The Lady Dragon of Chinatown by Noel Plaugher | Spotlight ~ Excerpt ~ Guest Post from the Author ~Win a $25 Gift Card
A book blog tour from Goddess Fish Promotions.
Thank you to the author, publisher, and Marianne & Judy at Goddess Fish for providing me with the information for this tour.
Book Details
The Lady Dragon of Chinatown by Noel Plaugher Published by Willow River Press on January 10, 2023
Genres: Action, Martial Arts, Urban Fiction
Format: eBook, Paperback
Pages: 265
Maggie Long has only ever wanted to study martial arts, but it was forbidden. She found a teacher, Sifu Chang, to teach her in secret, and she became a Kung Fu master.
After years in self-imposed exile, Maggie has returned to Chinatown to pursue her dream. The forces that govern Chinatown are working against her, and she'll have to fight for her school and her life. Is she strong enough to withstand all the forces against her?
A martial art story set in a neon-soaked Chinatown of the 1970s. The first book in a new series.
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Excerpt from The Lady Dragon of Chinatown
“Maggie walked quickly toward home, she was late, and her mother would be worried. But then inexplicably, she stopped to look into the largest puddle in the street. She approached it as if creeping upon herself and expecting to see something else. To her eyes, it was a brilliant image. Her reflection was colored with the fading twilight giving her skin a hue of gold. She studied the image. It was magical.
Her face was unblemished, and her black hair hung long past her shoulders. The colored lights of the neon sign above her gave her a green and yellow halo. Moving slightly without looking up, gazing deep into the puddle, she saw that her halo came from the neon sign of the Jade Dragon restaurant behind her.
Excerpt provided by the author/publisher for use in this post.
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Purchase Links for The Lady Dragon of Chinatown
Amazon – OneLink for every country
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Guest Post from Noel Plaugher
The Mentor
Throughout my life, whether I was an aspiring musician, martial artist, or just a plain-old adult, I always wanted a mentor. It wasn’t a conscious thought, but more of an intuitive need that I felt and recognized. I’ve had teachers, but it’s not the same thing. How different would things be if there were a person in your life that knew you, and knew what you were capable of, even more than you know yourself? They could guide you to make better decisions and help you accomplish your goals. That is what I imagine is the difference a mentor can make.
I may be off base or have an idealized vision of what a mentor should be, but that is how I envisioned them. I came up with some criteria so that I’ll know what I am looking for, should the opportunity present itself. You may want to consider these points as well if you want to enlist some learned help with your life.
- They should be successful at doing what I am trying to do. Now that may seem like a given, but quite often this is a point that is glossed over. I knew a person selling coaching/mentoring programs, but they had never been successful at what they were coaching. How can someone help you do something that they have never done?
- They should have an interest in your success beyond the material or monetary reward. If a person is looking to just get paid, that is different than a mentor. That is someone that is selling advice, and there’s a difference. A mentor should be someone that truly cares about you. They may be compensated or not, but that shouldn’t be their sole concern.
- They should know when to let go. At some point, the student needs to move on and mentor someone on their own, and complete the circle.
In the movies, there is usually a mentor for the protagonist, and I am always envious, but I bet I’m not alone. Don’t we all want a Yoda or a Ben Kenobi, like in Star Wars? Even on the darker side, in The Godfather, Michael Corleone had his father, Don Vito, to shepherd him through his early days taking over the family business. Well, I never had an adviser to help me through my life experiences and endeavors, but I felt it was important to give my character, Maggie, a mentor in “The Lady Dragon of Chinatown.” I suppose authors live out a bit of their own lives through their characters, don’t they?
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I love my Amazon Kindle Unlimited Subscription. So many books, so little time!
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About Noel Plaugher
Noel Plaugher grew up in the San Francisco bay area of California. (1968- ) He planned on becoming a musician, but things changed in 1990.
Noel was a victim of violent crime. He started studying martial arts in 1990 as a way of coping with the post-traumatic stress and as rehabilitation.
After attaining his black belt in Shou Shu Kung Fu, he started studying various methods of Qigong and Xing Yi Quan. He completed his Xing Yi Quan certification in 2005.
"The power of the mind over the body is amazing and has always fascinated me. Xing Yi Quan is a deceptively simple style, and I have found that it benefits my health and martial arts."
Noel edited the book "How To Be A Champion" by world champion fighter Richard Trammell.
Noel's first book, "Standing Qigong For Health and Martial Arts" was released in March 2015.
"This book has both martial and health postures. It is my hope that practitioners of other styles, as well as those seeking an internal form of exercise will try it out. I think martial artists will be surprised by the great results they get from such a simple practice. If you are a Yoga practitioner, this will be a great addition to your current study."
Noel is an avid martial arts practitioner and writer and lives in the USA in Atlanta, Georgia, with his family.
“Noel has been studying martial arts since 1990 and writes about Qigong and martial arts-oriented material in both fiction and non-fiction.”
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Purchase The Lady Dragon of Chinatown online from a local bookstore.
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Easy Amazon Info Link
Amazon – OneLink for every country
If the above link does not take you to your country, here are a few more:
Amazon – Canada
Amazon – France
Amazon – Germany
Amazon – UK
If your country isn’t listed and you would like to purchase using my links, please send me a note. Using my link does not change the price you pay. Amazon pays me a minimal amount out of their share.
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Giveaway!
Noel Plaugher will award a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Visit more stops on this Goddess Fish tour for extra chances to win!
Official Tour Page for The Lady Dragon of Chinatown
Full Tour Schedule:
January 9: Lisa Haselton’s Reviews and Interviews
January 9: Long and Short Reviews
January 10: Westveil Publishing
January 11: All the Ups and Downs
January 11: Sandra’s Book Club
January 12: Gina Rae Mitchell
January 13: Literary Gold
January 13: Fabulous and Brunette
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This sounds like a good book. Nice cover too.
I agree, awesome cover. I couldn’t be happier with it.
How did you decide on the book cover?
I just gave some input to the publisher’s art people and voila’, it showed up. I think they really nailed it. There have been concepts in the past, but none that hit it so perfectly. It is difficult to convey what is in your head, so it is great when it comes together.
Sounds like a really great read!
Thank you! I hope you like it.
Do you think martial arts are more well-known or popular than they were a few years ago?
With MMA and Cobra Kai, I am inclined to think so.
I definitely think it’s on the upswing again.
Thank you for sharing your guest post, bio and book details, I have enjoyed reading about you and your work and I am looking forward to reading The Lady Dragon of Chinatown. Is the story strictly a stand alone or is there potential for a sequel or series?
It is a series. A trilogy, really. The next book is completed, so it will be up to the publisher as to when it will come out. We need to go through the whole publishing process with it, of course. The last one is what I am working on now, among other things. I’m not sure what I can say about them now, except the reaction to book 2 was a good one. 🙂
Love the title and the book cover.
Thank you! I love it too. I think it really represents the story well.
Thank you for hosting!
Happy to have you here today, Noel.
What musical instruments do you play?
Guitar. Later, I studied voice, but from the time I was very young, I always wanted to be a guitar player. I went to GIT in 1989, and played in bands and taught as well. As life is full of changes, I don’t really play anymore, but I love music as much as ever. One of my heroes was Jeff Beck, so I was really shaken to hear of his sudden passing the other day.
It was a sad day for music lovers.
Truly. I had always heard of him growing up, and had heard a few songs on the radio, but didn’t really get a good dose of him until I went to the ARMS concert in San Francisco in 1983. I went to see Jimmy Page. Jeff Beck opened. I was floored. The next day I went and bought every record I could find. He was inventing and improving up until the end. Some artists lose their powers later, but he was not one of those. He was absolutely full of energy and, emotion until the end. If there was a Mt. Rushmore for guitar players, I’m not sure who else would occupy it, but he would be on it, for sure.
Thanks for hosting!
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