Thai Lies

Thai Lies is a memoir inspired novel about a heartbroken love pulled apart with dreams shattered that survives
the trials of time, distance, custom, and a life versus death struggle to be rekindled again.
It was the mid 70's. The Vietnam War continued to wind down in an R&R frenzy, leaving respectable Thai
girls sheltered, lest one risk being branded a GI going-home trophy. Home from overseas college graduation,
Ta didn't seem to care. Opening her home for a summer of discovery to classmates, Tom and Mike, she
ignored a few raised eyebrows since the rare invitation had come from her mom, drowning out ulterior-motive
mumbled objections, exhumed by her father. After all, what harm could it do? Everyone in their social circle
knew that Ta, as a Bangkok mayor's daughter, was engaged to Joey, its governor's son. Their marriage was to
be the event of the year; two rich political families joined together, their interests’ one.
Only there was a taboo-ridden secret. Ta had no intention of going through with the engagement. Tom was
much more than just a casual friend. But because of a promise to keep that fact hidden until she felt
comfortable enough to confront them on her own, his oath became a strangled leash pulling back and forth
between her world and his for nearly a decade. As long as he kept his word everyone else was in control and
over his life he had none. If he tried to hold out and wait for her to face up to her demons, there was no
guarantee that either of them would still be the same person that fell in love.
Cowardly betrayal, obsessive jealously, an overseas kidnapping, and gun-wielding threats always seemed
to get in the way.
Not until two governments got burly involved did her father overhear the truth. But how he reacted, almost
didn't matter, as the fortune teller's fatal prediction intervened, determined to keep them apart forever. (Print
count: 512 pages)