1. What are the recurring themes in your books?

One may think by looking at my books that tortoises and turtles are a theme but this is just a tiny fraction of my work, my favorite animals are actually peacocks! A recurring theme within my work is ?fusion?. I strive to create unique worlds that blend multiculturalism, naturalism and solid drawing within an ethereal quality that borderlines fantasy with surrealism.

2. The plight of the turtle is one well documented in Thailand, especially Phuket, and owing to pollution and over construction and expansion, very few turtles actually come to lay their eggs on Mai Khao now. How do your books address the themes and problems associated with naturalism and environmentalism?

First I would like to sympathize with the situation going on in Mao Khao; a situation all too common all over the world.

Books cannot compete with the internet when it comes to providing information and raising awareness in environmental concerns. We have recently seen how much influence blogging and other Internet announcements had and are still having with transforming North Africa and the Middle East. So instead of using the books as a tool to provide information, I wanted to weave environmentalism within verse to make readers think, ponder and discover for themselves.

An example is a line in my book, "If all patterns on earth are words, then what song would leave the earth if an entire species like Eastern Box Turtles became extinct?"


3. What are your thoughts and opinions on how Thailand and Thai people deal with environmental issues?

I am not an expert on Thai conservation but just by looking at Mai Khao and the Elephant conservation teams within Thailand I am impressed.

Of course all conservationists can do more with more money but the question also comes down to available land space. This is happening all over the world.
Thailand conservationist issues are global because we find them in many other places across the world. But overall I am glad to see there is growing awareness of the problems.

I would love to see more conservationist information at all airports around the world. Imagine seeing and learning about Mai Khao or the Elephant Conservation Reserve while standing at those long lines at the airport or even as posters in an exhibition. Airports are a great place that I don't feel conservationists use to the fullest extent. A lot of tourists and business people would visit these reserves if they knew about them.

4. What are the most pressing environmental issues facing the world today?

The most pressing environmental issues are depleting fresh water supplies and dependency on fossil fuels a close second.

We need a voting system on major issues to be given back to the people and out of the hands of a select few, similar to the system found in some Central American countries. Fix this and I believe you will have solved the hugest environmental problem. Lawmakers should not be making environmental decisions. Major decisions like that should not be left in the hands of a select few.

5. You have a South East Asian background, yet now live in America, what would you say are the main differences with the way the West and East view the animal kingdom and environmental concerns?

It would be unfair to say one is better than the other since all of it depends on the country's economy, funding and donors. North America and Asia cannot really be compared. I believe nations such as India, China, Thailand and Myanmar have a longer history of venerating animals than European nations because animals are a part of the religion, myths and legends.

Therefore my opinion is that since animals are in the foundation of the culture there is much more respect for them. Native Americans had great veneration for animals and this is where I got the idea for the book-jacket for The Turtles Dream & Keys?. The giant tortoise rising up from the sea is actually a common theme found in the Iroquois Indians with their belief that the Earth started on a giant tortoise's back.