The Next Book–Part 6: Cover Reveal and Pre-Order Discount!

[Previous installments in this series included a discussion of the inspiration for my new book, the challenges I faced in deciding at what point in the story to start the book, doing research for the historical elements of the novel, actually writing the book, including settling on a structure, and finding a publisher.]

Now, finally, it is time to tell you what the next book, The Last Bird of Paradise, is all about and give you the opportunity to pre-order the book from the publisher at a pre-release discount. (Scroll down for the pre-order discount code.)

Two women, nearly a century apart, seek to rebuild their lives when they reluctantly leave their homelands. Arriving in Singapore, they find romance in a tropical paradise, but also find they haven’t left behind the dangers that caused them to flee.

In the aftermath of 9/11 and haunted by the specter of terrorism, Aislinn Givens leaves her New York law practice and joins her husband in Southeast Asia when he takes a job there. Seeking to establish herself in a local law firm, Aislinn begins to understand the historic resentment of foreigners who have exploited the region for centuries. Learning about the turmoil of Singapore’s colonial period, she acquires several paintings done by an English artist during World War I that she believes are a warning to her. The artist, Elizabeth Pennington, tells her own tumultuous story through diary entries that come to an end when the war reaches the colony with catastrophic results. In the present, Aislinn and her husband learn tragically that terrorism takes many shapes when they are ensnared by local political upheaval and corruption.

In a lyrical blend of historical and contemporary drama, The Last Bird of Paradise explores the consequences of power imbalances—both domestic and geopolitical—against a lush, tropical backdrop. Clifford Garstang, author of the award-winning novel Oliver’s Travels, once again draws on his decades of experience in Asia to tell an unforgettable story of romantic intrigue.

Here’s what a few wonderful writers have to say about it:

I really enjoyed this fascinating novel by Clifford Garstang, who brings his experience as an attorney in Singapore to enrich a story of two women, a century apart, living parallel lives, linked by artwork that appears to come alive. Part history, part romance, part corporate intrigue, The Last Bird of Paradise is well written and propulsive—I didn’t want to put it down! 

~Daphne Kalotay, author of The Archivists 

In evocative and authoritative prose, The Last Bird of Paradise, tells a compelling story of two women who travel to Singapore not of their own volition and a century apart. Garstang’s sympathetic imagination transports us in the manner of my favorite kind of fiction – that which convinces the reader of setting and character not because of the author’s resemblance to the protagonist but because the author is a virtuoso shapeshifter and spell weaver. 

~Robin Hemley, author of Oblivion: An After Autobiography and Borderline Citizen: Dispatches from the Outskirts of Nationhood

Aislinn Givens leaves a settled life in Manhattan for an unsettled life in Singapore. But that’s only part of a story that tracks back and forth over the span of a century and keeps returning to a vibrant painting. That painting radiates mystery and longing. So does Clifford Garstang’s vivid and simmering novel, The Last Bird of Paradise.
~John Dalton, author of Heaven Lake and The Inverted Forest  

The book will be published on February 22, 2024, by Black Rose Writing and pre-orders now will receive a 15% discount by using the promo code PREORDER2023.