Thomas Trang
Thomas Trang is a Vietnamese author currently based in the UK. He was born in London but has lived all over the map: Sydney, Paris, Singapore, New York, and Manchester. He is the author of the crime novel DARK NEON & DIRT, and his stories have appeared in FutureQuake, Rock & A Hard Place, Full House Literary, Punk Noir, and Shotgun Honey.
Thomas can be found at:
Website: thomastrang.com
Bluesky: @thomastrang.bsky.social
Twitter: @heythomastrang
Instagram: @thomastrangauthor
Tell me what inspired you to write your debut novel?
I always wanted to write something set in Los Angeles, which occupies this weird space in my mind as Platonic ideal of “The Big City” thanks to film and TV. How it usually works with me is that I have different and competing ideas about place, characters, themes, but then at some point I manage to find a combination of them that kickstarts a story.
How hard was it to get your first (debut) book published?
I went through the usual treadmill of trying to find an agent for a while. Some were interested but it never progressed further. They were after something that my book wasn’t. Then I started looking at indie publishers who will read manuscripts directly. The process with Shotgun Honey was actually really straightforward in the end.
How long did it take to write?
I started it during the lockdown period in 2020 and it was “finished” by early/mid 2021, but I was always tinkering with the book until it got picked up in late 2023. The first draft was about 10,000 words longer than the published version.
Dark Neon Dirt
What’s the favourite reaction you’ve had to your book?
Someone I’ve known for many years (though we’re not super close) was involved in a horrible car accident a while back, and they recently reached out to say that they’ve been reading it while undergoing continued physical therapy and surgery. They saw the book as an engagement with PTSD and trauma, which it is on a certain level, and felt that I had done so with “a sense of dignity and survivor’s grace.” I wanted Dark Neon & Dirt to be a fast-talking crime novel that entertains, but something that also resonates on another level if the reader is open to that.
Do you take notice of online reviews?
Absolutely. The tough thing with indie publishers is that without a marketing machine behind your book, it lives and dies by word of mouth. The advantage of that is you can build a genuine audience. I know that there’s way too many books to read, so if somebody takes the time to read mine then write a review – long or short, good or bad – it is absolutely appreciated. I don’t think a review which trashes a book necessarily has a negative impact either if the review is engaging with the work in a substantive way rather than just “this sucks”. A detailed hatchet job is actually how I discovered Haruki Murakami!
Which genres do you read yourself?
Crime mostly, with a little bit of sci-fi. I read a lot of ‘literary fiction’ though I genuinely have no idea what that means. It’s a bit like ‘tasty food’. To paraphrase Louis Armstrong, there are only two kinds of books – good and bad.
What were your favourite childhood books?
I was a precocious reader as a kid, though I didn’t necessarily understand everything I was reading. The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole is a perfect example of that. The unreliable narrator aspect was lost on me until much later. I read a lot of Roald Dahl, then I found a copy of Switch Bitch at the library. That was interesting. I honestly don’t remember many of the age-appropriate books I would have read back then, but I can still vividly recall short stories like ‘The Facts of Life’ by W Somerset Maugham.
Do you have a favourite bookshop? If so, which?
Green Apple Books in San Francisco. There’s a fantastic one in Amsterdam but I can’t remember what it’s called, although I have a vague memory of where it is. I think. But that’s Amsterdam for you.
What books can you not resist buying?
Vintage Contemporaries paperbacks from the 1980s. The ones with the Mondrian style artwork. It’s my midlife crisis onset thing. Some guys will go for a Ferrari, but to me that’s fundamentally lacking in imagination. I’d rather collect Richard Ford novels I’ll probably never get around to reading.
Do you have any rituals when writing?
I write by hand at first, so all I really need is a pen and paper and some solitude. I like to write in Moleskine sized notebooks, because I know my handwriting and can keep track of how many words I’ve written. But not actual Moleskines! The cheaper the better. That way I don’t feel guilty about writing utter crap then ripping the pages out.
How many books are in your own physical TBR pile?
I honestly don’t know the real number, but there are at least 8-10 that are looking at me right now in silent reproach.
What is your current or latest read?
A Ballroom for Ghost Dancing by John F Duffy. His second novel is great too. Every year I find at least one unknown to me writer that absolutely blows me away. This year it’s him.
Any plans or projects in the near future you can tell us about?
My next book is called Asteroid Savage. It is the first of a sci-fi trilogy. Cyberpunk adjacent. Heavy spy fiction vibes and a little bit of The Wire – but set in space. Andor without the aliens. John le Carré with flying cars. With any luck it will be out in 2026.
