Q&A with author of The Lotus Seal, a Chiang Mai ‘noir’
Jon Van Housen lived in Chiang Mai from 1992 to 2006 and for a time worked with the Chiang Mai Newsletter, the precursor of this publication.
Jon recently finished his novel, “The Lotus Seal”, set in Chiang Mai during that period, which has just gone live on Amazon. We spoke with Jon about how—and why—this book came to be.
Q: Your book is set in Chiang Mai in the 1990s. Why didn’t you write it in today’s timeline?
A: Because it’s a time I know well, and because Chiang Mai itself was a very different place then. I envisioned the story and even wrote a draft of the opening scenes at that time.
The expat community was smaller, tighter. It’s a cliché, but it really did feel like everyone knew everyone.
It was also the last days of the analog era. We spent time talking to each other—at places like the Bier Stube on Moon Muang—telling tales and passing information face to face. We weren’t gazing into smartphones.
We all did visa runs endlessly, or just over-stayed. A modest fine or the right person took care of it. We rode bikes without licenses or insurance. Reckless, sure, but there was also a sense of freedom.
Atmosphere matters. The story needed that slower, more intimate rhythm.
Q: How would you describe the style of The Lotus Seal?
A: Someone called it “Thailand noir,” which I think is fair. It begins as a mystery, but it’s also a journey—geographical and personal—through places, layers of time, and moments in Thailand.
There’s geopolitical weight to it, but it’s grounded in character: secrets, choices, personal stories, and the possibility of redemption.
Writers like Graham Greene, John le Carré, and Joseph Conrad have always been important to me. I wouldn’t dare put myself on the same shelf, but I was very conscious of trying to bring forward the texture and atmosphere that make their work linger with readers.
Q: What might today’s Chiang Mai residents find interesting about that earlier period?
A: So much has changed. Nimmanhaemin Road, for example, was a modest street near the university—nothing like what it is today.
There was still a lot of resonance from the Southeast Asian conflicts that had ended a few decades earlier. The so-called drug warlord Khun Sa was active not far from Chiang Mai. Some even claimed he had a house in town and walked around freely. People knew where the DEA safe house was. It wasn’t exactly a secret.
It was also the dawn of the internet. We had email, but life was still very much analog. Some of the most successful small businesses in town were used bookstores. Backpackers would sell their books at a loss and buy another for the road. That culture shaped how people thought, talked, and moved through the world.
Q: Where can readers find The Lotus Seal?
A: The Lotus Seal is now available on Amazon in Kindleformat: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GHSW65HD
Early readers and reviews are always appreciated—they help the book find its way to the right audience—but more than anything, I hope readers simply enjoy the journey. It’s a story very much rooted in a time and place that meant a great deal to me.
