Jim Newport is a writer, film production designer and musician who has been dividing his time between Thailand and the US since 1991 . Born in New York, Jim now spends most of his time in Phuket and is best known in Thailand for his vampire trilogy: The Vampire of Siam (2004), Ramonne – The Return of The Vampire of Siam (2005) and The Reckoning –A Tale of the Vampire of Siam (2006). In this interview, he talks about his books, his future writing plans, the publishing industry, and films.
Voicu Mihnea Simandan: You’re début as a writer of fiction was The Vampire of Siam, published by Asia Books in 2004. Why vampires?
Jim Newport: I had been trying to get a screenplay I wrote produced and I kept running into a wall. The ‘wall’ was the fact that my script didn’t fit the genre of films that the companies I was talking to normally made. That genre was ‘horror films.’ I decided to write a vampire script. But once I started, I realized I wanted to put more color in the tale, and it was easier to do that as a novel.
VMS: Following the success of this first novel, you wrote two more that are now part of a trilogy. Did you plan this trilogy from the very beginning?
JN: No. I thought I was done with the Vampire of Siam after the first book. But the characters were still very fresh in my mind, and I realized that I could do a lot more with them. It was great fun to see them evolve in the next two books.
VMS: How well has the trilogy been received?
JN: The trilogy was well received, although I felt that it was never properly promoted. It has had a resurgence in sales in the last two years, due, no doubt to the popularity of other vampire books.
VMS: Are the books still available in bookstores in Thailand? Is the distribution international?
JN: They are available at all Asia Books and Bookazine stores. In the US they are available at Willat Publishing.
VMS: Was it difficult to find a publisher for your books?
JN: Asia Books published the first one as a result of an editor there (Rich Baker) taking an interest in me. He read a novel I wrote about Japan and said he would pitch Asia Books when I had a book about Thailand. All my subsequent books have been published by Willat Publishing and distributed by Asia Books.
VMS: In an exchange of e-mails you’ve mentioned that there’s a fourth Vampire of Siam novel. Give us more details regarding the plot and the expected publication date.
JN: I am well into writing The Siamese Connection. It should be out sometime in 2011. It begins in Bangkok 1949, shortly after the end of WWII and the occupation. The vampire, Ramonne, is the jazz impresario of the town’s newest watering hole, the Bamboo Bar and is good friends with OSS agent Jim Thompson, one of the owners of the recently restored Oriental Hotel. Thompson involves Ramonne in a quest for a mysterious artifact, stolen and hidden during the war by the Japanese. Ramonne’s extraordinary skills come into play and he relishes his role in the espionage. The tale continues in modern day Bangkok, picking up where The Reckoning left off.
VMS: How much research goes into your vampire novels?
JN: A lot. They are historical by nature of the fact that Ramonne has lived for over 185 years, and I fell compelled to make them historically accurate.
VMS: In my review of The Vampire of Siam series, I wrote that your writing style is quite succinct, resembling an extended film script. Have the many years you’ve worked in the film industry influenced the way you write fiction?
JN: Of course. I became a writer when I became frustrated with the general lack of quality in the scripts that I saw being produced. “I can do better than that.” was my attitude. I wrote a number of ‘spec’ scripts, before turning to novels.
VMS: Tell us about your writing routine.
JN: As Jimi Hendrix said: “I try to get up every day…” I keep files of story ideas, and I keep putting little notes in them as I come up with things. I always have a notebook and pen and these ideas come to me at odd times, so I am prepared to jot them down. When I am ready to start a book, I have all these scattered bits available to me and I make a short outline of what I want the book to accomplish. Not a plot, per se, but a beginning and an idea of where it will lead. Then I start the serious work and write practically every day. I don’t have a schedule, but I am happiest when, as I recently did, I can take the time to concentrate on nothing but writing (I spent the month of May alone in the south of France and did nothing but work on the new book. I came away with 150 pages.) Real life always intrudes, so it is important to make the time to write. My mentor was the great, prolific, science fiction writer Chris Bunch. Chris would get up every morning, put his cowboy boots on and sit down at his typewriter (eventually – computer) and work. He would knock off about 6:00 and have dinner with his wife. It was a job for him and he turned out 2 or 3 books a year.
VMS: Your website states that The Vampire of Siam will be made into a movie. Give us more details.
JN: I wish I could. The rights have been owned by Millenium Pictures for about 5 years. Actually making the film is their job. If you care to know how I really feel, I refer you to a website Letters of Note. Type “Hunter Thompson” into the search box and read his fax to Holly Sorenson regarding his displeasure with the film company that had the rights to one of his novels The Rum Diary.
VMS: You’ve worked with Nicholas Cage on Bangkok Dangerous. I was a bit disappointed with the movie and the film critics weren’t pleased either. How do you comment?
JN: It was one of my favorite films to work on. It was a dream to design a movie shot entirely in Bangkok. And it was great to work with Nic. He is a total professional. Basically, what was released was a chopped up version of the film we shot. One of the producers who had no involvement in the actual making of the film, took it upon himself to do his edit and that is what was released. Go to the BluRay edition and see the alternate ending. That is the real ending and works so much better than what everybody saw.
VMS: You have also published two novels not related to Thailand: Tinsel Town – about life in Hollywood and Chasing Jimi – about Jimi Hendrix. Have they been well-received?
JN: Very well received. Lots of great reviews for both. Film rights to Chasing Jimi were just optioned and something similar seems to be upcoming for Tinsel Town.
VMS: Thank you for your time. I’m looking forward to reading The Siamese Connection.
JN: Thank you. I hope you have as much fun reading it as I’m having writing it.
Voicu Mihnea Simandan
Bangkok, Thailand
June 30, 2010
