0714 or [email protected],
or email WWM at [email protected] for more information.
www.mywwm.org
WWM has been
raising funds for the neediest
of children living in Thailand since early 2005.
