This title refers to the first trilogy I ever wrote and sel-published and ‘Behind The Smile – The Story of Lek, a Bar Girl in Pattaya’ refers to the fact that Thailand is called ‘The Land of Smiles’.
‘Behind The Smile’ is a category used on our blog Megan Publishing Services http://meganthemisconception.com to identify posts relating to the series Behind The Smile by Owen Jones
The Lek Series I call it the Lek series, although it is always billed as the ‘Behind The Smile’ series, which is its official title. It is just that the name Lek trips off the tongue more easily, and after writing about her for ten years, I am more comfortable calling her by name. In …
Writing My Books Regular readers will know what I’m like by now – if I’m not writing my books or talking to you like this, I’m reorganizing my files or trying to improve them, but writing my books has to take priority. So, I haven’t been posting much recently because I’ve been busy with Behind …
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Welsh Tits – who would have thought that someone would misconstrue my meaning? They are not English tits, they are our own, and we love them!
Our Garden Haircut My wife normally deals with the day to day running of the garden, and takes it in her stride. I think it’s one of her favourite pastimes, but three or four times a year she has to call in help. When this happens it’s usually after a period of exceptional growth like …
Full Circle – Lek6 I have not been getting on well with Lek6, the sixth volume in the series ‘Behind The Smile ~ The Story of Lek, A Bar Girl in Pattaya‘ or at least not in comparison with the others. I have written 16,000 words which amounts to about fifteen percent of the 112,000 …
Clouded Monitor This is an update on the Clouded Monitor I told you about yesterday that has been living in our garden for the last two days. I asked Neem if she had seen him today and she said that she hadn’t. Neither had I, but a friend reported having seen him twice, just wandering …
Starting a New Novel I have been thinking of starting a new novel for a while now, because I feel at a loose end unless I’m writing. That’s why I bombard my regular readers with posts like this every day. The truth is that I have been looking for a subject for a month, while …
Embarrassment in Thailand Face is just about the biggest motivator in Thai society; face and money, which means status, and status confers Face, as does increasing years, a good job (money and status), any uniform, or being a teacher, which is the noblest profession after the monkhood. Face is difficult to explain because it is …
Illness Isn’t it peculiar how illness can spread, especially through a family? We were five boys at home as children, and if one picked anything up we all got it sooner or later. Not that I remember being sick more often than anyone else in my class. I actually think now that it was a …
Pronunciation I have formally studied six languages to fluency, taught myself another and am now learning Thai and Thai is hard enough for me! I perfectly understand how difficult pronunciation must be for most other students of it. However, I hear it every day, which should make it easier – trying to learn Thai and …
Thai – A Succinct Language I have been living in Thailand for eleven years, and learning the Thai language organically from day one with the help of a ‘Teach Yourself’ book and a wife. However, I am still not there yet, which makes Thai the hardest to learn of the eight languages I have studied. …
Mothers’ Day Today, August 12th, is Mothers’ Day in Thailand. It also happens to be the queen’s birthday. I don’t know whether they shifted Mothers’ Day onto her birthday or not, but I suspect so, since Fathers’ Day is on the king’s birthday in December. It is also the day that I went home after …
University Degrees in Thailand My stepdaughter came home from Bangkok University for a fortnight today; it’s lovely to see her again. This is her fourth and final year in Business Studies, so then it’s off into the business world of Thailand. I say Thailand and not the whole world as many of them would like, …
Today’s Thailand This is going to be a collection of random observations about today’s Thailand, because not enough has been happening in my life in the last twenty-four hours to fill even a short post such as this series, which you will find listed under the category ‘Diary’ on this blog, should you wish to …
Progress The concrete boys were back today and surprised me yet again. Instead of just laying storm-water drainage, they are resurfacing the road (lane) to a depth of five or six inches with reinforced concrete. Now that’s what I call progress since no more than five residents own cars. It just goes to support the …
Being a Foreign Man in Thailand. In general, Thai people are gentle and peaceable, but they do know that they are poor compared to the West and they are very quick to notice if someone is even only apparently putting them down. They do have their pride, after all, and rightly so. Sometimes, a …
Expats’ Desires Another forty-sixer today! It makes me so apathetic and dozy. At two o’clock this afternoon I put my head down for forty winks and woke up three hours later! That’s not like me, I haven’t needed an afternoon nap for fifty-five years. ∞ A friend of mine is coming up to the village …
Ting Noi, Ting Noi, Ting Noi, Ting Noi Another day in the forties centigrade! That’s about a fortnight now and is unheard of. Thailand has the odd day at that temperature, but it averages ten degrees lower in its summer. The monsoon has also begun to show itself in fits and starts, which will lower …
