NEXT CHAPTER AUTHOR

Tom Vater

Tom Vater is a writer and editor working predominantly in Asia.

He has published four novels, including The Devil's Road to Kathmandu, and the Detective Maier trilogy.

His articles on Asian politics, tourism, the environment, minorities, and pop culture have been published in many publications including The Wall Street Journal, The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian and Nikkei Asia.

He has written numerous non-fiction books, including the highly acclaimed, bestselling Sacred Skin with photographer Aroon Thaewchatturat, Burmese Light with photographer Hans Kemp, and Cambodia: Journey through the Lad of the Khmer with photographer Kraig Lieb.

Tom is the co-author of several documentary screenplays, most notably The Most Secret Place on Earth, a feature on the CIA's covert war in 1960s Laos.

IN THE AUTHOR’S WORDS

Author interview

Interview submitted 7 June 2022.

What inspired you to start writing?

When I was in school, I edited the students’ paper. At some point the magazine got together with a bunch of other school magazines to produce an issue on political issues that teenagers were interested in in the early 80s — the US presence on German soil, nuclear power, a new runway at Frankfurt Airport. My school reacted very badly to this. They stopped us selling the issue on the school grounds and then impounded a huge pile of magazines. One of my teachers made us burn those copies. I was a powerless teenager, but I did learn something about the power of the written word which informs my professional writing life years later.
I was born and grew up in Germany, moved to the UK when I was 18, where I studied and then played punk rock in numerous long forgotten bands, touring round Europe until a short visit to India in 1993. I fell in love with Asia and returned the same year with a modest grant from the British Library to record indigenous music across the subcontinent. I did this for some years and wrote about my experiences. In 1997, I wrote my first article about Nepali music for a daily paper in Kathmandu. I’ve written more than a dozen books, several documentary screenplays and many articles for a wide variety of media. I’ve been on the road for more than 25 years. Prior to COVID19, I don’t think I stopped anywhere longer than 3 months in any one place. And I still occasionally pick up a guitar.

Who are some of your favorite authors and books?

in no particular order... Joseph Conrad - Heart of Darkness, Youth, Nostromo, Lord Jim etc; Patricia Highsmith - the Ripley books; Philip Kerr - Bernie Gunther; David Goodis - Shoot the Piano Player; Mick Herron - Slow Horses; Kathryn Dunn - Geek Love; Ross McDonald - the Lew Archer books; Jim Thompson - Pop 1280, The Killer Inside Me, Savage Night; Raymond Chandler - all the novels; Charles Bukowskwi - All the poems, Post Oficce, Women, Ham & Rye; Paul Bowles - The Sheltering Sky, Let it All Come Down; , Chester Himes - A rage in Harlem.

What would you like to tell readers who have just discovered your books, but haven't read one yet?

I write historical thrillers set in Asia. They are, like history, often grim, but hopefully also hugely entertaining. My next book, The Green Panthers, is an eco thriller though, slightly futuristic, about a group of agents using any means to clean up our planet and punish polluters.

Who is the favorite character you created, and how did they come into being?

Detective Maier is the longest running character I have created, a German former conflict journalist turned PI. Being German myself, it seemed like a logical choice, and I hoped a popular one in a very crowded PI field. Maier's solved incredible crimes against incredible odds in The Cambodian Book of the Dead, The Man with the Golden Mind and The Monsoon Images, three novels set respectively in Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. Maier is essentially a loner, a little dysfunctional and traumatized by family issues, but he is always ready to go the extra mile for his clients.

What are your future plans as a writer?

I am just about to publish The Green Panthers, my 5th novel, with Next Chapter.
I am working on a long non fiction project as well, a story set in Africa in the 90s.
I write for a number of clients on environment, youth culture, minorities, pop culture and other subjects in Asia. Read my latest in The Economist, The Daily Telegraph, Nikkei Asia or Eco-Business.