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Official Home Page Image: Crossroads: John 'Jonno'  in Foshan - Click to Enlarge

Jonno Morris

My Online Space

Books
Star Gazer Trilogy Book 1
Image: Star Gazer Book 1, The Gatekeeper and The Guardian - Click for full cover
ISBN [Print] 9781910711248
ISBN [Epub] 9781910711255

Star Gazer Trilogy Book 2
Image: Star Gazer Book 2, The Twelve Tribes - Click for full cover
ISBN [Print] 9781910711057
ISBN [Epub] 9781910711088

Star Gazer Trilogy Book 3
Image: Star Gazer Book 3, The Wrath of Gaia - Click for full cover
ISBN [Print] 9781910711064
ISBN [Epub] 9781910711095

 
Coming Soon
Star Gazer Trilogy Book 4
Image: Star Gazer Book 4, The Centaureans - Click for full cover
ISBN [Print] 9781910711200
ISBN [Epub] 9781910711217

 
Other Books
Islamic State: England
Image: Islamic State: England - click for full cover
ISBN [Print] 9781910711101
ISBN [Epub] 9781910711118
 
Inner Sanctum
Image: A dystopian story seen through the eyes of the young girls who lived through hell
ISBN [Print] 9781910711002
ISBN [Epub] 9781910711026

Conspiracy Theory
Image: April and Annaliese discover a plot to blow up the Presidency; can they prevent the destruction of America?
ISBN [Print] 9781910711019
ISBN [Epub] 9781910711033

Domicile

Image: Domicile, One of the most deeply disturbing books ever written - Click for dedicated page
ISBN [Print] 9781910711125
ISBN [Epub] 9781910711132

Domicile

In modern British Family Courts, ‘the needs of the child are irrelevant’.
 

Under Pen
The Man in the River
Image: Temsey, The Main in The River - click to enlarge
ISBN [Print] 9781910711224
ISBN [Epub] 9781910711231

 

The Bear Went Over the Mountain. Meaning irrelevant text. It relates to brilliant work, that does not add any value to the story.

The point of this whimsy is that nothing actually happens––although, I do plan to make it most entertaining. The bear's name is Benny, and he goes over the mountain. End of story.

This space is where I can showcase and share some of my interests with others.

I seem to have led many lives and below are some of my current and past interests.

China Expats

This is a website I developed from several precursors, and was my main entertainment for many years, although I did find time to become an entrepreneur regards exporting containers all over the world. Well that ran into the buffers in 2008 and business has never recovered since. I still service a couple of old clients, but the bulk market has disappeared and my team here in China have moved on to other things.

The China Expats website is still online, although some information is now out of date, such as current visa regulations. Nonetheless, the majority of the site is crammed full of useful information still very relevant today. The main features of: Chinese recipes, history, and cultural insights are supplemented by A Letter From China, a collection of missives I have collected or mostly penned myself regards living in an alien culture as a long-term expat. I am now considered to be an 'Old China Hand'.

One thing I am very pleased to have accomplished, is to have helped people scattered to all corners of the world, trace their family roots here in Canton. Some have even visited and my team and I were intrumental in arranging for translations and visits to find cousins long thought of as lost. I especially remember the visit by Vilma from The Dominican Republic to rekindle family ties in a small village I knew well. We shared some great times.

Regards the letters, those contributed by Cynthia Muak are extremely interesting, depicting the life and times of servants in Hong Kong society during the 1960's and later, something that is hardly changed to this day. Some of what I learned I will refrain from publishing (by mutual agreement) until such time I may no longer be subject to the whims of Beijing.

Regardless of if you want to read about Hong Kong history, an expat's view of the orient, or just want an authentic recipe for crab and sweetcorn soup, spare ribs, or chip shop curry sauce, drop by and have a look.

Books

Having written much regarding my life in China, I added what became a short story entitled Six Days in Siam. This was a comedy of cultural errors and had to be written. It is hilarious, although consternation and incredulity play large parts of my wife's first time outside of China, and my first visit to Thailand. Having written so much I realised I should tackle one dream and write a book. So I did. It was awful, so I then set about learning how to write and entertaining novel, but one with something to say.

Today I have seven books self-published, with two more under pen, and several ideas for more. I doubt I will ever finish them all, but it is good to keep the mind active. Currently I am working on Star Gazer Book Four, The Centaureans. This book and the next are largely written, but remember what I just mentioned above about entertaining the reader, well, it takes a lot of effort and a good deal of imagination, and some things just cannot be rushed. The books will be published when they are finished, simple as that.

Self Publishing

Once I had written my first books I tried to find a published, knowing in advance how difficult it could be. Disheartening does not come into it. These agents and editors, who all seem to inhabit one skyscraper in New York, act like dinosures from a bygone age. They want submissions double spaced, each in a different font size and face, and anywhere from one to fifty pages. I hasten to add that these were electronic submissions, although a few still insisted on hard copy. Get real!

I tried for quite a while and got nowhere, my research into the peculiarities and pecadilos of each getting me yet another rejection, often by the office dogsbody. So I though, "Stuff them, I'll do it myself!" And that led to the creations of Charlotte Greene.

Charlotte Greene, a young and innovative force within the self-publishing book market, was formed by John Morris in association with trusted freelancers he employed to help him publish his books. It took several years to find people with the right skills. Many advertise, but their product is lacking, their timekeeping erratic, or their work––just not good enough.

To help other self-publishing authors, this group acting as a collective of individuals with common purpose, offered themselves as part of a package of trusted freelancers, people who would deliver what they said, on time, and at reasonable budget to ordinary people.

So this is where I am today, happily self-publisshing my own books, and also books written by other authors who found similar hassle and time wasted.

Other Interests

Guitar:
I have played acoustic guitar for over fifty years and have recently replaced my old Eko 12-string with an Epiphone Masterbilt, which is a lovely guitar. I wanted to purchase a Taylor, but the model I wanted from last years catalogue is no longer in production, neither are any larger guitars in their 400 range. The option was of course the old Martin D28, but at close to three grand it was just too much for poor old me. The Epiphone suits me well and should last me a lifetime ha ha.

Forge of Empires:
This is a stupidly addictive online game that I have been playing for over four years now. I am Captain of the Pirate Ship, Fel Dranghyr, and this website offers me the ability to make extra resources available to my crew. You can find it here.

 

The Pirate Shp

Image: The Pirate Ship - Click to Board
Be ye lost?
The Pirate Ship
Fel Dranghyr
Is boarding now
 

Catalogue

Image: Charlotte Greene logo - Click to Enlarge
Download the PDF version of the catalogue for free. This material is copyright.
Charlotte Greene Catalogue
3.7 MB at minimal resolution
 

Charlotte Greene

Image: Charlotte Greene logo - Click to Enlarge
Fiction book imprint for self-publishing authors who need a little help, say with editing or covers. This resource is also open to freelancers. Charlotte Greene put the two in contact with each other.
www.charlotte-greene.co.uk
 

Other Projects

Free resources and information for anyone unsure about China, especially Canton.
 
A Letter From China
Image: Jonno and Siu Ying - Click to Enlarge
Infrequent, irreverent, and irrelevant snapshots of daily life in China. An expats view of life in modern Canton.
 

Computer Keyboards

  How well do you know your input device, or what all the keys are actually for?
What would you like it to do?
Read the letter here

Six Days in Siam

A short story about the stupidity of the Orient, as seen through the eyes of the Occident.
Read the story here

Favourite Quotations:

"Your smile is your biggest resource, use it generously."
Jonno

 

George Orwell once said,
“In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”
 

Billy Connolly added:
"In an uncertain world, it's good to know some things never change."
 
People see you the way you present yourself to them.
Angela Harrison
 
The Rule of the 3's
"Time, Space, & Action"
Aristotle
"What makes you think I'm so rich, that you can steal my heart, and it won't mean a thing?"
Elizabeth Wurtzle
"The opportunity of a lifetime, must be taken within the lifetime of the opportunity"
John Ridgeway
"The first rule of good courtesy—deny a beautiful woman nothing."
Iain Banks
"I really wish he would not confuse his reality with my fantasy"
Claire Rabe
"The road to hell is paved with good intentions"
Jack Morris
(my father)
"Our goal is to discover that we have always been where we ought to be ... unhappily, we make the task exceedingly difficult for ourselves."
Aldous Huxley
"You only live once,
but if you do it right,
once is enough"

Mae West
How do you hurt somebody who has lost everything? Give them something back, broken.
R. F. Delderfield
"It is not life itself that is of paramount virtue, it is what you do with it of your own free will that counts."
Jonno
Star Gazer Book Two
"Shared accountability is evasion of personal responsibility."
Jonno
Star Gazer Book Three
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