Four months filming a remake of Bangkok Dangerous will keep Jim Newport busy for a few more weeks. After setting the visual elements for this Nicholas Cage-starring movie, the American production designer - whose credits also include Brokedown Palace, The Stepfather, and Heart Like a Wheel - will then have more time for writing.

On his calendar, November until the end of January is a time to escape to sunny Thailand and concentrate on penning novels. And on a little house on a hill overlooking Kamala beach, in Phuket he has been busy creating a renegade vampire as well as other colourful characters for his epic tales: The Vampire of Siam, Ramonne, and The Reckoning. They were published consecutively beginning in 2004, with the third novel launched in June of this year. The trilogy has also been brought together in one volume titled Sympathy for the Devil.

Since Thailand has been his second home for 15 years, Newport seems to have profound insights into the country's history and culture, which have been depicted in his books. But before you begin a fault-finding mission or become a critic, you better start turning the pages of this trilogy.

What do you like most about your second home?

Fifteen years ago, I'd never been to Asia, and Thailand was the first Asian country I visited. It was so different from what I'd been used to in America and from what I had experienced in Europe. I really like the unexpected nature of Thailand and you never know what's waiting to surprise you around the corner.

Which of the films you've designed is your favourite?

The one I'm doing right now, because it's a dream come true to do a film in Bangkok. It's a hot sweaty dream too. As we take you on the skytrain, along the Chao Phraya river, and through Soi Cowboy in Bangkok Dangerous, we have the opportunity to show the world modern day Bangkok as it really is.

I always think of Bangkok, with its modern superstructures blending in with the old Asian world, as the real Blade Runner. When you talk to production designers, Blade Runner is a landmark movie because of its striking visuals.

Can you tell us about some of the magical illusions you've created for "Bangkok Dangerous"?

Well, I transformed Impact Muang Thong Thani into the new airport. I also had the opportunity to design a dream house that blended modern day and Thai architecture together as well as made a statement about the character of the reclusive hit man, played by Nicholas Cage. The house, located by the side of a khlong, got blown up, but Nic asked me for the plans, as he is building a new home on his own island.

How did you catch the writing bug?

In movie-making, the script is a like a bible and you're always interpreting the screenplay. I felt that I understood what a good script was, and that I could write a good one. So I started off with writing screenplays and now I'm into novels.

What pleasure do you get from penning books?

It's a solo act, while doing a film is a collaboration. We serve the director's vision and somebody else's screenplay. You constantly have to compromise in order to get the solution.

Writing helps me achieve a good balance of yin and yang in life since I spend three months alone coming up with my own ideas for a new book. No collaboration. No compromise.

I've been a production designer for over 25 years and my life is getting more and more interesting every day. Having Thailand as my second home, having writing as my second career and my books accepted as novels - plus having a circle of expat friends who are all writers - has enriched my life.

Are there writers in your family tree?

No. My parents were both teachers. The funny thing is that both my older and younger brothers have recently become published authors but they don't write fiction. So I guess it was there in the Newport family but our writing talent came out late in life.

But I think that I've chosen the hardest field because there's generally a specific audience for non-fiction, but for my novels I have to find people who respond to what I've written.

Who would enjoy reading stories about a French vampire in Siam?

Anybody who enjoys a good tale and a good laugh. I think of my books as black comedy. My writing has a cinematic flow and I put a lot of visual colour into the novels. They're historic novels that take you on a journey spanning 150 years - from ancient Angkor Wat to modern-day Bangkok - and I think that you can come away having learned something about Asian cultures as well as enjoy a good story.

Was it intended to be a trilogy?

After finishing the first book, the characters would not go away and they were still flashing in my mind. I knew the vampire Ramonne and other characters so well and there was more to say and that I could have more fun with them. I could also see how they have grown, how they have become more powerful and I used their power to go to the next step.

People, who have read all the books, have told me that The Reckoning is the best of the three. It may be that I've grown more confident as a writer.

Will Ramonne be haunting Bangkok's dark sois this Halloween?

Yes. The Neilson Hays Library is sponsoring the "Vampire of Siam Halloween Tour".

We will meet at 7pm Halloween eve at the Oriental and then go on a tour of the books' haunted spots. It should be a real hoot. (Tickets are 1,500 baht and available at the library. For more information call 02-223-1731).

What can readers learn from Ramonne?

Ramonne's quite opinionated about the modern world and he doesn't think that people have advanced. He's a man who has lived for 185 years and has had enough time to see how life unfolds. He has never watched TV in his life and when he finds people watching plasma screens as opposed to experiencing life, he thinks that they are wasting their lives. Ramonne has the power to end that life, should he see fit to. Judge and jury.

What's your next novel?

I've just finished writing Chasing Jimi. It's a novel about Jimi Hendrix. It mixes fact and fiction in much the same way James Ellroy does.