Nicholas K. Burns Publishing

12/04/2024

High praise...“I can only say that Mr. Swann has surpassed himself with this second Chan book!” Lou Armagno, the man who wrote the book on Charlie Chan, 'The Wisdom Within Earl Derr Biggers’ Charlie Chan.'

Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and booksellers everywhere.

I want to thank Author John L. Swann and Nicholas K. Burns Publishing, Utica New York, for the read ahead copy to Mr. Swann’s second Charlie Chan novella, The Tangled String. It was released …

11/29/2024

SAVE 15% Black Friday Only...Internationally renowned detective Charlie Chan is on the case when an old friend's plea for help turns into a mystery as thick as its fog-shrouded San Francisco setting...

Charlie Chan's wit, wisdom, and intuitive intellect come to life in 1930s San Francisco as he works to stop a killer who may be clad in academic robes.

11/26/2024

NEW RELEASE!! An Empty Hotel Safe, Violent Death, & Hints of Family Scandal

Save 15%: https://shorturl.at/PkFol

Charlie Chan and family travel to Boston for daughter Rose’s wedding at the Hotel Statler. After an enigmatic family heirloom arrives under police es**rt, a burglary leads to a su***de, or was it murder?

The latest in a series of mysteries based on Earl Derr Biggers’ original character. Set in 1930s Boston “The Tangled String” takes up where 2023’s “Death, I Said” left off. And both continue the Biggers Chan exploits.

A Golden Age Mystery & Detective Fiction-style book for mystery lovers and Chan fans everywhere.

Save 15%: https://shorturl.at/PkFol

11/25/2024

NEW RELEASE!! SAVE 15%...LIMITED TIME
Mystery readers discover an empty hotel safe, a violent death, and blue-blooded family skeletons.

Charlie Chan and family travel to Boston for daughter Rose’s wedding at the Hotel Statler. After an enigmatic family heirloom arrives under police es**rt, a burglary leads to a su***de, or was it murder?

Charlie Chan travels to Boston's Statler Hotel for daughter Rose's wedding to John Quincy Winterslip, where a theft leads to a su***de-or was it murder?

11/18/2024

Announcing My New Release, The Tangled String: A Charlie Chan Mystery!

Sale Date November 25, 2024. Pre-order below.

The Tangled String: A Charlie Chan Mystery, the sequel to 2023’s Death, I Said, is the second in John L. Swann’s series of Charlie Chan novels which take up where original author Earl Derr Biggers left off.

Charlie Chan, one of mystery detective fiction’s most celebrated characters, travels to Boston where a burglary leads to a su***de, or was it murder?

11/01/2024

Hilltop built a beautiful site for me with six titles listed and another Charlie Chan mystery coming out in just a few weeks. Thanks Leigh Ann!! (I'll be calling about getting that new title up soon!)

06/22/2024

A hearty thanks to the Utica Public Library for hosting John Swann’s book signing last Thursday night!

John delighted the audience with his talk on the origins and evolution of the detective stories we love to read. And how author Earl Derr Biggers and his Charlie Chan mysteries fit into changing attitudes about race and ethnicity when we choose our fictional heroes.

We donated a portion of our book sales to the Library, with many attendees also donating “the change” from their purchase. All and all a big success.

Stay tuned for more as John tours the area talking about his book, “Death, I Said: A Charlie Chan Mystery,” and the pleasures of reading a good “whodunnit”!

06/20/2024

John L. Swann tonight!! Cool off with a hot topic at the Utica P***c Library (an official Oneida County Cooling Center).

Join us on June 20th, 6pm for an author talk and book signing!

Join author and former broadcaster John L. Swann as he explores one of fiction’s most memorable detectives newly revived in Death, I Said: A Charlie Chan Mystery.

From mystery fiction’s origins to the present day, Swann will trace the development of fictional detectives and how an author’s creation of a heroic Asian crime-solver became a multimedia sensation—one that still appeals to readers and film fans today.

The first in a new series of Charlie Chan novels to be released by Nicholas K. Burns Publishing of Utica, Death, I Said honors and builds on the original character: a modest detective sage steeped in ancient Asian wisdom, a man seeking to reconcile his Chinese heritage with life as an American police detective. The second book in the series will be published in 2024. Copies of Death, I Said will be available for sale. The author and publisher have graciously offered to donate a portion of the sales back to the library.

06/17/2024

Join local author John L. Swann for a book signing and talk at the Utica Public LibraryThursday, June 20, 2024. All are welcome to Charlie Chan Then and Now...Fiction's Wisest Detective Turns 100.

Independent publisher since 2001.

06/14/2024

Looking forward to John L. Swann’s talk and book signing at the Utica Public Library on June 20. I haven’t been at the library in a long time and forgot how impressive this Neoclassical building is with magnificent marble floors, columns, and stairs. There’s also huge, gorgeous windows and, of course, lots of great books.

I got an inside look at John’s talk the other day and will let you in on it as we get closer to the event. But if you haven’t seen this library in a while, it’s well worth visiting again…or for the first time.

See you on the 20th!

Join us on June 20th, 6pm for an author talk and book signing!

Join author and former broadcaster John L. Swann as he explores one of fiction’s most memorable detectives newly revived in Death, I Said: A Charlie Chan Mystery.

From mystery fiction’s origins to the present day, Swann will trace the development of fictional detectives and how an author’s creation of a heroic Asian crime-solver became a multimedia sensation—one that still appeals to readers and film fans today.

The first in a new series of Charlie Chan novels to be released by Nicholas K. Burns Publishing of Utica, Death, I Said honors and builds on the original character: a modest detective sage steeped in ancient Asian wisdom, a man seeking to reconcile his Chinese heritage with life as an American police detective. The second book in the series will be published in 2024. Copies of Death, I Said will be available for sale. The author and publisher have graciously offered to donate a portion of the sales back to the library.

06/07/2024

FATHER’S DAY GIFT IDEA for Dads who appreciate New York State history and the Adirondacks. I was told just a few weeks ago by a friend that he gave “The Plains of Abraham: A History of North Elba and Lake Placid” to a colleague who read it in one night!

Mary MacKenzie’s well researched history of Lake Placid is the perfect Father’s Day gift. Get your copy today: https://nkbpublishing.com/the-plains-of-abraham/

05/30/2024

Save the date!

05/07/2024

"...a thoroughly entertaining story that has the flavor of the original novels, tinged with the spirit of the Warner Oland and Sydney Toler movies. As I read this I, personally, felt like I was revisiting old friends and happy memories....

"Bottom line: I recommend Death, I Said by John L. Swann with two thumbs up!" Drew R. Thomas

Thanks to Drew for his review of Death, I Said: A Charlie Chan Mystery and read more of his glowing praise:

Death, I Said has the atmosphere of the original Charlie Chan novels. Welcome back, Charlie!

05/07/2024

Despite his better-known "yellow-face" depictions by mostly white actors in dozens of films, the original Charlie Chan in the six novels by Earl Derr Biggers was intended to give the mystery-reading public a heroic Asian character as an alternative to Fu Manchu stereotypes.

“Death, I Said: A Charlie Chan Mystery” is the first of a new series of Chan novels returning the sometimes-controversial fictional detective to his influential roots in mystery and detective fiction.

The book honors Biggers and his creation's modest but significant place in the development of Golden Age Detective fiction. And "Death, I Said: A Charlie Chan Mystery” continues that tradition, where Biggers left off.

Discover more about the book and purchase here: https://nkbpublishing.com/death-i-said/