Jonas Watcher and Chinese Dragon Mythology

This may be my most researched book when looking into the cultural mythology of another people. This is by no means a treatise on the mythology of China. The truth is that I barely scratched the surface of a small part of western Chinese history and mythology. As an author of mystery fiction, I created a heady brew of mystery, fantasy, and history to create "The Case of the Jade Dragon".

I started with an opening from "Have Gun Will Travel", but don't look for it, because you wouldn't recognize which one I used for the basis of my opening. I spent some time coming up with unique names for all my characters but researching Chinese names was especially fascinating when one considers that The Chinese sir name was and is often ahead of any given names. I discovered when interviewing a number of Chinese families that the custom is not universally observed by everyone.

I tried to keep it clear in the book, and I hope I was successful without insulting anyone. The Chinese history in the United States is both wonderful and disturbing. They had to gather in neighborhoods because of the bigotry of white America. Chinese citizens in the United States have battled against prejudice, ignorance, and stupidity for the couple of hundred years they have been here. Their culture has been integrated into our country. We still misunderstand the role of the Tongs and what they meant when they first appeared here. The use of herbs and acupuncture are only now being integrated into modern medicine. This was all a part of the backstory I never directly included in my narration but was very much with me as I wrote the book.

The synopsis is as follows:

Who said Weddings Couldn't be Dangerous?

     

When PI Jonas Watcher sees a Chinese couple being kidnapped; he sighs, grabs his gun, and goes to help them. This selfless act involves Jonas with the Chinese underworld. He is hired to unite two families by bringing a prospective bride from St. Louis to San Francisco for an arranged marriage. There are several factions who will kill to keep him from succeeding. His mission is complicated even more by his employer's beautiful granddaughter. She's the only one who knows where the bride is and she insists on going with him. A girl, his Colt 44, and diplomacy; Jonas will have to use all three if he wishes to complete the mission, end the feud, and live to tell the tale.
     “The Case of the Jade Dragon” is the third novel of the Jonas Watcher Detective Adventure series. It's the 1930s in San Francisco’s Chinatown, where old traditions conflict with the new, and Jonas gets caught up in a world of mysticism, a deadly family feud, and a potential underworld war. Author Gene Poschman brings a new slant to the noir hard-boiled detective by introducing him to a world out of his comfort zone and adding an exotic love interest.     To Purchase “The Case of the Jade Dragon” Click  Here   and travel by train, plane, and automobile to learn the fate of the Azure Dragon.