Banana Leaf Books

06/18/2026

Big news! The third novel in my PACIFIC TRILOGY is on the way. As always, these are humorous tales of young Westerners getting in over their heads in Asia. If you'd like to be an advance reviewer for PACIFIC DREAM, click the link below for more details on how to get a FREE early review copy from BookSirens. Best regards, Chet

PACIFIC DREAM — Advance Review Copies Now Available!

05/03/2026

If you are looking for some exotic reading fun but can't find anything new and promising, our Chet Nairene shares a trio of old forgotten favorites! Now on Substack.

Artifacts unearthed from the Pre-Therouxian Era of travel adventure writing

04/25/2026

A new, informative post by our author Chet Nairene has just been put up onto Substack.

There are many different roads that lead one one into a lengthy expatriate career. Chet's three decades in Asia-- from Malaysia and Hong Kong to Thailand, S Korea and the Philippines-- all began with an improbable encounter when he was a boy, delivering newspapers in frigid Chicagoland . . .

From snowy Midwestern mornings to three decades in Southeast Asia and a passion for fiction writing — this long arc was (improbably) all set in motion by a boyhood friend's crackling homemade radio.

04/18/2026

New short story by our Chet Nairene up:

THE 1980S PEACOCK HONEYMOON GAMBLE.

A Kuala Lumpur morning. Two peacocks in the yard. An office obsessed with omens. And one innocent detail I failed to mention — which changed the winning 4D number entirely.

A Malaysian Office Comedy of Omens, Peacocks, and 4D Fever

03/30/2026

Another hilarious short story (exotic fiction) is now available on Chet Nairene's new Substack site:

Three young Americans at the U.S. Embassy in KL sneak off to Singapore for the 1986 Super Bowl—an all‑night, no‑hotel, booze‑soaked caper that threatens to derail fast, lah!

03/24/2026

Here's a short story from Chet Nairene's new Substack!

Like everything Chet writes, it's quirky, exotic fiction designed purely for laughs, but based on a whole lot of truth . . .

In this story, "Betting Your Life on Wangmatics" (complete in three parts), young Tim Dempsey is tutored in Frankie Wang's strange gambling system in 1980s Malaysia, at the Genting Highlands casino. And his serious, quantitative mind is blown . . . in the most delightful way. Well, you'll see.

A Western numbers guy walks into an Eastern gambling world—and loses control

03/19/2026

Chet Nairene has opened up a Substack account, so readers can enjoy FREE short stories there! If you've enjoyed PACIFIC DASH and PACIFIC ODYSSEY, head right over to

https://substack.com/

Also, here's advance notice that the third book in the PACIFIC TRILOGY is due for publication soon. PACIFIC DREAM is expected to be in readers' hands sometime in May!

Career SE Asia expatriate turned fiction author of THE PACIFIC TRILOGY, which details the misadventures of Westerners adrift in SE Asia. Buy Pacific Dash, Pacific Odyssey and Pacific Dream (coming May 2026) at Amazon.com

03/02/2026

Still FREE downloads today and Tuesday!

Transport yourself to Amazia . . . read PACIFIC ODYSSEY by Chet Nairene, the story of a brilliant but shallow New York tech executive who is dragged into a hidden Asian kingdom where Western logic collapses—and Lew 2.0 is born.

Equal doses of exotic color, humor and thrills!

Download today at Amazon.

02/27/2026

FREE this Sunday March 1 from Amazon!

Downloads will be free until March 3 for this hilarious, exotic, un-put-downable bestseller by Chet Nairene:

PACIFIC ODYSSEY: The Curious Journey of Lew 2.0.

If you've never read Nairene's vivid, exotic stories about Southeast Asia, now is your chance!

Enjoy amazing, exotic adventures of young tech genius Lew Clarke as he travels to the mytical land of Amazia to save his company and himself . . . and in the process finds all his Western know-how is worthless. Can he find truth and love in the process?

And if you enjoy this, also try Nairene's first novel, PACIFIC DASH, and leave a review on Amazon to encourage other readers to give it a try!

09/16/2025

FREE this week on Amazon! Wed/Thu/Fri only!

Downloads for the hilarious, un-put-downable bestseller PACIFIC ODYSSEY: The Curious Journey of Lew 2.0

Chet Nairene's remarkable second novel is FREE as an ebook for a limited time only. If you've never read his vivid, exotic stories about Southeast Asia, now is your chance!

Enjoy amazing, exotic adventures of young tech genius Lew Clarke as he travels to the mytical land of Amazia to save his company and himself . . . and in the process finds all his Western know-how is worthless. Can he find truth and love in the process?

If you enjoy this, Nairene's second novel (after PACIFIC DASH), please leave a review on Amazon to encourage other readers to give it a try!

From the pen of bestselling author Chet Nairene comes , a treat for fans of international adventure and travel fiction. Doling out equal doses of humor, exotica, adventure and romance, this is the story of brilliant but shallow New York tech businessman, Lew Clarke, who gets ...