Maggie Long has only ever wanted to study martial arts, but it was forbidden.
Welcome to the January 10th stop on the blog tour for The Lady Dragon of Chinatown by Noel Plaugher with Goddess Fish Promotions. Be sure to follow the rest of the tour for spotlights, reviews, more author guest posts, and a giveaway! More on that at the end of this post.
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Author Guest Post
Keep on Truckin’ or Why I love the 1970s
I set my new novel, “The Lady Dragon of Chinatown,” in the 70s. People often ask me why. Although I was a teenager during the 80s, it was the 70s that really seemed magical to me. For starters, there were many experiences during that time that influenced me later.
The most memorable year for me was 1977.
In the hot sun, we stood in a long line, covering multiple city blocks, to see the movie everyone was talking about, Star Wars. My older sister always took me. My parents weren’t around much. The sun was merciless and I got a terrible sunburn the first time, but in subsequent trips to the theater, I covered up. Walking into the cool theater was joyful. Finding two seats together was a miracle. When the lights went down and the Fox fanfare started, it was magical.
My favorite band was KISS. I had all their albums. The one poster I found occupied a semi-religious location on my bedroom wall. In honor of their exalted status, I used to keep their albums separate from the rest of my records. When I saw them live it was incredible. Explosions, lights, fire, and every song was note-perfect. A rock concert at 9 years old is probably an anomaly today, but my age was not all that unusual when I surveyed the crowd at the time.
The movies that everyone was talking about, besides Star Wars, were the now martial art-action classics starring Bruce Lee. Watching The Green Hornet after school was suddenly a lot cooler since the guy from Enter the Dragon was in it. Even though Enter the Dragon was released years earlier, it still played in some theaters, and people still talked about the already deceased, and now mythic star, Bruce Lee.
There were no social media outlets and there were no 24-hour news channels. the nightly news covered stories that were relevant to the biggest cross-section of America, so subjects like celebrities, niche stories about entertainment, or detailed information about sports stars were not covered as much. With news being fairly general, that left a lot of room for gossip to be repeated unchecked, and likely gave birth to many urban legends. (Pop Rocks and Coke was the one I was most leery of since I enjoyed both.)
New words swirled around that everyone repeated, and I had no idea what they were talking about: Watergate, Vietnam, Oil Embargo, Energy Crisis, and more. I remember my neighbor riding by on his bike and tossing out, “They’re going to impeach Nixon!” Not wanting to reveal that I had no idea what an “impeach” was, (He’s a bad peach?) I just said, “Wow,” and went back to roller skating.
Being a pre-teen in the 70s explains my romanticization of the decade. I didn’t fully understand what was happening around me. With a child’s mind, I remember sitting with my collection of 45s and thinking, “Once I am an adult, I’m going to have a huge collection of albums and 45s.” Unbeknownst to me, it would all change not too many years later.
It was the decade between the enormous change America had experienced and what was to come. I can’t recall the exact year, but it was likely 1979 or 1980 when my Uncle had a business right next to a company that built computers called Apple. Their trucks were shiny silver with a rainbow apple on the side that had a bite taken out of it. We stood looking through the cyclone fence and watched a couple of the trucks roll by.
“You know, one day everyone is going to be using computers. You’re going to have a computer,” he said.
“What? No way. Only astronauts use computers.”
After all the trucks left, we watched the rolling door close on the loading dock, and land with a loud bang.
About the Book
The Lady Dragon of Chinatown
by Noel Plaugher
Published 10 January 2023
Willow River Press
Genre: Urban Fiction, Action
Page Count: 265
Add it to your Goodreads TBR!
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 1970’s. The first book in a new series.
Amazon US | Amazon CA | Amazon UK
Excerpt
“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.
About the Author
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.”
Giveaway Alert!
Noel Plaugher will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B&N gift card to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
a Rafflecopter giveawayDisclaimer: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Interesting cover! It sets the tone for the book.
I really love the cover.
I was really struck by the cover myself. I think it represents the story well.
I’m a huge fan of Blade Runner and 70s-80s martial art movies. The cover sort of sets that tone, I think.
Noel Plaugher is a new author to me, but I want to thank this blog for the introduction. I look forward to reading this book.
I appreciate the opportunity to meet so many new people.
Thank you for hosting!
Thank you for having me.
This sounds like a great book.
Thank you. It is the first in a trilogy, so there is more to come.
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, it sounds like an exciting story
Thank you. I am glad that this story is finally seeing the light of day.
Enjoyed reading the post. This sounds like a good book.
Thank you for reading the post. I hope you like the book. 🙂
Thanks for reading my post. Looking forward to getting feedback on the story.
Are there any martial art movie fans out there?
This sounds very interesting!
I hope you like it.
Someone had asked me about a soundtrack.
One of the consistent artists that played in my head was K.C. and the Sunshine Band. Later on, in the story, I think some artists like The Knack and the Cars would be in there.
Anyone have any favorite songs from the 70s?