Seven Bullets

Here’s the new and improved cover for Seven Bullets.

Wilderness

I am in the process of editing a book from a new author named S.L. Boo.

It’s called Wilderness and will be published under the Kia Kaha imprint.

I will have more details soon. =)

Now everyone can publish

Yvonne, Ted and I have appeared in a Malaysian article about the e-book phenomenon:

Three months ago, New Zealand-based Malaysian author John Ling, 28, published his thriller The Blasphemer and short story collection Seven Bullets on Amazon.com. His venture has been fairly successful; he is currently selling an average of 20 books a day, and has moved more than 2,000 copies of The Blasphemer (at US$2.99 or RM9.40 a copy).

“It’s quite significant because if an author sells that many copies of a printed book in one year in Malaysia, that title is considered a bestseller. That’s one of the great things about digital publishing, I think. You get the numbers immediately, and you know exactly where you stand,” he says in an e-mail interview.

Many thanks to Elizabeth Tai for taking the time to interview us!

You can read the full article here.

I’m Not Sick, Just A Bit Unwell

I’ve just finished up a free promotion on Amazon for Yvonne Foong’s I’m Not Sick, Just A Bit Unwell.

It totalled over 400 downloads in 24 hours, hitting #1 on the Personal Growth and Inspiration list, its best performance ever.

I’m now looking into making a print version available shortly.

 

The Blasphemer Promotion

I have just completed a free promotion for The Blasphemer.

In 24 hours, the e-book clocked in over 2300 downloads.

It peaked at #113 on the Kindle Free Store, and for the first time ever, it hit #1 on the Technothriller list. It also hit #2 on the Action & Adventure list.

Tunku Halim reviews The Blasphemer

Horror master Tunku Halim has been kind enough to review The Blasphemer:

This fast-paced thriller set in Auckland grabs you with the first chapter. There’s an assassination attempt. Will it succeed, you ask? Who is the target anyway? Initially, we see the action from the point-of-view of the killer. We’re at one with him, breathing, thinking, heart beating hard as he stalks the suburban house of his prey. This is the hallmark of a good craftsmanship. Indeed, the quality of the writing throughout is excellent.

A sudden shift occurs in the second chapter. We’re in the mind of the target. Then we leap into his wife’s distraught head as the couple barricade themselves in the bedroom. Much later, we see things from the point of view of the young woman assigned to protect the target. As chapters proceed, we’re amidst the bullet-whizzing, knife-slicing action with a drug dealer, the hit team’s scheming boss, an unfortunate Muslim immigrant, a hateful Nazi and a skilful replacement assassin.

It’s the fine details that bring any novel to life. Descriptions ground a narrative in a fictional reality. It provides the story with believability. In the case of The Blasphemer, the weapons deployed, surveillance equipment and techniques, training methods, security tactics and intelligence analysis bring it to life.

Thank you, Tunku!

You can read the full review here.

The Blasphemer promotion

I have just completed a one-day free promo for The Blasphemer.

It peaked at #240 in the Kindle Free Store and was #2 in Technothrillers and #7 in Action & Adventure. It clocked in over 1100 downloads over a 24-hour period.

Yvonne Foong now on Smashwords

Yvonne Foong’s book, I’m Not Sick, Just A Bit Unwell, is now available on Smashwords for only US$1.95.

Yvonne Foong was just sixteen when she was diagnosed with neurofibromatosis, a genetic illness with no cure. That discovery propelled her into the fight of her life, and she embarked on an odyssey to America to treat the tumours raging within her.

Stark and revealing, this memoir peels back the curtains on her experience and reveals exactly what it means to endure the unendurable. It’s an inspiring journey which captivated a nation, winning Yvonne Foong the title of Most Outstanding Youth at the 2005 Dream Malaysia Awards.

Straddling borders and cultures, this is a story of friendship, faith and hope. A story you won’t soon forget.

 

 

Kia Kaha updates

I’m currently working on bringing two projects up to speed for the Kia Kaha imprint.

The first is called Asian Online Affairs by Kopi Soh. It’s a compilation of personal stories from women bloggers throughout Asia.

The second is called Wilderness by Boo Su-Lyn. An erotic thriller that’s sure to sizzle and inflame.

More news on these two new acquisitions as they come. =)

J. Carson Black endorses The Blasphemer

J. Carson Black, who is the bestselling author of the Laura Cardinal series, has been kind enough to endorse The Blasphemer:

Like Salman Rushdie, world-famous scholar Abraham Khan shakes the world with his relentless and pointed criticism of radical Islam.  Now he must pay the price.  Security expert Maya Raines is assigned to protect him against an indefatigable foe.  In this daring, thought-provoking, explosive thriller, nothing is what it seems. Meticulously-researched, brilliantly-plotted and fast-paced, John Ling’s THE BLASPHEMER is a tour de force.

Thank you for your encouraging words, J. Carson!

I have long admired your work from afar, and I’d be lying if I said you weren’t a huge influence on me.

This means a lot. Truly.