Publish America

For those of you who may be interested, I'm at present in legal dispute with PublishAmerica: in my opinion they are in breach of contract. My contract with them states: "It is specifically understood and agreed, however, that the Publisher shall make no major revisions, changes and/or alterations therein without first consulting the Author and receiving written permission to do so."

Some of the changes I requested--as a result of the publisher not being able to print traditional Chinese characters and Hanyu Pinyin (the official Romanisation of Mandarin Chinese) with the Hanyu Pinyin tone marks--were incorrectly applied or not applied at all. There is also a section of text missing and the book has one "Part One" and two "Part Two" sections instead of a "Part One", "Part Two", and "Part Three".

I think that counts as major changes...and they certainly didn't have my permission to publish as it in its present state.

As it stands right now I am seeking legal advice on terminating the contract with them. I'll keep you informed of progress.

For those of you who have chosen Publish America based on my recommendation, I apologise. They were at one stage a good reliable publisher. Now they seem to have gone to the dogs.

Dragon in the Sky - excerpt 1

It is dark by the time they reach the vehicles. High above the towering limestone pinnacles and terraced hills the moon hangs, pale and translucent like a giant freshly peeled litchi against the dark sky. Stars speckle the heavens, glinting and shimmering, diamonds against a black velvet night while the wind sighs softly through hills, whispering to Joseph, carrying on it the sounds of a faraway train on its tracks, clack-clack; Sipho’s alive; clack-clack, Sipho’s alive; trust me, Sipho’s alive. The rhythmic beat seems to grow louder in his ears, filling his mind, constricting his chest. Trust me, Sipho’s alive; trust me, Sipho’s alive; trust me, Sipho’s alive…

"No!” he shouts, holding his hands over his ears. “I’m going crazy.” Is this true, God? Is Sipho alive? Can he be? Why hasn’t he been found? And then who is buried in Sipho’s grave?

But God does not answer; only the train clacking over the rails replies, Sipho’s alive, Sipho’s alive, Sipho’s alive, until it fades into the night, leaving the four men alone with the mountains, moon, and stars.



The above is an excerpt taken from my latest novel, Dragon in the Sky, soon to be published by PublishAmerica. Set in Canada and China, Dragon in the Sky is a sequel to Where Vultures Roost. From the back of the book: "In finding his family, Joseph Lee loses his first-born son in a disaster. He thinks his son is dead, but a corrupt party official knows otherwise. Fearing Joseph will find his son, the official plots to kill the boy."

Where Vultures Roost is not only available from the publisher, PublishAmerica, it can also be purchased from all online book stores, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and ChaptersIndigo.