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David Shams

@davidshamswriter.bsky.social
113 followers 101 following 471 posts

Iranian-American expat chronicling what it means to belong everywhere and nowhere. My debut novel, A Thousand Touches, arrives this October.

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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Pre-orders are up. The paperback and hardback editions will be available soon too, but if you're an ebook person, they're ready to go. #debutnovel #preorders #diasporalit
amazon.com
A Thousand Touches
Amazon.com: A Thousand Touches eBook : Shams, David: Kindle Store
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Friday Night Lights meets Darius the Great, with a hint of The Kite Runner, all set in Kentucky’s Bourbon Country. A Thousand Touches: pre-orders coming soon.
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Meet Cyrus Soltani: senior soccer captain, driver of a beat-up '92 maroon Ford Tempo, 90s mixtape enthusiast, and determined to earn a full college ride on his own terms.
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Nostalgia always did funny things to people who wanted to forget." Cyrus Soltani spends his life balancing his mother's Kentucky bourbon legacy with his immigrant father's complex, unspoken past.
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
July 2002 in Bardstown, Kentucky: knee-high cornfields, the yeasty smell of angel's share from distillery rickhouses, and snarled traffic at the courthouse roundabout. Welcome to the world of A Thousand Touches.
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
A Thousand Touches is Friday Night Lights meets Darius the Great is Not Okay, with a hint of The Kite Runner. Sign up for exclusive updates. www.davidshamswriter.com/a-thousand-t...
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Lost a toddler shoe in Toyosu, ate chef-customized conveyor-belt sushi, and watched salarymen (and women) on lunch breaks ride retro roller coasters. Our Tokyo family trip review is live on Substack: davidshams.substack.com/p/traveling-...
davidshams.substack.com
Traveling to Tokyo with Toddlers: Kid-Friendly vs. Kid-Accessible
Tokyo is warmly kid-friendly, but wildly kid-inaccessible. Here is what happened when we took our toddlers to Japan for a week.
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
The best family travel advice I ever received: Plan three fixed "anchors" per day, and leave the rest open for wandering. Here is how we used local recommendations to survive a week in Tokyo with two kids under four: davidshams.substack.com/p/traveling-...
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
A Thousand Touches balances athletic skill with the raw psychological pressure of cultural survival. Print editions launch worldwide this December. Pre-orders coming soon. www.davidshamswriter.com/a-thousand-t...
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Uber in Tokyo doesn't dispatch random sedans—it dispatches licensed local taxis. For a family with two toddlers and no Japanese language skills, it was an absolute lifesaver. More logistics & travel notes: davidshams.substack.com/p/traveling-...
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
The hardest part of writing this book wasn't the writing. It was the year of developmental edits afterward, learning which scenes were actually doing their job. It's been a tough year bringing these things to market, and I'm excited we're just around the corner. #Novels #Writing #BehindtheScenes
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Shibuya Crossing feels like Times Square meets Bourbon Street, but three blocks away you're in a quiet neighborhood park with a spotless restroom and zero noise. Tokyo is magic. Full essay below: davidshams.substack.com/p/traveling-...
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Tokyo hits a wild paradox for parents: It is profoundly kid-friendly, yet wildly kid-inaccessible. Strollers, subterranean ramen shops, and elevator scavenger hunts made for an unforgettable week with toddlers. Honest travel thoughts here: davidshams.substack.com/p/traveling-...
davidshams.substack.com
Traveling to Tokyo with Toddlers: Kid-Friendly vs. Kid-Accessible
Tokyo is warmly kid-friendly, but wildly kid-inaccessible. Here is what happened when we took our toddlers to Japan for a week.
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
What's the most emotionally devastating sports documentary you've ever watched? Recommendations welcome. #sportsfiction #sportsdocumentaries
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Holding my sleeping 4yo in Kraków while listening to the story of a Mauthausen survivor—the exact camp my grandfather helped liberate in WWII. A moment where generations and global politics collided. Full essay live on Substack. davidshams.substack.com/p/letting-th...
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
If 'Sunderland 'Til I Die' or 'Friday Night Lights' ever left you wrecked, my debut novel is aiming at that same nerve — a final high school soccer season, a state championship on the line, and a family watching from the stands with their own expectations. Out in late October. #diasporaLit
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
"The long stretches between visits mean my parents age faster in the spaces between." A snippet from my latest essay on hosting family, long-distance relationships, and letting travel itineraries breathe. davidshams.substack.com/p/letting-th...
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
What the most interesting setting for a novel that you've read?
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Standing on a corner in Warsaw, learning about Yakub ibn Ibrahim—a 10th-century merchant who documented Poland as a haven for Jewish travelers. My brother’s name is Jacob. My middle name is Abraham. Centuries of history suddenly felt like a family roll call. buff.ly/9Muxd9U
davidshams.substack.com
Letting the Time Breathe: My Mother’s Visit to Poland
An essay on mother-son relationships, presence over busy travel schedules, and discovering history together in Warsaw and Kraków.
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
How do you measure closeness when living abroad? Flight legs, time-zone math, and airport reunions. Just published a reflective essay on my mom's three-week visit to Warsaw and how history caught up with us along the way.
davidshams.substack.com
Letting the Time Breathe: My Mother’s Visit to Poland
An essay on mother-son relationships, presence over busy travel schedules, and discovering history together in Warsaw and Kraków.
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Bardstown, Kentucky, calls itself the Bourbon Capital of the World. My Iranian American protagonist's family has been part of that world for generations. A Thousand Touches, out in late October. #Bourbon #IranianAmerican #diasporaLit
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Just published a new photo essay on Substack exploring the human side of Mutianyu—from caged songbirds in village courtyards to scribbled graffiti inside ancient watchtowers. I’d love for you to check it out and share your thoughts!
davidshams.substack.com
Mutianyu Unfiltered: Between the Valley Floor and the Sleeping Buddha
A photo essay from Mutianyu exploring the contrast between the quiet village life in the valley below and the Great Wall high in the ridges above.
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Fun fact about my debut novel: it revolves around an Iranian American family in the heart of bourbon country. I did not have to make that tension up. October release: A Thousand Touches. #SouthernLit #DiasporaLit
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
The noise of vendors barking and crowds searching gave way to a vast silence, punctuated only by the mountain wind. Wandering through Mutianyu in late autumn was an incredible lesson in contrast. What’s your favorite quiet travel memory? davidshams.substack.com/p/mutianyu-u...
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
What's a book you loved that was set somewhere you'd never normally think to set a novel? #novels #inspiration #writers
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
Is it a Sleeping Buddha or George Washington? Across the valley from the Mutianyu Great Wall lies a famous mountain profile. Take a look at the photos in my latest essay and let me know which historical figure you see. davidshams.substack.com/p/mutianyu-u...
davidshams.substack.com
Mutianyu Unfiltered: Between the Valley Floor and the Sleeping Buddha
A photo essay from Mutianyu exploring the contrast between the quiet village life in the valley below and the Great Wall high in the ridges above.
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
We usually think of the Great Wall as an isolated relic, but visiting Mutianyu Village showed me a different side: local residents going about daily life, carrying groceries with 600-year-old watchtowers sitting right in their background. Full photo essay on my Substack! buff.ly/OjlBHZa
davidshams.substack.com
Mutianyu Unfiltered: Between the Valley Floor and the Sleeping Buddha
A photo essay from Mutianyu exploring the contrast between the quiet village life in the valley below and the Great Wall high in the ridges above.
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
If you are ready for a raw, uncompromising coming-of-age story that combines the high-octane pressure of Friday Night Lights with the emotional complexity of The Kite Runner, sign up for updates today! www.davidshamswriter.com/a-thousand-t... #booklaunch #Newbook #booksky #diasporalit
davidshamswriter.com
A Thousand Touches — David Shams
Check out my substack!
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Currently 100 pages into a new novel that lives somewhere between Swingers and High Fidelity. Meanwhile, my debut manuscript is locked in the publisher's black box. Any other authors find starting a new project is the only cure for pre-release anxiety? 📚#IndieAuthors buff.ly/DuEHEyb
davidshams.substack.com
Warsaw Expat Life: July Updates, Book Marketing, & World Cup Thoughts
The manuscript is back in the publishing black box, and social media prep is officially underway. In this month’s newsletter: book rollout updates, Kraków travels with family, and spy fiction reviews.
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Reposted by David Shams
derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
It's honestly so crazy to me that we're facing a technological revolution that could displace millions of jobs in the middle of a housing affordability crisis and every day we talk about whether a trans woman is playing sports or if someone has a non-Anglo name.
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Dispatches from an Iranian American Expat isn't just a newsletter. It's a direct window into the messy, cross-cultural reality of an expat writer. Sign up to get weekly newsletters straight to your inbox, plus a collection of flash fiction from Beijing. davidshams.substack.com #ExpatAuthor
davidshams.substack.com
Dispatches from an Iranian American Expat | David Shams | Substack
Cinematic street photography and cultural essays chronicling the grit, beauty, and absurdity of global life through the eyes of an Iranian-American expat. Click to read Dispatches from an Iranian…
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
There’s a strange irony in moving across the world to Warsaw, only to host your mom and realize her flight was packed with people attending the exact church convention she left 40 years ago. #TravelWriting #Substack #Memoir davidshams.substack.com/p/warsaw-exp...
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
An innocent question from an exchange student cracks open decades of family silence. A single, golden memory from a childhood in Tehran No before the revolution changed everything. Join the mailing list for launch details. www.davidshamswriter.com/a-thousand-t... #DiasporaStories #booksky
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
Public service announcement for casual soccer fans: You have four years to learn the offside rule. It hasn't fundamentally shifted since 1991. Sharing 4 lingering post-tournament football thoughts in my latest monthly update. Link below ⚽️ davidshams.substack.com/p/warsaw-exp... #WC26
davidshams.substack.com
Warsaw Expat Life: July Updates, Book Marketing, & World Cup Thoughts
The manuscript is back in the publishing black box, and social media prep is officially underway. In this month’s newsletter: book rollout updates, Kraków travels with family, and spy fiction reviews.
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Life with kids moves fast regardless of whether you have flights booked or not. My July newsletter is a breakdown of slow travel in Poland, book marketing reality checks, and global football. What did your July look like? Read & chime in ⬇️ buff.ly/DuEHEyb #ExpatLife #Substack
davidshams.substack.com
Warsaw Expat Life: July Updates, Book Marketing, & World Cup Thoughts
The manuscript is back in the publishing black box, and social media prep is officially underway. In this month’s newsletter: book rollout updates, Kraków travels with family, and spy fiction reviews.
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
I wrote my novel in Beijing, revised it in Warsaw, edited pieces of it in Krakow, Munich, Tokyo, Hanoi, and Seoul. It's about a kid from rural Kentucky figuring out his place in the world. Distance does strange things to how you write 'home.' #Authors #writers #expatwriter #diasporalit
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Local enough to be known. Foreign enough to be confusing. New essay on growing up hyphenated in a small Kentucky town, and the novel it turned into: davidshams.substack.com/p/a-thousand-touches-writing-my-way #DiasporaLit
davidshams.substack.com
A Thousand Touches: Writing My Way Through the Hyphen
Local enough that everyone knew us. Foreign enough that no one quite knew what to do with us. That's what it meant to grow up in Bardstown, Kentucky — and it's why I wrote a novel about it.
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
When you look at your hometown from thousands of miles away, the edges blur, leaving only the sharpest emotional truths. If you want an honest look at identity, grab my free Beijing flash fiction and join my Substack. davidshams.substack.com #AuthorIdentity #ExpatLife
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Turns out G.K. Chesterton's 1909 take on Thackeray helped explain my book title. Wrote up the whole strange path to A Thousand Touches, out this October — davidshams.substack.com/p/a-thousand-touches-writing-my-way #DebutNovel #iranianAmerican
davidshams.substack.com
A Thousand Touches: Writing My Way Through the Hyphen
Local enough that everyone knew us. Foreign enough that no one quite knew what to do with us. That's what it meant to grow up in Bardstown, Kentucky — and it's why I wrote a novel about it.
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Reposted by David Shams
Dr. Lucky Tran @luckytran.com · 02/08/2026
I worked for New York’s largest medical center at the start of the pandemic. There were morgue trucks on the streets. They set up emergency medical tents in Central Park. Healthcare worker colleagues died. It is horrific that RFK Jr is on national TV lying that ICUs were empty.
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
My debut novel, A Thousand Touches, comes out in October. An Iranian American kid. A Bourbon dynasty. A State Championship soccer season. A love story with a built-in countdown clock. Follow along here as it comes together. www.davidshamswriter.com/a-thousand-t...
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
"One was, and one was not." That's how Persian fairy tales begin. It's also the epigraph of my debut novel. Wrote an essay on why: davidshams.substack.com/p/a-thousand-touches-writing-my-way #DiasporaLit #DebutAuthor
davidshams.substack.com
A Thousand Touches: Writing My Way Through the Hyphen
Local enough that everyone knew us. Foreign enough that no one quite knew what to do with us. That's what it meant to grow up in Bardstown, Kentucky — and it's why I wrote a novel about it.
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
New essay: why I wrote a novel about growing up Iranian-American in a Kentucky bourbon town. Soccer, silence, and a Persian phrase that explains more than I expected it to. davidshams.substack.com/p/a-thousand-touches-writing-my-way #debutnovel #IranianAmerican
davidshams.substack.com
A Thousand Touches: Writing My Way Through the Hyphen
Local enough that everyone knew us. Foreign enough that no one quite knew what to do with us. That's what it meant to grow up in Bardstown, Kentucky — and it's why I wrote a novel about it.
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
In Bardstown, bourbon isn't a cocktail ingredient—it's history, lineage, and currency. A Thousand Touches hits shelves this October. #BookSky #Bardstown #Bourbon #SouthernFiction #DiasporaLit
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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
This is all a crazy effort to rewrite the past, yes. But what's really terrifying is hearing these people tell us how badly they're going to fuck up the *next* pandemic they're now creating without that nerd Fauci holding them back.
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
In my household, we switch between 'Baba' and 'Dad' effortlessly. My Substack, Dispatches from an Iranian American Expat, is where I often explore cross-cultural nuances. Plus, you get two free stories from my time in Beijing right away. ☕✨ davidshams.substack.com #PersianHeritage #BookSky
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Before my series on why I wrote A Thousand Touches, here's a brief about me. #AThousandTouches #DebutAuthor #IranianAmerican #DiasporaLit #NewBookAlert
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David Shams @davidshamswriter.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Step into Garnis Martin Field. A Thousand Touches brings the high-pressure world of elite athletics to life. Drops this October. 🏟️ www.davidshamswriter.com/a-thousand-t... #SportsFiction #SoccerLife #AtmosphericFiction #IndiePublishing #ComingOfAgeFiction
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Reposted by David Shams
Sum FatKid @wunfatkid.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
I hate that baseball commentary is trying to convince me that baseball is better when I am wagering money on its outcomes. Fuck that noise. Get that shit out of sports.
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Reposted by David Shams
Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
It is genuinely bizarre that we’ve become acclimatized to right wingers throwing a tantrum every time a black person (particularly a black woman) is cast in something, but are also supposed to pretend that this is not racism but related to some other substantive concern.
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