Dark City

Slumdogs

2009-02-28T22:10:00.000-08:00

http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2009/3/1/lifefocus/3282059&sec=lifefocus

Real millionaires next?
By EUDORA LYNN
Well, Slumdog Millionaire has won the coveted Oscar for best picture. So will Indians who were up in arms against the negative portrayal of Mumbai relent a little if the next movie paints a rosier picture?
HOW would you like it?” demanded my Indian friend. “How would you like it if they portrayed Malaysia as a muddy backwater, full of slums and poverty? How would you like it if they portrayed Malaysians as poor, uneducated, and barbaric?”
Actually they have, I wanted to point out. Ben Stiller’s Zoolander depicts Malaysia as a Communist-style regime replete with red flag-waving masses and a Maoist prime minister in ankle-length robes; and in Entrapment, Catherine Zeta-Jones tells Sean Connery in a draughty voice as she stares at the Twin Towers, surrounded by kampung houses on stilts on the banks of a muddy, sampan-fringed river, “Isn’t it beautiful here?”
Children of the slum where Slumdog Millionaire actor Rubina Ali (who plays the youngest version of Latika) lives celebrate after the movie picked up eight awards at the recent Academy Awards.
There was a backlash then, I remember. Zoolander was banned from screening locally. Outraged Malaysians wrote letters to the newspapers on how Entraptment didn’t make sense as Sungai Melaka did not geographically connect to KLCC.
But none of the above can compare to the wrath of India following the release of best picture-winner Slumdog Millionaire, a rag-to-riches tale of an 18-year-old chaiwalla (tea server) who grew up in the Mumbai slums and enters the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire?.
A quick look through the Internet Movie Database, which has ‘‘free for all’’ message boards, reveals outrage: “It’s the worst piece of garbage I have ever seen!” exclaims one viewer. “I urge you – avoid this piece of sh*t at all costs!”. Another screams, “I pray to God this movie does not win the Best Picture Oscar. May Benjamin Button win instead.”
Well, Slumdog did win itself the biggie but does it deserve this vilification?
Painting the perfect picture?
Slumdog Millionaire is possibly the best Oscar contender in years: It’s a story that is uplifting in spirit, creative in execution and unflinching in its look at poverty in Mumbai.
The protagonist, Jamal Malik, grows up with his brother in the Juru slums of the city, amidst corrugated tin shed houses, mud and flies ... well, much like the slums anywhere else in Asia. Their mother is killed in a bloody demonstration against Muslims (which really took place in 1992-1993), leaving the kids to fend for themselves by stealing and sleeping under makeshift shelters.
Scores of people queue to see Mohammed Ismail, father of Slumdog’s child actor Azharuddin Ismail (who plays the youngest version of Jamal Malik), as he sits in his shanty in Mumbai. It is this image of the city’s poor that many Indians were unhappy showing the world.
Jamal and his brother are lured by gangs who prey on children, who then “train’’ them to be blind singers and prostitutes. The boys escape, together with a little girl they have befriended called Latika, and further continue their life of thievery by preying on tourists.
When Jamal enters Who Wants to be a Millionaire? and does exceptionally well, he is accused by the game show’s host of cheating (“How can an uneducated slumdog know anything?”) and is beaten and tortured by the police.
Naturally, many inferences are made:
1. Mumbai’s slums are really, really poor; 2. There is a real class divide in India, more pronounced, perhaps, than in other country. You are treated badly by many people if you are misfortunate enough to be of a lower class; 3. There is police brutality in India, involving crude electrocution torture; 4. The Indian underworld is rife with sinister gangs who have no compunctions about maiming and using children.
India, together with China, is now seen as the centre of economic growth, the heralded paradigm of the future to spearhead the world out of this global recession. Naturally, Indians are wary that Westerners would only be left with Slumdog’s vision of India – of horrific poverty, the kind that Westerners cannot comprehend, and of social practices thought to be eradicated 50 years ago.
India is trying hard to be seen as the new mecca of investment – a place where you can set up your company’s regional hub, where many workers speak English and will work for a pittance.
Indians are naturally proud of their towering new skyscrapers, their nuclear power plants, their burgeoning elite and middle class, their spawning millionaires. They want Western filmmakers to focus on this aspect of new India, not dwell on the negative.
I re-examined my friend’s question: “How would you like it if they portrayed Malaysians as poor, uneducated and barbaric?”
The truth is – I would not like it one bit. I would not like it if some Western filmmaker like Danny Boyle chose to focus on the racism and the political tension; the kampung-style slums that exist within Kuala Lumpur, peeking through the foliage of our greenery and skyscrapers. I cannot deny these things exist, but I still wouldn’t like to see it on film.
If a Western film is to be made about us – and there are so few, so every precious reel counts – I would want us to be portrayed as dynamic, up-and-coming, modern and vibrant. Yes, the negative does exist, but much like an interviewee keen on making the best of impressions on a potential hirer, I would like the world to get the best glimpse possible.
Arguments from Westerners abound on the Internet Movie Database. “You should be proud of the way India is portrayed in Slumdog,” says one. Well, that could be because, in the West, it is inferred that movies made on poverty-stricken, inter-marrying hillbillies or on crazed American serial killers offer a true look at all aspects of life – both the positive and negative. And Western audiences are mature enough to laud these movies.
Perhaps, it is suggested, we Asians lack the maturity to take a good look at ourselves?
I have come to the conclusion that perhaps, if we are given equal opportunity to show every aspect of ourselves in contemporary film – including the vigour, the robust city bustle, the towering skyscrapers and sprawling undercity tunnels, the rainforests, the kampungs, as well as the squalour, the corruption, the underbelly of society, the contempt with which we treat some of our foreign workers, the hunger for money and all its ugly implications – then yes, by all means, film us.
Write stories about us, but make them abundant and varied, and as plentiful as all the aspects of Western culture we get to see on TV and film and in books. Do not offer the world just a glimpse. Tell our story and make that many, many stories. The dark, the good, the ugly, the uplifting. And yes, by then we will be matured enough.

Building characters in an extraordinary setting

2008-10-31T17:05:00.001-07:00

I thought this was really interesting:

http://io9.com/5065556/secrets-of-great-characters-according-to-6-science-fiction-authors
http://io9.com/5065556/secrets-of-great-characters-according-to-6-science-fiction-authors

Amazing stories need great characters. And when you're writing a story set in a futuristic or fantastical world, it's more important than ever for readers to be able to relate to your characters. It's also harder than ever, because your characters' lives and experiences will be totally different than your readers'. How do you make people identify with someone who lives in the future, or on another planet? How can your main character stand out, against a bizarre and colorful backdrop? We asked six great science fiction authors for their advice.

1. Get to know them as individuals, rather than types. If your characters are cut off from all the present-day cultural references, like "lawyer who went to Harvard," then it's even more important to think of them as individuals, says Elizabeth Bear, Campbell- and Hugo-winning author of Carnival and Undertow. "Try very hard to know them as people," she urges. "That goes for any setting, past or present or future — or alternate reality."
In particular, you should think, "'This is a person who happens to have the following traits, and all that they imply,' rather than 'this is a nuclear physicist who grew up in Iowa.'"

2. Try making your characters scientists. Or at least, have them be obsessed with stuff that's relavant to your storyline, advises Kim Stanley Robinson, Hugo- and Nebula-winning author of the Mars trilogy and the Science In The Capital series. Having scientists as your characters lets you "explore the setting and the character at once." And it helps if your characters obsess about the mysteries and explanations in your story. They can also be obsessed with a planet, spaceship, new procedure or alien.

3. Base them on people you know. The most realistic characters are often based closely on your friends or people you've met, says Rudy Rucker, Philip K. Dick-winning author of the -Ware novels and Postsingular. That goes double for your aliens, A.I.s and robots, he adds. It's always better to copy your friends than to lift from "received ideas about how SF characters might behave. Who wants to see yet another a humorless talking head with a BBC accent? The absolute worst thing in Matrix III was when Keanu gets to the virtual office of the Big Computer Mind, and he meets, like, a tweedy professor with a white beard. Ugh! At the very least it should have been a fat hacker in a T-shirt, preferably high on pineal extract." Also: to make your characters stand out, try having them say quirky, unexpected things. "Forget your Star Trek memories, and remember your wild and crazy friends — the ones who say things that Make No Sense," Rucker advises.

4. Give them a thought-out world. The more carefully thought out the world you're placing your characters into, the more we'll be able to believe that they live there, says Tobias Buckell, author of Sly Mongoose. And that also makes it easier to "contrast them against this imaginary place."
Figure out what they love, and what they fear. Try to find what drives your characters, including what they want and need, Bear urges. And understand what traumatizes them. "I tell people I like to know what they'd want on their tombstone: that seems to give me a really good handle on who they are."
She adds:
Characters we can relate to have fears and damage, but moreover, for me they have to be devoted to something — an ideal, a person, whatever. Even villains become much more sympathetic when we're introduced to whatever it is that they love.
Kage Baker, author of the Company novels, agrees: "It isn't the way a person relates to his hovercar that makes him memorable; it's what's going on in his heart." No matter what planet or time you're living in, there will be "certain constants in human existence: struggle against poverty, rebellion against authority, love and desire, loneliness, curiosity. Any reader can relate to those." Make sure your character has loves and hatreds that readers can see themselves in, and the rest will take care of itself.

5. Don't aim for larger-than-life — and overshoot. One pitfall with science fiction characters is that authors sometimes make their characters "bigger than life, or archetypal" to let them compete with the big, brash colorful worlds they live in. A common mistake is veering past archetypal, all the way into "over the top, or maybe somewhat cliche." If you do try for archetypal characters, think of the classics from all genres, like Sherlock Holmes' quirky genius or Captain Ahab's drive.

6. Don't obsess too much about setting and toys. If you spend pages and pages on dense descriptions of your settings and how exactly your hovercar works, you're distracting the reader from your characters, says Baker.
It's enough to say "He climbed into his hovercar" and your reader will get the idea. You don't need to give a geography lesson: "They were sitting in the courtyard drinking fire-palm wine" or "She trudged back from the well, balancing her water jar" or "They looked out across the desert and saw the yellow mountains of Califia before them" all give brief, intense impressions of a place, without stopping the narrative in its tracks or drawing focus from the main character.
Find out who's hurting. If your story involves a new situation or technological breakthrough, figure out who suffers as a result — maybe that should be your main character, says Robinson, quoting from Damon Knight (who was quoting James Blish in turn.)

7. Keep your characters grounded. The stranger the setting, the more ordinary your characters should be, says Terry Bisson, Hugo- and Nebula-winning author of Bears Discover Fire. "For example, in my most recent story, the narrator 'had a job and an apartment, but that was all.' The story wasn't about the setting but about the character."
Your characters should be "totally convinced they live in the present, rather than the future. Because, of course, it IS the present to them," says David J. Williams, author of The Mirrored Heavens. Make sure your world, and your characters, both have a believable past, that anchors their present. "As Gibson said, the future's already here, it's just unevenly distributed. Same is true for the past: it's always with us, but sometimes beneath the surface. How one handles that is the key to character."

Myanmar experience

2008-07-18T19:04:00.000-07:00

http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2008/7/19/lifeliving/1457412&sec=lifeliving

Count your blessings
By EUDORA LYNN
Cyclone-ravaged Myanmar changed our writer’s perception of life. She compares and contrasts life in Myanmar with Malaysia.

I take my life for granted. I do, I really do, and this is not meant to be another mouthpiece about how great it is to be Malaysian.
But we have been bitching recently about how hard our lives are without joyrides from Kuala Lumpur to Kajang in our 3,000cc four-wheel drives and European holidays that I thought I’d do a reality check.
It struck home when I visited Myanmar. Life in pre-cyclone Myanmar was tough by Malaysian standards; life post-cyclone is even harder. In Yangon, collapsed roofs and grates of government buildings remained unrepaired. Fences were smashed by trees. Pavements had holes as big as rain puddles.
“When are they going to be repaired?” I asked a Myanmarese friend.
“When the government has money,” she says, “which is not likely to be anytime soon.”

On electricity

I never realised how much we take electricity for granted. At home, whenever there is an outage, we’re on our phones immediately to Tenaga Nasional, screaming murder.
While visiting a shop in Yangon, the overhead fluorescent light suddenly dimmed. It sputtered, went dark completely, then came on again.
“Electrical outage?” I said knowingly.
“It’s our generator,” the shop owner informed me. “It’s been giving problems of late.”
“Why do you have generators?” I asked.
“Because in Myanmar, electricity is erratic. Not all areas have electricity and most of us have to pay for our own generators. There’s enough electricity to go round during the monsoon when the rivers swell and there is plenty of water to turn the hydroelectric turbines, but during the dry season, there isn’t enough power to go round. Even water is erratic. During the cyclone, there was no electricity and water for days. We had to depend on well water.”
“When looking for an apartment or house,” my friend chimed in, “we always try to seek a location where there’s water and electricity. You have to pay more for those apartments.”
The good thing about those apartments is that they are not costly by Malaysian standards. An average apartment in a good area costs around US$20,000-US$40,000 (RM64,600-RM129,200). But most people don’t earn that kind of money.
The government sector doles out a measly pay, as little as under US$3 (RM10) a month, although they don’t tax you. The private sector pays better, though you’d have to pay significant taxes.
There are no bank loans in Myanmar. Everything is paid by cash. To pay for an apartment, most sellers prefer to see money on the table — take it or leave it.

The kyat

The highest denomination of Myanmar currency is 1,000 Kyat, roughly equivalent to US$ 0.85 (RM3), though the rate fluctuates daily.
To get around the city, you’d have to have plenty of banknotes. The price of meals is roughly the equivalent of what you’d get in Malaysia — a bowl of curry noodles costs around US$1.20 (RM4), depending on its size. But if you contrast that to what the average Myanmar citizen gets, it’s a wonder anyone gets to eat out.
But most Myanmar people don’t go out much at all.
“It’s a habit from our curfew days,” said my friend. “You go to work and hurry home before it gets dark.”
Though homeless, this Myanmarese boy manages a smile. - AP
No expense, however, is spared for the temples — the ones I’ve seen in Yangon and Mandalay have Buddha statues and pagodas adorned with gold leaf.
You can buy four tiny wafer-thin ones for 1,500 kyat. Devotees stick these gold leaves onto statues. Collection boxes are rife everywhere, especially temples — Myanmar is a country of charity.
“And no wonder,” remarked an acquaintance, “if our government is not going to help us, who can we depend on but each other?”
But do not begrudge the temples and monks their relative wealth. The monks are everywhere, helping the needy. Foreigners are not allowed into the Irrawady Delta, the hardest cyclone-hit, but the Myanmarese showed me video clips. The monks are there, tending to the sick, swathing bandages over leg ulcers as big as saucers.
When my Myanmar friends asked me what I thought of Yangon and Mandalay, I told them truthfully both were beautiful cities, and the palaces and pagodas were splendid in the clean, relatively haze-free air. In fact, Yangon reminded me a lot of Penang and Ipoh.
The streets are broad, the houses colonial; there are plenty of umbrella trees providing much-needed shade. But that’s where similarities end. In Myanmar, the cars are sparser and there are few traffic jams. The roads and pavements are bumpy and broken; I have to watch where I tread every step of the way.
“There is no maintenance whatsoever,” my friend declared. “There simply isn’t enough money.”
Nor is a car easy to own. A normal sedan is costlier here than in Malaysia.
“If you want a Honda Accord, you’ll have to fork out US$70,000 (RM226,000) for it. On top of that, you have to pay US$80,000 (RM258,000) for a new car licence.”
That is why most citizens drive ancient, sputtering cars.
The concept of car maintenance is virtually unknown.
“When your car breaks down, then only will you repair it,” said my friend.

Survival

There are no motorcycles in Yangon. A top Junta general’s car got hit by a motorbike, the story goes, and he outlawed motorbikes in Yangon from then on. Public transport is extremely bad — buses are frequently late, dusty and dirty.
Tuk-tuks ply the road, ferrying passengers in the dust; sometimes as many as 20 people cling on to an open tuk-tuk meant for 10.
How is it, if one earns as little as US$3 a month, that one survives at all?
“Government servants take on extra jobs after hours,” my friend said. “It’s common to work two or even three jobs just to make enough to feed your family.”
Corruption in the government is rife; most do it just to survive. There is not enough government money to go around because of the economic sanctions placed on the Junta by lofty countries.
When there are sanctions, it is the average citizen who suffers.
I commented on how nice and polite most Myanmar workers were.
“They have to be,” my friend said. “They’re afraid of being sent back to Myanmar, so they’re always on their best behaviour and try to make themselves as ‘untroublesome’ as possible.”
In the end, the average Myanmar citizen still survives.
“We do not need much to be happy,” someone told me. “We are content with what we have and do not ask for much. And we are still happier than what most people in some so-called richer countries are.”

Galaxie review

2008-07-11T21:05:00.000-07:00

My editor Nitha kindly sent this copy because as usual I missed it as I was not in the country.

GALAXIE MAY 15-31, 2008

For a brief moment when I got this book, I thought Dark City 2 was a collection of horror stories. So it was an unexpected treat to find it was anything but and so much more. This collection combines stories that are decidedly macabre (Till Death), suspenseful (Strong Chemistry), fiendish (Death Dealer) and most of all disturbing. The stories contain many surprises and twists. What's really cool about Dark City 2 is how familiar Malaysian scenes are ordinary things are creepily skewed. One peculiar story about a vengeful Hawker Man will ensure the next time you pass one i a dark alley, you'll make a hasty retreat. Reading Dark City 2 is like spinning a wheel of good fortune in that you're never sure what's coming next. You could be reading about a Good Nurse who goes beyond the call of duty for a modest extra income one minute and a photgrapher (open Shutter) who captures the unexpected the next. Even the easiest reads like All in a Day's Work and Dad have perplexing plot twists. So go ahead and take a walk on the dark side...if you dare. Geraldine Jeremiah

Chick lit

2008-06-28T22:31:00.000-07:00

Haven't blogged in a long time, I know - too much travelling, too tired. Doing this right now in Schilpol Airport while waiting for my connection to Spain. This article is published in the Star today and involved me interviewing Cecelia Ahern's publishers. Dunno if the sidebar showed up.

http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2008/6/29/lifebookshelf/21585761&sec=lifebookshelf

Happy lite lit

By EUDORA LYNN

In place of our monthly focus on literary titles, we turn our attention to what is, according to our writer, a sorely misunderstood genre: chick lit. Trashy and vapid? No, no, no, insists the passionate fan.

THERE are plenty of misconceptions about chick lit, such as that it’s “fluffy, trashy, shallow, mind-numbing, formulaic” and “something only a vapid woman can enjoy”. (Oh dear, that just about confirms my husband’s suspicions about me.)
Chick lit, for those of you who haven’t tuned into the world since 1992, is fiction written by women for women.
These books differ from other women’s books by almost always being humorous, appearing in bright, fluffy covers, usually featuring funny, fluffy caricatures, and being written, almost uniformly, in an extremely personal style, as though the reader is a gnat hovering around the female protagonist’s flat, eavesdropping on her conversations and life.
Chick lit is believed to have originated in the mid-1990s with Adele Lang’s Confession of a Sociopathic Social Climber. That kind of intimate, “I’m confiding in you, dear reader” sort of writing skyrocketed in popularity with Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’s Diary – and, with money to be made, everyone started jumping on board, of course.
Chick lit was also originally written for single working women in their 20s or 30s, but has since expanded into sub-genres that include mum lit (featuring the perils of young mums and mums-to-be), glamour lit (of glamorous social climbers and heiresses), mystery lit (think Desperate Housewives), wedding lit (self-explanatory) and fantasy lit (where something otherworldly happens to the protagonist, such as tripping into a different world – Cecelia Ahern’s There’s No Place Like Here – or different time zone – Sophie Kinsella’s Remember Me?)
There’s another burgeoning sub-genre called multi-cultural lit that can be further divided into Indian, Latina and other Asian. In these books, perky ethnic women try to carve out a life for themselves in a Western land, such as in books written by Nisha Minhas on Indian women living in Britain who are choked by cultural traditions and yet still manage to land spectacularly gorgeous Caucasian men. (Who are also very good in bed and initially have white girlfriends whom they will dump for said ethnic heroine.)
Phew, bet you never knew this was such a complicated genre, right?
What makes chick lit so enduringly popular is that there’s something for Everywoman to identify with. Chick lit heroines (tick characteristics you see in yourself):
1. Are usually single (even if you’re married now, you have once been single and kind of desperate, right?).
2. Are usually stuck in a job she doesn’t want to be in.
3. Are usually stuck with a boss she doesn’t want to be with.
4. Are usually fairly attractive but not stunningly so, and usually possessed of physical attributes she hates and totally wants to change (being overweight, snaggle haired, button nosed).
5. Have a gaggle of roommates/girlfriends/gay guy friends who are extremely supportive, promiscuous, and chatty.
Chick lit is also not exclusively romance, although a guy seems to trip into 99% of it since we women can’t seem to exist without men (I’m rolling my eyes, here).
Male love interests in chick lit are also attractive but the majority are also not panty-meltingly, heart-stoppingly so. If there are any superlatively handsome male characters, they usually turn out to be cads.
Chick lit protagonists also have a lot of other stuff going on in their lives, such as juggling careers, dealing with bad habits like being a chocoholic or a shopaholic, balancing their bankbooks, cooking bad food, and basically going through the exhaustive process of finding themselves. It’s Sex and the City, only with a lot less sex.
In other words, the writers of chick lit seem to be saying – to me, anyway – “This is you. You can totally see yourself in this. We are writing you for you.” (And also to make a lot of money.)
Chick lit stories end well, usually with the heroine getting the job of her dreams and landing her true love, a fact that also contributes to the genre’s appeal.
At the end of the day, when you pick up chick lit, you want a happy, humorous story you can laugh over and see yourself in (with chagrin), you want to find solutions to trials and tribulations you yourself have been through, and you want to know that if a fictitious someone else can have a happy ending, you can have it too.
And that’s all we really want in our lives, happy endings.

And these are a few Q and As from Penguin which I did an email interview.

1. What do you look for in the writing when you decide to publish something in the genre of chick lit?

We look for lots of things but most importantly it is making a connection in a fun way with the reader using the themes of love romance
and fidelity in relationships. The tone should be light and highly readable and a touch of devil may care mischief always goes down a treat.

2. On average, how much does a chick lit title sell?

Our bestselling authors sell over 100 000 copies

3. What is your biggest chick lit title? How many copies has it sold?

The answer is SUDDENLY SINGLE which has done 320k since 1999. Best since then is YOURS FAITHFULLY at 272k. Jill Mansell is usually at about the 200k level.

Low-lit

2008-04-28T04:55:00.000-07:00

I'm still extremely low-lit, I've discovered. It took me ages to finish this book with the deceptive chick/guy-lit cover, which turned out to actually be lit in disguise.

Oh Malaysia, I love you

2008-03-16T04:34:00.000-07:00

That's why when I voted in my old school, Sri Aman, I went in with a vision of you in my mind. I went in visualising:

- a Malaysia where no corruption exists, where my hard-earned money going into considerable taxes would fuel a world where open tenders are declared, the best man gets the contract based on merit and funds are well spent on education, health and good transportation for the masses

- a Malaysia where there will be a minimum wage so that the hardcore poor will forever be eradicated

- a Malaysia where scholarships and promotions are awarded on how well you do, not who you know

- a Malaysia where the colour of your skin is no longer of consequence

- a Malaysia which can compete in the world economy, where investors are not given the runaround of endless red tape

- a Malaysia that is safe, where we can go about our business without physical threat to our safety, where the police exists to serve us, the people, and are given a minimum wage to exist so they will no longer feel the need to take bribes

- a Malaysia that is tolerant to newcomers from other Asian and African countries, who might one day be Malaysians too, where citizens do not feel the need to treat other people from less fortunate nations as though they are pariahs

Malaysia, I voted for you.

The Misdirect

2008-03-03T22:51:00.000-08:00

Ever read a story or watched a movie when the plot threw you a curveball suddenly that had you gasping, "Wow! I didn't see that coming!"? You are of course bowled over by the audaciousness of the writers: "Wow, how did he/she come up with something like that? I wish I can do it too."

Actually, you can.

The plots that twist and turn and throw you curveballs and hardballs and anything else that would have you grasping balls (pardon the language) have a common ploy -- the Misdirect. You've probably used it yourself, only you didn't realise it was called a Misdirect; the same way you wield the English language without realising you're using pronouns and verbs and adjectives, all in the same sentence. (The fact I'm perpetually using all these still continues to leave me speechless.)

A Misdirect can be summed up like this:
1. Come up with your plot twist/ending first.
2. Now lead your reader away from it by leading them down another direction, so when it hits them, they'll say, "Wow, I didn't see that coming!"

Even Booker Prize winners do it too, which is why Margaret Atwood's 'The Blind Assassin' is so satisfying. Basically, what she did was: (Warning, I'm going to spoil 'The Blind Assassin' here)

1. The big knockout twist at the end was that the 'I' character was the one who wrote the science-fiction stories and had the affair with her sister's lover

2. So Margaret starts out at the very beginning of the book, even before the first chapter, to lead the reader down the wrong path. The 'I' character is introduced receiving news of her sister's sudden death. She goes to retrieve her sister's artifacts, finding some old exercise books.

3. The very next chapter has some newspaper clippings on how her sister's posthumous science-fiction book is published, leading to worldwide fame and recognition. Therefore, the reader immediately 'assumes' that what the 'I' character found was her sister's manuscript in the old exercise books.

4. The rest of the story is about their lives, interspersed with excerpts from the science-fiction book, to help the reader understand why the 'I' character did what she did.

In short stories with a twist, 'Misdirect' is also a trick employed very often. I've been guilty of doing it myself over and over again before I even understood the term 'Misdirect'. But if you want to employ a Misdirect, you have to map out your plot point twist/ending first. How can you lead the reader down a wrong path if you yourself don't know which path you're heading, right?

Next: Doublespeak and Doublethink

Interview with Chua Kok Yee!

2008-02-05T00:45:00.000-08:00

Here's from author Chua Kok Yee of 'News from Home' fame. He also write 'The Penalty' for Dark City 2, which has been highly acclaimed.

1. What inspired you to write?

I have strong inclination towards creative pursues like drawing and writing since I was young. In my younger days, I spent more time drawing and doodling than writing. Actually, I didn’t start writing with an intention to produce any stories in word form. It was supposed to be brief plot and synopsis for my comic stories. It was during that process I accidentally discovered the joy of writing, and I have been addicted to it since. Besides, writing is a very therapeutic activity against the stress and pressure of corporate life.

2. Without giving too much away, how did you get the idea for your story, 'The Penalty'?

The idea came from the famous Michael Chong of the MCA Public Complaint Bureau. Not directly from the man, of course, but from those numerous news reports on loan sharks and their victims. It made me wonder why there are still so many people out there that resorted to Ah Longs despite the repeated warnings from the authority. I was also wondering about the reaction of the ‘ah longs’ to these reports. In a way they are the ‘victims’ too because the debt was a consensual business agreement between two parties. Yet, the borrowers went crying wolf when they defaulted on the loans! That was how the seed of the story was planted inside my head.

3. You have a book out, 'News from Home'. Can you tell us more about it?

News From Home is an anthology of short stories from three new authors; Shih-Li Kow, Rumaizah Abu Bakar and me. Each writer contributed ten stories in this collection, and the book is the first book to carry the Silverfishbooks’ ‘Malaysian Literature in English’ sticker. The thirty stories of various genres would introduce the readers to each author’s own distinctive voice and style. It’s available on all major bookstores or you can get it online via www.silverfishbooks.com

4. Which authors inspire you? Which genre do you prefer?

Stephen King, Haruki Murakami and Neil Gaiman. I like stories with a touch of supernatural or fantasy.

5. Do you have any advice for budding authors?

First advice is to read a lot. The second advice is to cut down the talking about writing, and spend more time actually doing it. Lastly, do have thick face and open mind to accept criticisms.

MPH LitBlogger's Club yesterday

2008-01-27T00:02:00.000-08:00

So finally it was Tunku Halim and me on the podium. There were about 25 - 30 people there, quite a full house and standing room only (with the usual empty chairs in front and in the inaccessible middle) . . . thanks to TH who really pulled them in, yay! (Okay, I must admit I arm-twisted at least 8 people to be there, including my colleagues.)

MPH also took the opportunity to launch TH's novella, Juriah's Song, which really had a great faux book gimmick to go with it, along with string cutting and all.

For my session, I dragged Lydia Teh, TH and Chua Kok Yee up with me because I was afraid of boring everybody if I were go by myself. We spoke about writing and rewriting and what a horrible taskmaster I am for making everybody write and rewrite.

RTM2 was there also for 'Hello on 2', which is I presume a morning show. So they interviewed each of us individually - TH, me, Lydia and Kok Yee - and I was so glad I wore something decent to appear on TV and that I didn't go in T-shirt and slippers. I don't actually remember what I said because I had to talk non-stop for 10 minutes, but I remember holding up my 2 books and shaking them ever so often, and even filming a little teaser in which I went, "Hi, I'm Xeus, and you're watching 'Hello on 2'. "

Then of course we all went for lunch and gabbed about everything and everybody. I realise Lydia and TH are so much more prolific and ambitious than I am - they have so many books and projects lined up, and when they asked me what I had in store, I had to admit I had only 2 :(

Ah well, it was great to meet up with everyone again. (And yes, Kenny too although he was late!) Thanks Grace for being there in spirit although you couldn't physically be present, and I wrote you a lovely message in your personalised copy of DC2. It was great to see Lyrical Lemongrass and Daphne there too and I thanked her personally for plugging DC2 in Star, and she had news for me - Michael Cheang is reviewing DC2 for Star. (And I went 'Yikes! He's tough!')

Okay, what do you think of this title for a humorous anecdote collection type of book: 'Don't stand too close to a naked Malaysian'? I tried it on everybody there and they hated it!

Borneo Post review

2008-01-23T21:29:00.001-08:00

Courtesy of Georgette...

"The first Dark City was a compilation of short stories by an author who goes by the pseudonym Xeus. She returns with the sequel, together with 14 other writers. Some are names you've heard before if you're paying attention to the Malaysian writing or blogging scene, while others will come as surprises.

Ahmad Azrai's "Death Dealer" stands out for its unusual setting. As it opens in the era of Sultan Muzaffar Shah, a boy strikes a deal with the Angel of Death. I have to admit that this is the kind of story I've envisioned to death (heh) myself, which is why it attracted me. I only wish that there was more of a middle to go with that beginning and ending.

Lydia Teh, whose last book was the very funny "Honk! If you're Malaysian", told me how she pulled "Hin's Moment of Truth" out of a dusty archive somewhere and reworked it for DC2. Probably still her only fiction piece to date, her story is about a gambler who is about to get lucky in a nasty twist kind of way.

Xeus has this knack of making me burst out laughing with the conclusions of her stories and "Signature Spa" is no exception. (It only shows what a sick individual I am.) Spas are at every corner now, fighting for customers and the self-centred protagonist of this story finds herself a deal too good to be true.

Jennifer Tai has a story about a banker's encounter with a mother and her son; Noor Bebe brings us a half-touching and half-creepy tale of a woman looking for her missing husband in "Trapped"; John Ling provides a knife-twist of revenge in "Zero Sum"; and Chua KokYee's "The Penalty" brings us into the world of football gambling.

With 17 stories, there is something for everyone looking for a taste of the macabre and plenty for anyone who enjoys a wicked sense of humour. While most of the stories appear to be set in metropolitan KL, there are a handful of tales that take place outside it... like the one about the photojournalist who works in Kuching.

Dark City 2 have not yet been sighted in local book stores. "

NST snippet and article on local books

2008-01-19T18:59:00.000-08:00

I'm so glad that NST decided to run this feature on local books yesterday - a very positive one. I wouldn't have known it if Yvonne hadn't texted me when I'm overseas and told me about it. Thanks Yvonne!

Chuah Kok Yee and Tunku Halim are also featured.

Read: Some local gems

By : SU AZIZ 2008/01/18

Shame on you if you do not read our local authors, especially when SU AZIZ shows you the best picks.

THE resolution to read more local authors is not a recent one. In fact, it is one that has been festering at the back of my mind for years.
At the beginning of this year, I was resolute on keeping it. Hence the myriad of books below produced by our own writing talent from various backgrounds, age groups and genres.
I am most certain you will be able to pick one that will appeal to you. Well, here goes!

Short stories and compilations:
DARK CITY 2Compiled by Xeus
A sequel to the bestseller published a couple of years ago, this one consists of 17 thrilling short stories by 15 authors.
Some are first-time published authors while others are more known and experienced writers.
The likes of Lydia Teh, Tunku Halim and Xeus fall into the latter category. A perplexing page-turning read for those dark, stormy and rainy nights.
Most of all, it is a terrific book for bite-sized samples of styles from our local authors.
This one is published by Midnight Press and available in major bookstores.
Variant 1: For a more relaxing bite-sized samples of local authors, Silverfish Books has just published News From Home, featuring 30 short stories from Chua Kok Yee, Shih-Li Kow and Rumaizah Abu Bakar.
Not quite local but close to home. Read Wena Poon’s collection of short stories on displaced Singaporeans living abroad in Lions in Winter.
Variant 2: For a touch of poetry dedicated to, as the author wrote, “love”, is Diver & Other Poems by Alina Rastam.
This compilation of 20 poetries is published by Cricket Communications Sdn Bhd.
Variant 3: Or grab a copy of Young Women Speak Out, a compilation of essays and poems by the participants of AWAM’s (All Women’s Action Society) Writers for Women’s Rights Programme.
An interesting sample of works by our young women highlighting their issues and concerns.

Latest works by our experienced authors:

GLIMPSESBy Adibah Amin
On a brighter note, this one holds colourful accounts of Malaysian habits, written in a style that is vintage in Adibah Amin.
A name synonymous with good English, Adibah is no stranger in the literary world.
In this one, her sense of humour and power of observation are both lucid and tangible.
A favourite? Chew on this, “How could a local product be any good? He must have been sent overseas for ‘manufacturing’, to return to triumph as an ‘imported’ item”. Published by MPH Publishing, this one’s available in all major bookstores.

JURIAH’S SONGBy Tunku Halim
This one entertained me as much as the story itself. The author, in the introduction page, admitted that it was inspired by two incidents.
One was when band members that had been playing at a hotel lounge joined him for a drink.
The other was an unsettling tale of a friend.
Known for his thrilling dark tales of suspense, this is Tunku Halim’s ninth supernatural thriller. It tells of a rock star who is pursued by a female demon.
Published by MHP Publishing, it is available in all major booktores.

Self-help books right here:

HOW TO TALK YOUR WAY TO THE TOPBy Michelle Lian
The title of the book is self explanatory. It basically helps you to learn how to better your communication skill, get others to listen and acquire the gift of the gab.
The question is, who is Michelle Lian? Is she an authority to preach on this matter?
For starters, she authored TEAMWORK! Rebuilding Winning Team Spirit and has held seminars or workshops that help people “discover simple truths to better their lives and careers with greater success”.
Besides, her books have been translated into other languages. The English version is readily available in MPH bookstores or online.
These final three books, which are easily available in either MPH or major bookstores, are designed to inspire and better the environment in which you have chosen to live in.
The first one is where you can “acquire secrets of formula feng shui” to “get the kind of results you have always wanted” in finance, health and even better exam grades!
It can be no other than a book by Lillian Too, Flying Star Feng Shui Made Easy.
I can neither make head nor tail of it but a colleague has already snatched the book off my desk, even as I write this.
The second is a result of an enlightenment during the author’s battle with fourth stage terminal cancer relapse after a 12-year remission.
Shery S.L. Lim’s There Is Hope carries all her faith in the big guy with “comforting and encouraging words” for those going through tough times in their lives.
A touch of solidarity is always welcome, no? It sure makes the world a less lonely place.

Lastly, carrying on the theme of solidarity, this slim, pink book, published by MPH Publishing for PRIDE Foundation, highlights personal accounts of cancer patients.
Take Pride In Your Life! also provides with coping tips for cancer patients as well as for those around them to “better manage the illness”.
Included is an audio CD featuring motivational speakers such as Datuk Dr Fadzilah Kamsah, Rene’e Aziz Ahmad and other experts.

The word 'No'

2008-01-11T16:16:00.000-08:00

I wrote this in The Star today:

The word 'No'

For her second collection of short stories, Dark City 2, writer-turned-editor XEUS learns what it means to say ‘No’ and to give heartbreaking feedback to writers.

NO’’ is such an ugly word, compressing rejection, indifference and the fragmentation of dreams into so many petals of dandelion puff.
Goodness knows how many times I’ve been at the receiving end of it, only, I’ve heard it in other forms: “I’m sorry, but there’s another candidate more suitable for the job.” (Translation: “Your interview sucked big-time and the only way we’d want you working for our company is hauling trash cans.”)
“We love your writing, but we’re not currently publishing ?” (Translation: “We lied. We hate everything about your writing.”)
“You’re a nice girl and all, but I’m not ready for a relationship . . .” (Translation: “I wouldn’t go out with you even if my rich parents bribed me with a Bandar Utama semi-D and you wore a paper bag over your head.”)
I used to think “No” meant all that until I found myself on the other end of “No” – the giving end.
Last December, I ran a nationwide contest in The Star calling for submissions to a sequel for my first collection of short stories with a twist, Dark City, which would be imaginatively titled, after an exhaustive nationwide title search, Dark City 2.

Writing is like Math, kind of
I received over 60 submissions, some of them multiple ones, from not only Malaysia, but all over the world.
Ah, the wonders of the worldwide web and interactive blogosphere. Then I started to read them, and I went: “Hmmmmm . . .”
No, don’t get me wrong. There are plenty of people who can write, and do it very well. There are also plenty of people who can tell a story, and tell it very well. But unfortunately most of the time, the two groups don’t mingle. It’s just as my math teacher used to envision it:
“Kawasan tindihan dua subset ini sangat nipis.” (Translation: “When the two groups collide, you get thunder and lightning and J. K. Rowling.”)
A lot of the time, I’ve discovered that those would-be writers with great grammar and wordplay don’t often tell a story well. And those who tell a story well don’t often have great grammar.
Remembering all those times I heard “No,” I thought long and hard about how I was going to couch the dreaded word.
I mean, I wanted my “No” to be spiritually uplifting and enriching. I wanted my “No” to be the pivotal turn in some writer’s life. I wanted my “No,’’ to go down in EQ 101 books as “Now, that’s the way to say ‘No!’ “ Oh boy, who was I kidding? So I chickened out.

The editor who is a chicken
I didn’t say “No.” I said, via the anonymity of e-mail, “Dear _______, I think you are a very good writer and you have the makings of a wonderful storyteller. But the problem with your story is blah, blah, blah, as I’ve outlined very carefully in Microsoft Word red. But not to fear, it can be fixed! Would you mind rewriting to include the comments on blah, blah, blah?”
Most of the time, the writers do acknowledge this by rewriting (some multiple times) and e-mailing back: “Thank you so much for taking the effort to go through my story with a fine-toothed comb. I’m very grateful for this.” And of course, I never hear from some again. (Translation: “If you don’t like my work, fine, I’ll take it elsewhere – YOU SUCK!”)
I must admit to turning to my writer friends for a lot of the stories in Dark City 2. After two months. I was getting desperate because I didn’t have enough stories in the can. I shot off a note to my friend, Malaysia’s own Stephen King, Tunku Halim, and begged, “Help me and I will give you my firstborn child!”
Which of course he promptly did by contributing one story, Hawker Man, about the perils of looking soybean sellers too long in the eye. I then shot off a note to another famous friend, Lydia Teh (Honk! If you are a Malaysian), who refused all offers of my firstborn children because she already has four.
Lydia wrote this in her blog: “I pulled out Hin’s Moment of Truth and e-mailed it to Xeus. Hey, I like the story, she said, but you need to expand it. I reworked the story according to her suggestions.”
So you see, even famous published writers rewrite and rewrite! But among the first-time writers, I found a lot of gems.
Former Star2 assistant editor, Lou Joon Yee, got wonderful reviews for her Till Death which she wrote and rewrote. It's a story about a husband and wife who fantasise about killing, and re-killing, each other (Don’t we all, at some time?)
So the moral of the story is that a “No”, when couched in the emphatic package of caring feedback to help a fellow writer, can be turned into a “Yes.” That is, with multiple rewrites.

Xeus is the author of Dark City and the conceptual editor of the newly released Dark City 2, an anthology of tales with a twist which features 14 authors who are used to rewriting multiple times. For more stories on these agonising rewrites, you can visit her blog at http://www.darkcity-xeus.blogspot.com/

Jumping the shark

2007-12-22T02:25:00.000-08:00

I was talking to Sharon the other day about the plot term 'jumping the shark', and I was telling her what I understood it meant: that you keep coming up with twists just for the sake of it (keeping your readers/viewers interested).

Turns out I wasn't far off.

This is a very funny explanation about plot devices that can be termed 'jumping the shark'. Are you guilty of any of them? (usually happens in serialised stories which have gone on and on for some time.) Do you think Harry Potter has jumped the shark at any moment? Personally, I thought it went downhill after Goblet of Fire.

"The term jumping the shark alludes to a scene in the TV series 'Happy Days' when the popular character Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli jumps over a shark while water skiing. The scene was so preposterous that many believed it to be an ill-conceived attempt at reviving the declining ratings of the flagging show.
Since then, the phrase has become a colloquialism used by critics and fans to denote the point at which the characters or plot of a TV series veer into a ridiculous, out-of-the-ordinary storyline. Such a show is typically deemed to have passed its peak. Once a show has "jumped the shark" fans sense a noticeable decline in quality or feel the show has undergone too many changes to retain its original charm.

1. Same Character, Different Actor
When a new actor is hired to fill the same role of a departed one. However, this category has also been applied to new actors hired to play the role of a new character that is essentially the same as the original.

Notes: Ha ha, this happened in 'Dynasty', 'Dallas' and practically every long-running soap. Worse yet, I remember the one in 'Dynasty' was explained by his having plastic surgery!

2. One of the characters gives birth.
Notes: 'Friends' anyone? Is there anyone who hasn't given birth on 'Friends'? (some multiple times). 'Mad About You'.

3. Death
A character's departure is explained with his/her death. This can be due either to the actor/actress who filled the role leaving the show, or a real-life death.

Notes: Hah! Prison Break, guilty as hell. So is every soap opera. And 'House' has fired all his medical staff.

4. Puberty
Children who are members of the cast enter adolescence and/or approach adulthood.
Notes: Cosby Show. I think in Harry Potter's case, adolescence was a good thing.

5. Singing
Non-musical members of the cast (or those never thought previously to have performing talent) sing as part of a musical number during an episode.

Notes: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the musical episode! Xena Warrior Princess.

6. Two main characters are married.

Notes: Friends again! As far as I'm concerned, Friends jumped the shark after Season 3.

7. Two main characters have sex, particularly if their sexual tension was deemed part of the show's appeal.

Notes: Every series that does this goes downhill after that. Think 'Remington Steele', 'Moonlighting'. 'Cheers'. Thank goodness no one in the 'X-Files' ever had sex. (with each other, I mean). Can people on 'CSI' be considered having 'sex'?

8. Moving
The main characters move from their familiar surroundings, usually to new surrounding some distance away.

9. New kid in town
When a new character (often, a young child) is added to the cast, in response to former child actors who have entered adolescence or adulthood, and/or to revive falling ratings.

Notes: Cosby show! Then again, the 'Desperate Housewives' always have new neighbours. And 'Heroes' keeps on adding people I can never keep track of.

Want to go to a Creative Writing Workshop?

2007-12-18T03:30:00.000-08:00

Guys, Tunku Halim is organising a creative writing workshop! This is gonna be exciting! Bring your kids.

Event: Creative Writing Workshop with Tunku Halim
Venue: The Booker Room at MPH Megastore 1 Utama, Petaling Jaya
Date: 20 January 2008 (Sunday)
Time: 11:00a.m.-3:00p.m.

Ever wanted to write a short story, a longer tale or perhaps even a novel? Tunku Halim, novelist, short-story writer and author of such books as A Children's History of Malaysia, 44 Cemetery Road , Gravedigger's Kiss and the soon-to-be-released Juriah's Song will show you how. By using an array of tools such as setting, dialogue, plot, description, economy of words and creative flow, you'll not only get started with full confidence but you'll also see your work flourish off the page!If you're interested and between the ages 13 and 18 years old, you can pre-register at MPH Megastore 1 Utama's customer service in early January 2008.

Registration fee is RM20 for MPH members and RM30 for non-MPH members with lunch provided.
Course structure:
11:00a.m. – 12:30p.m.: Point of view, Plot, Character, Dialogue
12:30p.m. – 1:15p.m.: Lunch1:15p.m. – 2:30p.m.: Creative Flow, Description, Economy of Words, Setting, Rewriting, Editing2:30p.m. – 3:00p.m.: Discussion

Participants will stand a chance to win an autographed copy of Tunku Halim's Gravedigger's Kiss courtesy of MPH Distributors!

Another review by a famous writer!

2007-12-16T17:02:00.000-08:00

By none other than Tunku Halim! Malaysia's very own Stephen King! Hope you don't mind if I link this because I need to file it as a keepsake.

I truly thought Kenny's cover was stunning but I was a bit disappointed by the production quality of the colours. And TH, I wish all bios were like yours :)

I did have fun writing 'Strong Chemistry' but it was a very difficult story to write as it involved so much research. Had to pore through US chemistry websites to see if my concoctions would work. Then actually set up a little experiment involving my car speaker to see if what my husband postulated will actually work in real life. I remember writing most of it in a taxi back from KLIA.

'Signature Spa' was a lot easier to write because, as Argus will attest, I know everything there is to know about spas, ha ha. And it came up because Argus and I once visited a spa in Langkawi where they literally wrapped us up in wild rice and coconut leaves; hence a 'nasi lemak' spa. 'Signature Spa' is actually meant to be humorous in a dark, tongue-in-cheek way (don't know if that came across!)

Funny how we get our story ideas.

Peering into Dark City 2

A couple of weeks back I was delighted to find several copies of Dark City 2 waiting for me. Once the brown paper was ripped away I beheld the stunning cover by Kenny Mah. (Why on earth I haven’t used him on my recent books still confounds me!)

I read the Editor’s Note, flipped through the stories and then the bio of each writer. The first thing that struck me was that my bio just seemed too long. Next time, I’ll need to be more succinct!
The 4th story was my contribution - “Hawker Man”. I wrote it about 12 months ago when Xeus approached me for a tale. I was grateful for the opportunity as I hadn’t written any fiction (well hadn’t finished any fiction, to be more accurate) for a few years. Although she did ask for a twist at the end of the tale, I told her I wasn’t a twisty kind of guy. So you’ll find that “Hawker Man” hasn’t got much of a twist. But still, I’m pretty proud of it . . . especially the hawker man swinging his white cloth in the air, grinning, as his slippers slap the floor toward you!

I then turned to the first story “Strong Chemistry” by Xeus. Three pages into the story I went “Wow! This is bloody good!”. I have to admit I said it with a touch of envy. This woman can write lah. This is Poe’s “The Pit and the Pendulum” Malaysian-style!

I couldn’t resist reading Xeus’s second tale – “Signature Spa”. A story after my own heart, indeed it was. I was set adrift by the scents of essential oils and I could almost feel the soothing treatments as the oils permeated my skin. I could guess, with trembling delight, at what was going to happen – it was like watching a car crash in slow motion. But the gourmet twist was a surprise. For me, it’s “Paradise Revisited” in 2008!

My congrats to Xeus on her new book, not only as author but editor. Congratulations as well to all those whose stories were published. For those who are published for the first time, it is a very memorable occasion, like no other.

Well done, you guys!

Dark Tales

2007-12-14T06:34:00.000-08:00

This appeared in Star today. Thanks, Argus, for pointing it out! And thanks Daphne, for highlighting this book even though I know it's so NOT your thing :)

A funny thing happened the other day when I met Daphne for the first time. We were at Delish after a LitBlogger's meet and she came up to me and said, "I don't believe I've met you. I'm Daphne." I said, "I'm _____". And she was stymied: "YOU are _______? I've been editing you for years! You write for Star and Galaxie, don't you?"

Thank goodness she was gracious enough not to say "By the way, you were horrible to edit and I used to get nightmares whenever I get your copy."

See what a small world this is?

More Dark Tales

Compiled by DAPHNE LEE

Dark City 2 Compiled by: Xeus Publisher: Midnight Press, 341 pages

DARK City’s second instalment compiles the work of 15 authors, including Tunku Halim, Lydia Teh, Ted Mahsun, Georgette Tan and Xeus, who was solely responsible for the first Dark City collection. Comprising 17 short stories, this Malaysian publication aims to send shivers up your spine, keep you guessing and leave you begging for more. Who knows, there may even be a Dark City 3!

Interview by Kenny Mah

2007-12-11T03:19:00.000-08:00

I'm just putting this here so I can have a permanent link just in case Kenny decides to delete it one day! I just love those photo negative montages Kenny has of his drawings in DC2.

Interview

Finally, after months of waiting… the book is out! I recently interviewed the mastermind behind it all — Xeus. And yes, as a surprise to readers who thought I only did the cover, I did the inside illustrations too!

KENNY: What was your original inspiration for Dark City?

XEUS: Actually, I was interviewing 4 women authors for ‘Her World’. And then it hit me, hey, I want to write a book too!

Dark City is largely inspired by ‘Sin City’, about all the things that can go terribly wrong with city life. KL is an intensely interesting city with so many layers anyway, you can virtually find any situation in it.

Why the change of format for its sequel (i.e. an anthology of different writers)?

Truth? I couldn’t finish writing it myself! I’m involved in writing too many simultaneous books and projects, on top of having a fulltime job. So I thought - why not get other people to write in as well? Give everyone a platform, especially first time writers. It would be an interesting experience to edit conceptually.

And I’m glad I did. I mean, we now have such gems like Lou Joon Yee’s critically acclaimed ‘Till Death’. We have Chua Kok Yee who is such a great storyteller with a sense of pacing and timing. We have Ahmad Azrai who is so lyrical, and we have Bissme, who specialises in the shocking twist. And on top of that, Lydia Teh got to publish her first fiction story, John Ling got to explore the ‘I’ format and Tunku Halim gave me a story that would be the first new one to go into his book ‘Gravedigger’s Kiss’.

And we have Kenny Mah designing the cover!

What would you say would be your most identifiable style (characterisation, genre, plotting, etc.)?

Plotting.

I love plotting. That’s why I write. I have little notes all over to tell me where the plot is heading. Sometimes, I’m so impatient to get to my plot point or big reveal that I actually dread having to write so much to get there! I think I’d do better at screenwriting if that were the case, only I suck at dialogue.

Even when I read books or watch movies/TV, I go essentially for the plot.

However, many critics have pointed out that my most identifiable feature is ‘detailed writing’. And it’s funny, because when I used to write romantic fiction on the net, the feedback was my most identifiable feature is ‘characterisation’. (Hey, it’s romance, there’s not much plot!)

I would say I’m really into characters as well, except in a short story, it’s very difficult to delve fully into character as you won’t have enough pages to go too deep into anything that does not service your plot. I’m not good enough a character writer to fully do that in a short story.

But in a novel, you are fully expected to delve completely into your characters. And you’ll have no excuse because you’ll have plenty of pages for that.

Your stories always comes with a twist in the tale. How do you come up with them?

By misdirecting the reader in one direction, only to serve up the twist in the other direction. It’s actually a classic misdirect, with all the characters doing doublespeak and doublethink (which means they will not say or think anything that will give the ending away, and yet, what they say and think is perfectly in line with the situation).

If this sounds like gobbledygook, I did promise someone I will blog more about it someday. It actually requires quite a detailed explanation!

What are your future plans? Another sequel? Or some other project?

I’m currently in my 3rd write of my children’s book, which is part of a series. This is the one I’m really hoping will be picked up by UK/US. That’s why I’ve taken over 1 1/2 years for it, because I want to make it as good as possible. No, I’m embarrassed to say (hangs head in shame) the characters in it are not Malaysian. (But they are multiracial! That’s gotta count for something!)

If it doesn’t get picked up by UK/US, it’s okay. I have tried. But this is really what I want to do - be a mainstream writer for the world market. And I want to write fulltime.

At the same time, I’m halfway through a book for MPH. It’s non-fiction. I submit one anecdote/chapter a week. This book will probably be finished next April. Beware writers, you might be shown an advanced copy and be asked for quotes!

Interview with Kenny Mah!

2007-12-03T02:12:00.000-08:00

And now we have an interview with the illustrator himself, the illustrious Kenny Mah! Ta da (drumroll)

1. How did you start out being an illustrator?

Almost by accident, actually. I've always loved drawing, painting, design, anything to do with art, really. There's a long-running story in my family that I started both reading and drawing at the age of two, a sign of precociousness that I hope I have outgrown.

Then there were the amateur comic strips I drew as a teenager that were never shown to anyone else... but the correct answer to your question, if there is one, I suppose, would be when I started blogging and despairing of suitable graphics to use (this was in 2001, when blogging was still a new thing), decided to dabble with design myself.

And a few years later, here I am. I'm still an amateur/freelancer, but the passion does feed the heart, if not the belly...

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2. What gave you the inspiration for Dark City 2's cover?

Basically, I wanted a cover that moved away from the garish, long-haired "pontianak" look of so many local horror/suspense/mystery novels. I wanted something more sensual and classy-looking. To this end, I decided upon the concept of a sad, contemplative lady with secrets to hide.

Then I did three versions of the cover and had my blog readers vote on their favourite cover... which ended up being rather different from my own expectations! But what ever is marketable will be marketed, I say. Readers rule!

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3. You're a writer too. What do you write?
An editor once called my pieces of writing "mood pieces" and she meant that both as a compliment and a word of caution, that such writing doesn't really have a market. I'm not too sure about that.

While I agree that having work that conforms to the "accepted" norm of what is available (e.g. novels, short stories, non-fiction) does help in its sales at least, I also believe that readers can discern for themselves what they would like to read; I've gotten enough response from my blog readers to glean at least some evidence of this.

And at the end of the day, what I write about is humanity --- our emotions and fears and greed and hope and lust and great, romantic love --- and I believe this is something we can all relate to.

==============================

4. How long do you take to do one illustration? What inspires you?

It depends. I wished I had more time with the DC2 illustrations, for example, for I can do some very intricate, complex work. But deadlines do dictate delivery, and as such, days would be sufficient. For more complicated, detailed illustrations, we could be talking weeks here.

And inspiration comes from my reading, my interpretation of the source material, i.e. the stories in this case.

==============================

5. Do you have any advice for budding illustrators out there?
What? When I am barely a budding illustrator myself? There is still so much for me to learn and explore and experiment with. So, if there is any advice to be given out at all, it'd be something I'm taking myself: Learn. Explore. Experiment.

And have fun while you're at it!

Eudora Lynn strikes again

2007-12-01T01:29:00.000-08:00

"I can come out of the closet now!" I tell Eric Forbes, dancing up and down when I met him last week. "The HR Director of my company wrote a book and he went public about it on NST. I believe I can come out!"

"Oh good," he immediately says, "does that mean you intend to use your real name from now on?"

I thought long and hard about it. Then I scrunched up my face and said, "Nah. Not for this book I'm writing for you. Too many real life people involved."

Anyhow, Eudora Lynn, or Lin, is a name I've used for years when writing for Cleo, Her World and a lot of other magazines. And to think I coined it because I used to use a Search engine called Eudora on the WWW, back before Google was ever invented.

Here's another abbreviated chapter from my new, yet unpublished non-fiction book for 2008. This one appeared in the Star today, which again I would have probably missed had not Chua Kok Yee sms-ed to say, "Hey, you're Eudora Lynn, aren't you?" Too bad I can't link the cute artist's caricature that went with it.

Captivated with Miller

Who says only teenagers go gaga over stars?

By EUDORA LYNN

I’m pushing 40, married and I still fall into horribly juvenile obsessions with movies, TV and celebrity. I know, I know, my life is so lame, it needs a psychedelic wheelchair. I can’t stave off these obsessions no matter how hard I try.

But honestly, when I was nine, it was as difficult to be a fan as it is for a caveman to understand the concept of iTunes. Back then, I had a major crush on Christopher Reeve. You know, the Superman before he had his multiple returns in Brandon Routh, Tom Welling (Smallville) and Dean Cain in Lois and Clark.

Of course, it wasn’t easy to be a fan in those days. First, you had to bug your parents to take you to the cinema to watch Superman and mind you, they’d only take you once. Cinema was a big thing those days; we didn’t have multiplexes. There was just one huge cinema and everyone had to queue up to watch (gasp) the same movie.

Then you’d have to wait for videotape. You might have heard of it. They are those bulky things before the invention of VCDs and DVDs. In those days, we only had one VCR per house (not two DVD players in every kid’s room like you do today) so you had to fight for viewing rights. And if you watched the same videotape over and over, it would get fungus-y and green-flecked and totally destroy your VCR tape head.

We’d also collect magazines and newspaper articles for scrapbooks. These would yellow with age and turn into something an Egyptian mummy might call chic. You’d leaf through your mother’s old newspapers, wondering: “Where the heck did that yummy photo of Chris Reeve go?”

The articles on your faves were also periodic, and so fandom was a draggy process necessitating the patience of a full-time mum with 14 kids.

Yup, those were the pretty grim things we did as a fan in those days.

What would we do without the tube?

These days, it’s a complete turnaround.

Recently, a friend got me hooked on watching TV’s Prison Break. I bought the DVD Season One box set to please her (“Okay, okay, I’ll watch it just to get you off my back”), and left it vegetating on my shelf for six months before I finally settled down to watch the first episode.

And wham! I was hooked. The plotting is incredible, the pace frenetic and the script twists and turns like a badly-designed section in old Petaling Jaya. But in particular, I was hooked by the gorgeous lead actor with the incredibly green, trembling knee-inducing eyes, Wentworth Miller.

I can wax on and on in extremely graphic terms about the delectable Mr Miller, who has a face one can look at forever, but this G-rated article (and newspaper) isn’t about that.

So what does one do as a recently converted fan?

That’s right. These days, one Googles.

One flick of a mouse and I’d learnt everything I needed to know about Mr Miller: every magazine article, every topless photo shoot, every Wikipedia entry. Oh, he’s a Princeton graduate and Golden Globe Best Actor nominee – wow. Oh, he’s half-Black, half-White though you wouldn’t know it to look at him – wow. Oh, he comes from a family of famous Yale professors, lawyers, African American emancipists and Rhodes Scholars – double wow. Oh, like any other spectacularly handsome single actor, he might be gay – pffttttt.

You tube, I tube

After one Googles, one YouTubes.

Another flick of a mouse and I have multiple downloads of Mr Miller on various publicity interviews around the world – Miller on Ellen DeGeneres, Miller in Korea, Miller in Australia, Miller on E!, Miller playing the fantasy guy in Mariah Carey’s music videos, Miller insisting rather heatedly and emphatically he’s not gay.

And after one YouTubes, one does the necessary evil if one has the ultimate patience. That’s right. One gets one’s husband and brother to download yet-to-be-seen-in-Malaysia Prison Break episodes from BitTorrent.

Never mind if they take a day and a half to stream – you get to go online the next day and chat about it on the multiple fan forums with like-minded people from Scandinavia and Swaziland.

Feel like bashing the screenwriters for killing off your favourite characters? They’re online too, peevishly reading what you have to say about their latest plot shenanigans. So post a hate message on a board and watch them squirm to defend themselves. Or post a love message for Mr Miller; after all, he’s been known to go to Internet cafés to Google himself every few weeks.

Oh yes, the fan world is one gorgeous liquid interactive mess today.

Interview with John Ling!

2007-11-27T01:54:00.000-08:00

Here's a short interview with John Ling. I must say I loved 'Zero Sum', and I know Argus certainly did too.

1. Without giving anything away, how did you come up with (your story) for DC2?

I have always been eager to tackle a story in the first-person perspective. But for a long time, I just couldn't find a good enough reason to do it. Since the first-person narrator is unreliable and egocentric, it presents all kinds of difficulties.
DC2, however, gave me the opportunity to get past my reservations.
Instead of telling a tale that is realistic and objective, I decided to approach it from a different angle.

ZERO SUM is about a man so consumed by hate that he devotes himself to vengeance. His state of mind is in question. He is egocentric to the extreme. He is not a born killer, but he morphs into one. And the fact that the narrative is unreliable only adds to the flavour of the story; a mix of surreality and madness.

2. How long did it take you to write it?

It took me around two weeks of initial writing, followed by another week of rewriting under your guidance. I must admit, I'm pretty slow!

3. What made you want to become a writer? What have you written so far?

I have always been a reader from a young age. I was one of those youngsters who would rather hibernate indoors with a book than go outside to play football. So the desire to write came naturally. I dabbled with fairy tales in the Enid Blyton style.

Though, it wasn't until I was 18 or 19 that I began writing seriously.

I decided to try my hand at thrillers in the Robert Ludlum/Tom Clancy style, and had stories published in several American and British publications. In 2005, I gathered all my previously published material in one volume called FOURTEEN BULLETS, which was published by a small American press in Pennsylvania.

At the moment, I am currently working on my first novel.

4. Who are your favourite authors? What have you learnt from them?

My all-time favourite is Charles Dickens. His storytelling is so rich, so textured, you find yourself believing that his characters actually do have a life and a purpose outside of the story. Each character is, in fact, a universe in and onto himself.

Reading Dickens has encouraged me not to neglect supporting characters.

They can make or break a story.

5. What are your writing habits? Why do you write?

I tend to write in terms of 'scenes', not necessarily 'chapters'. Once a 'scene' is completed, I'm done for the day, and I will spend the remainder of my time polishing up what I have written. I don't usually find it productive to simply bang out thousands of words at one go, because two-thirds are likely to be eliminated anyway. Admittedly, I am fussy. I tend to under-write, rather than over-write. My reasoning is: it's better to leave readers wanting more, instead of wanting less.

Writing for me has always been less of a choice, and more of an compulsion.

Think of it this way. You are stuck at your writing corner for hours, days, weeks, trying to articulate your thoughts, while life passes you by. It's anti-social. It's unhealthy. Why on earth would you do such a thing?

Unless, of course, something compels you to do it.

Like a ferret darting and gnawing inside you, desperate to be let out.

Ultimately, I write because I am still struggling to make sense of certain traumas. Like Dickens, or Hemingway, or Tolkien, I find it easier to address them through fiction.

6. Do you have any advice to give to budding authors?

Here's a statistic: the average writer has to write half-a-million words before he gets his first novel published.

In other words, lots of trial and error.

So don't be disheartened if you don't feel like you are making any headway just yet. Writing, like most things in life, is less about talent, and more about craft. The more you write, the more you improve.

Keep pushing on, keep persevering, don't give up.

Sat at Litblogger's Club

2007-11-23T23:13:00.000-08:00

Tan Twan Eng draws the crowd in! But seriously, everyone is so delighted we have our very own Malaysian Booker Prize long-listed nominee in our midst to give us tips! The area was packed to overflowing and everyone was pumped for lively discussion.

Things I have learned from Tan Twan Eng:

1. He corresponded only through email to lit agents with a cover letter and his first 3 chapters. Apparently, nobody snail mails anymore! He just went through a list of agents who are interested in representing the genre.

2. He took 1 year to write the book and 8 - 10 months to revise it. From 220,000 words, he cut it down to 160,000. He was also asked to shift certain sections around to make it more readable.

3. He set it in WW2 because it was a part of history most people around the world will identify with. When you write a book for the international market, he says, you've got to reach out to the largest section of readers possible. You can't do that if you write contemporary Malaysia. (This of course provoked a much heated debate from the audience, but IMHO, Tan has got something there.)

4. He didn't have a plan when he started out to write. He just knew vaguely a beginning and an end. The rest is added on as he wrote it.

The 2nd speaker, D. Devika Bai ('The Flight of Swans, Monsoon Books), also gave marvelous insights.

1. She did a lot of research because she set the novel in WW2 India, moving to Malaysia, then back to India.

2. She sent her manuscript direct to publishers, who were very kind to reply to her directly to tell her the good points and the 'buts'. A famous publisher actually told her she 'tells too much', not 'show'. For her 2nd book, she says she really made an effort to show, not tell.

3. She tried to get it published with Silverfish but at that time, Raman told her she started off the story in India, not Malaysia, and he'd rather she start it off in Malaysia to qualify it for Malaysiana.

After the sessions, it was get together time to network and catch up. Sharon Bakar actually told me something that really made my day; she told me how much she loved my previous DC1 story, 'Coup of the Century' because she absolutely did not see the ending coming, and that she thinks I write very good dialogue (?? I think my dialogue is one of my weak points in my writing and that's what's stopping me from writing screenplays!!). But thanks so much, Sharon, glad you liked the story.

And then she told me something else that was the icing on the cake - she says that Tan Twan Eng (who had already gone off for lunch) thinks I write really well and have an eye for storytelling - and I didn't know really whether to believe her or she was just pulling my leg! Of course, I will now have to confirm that with him. I didn't even know he bothered to pick up my book! I am so far removed from being a serious literary and historical writer as the moon is from poor demoted Pluto!

Thanks TTE (if that's true, of course!)

On to other things:

VERY IMPORTANT

Sharon Bakar invites Dark City 2 writers to go on her Readings. I would like to recommend Jennifer Wan, Bissme S, Chua Kok Yee and Ahmad Azrai to go because I think the experience is going to be good. However, if anyone else wishes to go, please email me and I will give your name to Sharon.

I was also talking to Sharon and others about the terms 'jumping the shark', 'misdirect' and 'doublespeak', which are all screenwriting terms and how to twist your plot, and I did promise Sharon I'd blog about it in a later post.

Review from a famous writer

2007-11-23T17:42:00.000-08:00

I was very chuffed when Lydia phoned me when I was in Vietnam and said she read Dark City 2 till 3 am!

This is her review posted at her blog

"Two local books came into my possession recently. One is Dark City 2, the sequel to Xeus’s Dark City which had garnered much praise in the media last year. I have four contributor’s copies in my possession for my story, Hin’s Moment of Truth. This story was first written for my writing correspondence course several years back. The assignment was to write a short story with a surprise ending. The tutor thought it was a good effort but alas I couldn’t find a suitable publication for the story.

One day I was going through my bank of unpublished and unfinished stories in my computer when a thought struck me. Am I such a lousy story writer that I have difficulty find homes for my fiction? I pulled out Hin’s Moment of Truth and emailed it to Xeus. Hey, I like the story, she said but you need to expand it. I reworked the story according to her suggestions. And I must say she’s a very good conceptual editor.

I read Dark City 2 in three hours. Most of the stories are exciting and unpredictable in their own way but two of my favourites are Xeus’s Signature Spa and Chua Kok Yee’s The Penalty. It so happened that my 16 year-old like these two stories too. (Don’t you like mine? I asked. Yeah, but I’ve read your story before, so it didn’t count, she said.)

In the Signature Spa, the protagonist, Gaia got her just desserts while enjoying her ‘Heavenly Spa’ treatment. In The Penalty, we empathize with Ah Tiong who got into trouble with the loan sharks when he lost his football bets. The ending came as a surprise as I had expected another twisty scenario.

Tunku Halim’s Hawker Man is a pulsating read but the ending is rather macabre. Cain Rashchall’s Maid to Order is quite risque and may score with male readers."

Comments:

I liked Lydia's short story. It was very Malaysian and had a nice macabre ending to it. I believe we have a potential to make every one of our stories marketable. We just need an able beta to spot our mistakes and how we can flesh out the plot and characters more because we are so into our own story we can't spot anything ourselves. All of us are always learning and when we write more in that particular genre, we become better and better.

Sun review Dark City 2

2007-11-22T00:08:00.000-08:00

Bet you've never seen me update so much before, eh? I expected this review to appear at the end of the month actually. And I would have totally missed it if not for my colleague who asked me, "Wah, you got new book out already ah?"

Here is a review from yesterday's Sun newspaper:

Review by N. Shashi Kala

"In this sequel to the twisty, terror ride that was the original Dark City, 17 disturbing new tales of murder and debauchery, some of which strike quite close to home, are revealed.

From the claustrophobic tomb of Strong Chemistry, the perils of banking (All in a Day's Work), to the ultimate punishment for gamblers (The Penalty) and the calculated payback for murder (Zero Sum), 15 writers (including the Sun's very own Bissme S.) flex their creative storytelling abilities to tease and tantalise the reader.

My favourite story in the collection is Till Death (Lou Joon Yee), which is black humour at its best when a married couple's fantasy of killing one another takes an unusual twist. On another level, the story also shows the damage a poisonous atmosphere at home can wreak on its inhabitants.

A more lyrical piece is Like Lingering Leaves: My Mother (Gwen Fontenoy) which has a daughter returning after a six-month absence to find her mother and home gone back to nature.

Though mostly enjoyable, the overall quality of the stories is not as good as in the first book, which was a little more inventive in terms of plot and twists. With few exceptions, most of the stories in Dark City 2 follow a predictable pattern, and one or two even run out of steam before the end (Tunku Halim's Hawker Man, in particular, is a misfire.)

Still, Dark City 2 proves that there are good Malaysian short-story writers out there with an eye for detail and a love of the macabre."

My comments:
1. OK guys, a mostly positive review! Congrats to Lou Joon Yee for charming so many people with her lovely story. If you missed how she came to write it, please scroll down to 'Interview with Argus Lou'.

2. Bearing in mind I also included Gwen Fontenoy's poetic Like Lingering Leaves because it is a surrealistic fantasy and I wanted a bit of variety in the book.

3. And everyone, always remember a review is just one person's opinion. Goodness knows I've been the target of so many reviews, probably the most of any Malaysian writer, and I've learned to accept everything with grace, good or bad. It doesn't mean if one person doesn't like your story, everyone else won't either. (And vice versa).

4. Please hurl bouquets and brickbats at the Sun if you agree/disagree with the review (!)

5. Okay, we as short story writers need to be more inventive with our plotting and twists in general. I'm coming to that in a later post on Drama 101 - secrets I have learned about plotting twists (see first section below).

Drama 101: The Basics

2007-11-20T23:54:00.000-08:00

I promised I would share whatever I learnt about writing through my new motto: “To learn is good, to share is better”. So this is the opening salvo.

Now I love prison stories. I wrote a prison escape short story (‘One if By Land’) for Dark City 1, and another ‘Get man out of imprisonment’ tale for Dark City 2 (‘Strong Chemistry’), all these before I ever saw Prison Break.

I can honestly say I’ve learnt more about storytelling from ‘deconstructing’ Prison Break Seasons 1 and 2 than any ‘How to write’ book. This is gleaned from listening to the screenwriters/producers’ DVD commentaries and what they post on the Internet. (Prison Break creators and screenwriters, about 6-7 of them, tend to be very generous with sharing). You see, I wanted to know what made the show so addictive to the extent I watched 44 episodes back to back in 1 week, neglecting to visit Lydia in Klang during my leave. (This has never happened to me before: addicted to a TV show, I mean, not visiting Lydia in Klang. Hmmm. Maybe I’ll take that back. I’ve never visited Lydia in Klang.)

So I made a lot of notes during the course of those 44 episodes which I’m going to post here.

Prison Break Season 1 (Golden Globe nominated for Best Drama and originally conceived as a mini-series called “Steven Spielberg presents Prison Break” before the great director bowed out to direct ‘War of the Worlds’) is the most classical textbook example of Drama 101 you’ll ever get. Drama 101 is deconstructed like this:

Act 1: Put man up tree

Act 2: Throw stones at him

Act 3: Get him safely down again

So let’s you say you write the premise:

“Man willfully commits a crime to he can go to prison to break out his brother, who is innocent but on Death Row, after exhausting all legal possibilities. To do this, he tattoos a map of the prison on the one thing he can bring with him inside – his body. He has 1 month to do this before his brother faces the electric chair.”

Okay, so you’ve put him up the “tree”, which is the prison. You’ve even given him a timeline: 1 month – to set the pace.

Now you go to Act 2: Throw stones at him.

Drama 101 thrives on Murphy’s Law: “If anything can go wrong, it will.” Stones, curveballs, arrows, hard pellets, even bombs must be thrown at the hero, who must never be allowed to rest. (The moment he rests is the end of your story.)

Now, even if you know very little about prisons (such as a thirty-something woman like myself), you can immediately jot down a few notes of what can happen to your hero.

Things that can happen to your hero if he remains PASSIVE (which means if he’s static, and doesn’t choose to act at all):

- he can get beaten up, mutilated, discriminated against, tortured, raped by both inmates and guards etc

- he can be caught up in all events that can happen in a prison – riots, racial war, drug trafficking, black market profiteering etc

But your hero isn’t passive (which means he’s not going to sit down and just let things happen to him), he has an overarching plan, which makes him ACTIVE. So now, you jot down all the things that can happen to dampen his escape plan, called OBSTACLES:

- If he maps out his escape route, have things go wrong to that route at every turn:

OBSTACLES:

MECHANICAL: unexpected physical barriers, such as a reinforced concrete duct, inability to get the tools/chemicals he needs to escape

LEGAL: forces can conspire to transfer him/his brother out, his brother’s execution date is speeded up, he gets a new cellmate who doesn’t sleep so he can’t dig his way out

PEOPLE: people don’t behave the way he wants them to, people he wants to manipulate can’t be manipulated, people find out about his escape plan, people double-cross him, he’s hampered by his own conscience, people he plans to use die unexpectedly

Then you go t o ACT 3: Get him safely down again, which will be explored in a later post.

Okay, now let’s take something as radically different from a male-orientated prison story as you can get: Chick Lit 101. The same rules apply:

Act 1: Get woman up tree – let’s say she desires a man/job she can’t hope to get at the outset of the story because she’s such a pathetic loser

Act 2: Throw stones at her – the obstacles are plentiful: man has beautiful current girlfriend, man has terrifying mother/sister, man won’t give her time of day because of her looks, her boss is a terrifying bitch who works her from 8 to midnight, she has a poisonous office co-worker who’s out to get her

Act 3: She solves all her problems, gets man/coveted job and all’s well that ends well.

It’s easy, isn’t it? Now we can take as many genres as we can get (horror, sci-fi, fantasy, crime) and apply these same rules and see what we can come with. We’ll already have an outline for an entire novel.

NEXT: BUT IN REAL LIFE, WE WRITERS HAVE DIFFICULTY THINKING OF OBSTACLES FOR OUR HERO TO SOLVE! AND WHAT’S WORSE, GETTING HIM SAFELY DOWN AGAIN!

Dark City 2 in Edge Financial Daily

2007-11-20T04:49:00.000-08:00

Today, Dark City 2 is featured as the PICK OF THE DAY in Edge Financial Daily. The snippet says:

"Dark City 2 is the second installment of the national bestseller Dark City, which received critical acclaim from local and foreign media. The book features a collection of 17 diabolically entertaining tales by 15 authors from Malaysia, the UK and Switzerland. The book will leave you at the edge of your seat as every story has a twist. Writers include Xeus, Tunku Halim, Lydia Teh, Gwen Fontenoy, The Edge Financial Daily's copy editor Ahmad Azrai, Lou Joon Yee, the Sun's Bissme S., Cain Raschall and others. Available at bookstores nationwide. Priced at RM 27.90."

Wow! Hope we can live up to that blurb. For the record, the person who wrote that DID read the book.

Interview with Argus Lou!

2007-11-18T18:51:00.000-08:00

As promised, this will be the first of my blogs interviews with Dark City 2 authors. Argus Lou, who edited the first and second books grammatically, is on first. And she's already gotten her first complimentary review, courtesy of an SMS by a newspaper editor:

"Just read 'Till Death' and wanted to say how much I enjoyed it. Ally McBeal meets Norman Bates. A true black comedy on one level; an exploration of parental poisoning; a look at how murderous fantasies are translated into reality."

Congrats, Argus!

This is the interview.

1. Without giving anything away, how did you come up with (your story) for DC2?

I had already edited several DC2 stories, so I was wondering what sort of plot would fit the themes and style of the book. News reports tell us that a lot of murder cases are between husbands and wives -- hence, the title from the abbreviation of the nuptial phrase 'till death do us part'. So I began to think about how a spouse would consider killing the other half. And what would drive them to such thoughts. (Hands up, any wife or husband who has never even lightly entertained such a thought in moments of great exasperation!) But I didn't want it to be a straight murder story -- and wished to engage the reader in wondering what's really happening in the first few scenarios.

2. How long did it take you to write it?
Three to four hours. Then you made me do a few rewrites and add some details.

3. What made you want to become a writer? What have you written so far?
I'm driven by the connection between writer and reader -- as I'm a hungry reader myself. If I succeed in conveying a thought, an idea, a feeling or an atmosphere to a total stranger, then I feel elated and gratified. I've written part of a children's novel, with a few short stories in progress. For many years, I was a feature writer and copy editor for The Star newspaper in Malaysia, and edited CLEO magazine (Malaysian edition) for a couple of years in the mid-1990s. I've also written book reviews and film reviews.

4. Who are your favourite authors? What have you learnt from them?
From Chuck Palahniuk, I'm trying to learn an economy of words and crazy plotlines. From Alice Munro, I learn about observing relationships, especially between couples. From Paul Auster, I'm trying to learn how to create more complicated plots with layers of perception. I love Anthony Burgess, too -- he has such an easy prose style in 'The Malayan Trilogy'. And I was charmed by Tan Twan Eng's descriptive powers in 'Gift of Rain'.

From beautifully illustrated children's books, I attempt to keep my sense of wonderment and -- I hope! -- expand my imagination and creativity. Since I'm learning German, I've discovered some lovely children's books and wish to translate them into English (if no one has done it yet).

5. What are your writing habits? Why do you write?
Terrible! I wish I were more disciplined. Sometimes I wish the Internet would break down every few days so I'd have no choice but to set to work on my stories. I feel I have to read for 4 hours every one hour that I write. Wish I had a computer that were linked directly to my brain, so when I think up plotlines, characters and scenes, it can process them into words at once.

I wonder why I write, too... other than the reasons stated in response to question 3 above. Perhaps writing, in a way, would give evidence of my existence at the end of my life. And why that would be important, I've no idea. A sense of vanity perhaps?

6. Do you have any advice to give to budding authors?
I'm a beginning fiction writer myself, so I can't really say. I read your advice and that of other authors all the time. But I must say writing fiction requires one to live and observe life all at the same time -- strange feeling, that.

Interview by Tunku Halim

2007-11-17T01:31:00.000-08:00

The venerable Stephen King of Malaysia has just interviewed me for his blog, which promptly gave me a couple of ideas:

1. I shall interview as many DC2 contributors as possible and put it up on this blog (thanks, TH, for the idea and thanks for allowing me to do this after clearing with you, since it was your idea in the first place)

2. I enjoyed doing the interview about writing so much I think I shall post more about what I've learned about the writing process. Learning is good. Sharing is better!

BTW, Dark City 2 is already distributed in places like MPH MidValley (under Hot and New section as well as a prominent display in Malaysiana, I was told), Kinokuniya etc etc. See, I told you it would take a month!

Meanwhile, this is the interview

"Riding upon the blood soaked success of Dark City, Xeus, our Malaysian femme fatale, has just released Dark City 2 - a collection of ‘twisted’ stories, this time by guest authors including myself, Lydia Teh, John Ling, Bissme S, Jennifer Wan, Chua Kok Yee and a host of others.

I thought it’s an apt time for us to now delve into Xeus’s brain, to see how it ticks and what worms we might uncover!

Here’s the interview…

When did you first start writing short stories?

In 2005 actually, when I wrote Dark City. Previously, I had only written non-fiction articles for newspapers and magazines. I decided to try my hand at a new genre.

How long did it take you to write Dark City?

Surprisingly fast. 2 months for the first draft and 2 more months to rewrite it. I did 11 rewrites, each progressively faster than the previous one.

Is there any particular reason why you’ve chosen to write in this genre?

None other than the fact it’s quicker to finish a short story than a complete novel. I’m still in the second rewrite of a children’s book I completed and it has taken me a year and a half! Short stories are so rewarding in that you can finish each one and feel a profound sense of accomplishment.

Is it hard coming up with a twist for each story?

Not that difficult once I got the hang of it. I studied short stories extensively before I started out — the literary ones from Fitzgerald and Faulkner, the tongue-in-cheek ones from Roald Dahl and Jeffrey Archer. Then I would write a brief treatment for each idea, something that would go: “Girl works for a bar. TV is on. Newflash about a serial killer on the prowl. Girl walks home and is stalked by a serial rapist/killer. Write in POV of girl as a victim. REVEAL: Girl is actually the serial killer.”

I filed a lot of ‘treatments’ this way, and as I wrote, I kept getting more ideas for stories.

What advise have you for budding writers?

Read as much as you can. Learn from the writers you like. But there’s a difference between reading for pleasure and reading as a writer. When you read as a professional writer, you’re consciously looking out for plot points, twists, the way a certain sentence is phrased. For example, Jeffrey Deaver goes for the classic ‘misdirect’ in his short stories. However, Stephen King writes his short stories straight - there’s usually no twist in them. Jeffrey Archer condenses character backstory extremely well.

I would also advise a budding writer to watch as many movies and TV shows as possible, because they’re also all about storytelling. For sheer audacity of plotting, twists, classic ‘misdirect’ and cliffhanger writing, every writer must watch ‘Prison Break’. And more importantly, learn from it."

We're on for LitBlogger's Jan 26!

2007-11-09T00:16:00.000-08:00

Guys!

Please check out Eric's blog:

There will be no Breakfast Club for LitBloggers in December 2007

COMING IN JANUARY 2008

The 11th MPH Breakfast Club for LitBloggers on Saturday, January 26, 2008, will be featuring the Malaysian Prince of Darkness, Tunku Halim, whose collection of ghostly tales, 44 Cemetery Road: The Best of Tunku Halim (MPH Publishing, May 2007), was published in May 2007. Touted as Malaysia’s very own Stephen King, Halim, who is equally adept at both fiction and nonfiction, has another collection of new and selected stories out, Gravedigger’s Kiss: More of Tunku Halim (MPH Publishing, October 2007).

Dark City (Midnight Press, 2006) author Xeus is back with Dark City 2 (Midnight Press, 2008), this time as the editor of a brand-new collection of more stories that exposes the murkiness that lurks beneath life’s apparent ordinariness. Of course, she has a story or two tucked into this collection as well. There are stories by Lydia Teh, Tunku Halim, John Ling, Bissme, Jennifer Wan, Chua Kok Yee and a host of others as well.

Eric Forbes will be introducing Tunku Halim and Xeus while Janet Tay will be moderating the session.

SOOOOOOO.... who would like to be in this panel? Everyone who has contributed a story to Dark City 2 is welcome. It will be an extremely fun meet with everybody there. Please respond if you can come.

Meeting Dark City 2 writers

2007-11-04T23:39:00.001-08:00

It was such a joy to go around meeting Dark City 2 contributors, many for the first time. I was going around delivering books and cash/cheques, and met everyone for the first time. Chua Kok Yee. Jennifer Wan and Bissme are such fun and talented people. I also learnt things about them I never knew. For example, who'd ever have thought Jennifer Wan actually worked in my very same building? Who'd ever though Chua Kok Yee is such a young, cool-looking guy in an absolutely cool industry? Who'd ever thought Bissme is tall, dark and handsome?

I also made a boo boo and described Chua Kok Yee as a MU fan because his character in the Penalty seemed to keep placing bets on MU. He went ballistic of course and declared he's NOT a MU fan but a LIVERPOOL one. (cringes, please don't kill me). :) Mea culpa. It's just I got so into his character I immediately assumed he would bet on MU.

Besides, we got our first unofficial review from Lydia Teh, who called me when I was overseas last week to tell me she stayed up till 3 am reading the book. Blog about it, Lydia, I naturally yell over the phone! But she called to say she loved Chua Kok Yee's story, The Penalty, and my story, Signature Spa.

I've been told the book is already available in MPH 1 Utama, which buys directly from the distributor. I guess the rest will slowly follow suit once the POs are raised and the books transferred to the warehouse.

As for publicity, I begged Star for some and Sun will put out a review. Haven't approached NST yet.

Turning book reviewer

2007-11-02T15:54:00.000-07:00

I've added book reviews recently to my ever growing plethora of stuff I have to write but can't find the time and energy to do. Bmmmm. This is my first book review in years, appearing in The Star last week. Book is courtesy of Eric Forbes, who didn't want to read chick lit so he passed it to me:)

Don’t judge by its cover

Review by EUDORA LYNN

A perennial chick lit reader is pleasantly surprised when she picks up what seems like her usual fare only to discover a novel that serves up something lost and unexpected.

THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HERE

By Cecelia Ahern

Publisher: HarperCollins, 496 pages

(ISBN: 978-0007258871)

I MUST confess I didn’t much like Cecelia Ahern’s explosive debut novel, PS, I Love You. It was a case of faulty advertising. You see, the cover had me convinced it was light-hearted chick lit in the vein of Shopaholic-meets-writing pad-because-I-can’t-afford-a-computer, which is what I usually like.

But the novel’s “damsel in extreme distress” protagonist turned out to be weepy, self-indulgent and totally dependent on her late husband’s every whim. Chick lit protagonists are supposed to be confident, liberated and spunky! And so, with a sigh, I gave up reading Ahern.

When a friend handed me There’s No Place Like Here from Ireland’s most famous First Daughter, I cringed, of course, expecting to meet women who stare vacantly into space, waiting for Prince Charming to bail out their plumbing.

But Sandy Shortt, the 1.8m tall protagonist of Ahern’s newest story, (paperback released in June) is a refreshingly no-nonsense, occasionally wisecracking ex-cop who now runs a missing persons agency. (She’s Shortt but she’s tall, geddit?)

Because of her height, Sandy always felt ostracised as a child. In addition, she has a predilection for losing things. An odd sock here and there. A diary. A ratty teddy bear. Even her 10-year-old neighbour, Jenny-May Butler, who under angelic curls turns out to be the class bully.

There’s No Place Like Here plays on the theme that your missing things have to go someplace. Why do socks vanish in the washing machine? Why is it that when you’re sure you’ve put your car keys in your bag, you simply can’t find them? And why is it people sometimes go missing and never turn up even though there is no evidence of foul play?

Sandy is determined to find the answers. She has spent her entire childhood trying to find the answers, turning her parents’ house inside out each time she lost an item, to the extent they send her for psychological counselling at age 14 with dishy shrink Gregory.

Then one day, on the trail of a missing person, the adult Sandy finds herself wandering down an unknown path in a forest and goes missing herself.

This is when, instead of conforming to expectations set up by the chick lit cover, the book moves firmly into Mitch Albom-The-Five-People-You-Meet-in-Heaven territory. Which is not a bad thing.

In the forest, Sandy stumbles onto a group of people who have been missing since the days of the Beatles (they are now appropriately aged). And they lead her to a place called Here, one village among many, all made up of thousands of missing people from all over the world.

“Here” is a place where everything goes when it’s missing – old socks, airport luggage, cell phones, trays of doughnuts, loose change. In Here, Sandy finds almost every Irish missing person she has been looking for her entire life. Save the one she is currently looking for.

If you’re looking for romance in There’s No Place Like Here, be prepared to be disappointed. There’s very little of it. Any relationship is bittersweet, more in the vein of enduring-the-test-of-time than the loin-engaging, heart-pounding ones of traditional chick lit.

Sandy is a strange heroine with many layers. She’s selfish with her relationships and her family, and yet, she’s dedicated to helping the families of the missing people she has vowed to find. She hates children, and yet is devoted to finding them when they are gone. She’s guarded, occasionally rude, and suspicious of people who are trying to be kind.

With unexpected turns and revelations of the human condition every step of the way, I found myself mesmerised with the pseudo-fantastical There’s No Place like Here. Ahern has done her missing persons’ research well, blending wishful fantasy with cold-blooded reality in skilful, very readable prose.

If you want something unexpected, this will be your cup of tea. Just don’t be fooled by the cover design.

Chapter from new non-fiction book

2007-10-25T16:04:00.000-07:00

Meeting Lydia is always a breeze. She inspires me, simple as that. I was telling her all about my woes - got handbag snatched (RM 5000 gone altogether), bumped my car on a curb, my 2 maids did a Prison Break Indonesian style and ran away from my house, stealing 2 handphones, and she cheered me up completely.

And she's also a great font of information. Like she told me this was up in last Saturday's Star (as if I would notice, being out of town!)

This is actually an abbreviated chapter from my new book to be hopefully published by MPH next year. I'm going under the name Eudora Lynn for all newspaper, magazine articles and non-fic books under the same branding from now on. (Right Eric?)

http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2007/10/20/lifefocus/19112953&sec=lifefocus

Highway bullies

By EUDORA LYNN

It doesn’t pay to be too aggressive on the highway if you are a woman.

I would like to tell you two true stories, which might make you rethink the way you drive.

You see, I am an “efficient” driver, in the sense that I don’t believe we should waste more time on the highway than necessary.

Perhaps I should add the word “safe” as well, which means I intend to get to my destination as quickly as possible without a) breaking any safety rules, b) leaving a litter of mangled cars in my wake, c) having the blood of stray cats smeared on my front bumper.

Woe betide road hogs in front of me, especially if they are from out of state. They’ll merit at least a toot from my very loud, very annoying car horn. But it appears some male egos simply cannot take a female driver hooting at them.

I was driving down the extreme right lane of the Federal Highway when someone from behind hooted. In my rear-view mirror, a white van was tail-gaiting me. Naturally, I did the only thing we “efficient, safe and occasionally dashing” (ESOD, for short) drivers do – I swerved to the middle lane to let him pass, because there is nothing we ESODs hate more than being labelled road hogs ourselves.

I had a good look at the driver as he passed me; he had a strange tattoo curling down his left arm. He glared at me. Uh–oh, I thought.

I kept course. There was a car in front of him (this is where it gets nasty), and he swerved onto the middle lane, narrowly missing my front bumper.

Naturally, I was indignant and hooted loudly, angrily. After that, it went deathly quiet, as though a chill had descended. (Well, as deathly quiet as 5pm on the Federal Highway can get.)

He slowed down, causing me to slow down as well. Strangely, I didn’t panic. The only word going in my mind, and it really wasn’t a word, was “Hmmmmm”.

After a bit of going slower than 50kph, he sped up. I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. I pressed on my accelerator as the road opened up in front of me. He was pulling away, and I wasn’t giving chase in any spirit of kiasu-ism, just easing my car into its natural 80kph speed.

My gas pedal went deeper as I stepped on it with my stilettos. My car’s engine whined and hummed. He was belting away fast, and I was closing in. And then suddenly, with a screech of burning rubber that must have smelt like a box of latex gloves which has just been microwaved, he dived to the right again.

Looming ahead of me was a large, slow-moving Pajero.

I slammed on my brakes with all the strength in my shoes. My brake pads squealed like a starlet who has just been publicly revealed to have silicone. My front bumper avoided hitting the Pajero, by just a nick.

Of course, this had been his intention all along.

Another hair-raising incident happened to a friend of mine driving from Kedah back to KL after a business meeting.

She had left Alor Star rather late, and it was already past midnight. The North-South highway was empty except for occasional cars and late buses.

My friend was maintaining course in her 4WD on the left lane, keeping well below the speed limit, when, suddenly, a car on the right swerved roughly into her path.

Now my friend is of a very patient disposition. She is not an ESOD. In fact, I would label her a CCANLTH (Cautious, Careful and Not Likely to Honk). But because this car threatened her very safety, she pressed very lightly on her horn to let him know she was there, so the sound that came out was “pin.”

The driver on her right was on his cellphone and probably hadn’t realised he had weaved onto her path.

When she pin-ned, he seemed shocked and immediately swerved to the right again, tires protesting like an anti-war demonstration.

My friend maintained her course and thought that would be the end of it. But it wasn’t.

The driver accelerated and nose-dived in front of her, and then slowed down to 30kph. Naturally, she had to follow suit. They maintained this charade for five minutes, and when she tried to overtake him on the right, he immediately blocked her off.

My friend looked frantically around. There were very few cars in sight. They continued on this crawl for 20 minutes. And then a lorry passed them on the right, horns blaring. Seizing this momentary distraction, my gutsy friend overtook the sedan on the emergency lane and settled once more into course.

Please, she prayed, let this be the end of it.

But again, it wasn’t to be.

The sedan driver, in full rage mode now, overtook her once again and tried to block her off. Pulse fluttering, she inched her car onto the right lane. He immediately followed, cutting her off. And then he did something amazing, even by Malaysian highway standards.

He screeched his car to a complete halt in the middle of the right lane.

Her heart going into standstill, my friend stopped her car. It was no use trying to overtake him anymore. It would only aggravate him further. This was a showdown. He was going to climb out and beat her up.

The two cars waited on the highway for what must have been only minutes, though it seemed a lifetime to my friend.

Where were the police? Surely someone must come to her aid? Would they find her dead body sprawled in a gutter the next day?

And then something clicked in her mind. Why did women always have to be victims?

Resolution settling, she revved the engine of her Mitsubishi Storm, put it into first gear, and floored the gas pedal. Fifteen feet, 10 feet – the sedan was still stationary, she winced and closed her eyes – and slam!

Her spine juddered.

When she opened her eyes again, the sedan’s boot had been compressed like an accordion. She reversed, set her gear into first again, and swerved onto the left lane.

Then she left, flying into the night without looking back, heart knocking at her chest wildly, and drove straight to the nearest police station in the next town.

Barging in breathlessly through the front door, she told two surprised policemen, “Help me! I drove here as fast as I could. Someone is trying to steal my car!”

For the next two days, she kept looking round her shoulder, waiting for her insurance agent to call to say someone has made a claim, but nothing happened.

I guess if you want to be an ESOD, you’ll have to look out for the AHs. And that is an abbreviation for a word that cannot be mentioned in polite society.

Received my copies of Dark City 2

2007-10-18T06:07:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, I got my copies of Dark City 2 today. For everyone who has contributed, please write to me so I can arrange when to pay you and give you your copies.

The book will be out in bookstores in 2 - 4 weeks (this is based on my experience).

I will be doing press and publicity for it in November, when the book is fully out in bookstores. Contributors, you may be called for interview and photographs :)

Juggling

2007-09-23T04:27:00.000-07:00

Now that my life has settled back to normal (well, kinda), I'm reviewing what I'm currently doing.

1. I have a hectic job that requires a lot of travel - Damn, I'd rather be writing, but it puts food on the table. I totally intend to collect as much money as possible so I can retire early and write full time.

2. I have finished my house renovation. It cost me RM 90,000! Totally had to break so many FDs to pay the contractor, who bte doesn't wear yellow boots like Phua Chu Kang but blue crocs. (The real stuff, not the pseudo ones you get from Tesco.)

3. I'm currently rewriting my children's book, Billy Lang, to make it as perfect as possible before submitting overseas. That's my labour of love so I'm checking every comma, dotting every 'i', you get the drift...

4. After a blue period that would have spiraled Picasso into depression's depths, I now have two intelligent maids! To understand how I suffered through the last moronic one who finally ran away, please read my 2008 yet untitled non-fiction book.

5. I'm currently writing a non-fiction book for MPH on Malaysian life, as I see it. I had lunch with Eric Forbes and Janet Tay today after the LitBloggers' Club and I apologized profusely to them for being so 'rojak' in my writing. "I must admit I really wrote very quickly," I said sheepishly, "and dashed it off to you guys without my customary rewriting and rewriting for at least 10 times."

"Oh no," Eric said kindly, "it's not too bad."

"You mean the grammar isn't bad, but the format is all rojak," I insisted. "I dashed half a chapter off to Star Weekender the other day. The editor, who has never complained about anything I wrote before, actually wrote back this time and asked me if I had a point to it. So the moral of the story is that you cannot squeeze a book chapter into a newspaper article, but you can certainly expand an article into a book chapter."

Janet mentioned she was amazed at how fast I could write. And here I was thinking I was a snail - because I could only write 1 chapter a week without running into writer's block. (I never have writer's block when it comes to writing fiction, only non-fiction.)

So - is one chapter a week for a non fiction book considered fast? Or is it really (as I suspect) the pace of an amoeba trying to get from Petaling Street to the Arctic?

Update

2007-09-15T02:42:00.000-07:00

I'm back....kinda!

So sorry for being away for the longest time. My house has been under construction for the past 4 months, my maid ran away and I've been awfully busy at work. Sorry for neglecting everyone and I will totally understand if you neglect me.

The editing of Dark City 2 is finally finished and I was at the publisher's to view the final draft today, down to the very last comma. So looks like it'll be out in the 2nd week of October.

See ya at the bookstores!

Taking a break from blogging for a while

2007-05-26T05:16:00.000-07:00

Hi guys, will be taking a breather for a while. Been too busy trying to self-edit Billy Lang, finish the final touches on Dark City 2 and at work, budget season is on (busiest time of the year). Also travelling to US next week for a bit.

Will be back when Dark City 2 is out.

See ya guys!

How do you feel about chick lit?

2007-05-21T06:14:00.001-07:00

I've always liked chick lit (and am in the process of getting Eric to read it). I'm currently reading a book that would make the literari out there cringe with derision: "How to Kill Your Husband" by Kathy Lette. It's a laugh a minute, social commentary, chick romp all rolled into one.

But you see, that's how I feel about chick lit. It has a lot to say about our society of women today and how we juggle work, boyfriends/husbands, friends, kids and everything else. Hey, Jane Austen wrote the chick lit of her time and the women there spent their days mooning over how to get husbands, just like we do today!

I particularly like the humorous prose of Marian Keyes, Sophie Kinsella (Shopaholic series) and Nisha Minhas. Read one of their books and study how they write humour. They have the ability to turn a very tragic situation (like Indian bride kidnapping) into something you can share and laugh about (but at the same time, commiserate with the heroine's situation).

So, 'fess up now. Do you read chick lit?

(BTW, MPH 1 Utama has a bookshelf dedicated to 'chic' lit, but I suppose chick lit is chic too.)

Being Edited

2007-05-12T16:34:00.000-07:00

I'm buoyed by Eric's recent posts about Editing and how editors feel about receiving a good and bad manuscript.

Let's come from another persective: The writer's. How do YOU feel about being edited?

For me, being edited is a humbling experience, whether it's done by a conceptual editor or a grammar editor.

1. We realise our grammar, hyphenation, punctuation etc is not that great after all. Most of us tend to dispense with hyphenation, punctuation etc, thinking it has nothing to do with writing and that it's an editor's job. But in countries like the UK, they can just throw the manuscript out if we don't think of all the niceties.

2. We realise that our plot, or certain aspects of the plot, or character, is not as exciting as we think it is. Or that it doesn't make sense.

3. We realise we put in more words that we intended.

Several fanous editor and writer friends were very kind to edit the first 3 chapters of Billy Lang for me so that the manuscript is as perfect as it can be before I send it off. And even though I've rewritten them many times, it still is a humbling experience to be edited, and I'm very grateful for all of them who are looking out for me. As we writers/editors should be doing for each other to make our manuscripts as perfect as possible before we send it out to the foreign lit agencies.

As for Dark City 2, some of you were asking me, fear not! It's definitely on its way (July). It needs to be edited thoroughly (in the same vein again) before publication, and when the grammar editor and I are not happy about something, we go back to the author. A local book deserves the same editing and vetting scrutiny as a foreign book and we will not compromise on quality.

So how do you feel when you get edited?

Finishing a book....then comes the rewrite

2007-05-04T20:03:00.000-07:00

Lydia was niggling me: "New update, please!" Yes, mam!

The reason for lack of frequent new updates? Yes, I've just finished writing Billy Lang. How does one feel having finished writing a 500+ page full length children's novel? The moment I finished writing it, last Tuesday, I immediately dove into the rewrite.

Which comes to the question. How much should you rewrite? When is enough enough? Sidney Sheldon has been known to rewrite 11 times for each of his novels. (Then again, Sidney doesn't really 'write,' he dictates to his assistant and she reads it back to him, then he crosses out what he doesn't want.) The rest of us struggling artistes have no assistant and therefore have to rewrite it all by ourselves.

I find rewriting a lot easier than doing the first draft. Most of the ideas are already there. Rewriting is actually for improved sentence construction, cutting out unnecessary sentences, words and passages that have nothing to do with the story, checking consistency of plot and characters and adding in foreshadowing to enrich the plot.

Ever read a book or watched a movie where a seemingly insignificant sequence is thrown in at the beginning, which comes into importance only later in the plot? Well, a lot of that comes in the rewrite.

Are you the type who shoots off his/her first draft and saves all corrections for the rewrite, or one who meticulously checks and crosschecks every page along the way, making sure it's perfect before you proceed? (Beware, the latter has been known never to finish writing whole books!)

Malaysia's fave fic titles and Tunku Halim interview

2007-04-28T23:33:00.000-07:00

So it's out, Malaysia's favourite fiction titles. I must say I didn't have time for vote in this poll. But the top 10 favourite fiction books in Malaysia are:

1. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (holds a proud place in my collection)
2. The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling (read them all and loved 1,2,3,4 and 6.)
3. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (must get this one...I know, I know, I'm very low lit)
4. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (read this in Form 3 and didn't like it at that time. But love Colin Firth as Mr Darcy)
5. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (read this twice!)
6. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis (read Lion, Witch and Wardrobe and thought it too simplistic. But then, read it as an adult)
7. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (loved the mini series!)
8. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (read it in Form 2 and didn't like it much)
9. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (read it in Form 2 and liked Beth the best)
10. The Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger (must get this)

I was particularly stoked when I read this sentence in today's Star in the same article:

"There are no books by Asian writers in the top 10, but American-Chinese Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club and Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things are in the top 20. Other Asian authors whose work was listed include Chinese author Su Tong (author of Raise the Red Lantern), Indian writer Vikram Seth, Indonesian Pramoedya Ananta Toer Azizi and V.S. Naipaul. Azizi Haji Abdullah, Shaari Isa and Xeus are the only Malaysian authors whose books made it onto some lists."

I made it to some lists! This makes all that writing worthwhile after all!!!

In the same Starmag section, there's an interview with Malaysia's very own Stephen King, Tunku Halim, and he mentioned:

Malaysian books recently enjoyed: “Lydia Teh’s Honk! If you’re a Malaysian, Xeus’s Dark City, Adibah Amin’s This End of the Rainbow and the Silverfish series (that features local writers).”

Thanks, TH! I'm glad you enjoyed our books!

44 Cemetery Road is out!

2007-04-25T17:28:00.000-07:00

Congrats, Tunku Halim!

I'm so stoked because TH credited me for inspiring this collection of his best, best works. I also got to see an advanced copy, and can tell you it's truly excellent. (I have an endorsement blurb for the book.) Tunku Halim, as one esteemed editor put it, combines literary elements with popular fiction, and does it with aplomb.

My favourite story is the one where TH does a semi-autobiographical account on his student life in the UK, with a dash of piquant bittersweetness, and of course, doses of horror - I won't tell you which, you'll just have to pick the book up to find out.

Bravo, Tunku Halim. Looking forward to your launch. (Can one attend a book launch in honour of the author who might be overseas?)

Hee hee, this blog is reviewed on Quill

2007-04-19T02:01:00.000-07:00

I got reviewed on Quill, together with John Ling and Ted Mahsun's blog!! (How exciting!)

The blurb says:

"The blog is dedicated to the birth of Xeus's debut novel titled Dark City. It is indeed a celebration for Xeus's book as her blog displays the thunderous support and review snippets from fellow writers, local newspapers, magazines
and bookstores.

One reading her blog would be engrossed in her ups and downs of realising one's dream to be a writer in Malaysia. She is not shy to share personal perspectives, so prepare to be thrilled with her credible entries. Not to fall behind in the rat race of the literary scene, make sure you follow her up-to-date entries on local fellow writers, gatherings for writers, promotions from bookstores and much more!"

Wow. What a blurb. I feel guilty already for not living up to it

For example, I've been guilty of not updating this blog enough. I've been reallu busy lately, because have you ever noticed how the words seem to fly when you are nearing the end of writing your novel? I'm almost at the end of writing Billy Lang, so the chapters are really flying, all loose ends are being tied, and I'm so anxious to finish it I'm averaging one chapter a day.

Which comes to the question: How many words can you write in 1 day? 1000? 2000? 3000? When does it all turn to mush and you fell like throwing up your computer and saying, "What I'm writing is crap! This will never get published!"

How much should we aim for without alienating our family and going mad?

Would I be selling you writers out if...

2007-04-06T21:15:00.000-07:00

...I took on this deal?

Here's the scoop. A production house has been offered a deal by a prominent station to produce a series on 3o minute twisted tales, pretty much like The Twilight Zone
or Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories.

They came up with a lot of their own story concepts for episodes. Then they ran out of ideas and stumbled upon Dark City, which is perfect fodder for episode material.

So I'm called to negotiate.

The working title of the series is 'Dark City', but it appears the TV station would like something more Malay. They're taking 3 episodes from the book. And this is the deal they're offering me:

1. No money for rights. I'd be credited. The reason being is they said they're working on a very tight budget, and intellectual property in Malaysia is very hard to argue anyway.

2. They're asking me to write the scripts for the 3 episodes for RM 1100 each.

3. If I refuse, they'd drop these 3 episodes and go ahead with their own ideas.

I've been talking to several people. There appears to be 2 camps of thought.

Advice from the First camp (consisting of book writers, some editors, some scriptwriters) - "It's good exposure for you. Take it. You can put it in your resume and brand your book with it.
Imagine your book (and the sequels) being printed with 'Now on TV' on the front cover. Wouldn't it be wonderful branding?"

Advice from the Second camp (consisting of some scriptwriters, some CEOs of production houses)
- "Be careful. We've got stung before. They (meaning the industry) took our concepts and gave us very little for it. Then they sold the series all around the world, and we profited nothing from it. They even took our ideas and rehashed them a little, so we cannot claim intellectual property being stolen. We understand that you want branding. It's your first time. But we can help you get in touch with other production houses we've worked with, those we are sure of. We can help you pitch to them. If you want to be a scriptwriter, they're always looking for more too.
"People in the film industry have a lot of respect for published book authors, esepcially those with bestsellers. "

So, my deadline to reply is Monday. What should I do? Should I give up this opportunity and wait till other production houses get contacted and market the Dark City series in its own right? (This affects anyone who has contributed to the 2nd book as well. You may see your works on celluloid, and you would certainly want me to get a better deal for you.)

Or should I go with this opportunity, because I (and we) may never get another one again. And the other production houses might not be interested?

Will this back cover entice you?

2007-03-29T04:14:00.000-07:00

Dear all, need to pick your brilliant brains again :)

Would this blurb on the back cover entice you? Naturally, Kenny is designing something to portray all the authors' names as well as part of the back cover. Please comment on what you like about the blurb, and which sentences you would change. Are the sypnoses of some of the stories compelling enough to make you pick up the book? Should I change them?

BLURB

A youth is imprisoned in a swinging crate above the ground, the first obstacle in a Chinese box of puzzles he has to solve.

A 15th century boy meets the Angel of Death.

An attractive nurse accepts an indecent proposal.

A football gambling addict is captured by his creditors and made to go through a ‘Payback Chamber’.

14 different authors from Malaysia, US, Australia, New Zealand, UK and Switzerland come together to weave you 16 diabolically entertaining tales. Every tale has a twist, and every twist, a tale. See if you can spot the ending coming.

Praise for Dark City

"Why you should read this book: It's really good, that's why.”
The Malay Mail

“….Wow, what a read (Dark City) turned out to be….” Borneo Post

The 2nd Malaysian LitBloggers' Breakfast Club

2007-03-24T01:27:00.000-07:00

Finally, it's Lydia's and my turn.

It was lovely to meet everyone again - Sharon, Eric, Kenny, Spiffy, Chet etc. And I can honestly now say I've met the great Kak Teh! Oh her birthday too. Yes, Kak Teh came all the way from England. There were some new faces as well, like Esther (did I get your name right?), who is doing an assignment on us bloggers.

She asked me, "Can one improve one's English by writing blogs?"
I said, "One can certainly improve one's writing. But your English has to be good to begin with, and that can only come from reading a lot of good English books. There are some blogs written in totally atrocious language!"

Kenny introduced Lydia, who spoke about writing Honk and its success so far. It's gone into 2nd edition printing. Congrats! I spoke mostly about editing and the common mistakes I find writers making, such as:

1. not reading the instructions carefully when submitting for a writing competition
2. telling too much, not showing
3. inability to take criticism, and hence, improve.

I spoke about the 55 odd entries for Dark City 2, and how I wrote back to each and every one of the writers, thanking them, praising them on what they're good at, and critiquing what they're less good at, and showing them how to make their stories better. Everyone wrote back thanking me for my critique, whether or not their stories made the final cut, except for 2. And I know I've hurt these 2 writers, that they were not able to take my criticism.

But criticism is a part of a writer's life.

I in turn have been criticised many times. Sometimes publicly in national newspapers with circulations of over 1 million. I have also been praised many times. It comes with the territory. If you're a writer, you
will have to take both sides of the coin.

I also have been guilty of every sin a writer can commit. I tell sometimes, not show. I use big words for a children's book. My chapter titles are horrible. I am too verbose. Sometimes people can see the ending coming a mile away. Some of the stories are not exciting enough.

So what do I do from these critiques?

I learn from them. I try to show as much as possible, not tell. I tone down my language. I try to think of more inventive titles. When not writing a literary story, I try to tone down the descriptions and metaphors. I try to make my stories and endings as engaging as possible. I leave a cliffhanger at the end of every chapter, and indeed, every segment, with this in mind: "If I can make the reader want to go on for 1 chapter more, I have succeeded."

So what can we learn from this?

Open your mind as a writer. If someone doesn't like your story, it's not the end of the world. Learn from that someone how to make it better.

Vote - which cover do you like best?

2007-03-17T07:26:00.000-07:00

Kenny has drawn 3 lovely covers for you to choose from. Now, which do you like best? The cover must grab your attention to the bookshelf, make you want to pick the book up and buy it!

Kenny will have this up in his blog as well. Great job, Kenny!

Obviously, the covers don't have the extended title of the book yet, but Kenny did mention it was hard to fit it all in. So some people have been telling me not to include the extended title (sorry guys! it's not artistically cover friendly!) And I wanted to fit in the names of some of the contributors, but again, not artistically feasible, so they'll have to go into the back cover.

The going price for a script

2007-03-10T00:09:00.000-08:00

Blogging about this earlier, I mentioned that I'd heard the going rate for a Malay script is RM 45,000. Well, I discovered that's actually for a whole telenovella season. (Psssss......Deflating).

And why am I suddenly so interested in Malay scripts?

It all has to do with Lydia actually. She called me a coupla weeks ago, sounding very excited. "You know," she says, "a production company just contacted me. They read Honk! and absolutely loved it. They also read your article in the Star (the one about the reviews), read your book and loved it, and are interested in making your stories into a TV series for ________ (name of extremely famous station/service provider). They tried to email you but never got a reply. Are you sure your gmail didn't junk it?"

Now, I've had brushes with TV series before that didn't gel. So I didn't allow myself to get too excited.

Anyhow, I called the number Lydia provided me. Indeed, there was an interested production house. They'd produced a very successful series for NTV7. And Dark City's stories are right up their alley. They have been trying (so they said) to contact me for a month. They said there are at least 6 stories in Dark City that can be made into a 1 hour program. (Hmmm, I wonder which 6). They said they particularly loved Coup of the Century.

Naturally, I offered, "I can do the script for you! I know how to write a script!" (I don't know if possessing the script to the Matrix qualifies me in scriptwriting, but there, I had to put my foot in my mouth).

And then they told me it was going to be in Malay.

(Flip.)

I haven't written in Malay since sixth form. And the going rate for a script is actually RM 1500. I checked with Nizam Zakaria, who very kindly shared with me his script format, and he said that was actually a good price. The production company said they were going to negotiate first and contact me later.

Hmmm. I wonder if anything will come out of this.

So - would you attempt to write a script in a language you're not that good in for RM 1500 (for every 50 minutes of air time)?

Making light of a real life terrible experience

2007-03-03T01:47:00.000-08:00

This is the story of what really happened to me after surgery. It's a writing exercise to see if I can make humour out of a truly terrible experience. It appeared in the Star today.

http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2007/3/3/lifefocus/16562106&sec=lifefocus

Post-surgery horror

By EUDORA LIN

Surgery? Piece of cake. It’s the post-operation complications you should be worried about.

Everyone I know worries about having surgery. Even if it’s what I call a self-induced procedure: nip and tuck, liposuction, Caesarean because you want your baby to come out squalling on that all-important, very auspicious feng shui date.

Before I went for my “involuntary” surgery, I had heard all the stories:

“When they inject the anaesthetic into your veins, it’s like a very cold deluge flowing from your hand to your neck, and when it hits your neck, you’re out.”

“They make you count backwards from 100 to 0, and when you hit 93, you’re out.”

And so I went in quite happily to take out a tumour from my salivary gland. Only it’s notthat simple; I’d have to take out the entire upper lobe of the quite extensive gland.

Despite echoes of that story 10 years ago about the woman who was awake but paralysed throughout her entire operation, feeling the excruciating pain of every cut, I was quite upbeat.

Fugue

The anaesthetist very kindly gave me a local anaesthetic before inserting the branula. (And I didn’t even ask for it, how kind.) And no one asked me for any New Year countdown. They just said, “Breathe into this oxygen mask” and before I knew it, a very pleasant fugue had descended in my brain and I was out.

The next thing I know, the nurse was gaily chirping, “It’s over.”

Everyone sounds absolutely cheerful in an operating theatre; maybe it’s all that laughing gas. There was no pain whatsoever; the whole thing was, in fact, quite pleasant and I spent the whole day dozing off.

And then I woke up, proper. After that, it was pandemonium. Murphy’s Law: If anything can go wrong, it will.

You see, there’s a checklist of complications that can quite possibly happen after surgery. Nothing to do with the doctors, it’s just one of those things that happen to hapless people . . . like me.

I woke up to find half my face paralysed. It’s a most uncomfortable sensation. You can’t blink or close your eye and you can’t smile. You can’t even open your mouth wide enough to bite into a burger. I’d read about this side effect for procedures like mine. Apparently, it happens to about 50% of people. But when you read about such things, you don’t think it would happen to you.

“I’m not a statistic,” you want to say. “Am I?”

“Uh,” I said, trying to wink and blink at the same time and ending up looking like a starry-eyed alien instead, “Will this get better?” In the mirror, my affected eye was acutely smaller than the other one, and the eyebrow was several notches lower. I resembled something a tractor had run over. Twice.

Night of the living dead

“Of course,” they assured me. “Your facial nerve was stretched during surgery to get it out of the way. Now, it’s very picky; it doesn’t like being stretched. Most people recover in two weeks.”

It was lovely to have my husband make a fuss over me. But on Day Five, my husband said, “You know, your swelling looks all huge and red, like a ripe tomato.”

I replied airily, “Oh, that’s just normal healing. You don’t know anything.”

On Day Seven, the “healing” popped and burst itself through four stitches, leaking pus all over my hair. I looked like something out of the Night of the Living Dead. I finally acceded to go to the house of my friend, a doctor, on no less than a public holiday.

“Why didn’t you come earlier?” she screeched.

“Didn’t want to bother anyone,” I said sheepishly, leaking pus all over her patio.

It seemed I had an abscess the size of a fist and it had to be drained. Twice a day. Squeezed out and emptied like a lemon. I had no pain surrounding the surgery, and this was the most painful part of the whole process.

I topped myself up with so many antibiotics and painkillers I gave myself diarrhoea.

After a week of milking, my abscess gave up its pulpy ghost. And then, to celebrate, I went out for a nice meal with friends. After 15 minutes of chewing, something trickled down my neck from my wound.

“Gakkk!” my husband jumped. “It’s saliva!”

Welcome to complication No. 203: I had saliva leaking from my wound. My friends were giving me surreptitious looks, no doubt thinking of decapitated monsters capable of spitting from more places than one.

When I finally went back for review with the surgeon, he patted me on the back. “Don’t worry, it’s all part of the normal recovery process. At least you can be assured it’s not cancer. Some people have more complications than others. I thought you’d said you read all about it on the Internet before the surgery.”

I said, “Gakkk.”

So now my wound has finally closed up beautifully. My nerve is recovering in stages – not in two weeks, but two months, more like. And if anyone again tells me they’re worried about surgery, I’d say, “The actual surgery was a piece of cake!” And refer them to this article.

Then again, it would’ve probably only happened to me.

Please suggest a title for Dark City 2 and win something!

2007-03-02T00:59:00.000-08:00

I'm going down the Lydia way and using this blog for pitching competitions!

Okay, Dark City 2 has closed for submissions and I've received over 50 entries. I'm picking about 14 and writing 1 of my own. (Sigh, been putting that story off for over 1 year because of the research involved. Where am I going to find that chemistry professor? Anyone knows one?)

Anything left over which is really good will go into Dark City 3. (especially if the same writer sends in more than 1 entry). I'm trying to give as many people a chance.

So, please suggest a title for Dark City 2 and the winning entry will win a free copy. (I know it's not much, but it's the fun of participating, right? Hee hee.)

The title should be DARK CITY 2:____________________

(This is something in the vein of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King etc etc...you get the drift.)

Maybe even something to reflect the participation of so many authors.

Cool?

CLOSING DATE: 20th March, 2007.

Anyway, check out Kenny's new poster. Pretty cool, huh? Kenny's designing the cover for Dark City 2 as well, so he would need your title pretty soon.

The first Malaysian lit bloggers club (and other stuff)

2007-02-24T17:23:00.000-08:00

I came to the first Malaysian lit bloggers' club (check out the wonderful poster design from Kenny Mah) to meet Yang May Ooi and other friends. I arrived late because I'd been stuck in the bank earlier, but just in time to hear Yang May Ooi wrap up with some words of wisdom. After that, Sharanya came on. I don't know much about poetry, but she sure writes beautiful and emotionally impactful prose.

After that, it was all networking and gleaning words of wisdom. Things I have learnt:

1. The UK publishing market - ah yes, they love Asian fiction. But they tend to pigeon-hole you. They want the exotic east. They want chinoiserie. They want the requisite English or semi-English guy caught in the middle of a war in a distant country. Write that well (see the 'Gift of Rain' by Tan Twan Eng) and you stand a good chance of being published in the UK.

2. Yang May Ooi's book 'The Flame Tree' has sold 10,000 copies worldwide to date. After H and D stopped reprinting it, she sought permission to publish it under her own imprint. She says "You can't make a living from writing, even if you're published in the UK." So she's gone back partially to do law.

This brings to mind John Grisham's first book, 'A Time to Kill', which only sold 5000 copies at first run. And Dan Brown's 'Digital Fortress,' which only had 10,000 copies in print at first go. And then 'The Firm' and 'Da Vinci Code' exploded. 'Digital Fortress' subsequently sold 10 million copies.

So hang in there, Yang May Ooi. It didn't happen for Dan until the 4th book!

You know what happens when a bunch of writers and editors get together? They talk shop and - wham! - ideas happen!

I was telling Sharon that after receiving 40 over entries for Dark City 2, when I gave feedback to the young, would-be writers on how to improve their stories, many of them were surprised. "No one ever told me!" "Oh, I didn't know I was doing this." "I didn't know we were not supposed to do this."

Sharon was very concerned over the quality of local writing. "We're not at that level yet," she says. When you pick up a UK book, you know it's gone through fire. It was picked against all that slush, and so it HAS to be good. When you pick up a Malaysian book, you're not sure if it's gone through that fire.

So the two ideas melded but the objective remains the same: TO RAISE MALAYSIAN WRITERS TO THE NEXT LEVEL, AND THEN THE NEXT.

What do we do about it?

ANSWER: We have a critic's/beta-reading circle. Aspiring writers can send their work to this circle, be critiqued and then set (hopefully) onto the right direction.

There are still so many common mistakes I find that writers make when they send their work in (having turned editor myself):

1. They send something that is not grammatically perfect
2. They fail to outline their plot, so it's all over the place
3. They fail to start at the most exciting part. (Only in Chapter 2 should the Back Story of how the character got there come in).
4. Their opening sentence fails to grip the reader.
5. They tell too much, not show. (Even the most experienced of writers are guilty of this, meaning we always need a fresh pair of eyes to look at our work.)
6. They meander, writing passages that have nothing to do with the story. They put in too many words and sentences, not realising that 'more is less.' And that you should tell the story in as few words and sentences as possible.
7. They pack overly complex sentences, thinking that as a writer, they are compelled to do this. (one sentence, Eric says, lasted an entire page!) They fail to understand that unless you ahve reached the level of a Faulkner or Fitzgerald, simple sentences work best.
8. They write out of their dept. They want to write about things they don't know that much about. The answer is research. For example, when you want to write about the Vatican, you'd best make sure you've either a) visited it, or b) researched it thoroughly in books.
9. They have characters throw tantrums and scream at each other all the time, not realising this is a no-no in fiction writing.
10. They are very cliched in their similes, comparisons or even building characters. A wife should not always be nagging. A boss should not always be snappy. A villain should not always laugh maniacally at the end of each threat.

There are many, many more.

And so, would you be interested in such a circle/cum writing class? There is one on the net, but it requires you to publish your work online. (Which might not be so acceptable to some publishing houses.) Because the only way to improve is to be critiqued. And be critiqued by someone who understands YOUR genre, who'd stack you against the best of the best. (And this can only happen in a CIRCLE, not with a single editor.)

Multi character story arcs

2007-02-16T18:40:00.000-08:00

I must say I've gotten addicted to Heroes on StarWorld. The premise is simple - a selection of everyday people suddenly find they have superpowers. What do they do with them? Do they tell their best friend? Do they try to do good? Or are they more involved in using their newfound powers for their own gains?

As the series evolves, the heroes find they are not the people they started out as, and they are part of a greater evolutionary whole.

What makes Heroes so compelling is that you can see yourself or your friends in a bit of every character. You have:

1. characters who use their powers for personal gain - the funniest of them all, Hiro Nakamura from Tokyo, who speaks only Japanese (subtitled), teleports into a women's toilet and uses his time freezing abilities to cheat at casinos. But all the same, he genuinely cares about stopping
New York from Armageddon.

2. characters who are genuinely concerned about helping other people - the LA cop, Matt, starts off as a do-gooder. But his telepathy lands him into trouble instead. The other cops think he's the
serial killer who has been removing people's skulls, otherwise how does he know so much
about what's happening around him? Later on, he gets smarter, decides do-gooding is not all that it's cut out to be and uses his telepathy to help him understand his wife better (thus, personal gain.)

I like the way none of these characters are pigeon-holed into their niches.

So what can we learn from the multi-character arcs in Heroes?

1. Establish wonderful, identifiable characters, all with good points and flaws of their own. You reader must be able to identify with them - the worried mother (who happens to be a stripper), the cheerleader who just wants to be normal and to find her real parents, the druggie painter who chooses to do something about the future, the good-hearted hospice nurse and his sleazy politician brother etc.

None of them are larger than life a.k.a Batman.

2. Don't reveal too much about the backstory of each character from the onset. Part of the suspense for the viewer is discovering them. Heroes has an episode titled '6 months ago' where much of the backstories are explained. It only comes on after Episode 10!

3. There must be a central unifying character with all these other characters. In Heroes, this is the dishy Indian professor from Calcutta, Mohinder Suresh, who flies to New York to uncover the secrets behind his father's life and death.
He introduces us all to the concepts and characters of Heroes so we're never lost.

4. After the 2nd episode (or chapter), your characters all have established themselves and you
can fly them off on their own story arcs without worrying that the audience will be lost. Hey, this works too for the Amazing Race!

5. There must be one major overlying story arc for all the characters to work to. In Heroes, it is New York going into Armageddon on Nov 18th, 1 month after the story starts.

There is so much we can learn from hit TV series.

How would you establish your book with multi character arcs?

Are author appearances useful for marketing your book?

2007-02-10T17:57:00.000-08:00

I'm still divided about this really. You see, the most useful marketing tools I have found in
marketing my book are:

1. Bookstore display - you've got to get your books out there at shelf eye level.

2. Cover art and review snippets - goes without saying.

3. Newspaper exposure - not even magazines have the impact of a Star newspaper article.

I have never really sold very much from author appearances, such as from book talks or other gatherings. Lydia will blog about her book talks later (and oh, she's appearing today in MPH MidValley at 3 pm, so be there if you can).

Your friends turn up to support you, and they already have your book. (Or else they buy some more copies to support you, and then you feel pai seh.) But you don't really attract the bookstore crowd unless you're telling them about how to read face feng shui or Sudoku or if you're a famous children's writer. And even if you do attract a crowd, it's not guaranteed they buy.

Meanwhile, you end up spending more than you get. Don't forget, you have to drive to the shopping mall (petrol money $$), pay for parking, probably buy a few trinkets to give away. And you're doing this all to just earn 10% of the very few books you sold.

You can argue that the bookstore will give you more visible display for that day and order a whole lot more of your books. This is true, but then it comes down to DISPLAY again, and not your actual author appearance.

I don't know. I'm still terribly divided about this.

On the other hand, I have received over 25 entries already for Dark City 2. I'm taking some of them after fine tuning. Closing date is Feb 28th. Please keep them coming.

Lessons from Sidney Sheldon

2007-01-31T19:32:00.000-08:00

There's a lot one can learn from the late Sidney Sheldon.

Study his earlier works: Master of the Game, If Tomorrow Comes, The other side of Midnight. He keeps the pages turning with action, plot and compelling characters. And most importantly, he leaves a cliffhanger at the end of every chapter to keep the reader burning the midnight oil. And even though some of his scenarios are not so credible, they are still astounding with sheer vivacity and page-turning 'now why didn't I see that coming?' flow.

This man, after all, inspired Dan Brown to become a novelist!

But if you are a writer, there's one thing you should focus on if you're 'studying' Sheldon. The BACKSTORY.

Sheldon is the master of the backstory. Each of his characters have a compelling and utterly interesting backstory of how he or she got to be that way. Sheldon is the master of 'show' , not tell. He expands interesting parts, shrinks and fastforwards the rest and focuses on life defining events in each of his backstories.

Most of us have trouble writing the backstory. We end up with too much tell, not show. Not Sheldon. Take a leaf from him.

Star article rant on my reviews

2007-01-26T19:16:00.000-08:00

I wrote this for Star newspaper today about how I feel on being the receiving end for reviews:

http://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2007/1/27/lifefocus/16562115&sec=lifefocus

On the receiving end
Pop quiz: You’re a first-time book writer and you get a slew of reviews. How do you separate the brickbats from the bouquets?

Nothing in my 12 years of writing newspaper and magazine columns and receiving numerous Letters to the Editor (some of praise, some downright scathing) prepared me for my first book review.

You see, I’ve reviewed books before. And I never thought much of the act itself: “Like it”. “Hate it”. “Jeffrey Archer has lost his touch.” “Stephen King is getting more verbose than Tolstoy.”

But what happens when you are on the receiving end?

It takes an incredible effort to write a book. You spend months on it, years even, toiling over every word, fussing, rephrasing. You want people to like your book, or at least to find something to like about it. And then you find out this is not grade school. You don’t get an “A” for effort. In the real world, book reviewers are as brutal as . . . well, you.

Nowadays, before any book is published, most established writers get what they call “endorsements” from their writer friends. You’ve seen them, even on foreign paperbacks.

“I couldn’t put it down!” Dan Brown screams from the front cover of a new writer’s tome.

But it was my first book. I didn’t have any writer friends then. If I wanted those little blurbs for my back cover, I’d have to do it the hard way – getting the book reviewed by every trade paper and magazine.

“You’re very brave,” one of my writer friends said with a shudder. Most Malaysian writers do interviews to drum up publicity for their book; no reviews “because most of our press has a reputation for tearing Malaysian writers apart.” Yes, even Tash Aw. Especially Tash Aw. No offence meant; really, they tear foreign writers apart too.

But I was a pseudonym. I refused photo shoots. No photo shoot, the press declared, no interview.

She likes it, she likes it not

I couldn’t sleep the night before my first review. I tossed and turned, wondering: “Will she like it? What if she doesn’t like it?” And when morning came, I rushed out to the petrol station to get my free newspaper copy.

“What, you don’t have it here?” I lambasted my way to the next petrol station, wheels screeching like sound effects from The Fast and Furious. “What? Not here, either?”

Finally, I managed to grab a copy and devoured every word.
“Ah, she liked it.”
And then, re-reading it: “Gee, I wish she had liked it more.”

You see, you always wish they’d liked it more. In fact, it’s every writer’s dream they should like it “ecstatically”, with accolades like “I was on the edge of my seat, I couldn’t put it down”. Or, “Hail the new Dan Brown”. (Dan Brown, by the way, gets the most awful reviews from the high-brow press. Not that he cares.)

So far, in the six months since I’ve launched Dark City, I’ve had reviews ranging from the most excellent:

“The author . . . is a master storyteller, with a fine insight into the human condition. This is one of the best fiction books to come out of Asia in 2006.” – www.malaysiaoasis.com

“Why you should read this book: It’s really good, that’s why. Xeus has tapped into urban paranoia and everyday life in KL to produce situations that will leave you uneasy, yet are not too fantastic to be brushed aside as merely unrealistic.” – The Malay Mail

. . . to the “I liked most of it” variety:

“Overall, a good read. Some stories telegraph their ending but remain entertaining. Everything is familiar, yet not so. This is the KL you fear to imagine.” – The Sun

“Even though some of the characters are not so believable, Dark City is a fun read with plenty of thrills to keep you engaged.” – Galaxie

. . . to the downright scathing:

“Dark City was not quite the promised and in turn expected “howl”; in fact, it registered just a notch north of whimper. – The Star (Bookshelf)

Tomato-meter

You sail gaily with the bouquets. You are crushed by the criticisms, so crushed – in fact – you rant for days to anyone who will listen. There’s this insistent voice in you: “Why didn’t I please everyone? Why didn’t I please that critic . . . the one who mattered?”

Once upon a time, that critic was me. And I know exactly how I felt then about a book – nothing personal. It’s just my opinion about something.

“Look at it this way,” consoles my friend, “you can’t please everyone all of the time. Think of it as your personal Rotten Tomatoes (www.rottentomatoes.com). Out of 11 reviews, you’ve got nine positive (juicy red tomatoes), one on the fence and one definitely rotten tomato.

“That would’ve been 82% on your personal Tomato-meter. A heck of a lot better than most movies.”

And of course, that – like all critical reviews and even this article – is just someone’s opinion in a sea of opinions.

o Xeus welcomes short story contributions from would-be critics to the Dark City sequel. For more details, visit http://www.darkcityxeus.blogspot.com

MPH Writer's Circle yesterday

2007-01-20T20:01:00.000-08:00

The audience for the writer's circle is shrinking. There were a lot more people at the
last one I attended, many months ago. Now, there are barely more then a dozen. What's
happening? Most people who were there, like me and my husband, were supporting the speakers.

A great pity too, because yesterday's topic "Blogging for Writers" was particularly interesting. David Byke, who brought his family along for support, did a great job moderating the panelists: Sharon Bakar, Nizam Zakaria and Lydia Teh. I was hoping to see Ted too, but he wasn't around.

Anywhow, these are the take away points from the forum:

1. If you're a writer, it makes sense to blog.

2. Your blog can be a forum for you to
a) create publicity for yourself and your book
b) get in touch with your readers
c) solicit comments for yout stories, titles etc
d) run competitions
e) solicit editors and publishers who might be interested in your work. Sharon Bakar got her Star column that way. And apparently, a lot of writers were 'discovered' that way
f) network with other writers who might later collaborate with you. E.g: I met Tunku Halim, Jennifer Tai and a host of others this way.

Other things I have learnt which are supremely interesting to me:
1) Malay girls who wear 'tudung' form the bulk of Malay readers
2) Malay boys don't read as much!
3) The Malay demographic is still largely undiscovered. We know romances sell well, but o9ther genres have not been tried and tested.
4) A lot of people on My Space are Malay girls who wear tudung.
5) They can pay as much as RM 45,000 for a Malay telenovella script, which apparently can take only 2 weeks to write!

It was great to meet Tunku Halim again, though he had to rush off. I asked him if he managed to talk to my agent Jerry, and he did.

After that, Lydia, Eric, my husband and I went off for lunch at the very place Eric and I had dinner last week. I think Eric is stuffed to the gills with Shanghainese food! We talked about future projects and stuff, including some with my husband, and checked out Lydia's life sized standee, now greeting visitors to MPH at the entrance.

Pretty cool afternoon.

Editors and editing

2007-01-12T19:52:00.000-08:00

My publisher was complaining to me about an editor he had engaged the other day.
He says, "_________ doesn't really do full editing. He/she just makes some remarks on
the side of the page. That isn't good enough. What about all the grammatical mistakes?"

And you know, he's right. There are many layers of editing:
1. Conceptual editing - where the editor comments on the story, the flow, the relevance of
certain segments and characters etc

2. Grammatical editing

Both are extremely important.

I'm more of a conceptual editor than grammatical one. That's why I still need the publisher
to hire one who can correct grammatical and typesetting mistakes.

A friend of mine was commenting on how one of the writers in Malaysia (with an ego to boot)
was criticising his editor. "If (the editor) was a good enough editor, he/she would have
caught this, and then I wouldn't have to rewrite the whole segment."

I think that's extremely unfair of the writer. Editing, like writing and reading, is a matter of taste.

Then again, I have heard stories of some editors who won't go the mile. And yet they will charge you for going the mile!

Any experiences, either personal or through your friends?

My first royalty check!

2007-01-08T20:33:00.000-08:00

Just got my first royalty check today! So exciting. I know what Yvonne Lee meant now
when she
said "It's an immensely satisfying feeling, more satisfying than anything you've ever earned
in your whole life, even though it's not much."

Know what I'm going to do with it?

After deducting my agent's fee and the part of my medical bills not covered by insurance (transportation, flights etc), I'm going to donate to charity. I have already identified 2 causes, 1 for AWAM, because that's a cause hardly anyone wants to donate to, and 1 for a friend who has been so brave and has struggled so much with medical bills.

I just feel I have been so blessed with so much, that I never knew what I had until it's been taken away (a.k.a being paralysed temporarily.) So I'm going to help others less fortunate
than I am.

Malaysia Oasis review and Blogger's Breakfast Club correction

2007-01-06T18:08:00.000-08:00

Sorry everyone, I made a mistake. The MPH Bloggers Breakfast Club's first meeting will be held on Jan 27th from 11am-12.30pm at the new MPH outlet at Bangsar Village Phase II, 11am-12.30pm, and will feature Yang-May Ooi and Sharanya Manivaran, two successful bloggers-cum-writers.

I cut and pasted the message straight from the email I got from MPH without checking the website. Thanks everyone - Lydia and Anon - who pointed it out.

Anyway, after the WORST REVIEW I EVER GOT (see Star review below), I received a really nice one - yet to be put up - on www.malaysiaoasis.com . This is an extension of the Thai Oasis website I blogged about earlier, only they haven't put up their Malaysian fiction section yet.

This will be what they will put up:

Dark City: Psychotic and other Twisted Malaysian Tales (2006, ISBN 983-3526-25-X) is an apt description of the exceptional fiction of Xeus, the pen name of an MD who has been writing in Malaysia for over ten years. While unmistakably Malaysian in setting, the author draws on tortured minds common to all cultures. “The Scarlet Woman” is a funny, bittersweet, and ultimately Oedipal coming-of age story. Even more disturbing is “The Maid”, only superficially about low-paid immigrant workers. “Monster” involves a spoiled, badly behaved child who receives comeuppance that can only have been described by someone who’s spent some time dwelling on such children. The author, who chooses to remain anonymous for professional reasons, is a master storyteller, with a fine insight into the human condition. This is one of the best fiction books to come out of Asia in 2006. To discover more, visit Xeus’ blog at: www.darkcity-xeus.blogspot.com

Geoff Alexander, CEO
Oasis Media, LLC

And Eric Forbes was really adamant about liking my writing. I kept prodding him, studying his facial features and asking "Are you sure, Eric? I'm pretty low-brow for what you usually read and like. " But he remained stolidly gracious (what a sweetie) and gave me this blurb to put into my 3rd printing edition.

"Who says the short story is dead? Xeus has concocted a rich broth of a collection in Dark City. These stories are the stuff of everyday life, all written in her inimitable style and with a clarity that is both visual and visceral at the same time. She exposes the murkiness that lurks beneath life's apparent ordinariness."

Eric Forbes, Editor, MPH Publishing

Not dark enough, hmmmm, and other updates

2007-01-04T21:36:00.000-08:00

My publisher just called to say he has to run an urgent 2nd printing to supply the National Library, and unfortunately, he has to use back the old cover, without all the review and endorsement snippets I want to put in. I asked him if he could wait...but apparently not. He has supply within the week, and making new films would take at least 2 more weeks.

So we agreed to limit it to the minimum print run - 1000 copies.

You see, I really HAVE to change the cover and the blurbs, to avoid not meeting expectations like these:

This came out in the Star today. Took me totally by surprise because it's so late.

http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2007/1/5/lifebookshelf/16473420&sec=lifebookshelf

Not dark enough

Dark City
Author: Xeus
Publisher: Midnight Press, 353 pages
Reviewer: Anu Nathan

I PROCRASTINATED ... hugely, with this book. My only excuse is that I was given the book during the month of the hungry ghost and due to the heavy diet of scary movies, Dark City was left to languish a lot longer than I had expected on the shelf.

Then one day, it dropped from the bookshelf onto my foot, reminding me of its existence. This, I thought, was spooky enough to get me to turn the pages. (If this were a movie, here is where the howling wind sound effects would be played to great effect).

Tagged as “12 psychotic and twisted Malaysian tales”, Dark City promised more by saying, “expect only the unexpected.” The back cover meanwhile screamed, “Tightly plotted with sophisticated savagery, this is a homicidal descent into a labyrinth of bizarre dimensions.” After this quite over-the-top introduction, it was with some trepidation that I flipped the page, only to ... yawn ... because Dark City doesn’t quite live up to these lofty guarantees.

The twisted here didn't necessarily mean warped. In some cases, it was merely an ending with a twist but to those of us (in this case me), weaned on a diet of Edgar Alan Poe and Roald Dahl (his short stories are the epitome of twisted tales, plus September was Dahl month which meant I had been re-reading a lot of his stuff), Dark City was not quite the promised and in turn expected “howl”; in fact it registered just a notch north of “whimper.”

Xeus is an adept writer, weaving the darker elements of society, serial killers, the dangers of a woman walking alone at night, to greed, lust and their five accompanying sins with great effect to tell her “tall tales.” Unfortunately, it didn’t thrill me that I could guess the endings to some of them, in particular the one about the dog and that of the crippled beggar boy. These seemed the likely two that the author had alluded to in her introduction as the ones based on urban legends. I was also peeved by spelling errors (what on earth is “nice dugs” in reference to a woman with ample mounds) and verbose text.

Still, the author deserves credit for trying to tackle a particularly difficult genre, because it is not always easy to work a credible twist into a story, especially in this era where we are inundated with first class movies like Sixth Sense and a mountain of excellent literature in this popular genre. Plus, Xeus gets an extra bonus for publishing her collection, which is in itself a brave act.

I may have not bonded with all of the stories in Dark City, but I did have my personal favourites and these are “Psychotic” – never mess with a lady with a big bag, “One if by Land” where a prisoner finds that his sure-fire way out of jail only leads to another sort of internment, and even though I knew how it would end, “Coup of the Century”. Now, you’ll just have to get the book to see if you agree with me.

Hmmm, I can still take some quotable quotes from this, but there really is such a term as 'dugs', just in case anyone out there doesn't know. It's a vulgar term for breasts. And there are NO spelling mistakes whatsoever, that I can ascertain. (Typesetting mistakes, yes, but not many.) Right, my esteemed editor?

Then again, you see how important the cover and blurb is to manage expectations? That's why I really got to get that 3rd print run sorted out. If there ever will be a 3rd print run after this review.

On to other news:

1. MPH really is going for the Bloggers' Breakfast Club.

This is what I got from them:

The Bloggers Breakfast Club is a support group for book bloggers. Each session is held every fourth Saturday of each month from 11am-12.30pm at our new MPH outlet at Bangsar Village Phase II. This meet will be an informal session where book bloggers can get together and discuss latest happenings in the book world. The first meet is scheduled on 27th Feb, 11am-12.30pm, and will feature Yang-May Ooi and Sharanya Manivaran, two successful bloggers-cum-writers.

So, go for it guys!

2. Malay translators needed!! Since my 2nd Malay translator fell through, I've phoned in a few Malay friends to help with the DC Malay translation. And apparently, my publisher is also looking for one for his other books. Anyone interested? It's quite good pay, so I'm told, especially if you're looking for a little sideline.

Honk! is a success!

2007-01-01T17:25:00.000-08:00

Went to 1 Utama yesterday, and Lydia's book had already sold 20 copies within its 1st week!
That's 4 more than I did during my first week. Honk! is on its way to becoming an superbestseller!!

Congrats Lydia! I'm so proud to be associated with your book. My blurb for it would have been:
"Lydia writes with satirical wit and humour on situations that are clearly recognisable to any Malaysian, or indeed, any family. Particularly poignant and hilarious are her family scenes."

Anyhow, head over to Lydia's blog because she's running this contest http://lydiateh.wordpress.com/

1. If you have read Honk! If You’re Malaysian, say a few nice words on your blog. If they’re not so nice, please make them constructive. If you don’t have a blog, post your mini-review in hercomment box.

OR

2. Just spread word of this contest and provide a link back to this post.

Prizes galore at her blog!

Closing Date

Friday, 19 January 2007. Winner announcement will be made within a week of closing date.

So what are you waiting for? Head on over.

How mature do you have to be before you write?

2006-12-29T22:05:00.000-08:00

Note I said mature, not old! There are very precocious little kids out there, and very old
people who have the mentality of a 2 year old.

I'm referring to Eragon, which is loudly panned by most critics for its atrocious acting and
yes, plotline. Folks on the Internet everywhere are calling it juvenile. And to quote someone
from Ain't it Cool News: "The trouble is the author was only 15 years old when he wrote it.
I have nothing against 15 year old authors, but at that age, they tend to produce something
that mirrors Star Wars or Lord of the Rings."

And then the reviewer goes on to blatantly compare Eragon scene for scene with Star Wars.
And he has a point! Eragon is a rip off from Star Wars, only it's set in a fantasy world.

Which comes to my point: how mature do you have to be when you write?

I can certainly say I'm producing better things now than I did 20 years ago. Experience (not
necessarily age) broadens your perspective and it comes out in your character development.
You can be 60 and not have experienced anything of note. You can be 15 and have gone through
more life experience than most 40 year olds.

Another thing is: the more you read and write, the better you write. It's not enough just to read.
You have to put it on paper and let the words flow, and you get better and better that way.

Other things of note:

1) Ted, Yvonne and John have a new book launched today called Write Out Loud! Karen Ann Theseira IBook Project 1 and 2) is the editor and it's published by Oak Publications. Wish I could be there. But after said nasty abscess, now I have saliva leaking from my wound! Sigh. Anyway, not sure I want to present myself with half a paralyzed face just yet. Why is nerve recovery so slow?

Double sigh.
Anyway, congrats to all involved in this book!! Great success to you.

2) I now have 4 (maybe 6) stories for Dark City 2 out of about 10 or 12 I have received so far. A couple need to be reworked so I have sent them back to the writers concerned about rewrites. A writer to look out for is Jennifer Tai, who has a very easy style and prose which makes you want to go on reading to find out what happens next to her characters.

For those who haven't yet submitted, keep them coming. If I think your story has potential, I will write back to you to suggest how you can make it better. As always, as those of you who have received mail from me know, I'm very constructive in my criticism.

Making a story out of a bad personal experience

2006-12-25T18:37:00.000-08:00

I make a very bad patient. I tend to ignore everything about my own body, the very things
I ask others to seek immediate help for. Last Saturday, my operation wound swelled up
and turned red, but I ignored it because I thought it was part of the normal healing process.

Today, I have an really huge abscess that is suppurating out of 3 holes in my wound. No
wonder it couldn't heal.

The doctor today: "Why didn't come as soon as you knew it was red and tender?"
Me (sheepishly): "I thought it was part of the normal healing process. You see, I've never had
surgery before.
Doctor: "You've forgotten everything you learnt in medical school. Go look up your anatomy
again.

So as it is, I have an infected wound abscess compounded on my facial nerve problem. I think I was so focused on the facial nerve problem (I can't close my right eye or smile on my right side and I have to sleep with an eye pad on), wondering when it would get better the way everyone said it would (Dr said 2 weeks, most patients say 3 - 6 months) that I forgot everything I knew about wound healing.

Sigh.

So, I'm thinking of making this experience the first chapter of a new book (already commissioned after I finish a couple of projects) called "So, you want to be a doctor." This one is targeted at everyone who's curious to know what's it like to go through medical school (in this country) and to work as a doctor in a government hospital. Yes, it's a humorous collection of hospital anecdotes.

I even know how to end this first chapter. "I only wish I had gone through all this before I became a doctor because it would have made me a better and more compassionate one."

So, if you have had a bad personal experience, you can store it, internalize it and then write about it the way actors are asked to reproduce an emotional moment by reminiscing about something they have been through. You also have to disassociate from it a
little.

Then again, I'm getting an itch to write about strange beings that come out of suppurating abscesses to invade the world.

Lydia's launch and MPH initiatives

2006-12-16T02:06:00.000-08:00

Lydia had a most successful launch of Honk! if you are Malaysian today at the MPH Share a Gift
Carnival in Crowne Plaza Mutiara. There were children (some of them her own) tooting the 'roti'
horn and toting huge placards of her book cover. I thought the launch was extremely well done
and her book cover and endorsements by other personalities like Adibah Amin, Yvonne Lee, Kevin Cowherd and Phua Chu Kang were absolutely fabulous.

(I couldn't endorse it myself because I'm a pseudonym. Anyhow, I am credited for helping edit it.)
All photos at her blog.

Next, I had a long chat with Dato Ng (CEO of MPH Publishing) and Eric Forbes (Editor of MPH
Publishing) and these are some of the things you might be interested in:

1. MPH needs more editors! They are expanding, publishing more books than ever before. So please submit your name to Eric if you're interested. His blog is linked from here.

2. They also need more illustrators! Ditto the above.

3. MPH Online can deliver within 2 days to your home! And guess what, they will also deliver overseas. So anyone who has been asking where to buy Dark City (or any other Malaysian book) can go to http://www.mph.com.my/welcome/welcome.cfm

4. Calling all you book bloggers. Are you interested in meeting up once a month?
MPH will have a new store at Bangsar Village Phase 2. They're thinking of hosting this meeting, and throwing in tea! Interested?

5. Quill, the MPH magazine, is looking for more articles about writing. Interested? Submit to Renee Koh, who addy is in the mag.

Anyway, the chat was very fruitful and the outcome was that we might be having several book projects going with MPH. So much to do after I get back from my surgery on Monday!

How important are book covers?

2006-12-13T05:06:00.000-08:00

Very important apparently. And doesn't Honk's cover just make you want to pick it up?

Be sure to head to the MPH Share a Gift carnival in Crowne Plaza Mutiara this Saturday, and in
the afternoon, Lydia Teh will have the all-important launch of Honk! If you're Malaysian.

On the subject of covers, compare and contrast Tash Aw's original cover (previous post) with
the newer cover (the one with the pretty girl half looking over her back). Now, which one
are you more likely to pick up? Most writers underestimate the importance of an arresting cover, the one that makes you want to drop everything you have in your bag and go, "I MUST ahve that book. Now!"

Seriously though, your cover has to make the reader pick your book up above all the other 1 million titles in the shop. And your back cover has to be equally good, with blurbs that sell and a killer sypnosis that makes you want to read on.

Dark City's 2nd edition will also be getting a new cover plus a lot of backpage and inside page newspaper blurbs. Finally! I know some of you guys really hate the present DC cover and have been bugging me to get it changed.

Tash Aw doing Malaysia proud....

2006-12-08T18:23:00.000-08:00

...but what do you really think of his book?

http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2006/12/8/lifebookshelf/16105385&sec=lifebookshelf

THE Harmony Silk Factory by Malaysia-born Tash Aw is among the 138 novels nominated for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award 2007.

The first time novel – set in 1930s and 1940s Malaya – has already bagged numerous accolades including winning the 2005 Whitbread Book Award for First Novel and one of the 17 to make it to the long list of the 2005 Man Booker Prize for Fiction.

The Harmony Silk Factory, nominated by the National Library of Malaysia, is told amidst the background of World War II, exposing the cultural tensions of the era. Others in the long list include works by many accomplished authors like Tariq Ali’s A Sultan in Palermo, Nick Hornby’s A Long Way Down, Salman Rushdie’s Shalimar the Clown, Amy Tan’s Saving Fish From Drowning, Paul Auster’s The Brooklyn Follies and Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go.

Yup! Tash is certainly doing Malaysia proud! You go, man!

Now, to ask you all a honest question. What did you really think of his book? Those who have read it, of course.

Me, I thought the first part was unputdownable fabulous. Then the 2nd part (that of Snow) was a little....hmmm...let's just say I didn't get into the character. (I think Tash writes men better than women). And the third part - I really thought it was too verbose and too filled with long digressions about gardening. But since I'm not literary and like my stories told straight without straying too much away from the beaten path (that is, that the story should matter most of all and not the flowery digression), it's just my taste.

Aside, I've been diagnosed with a benign tumor and have to have it taken out. Going off to another country for the consultation on Monday. Sigh. I did so want to finish writing Billy Lang (now in Chapter 23) this year too
because my agent is so bugging me for the finished manuscript. I really need an Englishman to beta all the English idioms and Cockney tongue later.

Also, my publisher reckons he might have sold 2000 copies of DC to the National Library (and its 200 branches nationwide), which makes it a total of 4500 copies sold so far. 2nd edition printing is due in Jan with a new cover. Ah! I can now totally pay for all your submissions to Dark City 2!

Call for Dark City 2 submissions in Star

2006-12-02T17:18:00.000-08:00

And this is what appeared in the Star today. So far I have got 3 confirmed stories I am taking - all 3 so far are from established famous writers. But it really doesn't matter.

If you're a first time writer and you've got a twisty story to tell, do write in. Remember, this is one of the few anthologies that actually pays. Your twisty story can be from any genre - Trashcan Child itself would fall under the category of fantasy/science fiction. And if I think your story has promise, I will write back and ask you for edits.

But before you write in, read as many twisty short stories as you can and adhere to the rules of storytelling: Show, don't tell. Conversations must be in separate paragraphs. Build suspense until the very end. Always mystify the reader, don't reveal everything at one go. The ending must be a shocking punchline.

For twist in the tale kind of stories, I advise you to pen an outline beginning with the twist at the end, and then work backwards to start at the beginning.

More information in the sidebar.

http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2006/12/3/lifebookshelf/16124764&sec=lifebookshelf

Chill and thrill them

AUTHOR Xeus is calling for short story submissions for the sequel to Dark City: Psychotic and Other Twisted Malaysian Tales (Venton Publishing), scheduled to be published next April.

Each story should be between 3,000 and 8,000 words and must have a totally unexpected twist at the end. Writers of stories selected for publication will be paid RM150 and will receive four free copies of Dark City 2.

The closing date for submissions is Feb 28, 2007.

E-mail stories and enquiries to dark.city.xeus@gmail.com. For more information about Dark City, go to darkcity-xeus.blogspot.com.

Star serialisation Part 2

2006-12-02T17:08:00.000-08:00

Trashcan Child - Part Two

http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2006/12/3/lifebookshelf/16124605&sec=lifebookshelf

Do we get second chances?

In the final part of the condensation of Trashcan Child from Dark City: Psychotic and Other Twisted Malaysian Tales, author Xeus reveals the shocking twist in her tale.

ANOTHER year passed uneventfully. Patience grew up, learnt to run, stumble and fall. She learnt how to count and read, and with that came a period of books, toys and demands. Ida bought picture books for Patience by the dozen. Each night, before the toddler went to bed, Ida would read her a story.

August thirteenth dawned hopeful. Once again, Ida dressed Patience in her best clothes and waited for Pearl to come.

But once again, as the day waned into sunset, no one showed up to claim the child.

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

The ball whizzed through the open window and struck the Ming dynasty urn full force, shattering it to pieces.

“Oh!” Patience gasped. Her hands clapped over her mouth. Mama would be so mad. She loved her vases so and Patience had always been so careful not to lay a finger on them.

Almost not daring to look, Patience tiptoed into the house, where the precious urn lay in ruins at the back of the cabinet. Was there a way to glue the pretty blue and white porcelain pieces back? Was there a way to roll time back? And what was that grey dust scattered all round the shards and on the floor? Patience knelt to finger it. The Ming urn wasn’t empty after all. It was a vessel for what felt like –

“Patience! What have you done?”

Patience jumped back guiltily, cringing. “I didn’t mean to, Mama, please, I’ll pay you back.” At the back of her eyes, she felt hot tears begin to pool.

”Go to your room, child.”

That’s it? Patience peered from between her fingers. Her mother was kneeling, sifting through the grey ashes in her hand, the expression on her face pensive.

Her face was shrouded in such sadness that it struck Patience harder than any physical blow.

“I said go.” Her mother’s voice was flat, without affect.

Patience fled to her room.

Oh, but Mama was so good to her. And she was always disappointing Mama. She could see it in Mama’s eyes, as though she couldn’t quite measure up, no matter what she did.

The bedroom door creaked open. Wiping her eyes, Patience looked up. Her mother stood at the door, face wary.

“Oh, Patience.” Mama just stood there, as if afraid to come in. “The urn doesn’t matter. Really, it doesn’t.”

“But it does! I know how much you love it.”

Patience held out her arms, willing Mama to come to her. And Mama did. They hugged, and she knew all was forgiven. But as always, she could feel Mama holding back.

“What is it, Mama?” she whispered.

“Nothing. It’s your Special Day, that’s all.”

“Is it my birthday?”

“Sort of. Only better.”

“Why do I have a Special Day and not a birthday like the other kids?”

“I don’t know,” Mama said into her hair. “But one day, you and I will find out.”

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

She was being followed.

Behind them, furtively ducking behind street corners and into shop entrances, hiding behind throngs of pedestrians, always keeping a good distance away, Patience could glimpse the woman with the haunted eyes. The eyes mesmerized her, even from this distance, and an odd sense of déjà vu wormed through some submerged memory. Where had she seen that woman before? And why were such strong emotions associated with the memory? In all her eight years of life, she had never felt this way.

“Mama.” She tugged at her mother’s hand. “There’s a stranger following us.”

“Where?”

“There. That one.”

Mama looked long and hard at the woman, who was now unsuccessfully trying to merge with a lamppost. The woman was dressed in a baggy T-shirt and faded jeans, ripped at the knees. She had a mouth like a splash of wet paint against pale, pale skin, and she looked as though she hadn’t eaten well in years.

“Do you know her, Mama?”

“No. But she’s only a girl,” Mama murmured.

“Who is she?”

“I have no idea.”

“Why is she following us?”

“I don’t know, but we should keep walking.”

Later that night, Patience awoke to low voices from the lounge downstairs. Mama was having a rare midnight visitor. Creeping silently to the top of the landing, Patience bunched up her knees and sat on the top stair, peeking through the banisters and cocking her ears to listen.

“... couldn’t keep her,” the stranger from today stood at the door, barred from entering by Mama. “I was a mess. I had no money, no prospects.”

“That’s no excuse. What you did was very, very cruel.” Mama’s voice was severe.

“I know,” the stranger replied miserably. “That’s why I’m here now. Like you.”

“Don’t compare yourself to me. We’re not alike.”

“I didn’t mean for any of it to happen. I was just a child.”

“You should go.”

“I just wanted to see her, to see how she’d turn out.”

“Well, you saw her.”

”Can I talk to her? Just to tell her how sorry I am?”

“I think it’s best you didn’t. And now, you really should go.”

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

“I think I should take up nursing.”

Her mother looked up from the porcelain teacup she was sipping. “But why?”

“I want to help people.”

“I’d rather you be a doctor. You can help more people that way, and make a better living out of it.”

The sixteen-year-old Patience pursed her lips. They had had this conversation many times.

“Mama, I told you. I’m not interested in being a doctor. It’s not the only noble profession out there, okay?”

“It pays better.”

“But I’m not interested in money.”

“You think you’re not now, but –”

“Mama, I mean it. I’m really not interested in money.”

Patience looked so serious that Mama ruminated over this.

“No, I suppose not,” her mother said thoughtfully.

“I suppose none of it matters in the end.”

Patience sat down on the sofa next to her mother. “It’s not that bad, Mama. I’ll be helping a lot of people. You’ll be proud of me, you’ll see.” She laid a hand on Mama’s belly, where she knew the old scar lay, bunched up like an overgrown keloid gash.

“I’ll be able to help people who have cancer, just like you once had. You were lucky to be cured of it. But there are plenty of cancer victims out there with no one to support them, and I believe that’s where I can make a difference.”

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

As the years tumbled into one another, Ida watched from the sidelines as Patience graduated from nursing school, scored As in her class, landed a posting in the General Hospital’s oncology ward, and become – in her superior’s words – the nurse “most likely to make a difference in people’s lives”.

Now Ida understood why it could be such a joy to have children, to watch them grow from rough-edged saplings to worthwhile people on their own. But I wouldn’t have just any child. It could only have been Patience. And indeed, Patience was the sweetest, most tractable daughter anyone could wish for. Ida had brought her up well. When asked the secret of her success, Ida would say, “It was easy. I didn’t impose my will on her. I simply let her be.”

The vague fondness she had felt for Patience in her formative years had now deepened into an unshakeable bond between mother and child. Why, Ida realised, tears in her eyes, this is love. I love that trashcan child more than her own poor junkie mother could ever claim to.

One day, Patience came home, breathlessly flushed with excitement. “Oh, Mama, he’s asked me to marry him!”

“Who? That nice doctor you’ve been dating?”

“The one and only!” Patience flung her arms happily around Ida. “Oh, I’m so happy!”

Ida hugged her back. She would be alone again, free to carry on with her life before Patience had come into it.

Suddenly, Ida couldn’t bear the thought of going back to it.

“I’ll come home every week, I promise,” Patience assured her.

Patience kept her promise to visit every week, and she brought along her new husband to brighten up Ida’s days. And then Patience got pregnant and gave birth to a daughter of her own, whom she named after Ida. Later on, a son was added to the ensemble. Both children were spunky, opinionated and individualistic.

Instead of losing Patience, Ida had gained an entire family.

And then one day, it came time for her to die.

Ida was eighty-five years old. The baby Patience had come to her when she was fifty and was now thirty-four, a beautiful mother in her prime. “I’ve done well by her,” Ida thought as she lay in her hospital bed. “I really have. I have no regrets this time.”

Now, the sun was rising outside. The door yawned open, and Ida looked up, expecting the morning nurse.

But it was a visitor she had not seen in thirty-five years.

A little too late, Ida realised it was August thirteenth. Pearl stood beside her bed, as unchanged as the day Ida first saw her.

“You’ve come for her,” Ida stated.

“Actually, no,” Pearl said, her eyes smiling. “I’ve come for you.”

“It’s time then.”

“It’s time.”

Ida laughed softly. “I never thought I’d get a second chance.”

“All of us get second chances. Even the ones who don’t think they need one.”

“So have I – passed?”

“It’s not a test, Ida.” Pearl sat gently on the bed and took Ida’s hand. “How do you feel this time round?”

“Dying a second time is never easy. The first, so many years ago –” Ida shook her head “– the cancer ate at me. I was riddled with it. I asked to be cremated then because I wanted to burn it out.”

“But you kept the scar, to remind you.”

“I kept the scar,” Ida agreed. “Will she ... live on?”

“Until she’s ready to go, yes.”

Ida looked around her. “This place you guys have created. You can tell your boss it isn’t half-bad. Could do with better Darjeeling though.”

Pearl smiled. “Tell her yourself,” she said, closing Ida’s eyes one final time.

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

“Oh, my goodness me. You poor baby. Who could’ve put you in a trashcan?”

Pearl lifted up the dead baby, letting the soaked blanket fall from it back onto the garbage bags.

Someone had drowned the poor little thing and cast it aside like yesterday’s trash.

“Don’t worry, little one,” she crooned as it opened its hidden eyes to smile up at her. “We’ll find you a home yet. You’ll get your second chance.”

New blog look and call from Thailand

2006-12-01T18:08:00.000-08:00

How do you like the new blog look? I spent 3 hours shuffling things around and it still looks a little
off!

Anyhow, I got this call from an American guy called Geoff, who runs a website at http://www.thaioasis.com/literature/bkkbangkokfiction.php . This one previews all the Thai books. He wants to review Dark City for the Malaysian part of this website for expats and visitors to our neck of woods.

He really loved Dark City, especially Scarlet Woman and The Maid, and he asked me, "How did you get into the mind of such low-lifes?" To which I replied something like, "Uh...it takes a low-life to know another low-life, so it was kinda easy writing about them."

Anyway, look out for Yvonne Lee and her new Malay translation of 'A Sky is Crazy.' Sure to skyrocket to the Malay bestseller charts soon, and I can tell ya, Malay books sell by the hundred thousands.

Star serialisation - Trashcan Child

2006-11-25T18:24:00.000-08:00

Ah, here finally comes the first part of one of Dark City's Star serialisations. I had a hard time choosing 'sanitary' stories for newspaper publishing, I can tell you:)

http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2006/11/26/lifebookshelf/16124577&sec=lifebookshelf

Trashcan Child

When a woman who doesn’t want to be a mother is given a baby nobody wants, things can take a macabre turn. This is the first of a two-part condensation of Trashcan Child, one of the stories in Dark City: Psychotic and Other Twisted Malaysian Tales, by Xeus.

AS the most splendid sunrise ignited the universe, lighting treetops and their slumbering winged tenants into an explosion of birdsong and morning, the baby awoke.

The first thing she did was to stretch herself, bunching up her fists to strike at surrounding objects; her little hand encountered a soggy wetness, a mushiness alien to anything she’d ever felt before, and she withdrew it sharply.

With the smells came a more familiar sensation, the belaboured effort to breathe, to fill her lungs with deep, pungent air and her starved brain with oxygenated clarity. Her little chest rose up and down rapidly as it worked itself up, sparking little black and gold stars in her vision as a wave of dizziness swept across her. Yesterday was a struggle too, when she had been half-submerged in that sticky fluid; she had inhaled it, and the insides of her windpipes had been seared with a sudden agony. Through her watery prison, a woman’s shadowed face rippled, with hooded eyes, quivering mouth in a semblance of weeping. The baby had smiled up at that face, held up her arms to be embraced (but couldn’t, because they were pinioned), and so she opened her mouth ‘O’ style to eke out a like-shaped bubble, which rose lazily to dissipate at the surface.

The baby waited, and she wasn’t disappointed. Along came the crunch of footsteps on gravel. A shadow fell across the edge of her bed, and a face peered down, framed by blue sky. Pretty smiling eyes accompanied by dimpled cheeks.

“Oh, my goodness me. You poor baby. Who could’ve put you in a trashcan?”

The words were unintelligible to the baby, but she smiled anyway, sensing rescue and possibly a whole new world than that which she had been born into. . And indeed, firm hands clasped her shaking body and lifted her up, holding her close. Warm, warm flesh and the soft smell of flowers.

******************

From her paned windows upstairs, Ida could see the woman approaching, bundle in her arms.

But I don’t want this.

It’ll be good for you. To have someone to care for other than yourself.

Can’t you find someone else? Someone more ... appropriate? Someone who actually likes children?

Ida. We’ve talked about this.

The doorbell rang, a booming chime in the blessed stillness of the house. I still don’t want this, Ida thought as she made her dignified way downstairs, past a child’s bedroom with a freshly painted cot (her old baby cot, kept by her late mother in the hope that she would have a baby of her own some day). Carefully chosen landscape paintings hugged the walls of the hallway and landing, alongside carefully displayed vases, crystal and a potpourri of fragile collectibles.

Of particular reverence, at least in terms of holding centre court, was a beautiful Ming Dynasty urn in the living room display cabinet. This was surrounded by lush Italian furniture, embroidered in red and gold thread, upon which were now draped objects unfamiliar to the house: a new child’s blanket, several diaper bags and a hamper of baby clothes.

Through the frosted glass panels of her oak door, Ida could see the geometrically distorted head of Pearl. She opened it.

On the terraced steps leading up to the door, alarmed by the sudden intrusion, the baby in Pearl’s arms began to cry. Ida’s mouth immediately flattened into a firm, thin line.

“Oh, come now, Ida, don’t look like that. You were a baby once. I’ll bet you cried too,” Pearl admonished.

“I’ve never liked babies. I told you that. Never liked children or teenagers either. Can’t abide the noise and the fuss. Always crying. Always demanding something.”

“Not all children are like that. It’s how you bring them up.”

Pearl handed her the baby. “Here. Hold her like this. That’s right. Support her neck like this. She can’t hold up her head yet.”

Ida clasped the crying baby to her chest, grimacing as she tried to get a comfortable fit. How did one hold a crying baby?

Were you supposed to coo or ignore them till the noise went away? The baby felt alien in her arms, like a guilty burden that weighed too heavy for its own good.

“How do I get it to shush?”

“Now, Ida, it’s a ‘she’, not an ‘it’. Talk to her a little. Hold her close to your bosom. She’ll calm down after she gets used to you.”

The baby wailed louder. Ida held it away from her body in distaste. “Here. You take her back. You’re better with babies.”

“No, I won’t.” Pearl back-stepped lightly. “You’re going to have to get used to this all by yourself.”

“But I don’t know anything about babies!”

“You have the books. You have everything you need. Like any other new mother, you’re just going to have to experience it for yourself.”

“I’ve never wanted to be a mother,” mumbled Ida beneath her breath. “I’m too old.”

“I’ll come back on August thirteenth, at half past seven am.”

August thirteenth! Almost a whole year away. “But I can’t look after her all this while. She’ll need a proper home.”

But Pearl had already turned tail. She was walking abruptly down the drive.

“Wait! What shall I call it ... I mean her? What’s her name?”

“She doesn’t have a name! You’ll have to find her one. And remember, I won’t be in contact till August thirteenth!”

“But what if I need to call you or ask you something about the baby? How will I get in touch?”

“You won’t need to.”

And with that, Pearl disappeared, leaving Ida all alone with the baby.

******************

The sound of crying once again wafted from the baby’s room at the other end of the corridor. Every night for the past two weeks, the infant had woken up at two-hourly intervals, as though she was a clockwork doll designed to torment.

Why couldn’t the cursed child stay asleep? Surely she couldn’t be hungry again?

As she wearily got up, Ida reflected on the reasons why she had remained childless. The Australians had a term for this: she was not “clucky”. She had no desire to be a mother hen, and if she had a biological clock, it was in need of greasing. But it was precisely this: the nighttime terrors, the profound weariness which she suspects will worsen as the months take their toll, and the sense the rewards would not commensurate with the effort put in. She had always seen babies as a chore, an extra mouth to feed (and at ungodly hours), a little wriggling bundle to zap her away from her precious interests: like collecting antiques, reading and sipping tea on the terrace, going to the spa and having a facial.

Indeed, for the past two weeks, she had neither the time nor the energy to do the things she liked. The book she was reading, Paulo Coelho’s latest, remained dog-eared at the very spot she’d left it when she had been waiting for Pearl and the child.

In the cot, the baby’s face was puckered a furious red. As Ida forced the bottle into her open mouth, she began to suck lustily. It was still “she”, Ida had not progressed to naming her yet. She finished the entire two ounces, spat out the teat and burped on her own accord. Then she promptly fell asleep on Ida’s shoulder, drool spooling down her guardian’s silk pyjamas.

Drat. If I put her down on the cot, she might wake up and start crying again. Ida couldn’t bear the sound of crying; it grated on her nerves, like squeals on a chalkboard. And yet, she retained a sense of responsibility to the child. It came from long-standing penitence; she would never be an intemperate caregiver, like so many guardians are wont to be.

Brain numbed from accumulated fatigue and half-conscious of what she was doing, Ida shuffled back to her own bedroom, baby still slung like a sack of potatoes across her shoulder. She crept into her rumpled bed and lay down flat, the baby still tucked into the angle of her back and shoulder. Before she knew it, she had awoken. The sun was streaming through the windows and it was high morning.

The baby had slept for a good six hours.

The next night, Ida dragged the cot into her bedroom. But the baby never slept as well as when she was next to Ida in bed. Just the nearness of Ida alone seemed to calm the child down, so that she slept through the night.

At the end of the month, Ida named the baby Patience, for their shared experience of that certain virtue.

******************

The year passed uneventfully. Patience learnt to crawl, walk and say “Mama”. Ida marvelled at each milestone even as the baby doubled in weight and size.

“Don’t call me Mama. I’m not your Mama. And this is only temporary, lest you get too comfortable.”

“Mama,” insisted Patience.

“On your Special Day, you’ll have a new Mama.”

August thirteenth became the Special Day, the eagerly awaited hour when Ida would gain her redemption and Patience would be carted away to a better home. Ida was not sorry Patience was leaving. It was time for a new beginning. There had been satisfying moments, like when Patience took her first step and said her first word. But Ida was not mother material; she retained no firm attachments to the child other than a vague fondness, like that of a nanny or governess. She felt no kinship. Perhaps what the old wives said was true: one could not love a child unless the same blood flowed in their veins.

But still, there were moments of bliss. Like the pure unadulterated look of joy on Patience’s face each morning when she cried “Mama”. Of being the centre of the child’s (someone’s) universe.

On August thirteenth, the two of them woke up early. Ida dressed Patience in her best baby frock, the one with the pretty blue bows, and topped it off with the cutest white bonnet.

“Someone will be coming for you. You’ll have a new home, and new clothes.”

“Mama,” Patience said, holding out her arms to Ida.

Maybe I’ll kind of miss the little tot, Ida mused. But it was time to move on. Thinking of tomorrow, she was almost filled with dread. But there’s nothing to worry about. You’ve earned it.

Half past seven came and went like a bee cruising through their home. As Ida and Patience waited, the sun rose high, evaporated the dew and wilted the flowers, and still no one came. At midday, they ate sandwiches and mashed peas on the terrace. At twilight, as the shadows grew long and the sky turned to dusk, Ida took off Patience’s bonnet.

“Home,” Patience said.

“That’s right, we’re going inside.” Time for bed. “Maybe they’ll come for you tomorrow.”

“Mama,” Patience retorted, and grabbed fistfuls of Ida’s hair as she was carried inside the house.

Part Two of ‘Trashcan Child’ next week.

It's never too young to start writing (and self publishing)

2006-11-17T23:19:00.000-08:00

Or perhaps I should title this post '15 year old self-published author makes it big.'

Behold the story of Christopher Paolini at http://www.alagaesia.com/ . You all might have seen the movie posters and trailers for 'Eragon,' the latest fantasy movie to come from a children's book. Everyone knows that once you've got your book made into a movie, you've really hit it big time.

Now, young home-schooled Christopher (what is it about these home-schooled kids that make them geniuses?) began writing Eragon when he was 15. It took him 1 year to write the 1st draft, and another year to revise it. His family then decided to self-publish the book. A 3rd year was spent with editing, typesetting and designing.

And then the whole family spent another year promoting the book themselves. Beginning with talks at the local library and high school, they traveled across the U.S. Then Christopher's hard work paid off. The stepson of author Carl Hiaasen read the book and brought Eragon to the attention of his publisher, Alfred A. Knopf. It was then traditionally published and there are currently 1 million copies in print.

Naturally, the movie script followed.

So learnings from this:

1. It's never too young to start
2. Even if it was initially tough, you might hit it big one day
3. Self publishing is not a tabboo. Just keep at it.

Speaking of which, I've got 3 stories already for Dark City 2, including one from the eminent Tunku Halim and two others from good writer friends. Keep them coming in :)

If you had to write a Malaysian story....

2006-11-09T04:04:00.000-08:00

...what would it be?

There are more Malaysian writers writing about circa WW2 than there are law-
breaking Klang assemblymen. But for me, WW2 is a pretty pedestrian subject.

Okay, I suppose if it's written well, it's a good read.

BUT why don't Malaysians write about:

1. A parallel Malaysia where the 3 races are actually at war - contemporary setting. When the story opens, we have a protagonist who is a freedom fighter.
2. Historical fiction chronicaling the life of a street prostitute set in the era
of the Portuguese
occupation
3. Hang Li Po - the true story of a princess who was sold into bondage
(well, kind of)
4. 'Misunderstood' - the real story of Hang Jebat, who was branded as all-time villain wrongly.
(In this version, Hang Tuah is the actual villain)
5. The Fantastic 'Boleh' Four - 4 teenagers from Assunta Secondary School find they actually have superpowers
6. Lady Aminah's Lover - set in WW1 (ah, there's a difference finally), this is a Malaysian version of Lady Chatterly's Lover

Any suggestions? (Hey, this is fun!) The thing is - who's going to write it?

David Gemmell is dead!

2006-10-28T03:53:00.002-07:00

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,60-2293450,00.html

I read this and was completely shocked! For those who're unfamiliar with David Gemmell's work, he's a fantasy writer. His works I enjoyed the most are the 'Lion of Macedon' series (about Parmenion, Alexander the Great's general) and 'Troy' (on Aeneas and Andromache).

What I admire about his works are his incredibly vivid action scenes. When you read them, they're utterly page turning and unputdownable, almost as though a movie was being screened in front of your eyes.

I learnt this from him:

1. Legends are good story fodder. Alexander the Great and Troy are eternal stories. But in writing them, give them a fresh angle by focusing on a lesser known character like Parmenion or Aeneas instead of the usual Alexander and Achilles/Hector types.

2. Make your villains as tortured and complicated as possible. Make them capable of good.

3. Obstacles and supporting characters with hidden motives must be strewn at every path. Make it really difficult for the hero! Make them face turmoil at every opportunity! (Parmenion, King Philipp's best friend, actually fathered Alexander the Great because Philipp was too drunk to do the deed on the wedding night). (Aeneas falls in love with Andromache, a lesbian, who is betrothed to marry his favorite cousin, Hector.)

I will sorely miss him.

Is non fiction tougher to write than fiction?

2006-10-26T05:30:00.000-07:00

John Grisham has this to say.

"BESTSELLING author John Grisham has turned to non-fiction for the first time, and, surprised by the amount of time and energy it took, he believes it may well be the last.

The Innocent Man is the real-life story of of Ron Williamson and his friend Dennis Fritz, who were charged with the 1982 murder of a cocktail waitress.

Williamson, who was mentally unstable, was convicted and sent to death row in the United States, where he came within five days of being executed for a murder he did not commit. He and Fritz were eventually freed after DNA tests showed there was no link between the men and the crime.

John Grisham signing copies of his first non-fiction book, The Innocent Man, in New York recently.

“This was too much hard work,” Grisham said. ”Non-fiction requires endless research, fact-checking, accuracy – things I’m not know for,” he told an audience at the annual literature festival in Cheltenham, England, recently. “This book probably took five times the effort that a novel takes. I don’t want to do it again.”

Grisham was drawn to the story when he read Williamson’s obituary in the New York Times in 2004. The miscarriage of justice against Williamson, who shouted angrily at witnesses during his trial after he had been denied psychiatric medicine for months, reinforced Grisham’s doubts about the US legal system.

“It didn’t change my opinion of the death penalty because I’ve been opposed to it for a long time,” he said. “It goes back to the issue of a fair trial. If you can’t give people a fair trial, then your system is broken.”

The book is also an attack on what Grisham saw as sloppy police work in the small town of Ada, Oklahoma, and its impact on an innocent man. “He (Williamson) went insane on death row and came within five days of being executed, and when finally he was exonerated he drank himself to death.”

Grisham, one of the world’s most successful writers with global sales of more than 200 million books, recalled his humble beginnings as a lawyer and novelist. The print run on his first book, A Time to Kill, was a modest 5,000, and its lack of success nearly put him off writing for good.

“I bought 1,000 (copies), and I sold the copies from the trunk of my car,” he said. After the failure of A Time to Kill, Grisham decided to have one more try with The Firm, which he made “as blatantly commercial” as he could. The Firm turned into a movie starring Tom Cruise, flew off the shelves and established Grisham as a literary star. He has written 18 novels in total, many of which have been turned into feature films. – Reuters

Anyway, I have always found fiction more difficult to write than non-fiction. Maybe it's because I don't research that much! And I've learnt something else from John Grisham - just because your first book isn't a success, it doesn't mean your second book won't be. (And when you become a success, your first book will sell too.) And in order to sell a lot of books, you have to make your stories as 'blatantly commercial' as possible. I wonder what he meant by that.

Book on Malaysian anecdotes - collecting submissions

2006-10-21T20:00:00.000-07:00

At least they're going to pay you with 1 free book and some MPH vouchers! Closing date is Oct 30th.

On another note, my agent came back from the Frankfurt book fair. And he says:

1. He's collected a lot of publisher contacts, and many are interested in Billy Lang. BUT they want to see the finished manuscript naturally. I asked if it was possible to shoot for the moon (to quote Cecelia Ahern in PS, I love you) and talk to Harper Collins. He said it's always possible.

2. Note that these things take a long time to get. Months. Sometimes years. So an interested party doesn't always mean it will work out.

3. He's even got a few interesting in republishing Dark City for the UK market. Including the one that did Shanghai Baby because they're interested in Asian works. We'll see what comes out of that!

Meanwhile, he says there's a Singaporean publisher really interested in collecting Malaysian Ghost stories, and he asked me to write it. I said, "Are you kidding? I'm writing Billy Lang AND collecting for Dark City 2. Whad'ya think I am? An octopus with 8 arms and 4 writing brains?"

So if anyone's interested to get published, you know what the Singaporean market craves for.

Ah! Importantly, I might have my first story already for Dark City 2. I won't reveal the contributor yet but I really liked the plot and was quite pleasantly surprised/shocked at the ending. I asked the contributor to rework the story to make it longer and more suspenseful.

And the rest of you fellow writers, bring your contributions on!

When the story writes itself

2006-10-18T06:13:00.000-07:00

Ever began writing something with a fixed plan in mind, e.g: By Chapter 7, protagonist should be getting to Place A, or by Chapter 16, the war begins etc, only to have your story carried away by the characters themselves?

I was reading Sharon's interview with Anita Desai. And even those Booker Prize winners/nominees don't know who the murderer is until the end of the book! Stephen King also espouses this method. "Which is more fun?" he says. "Going along for the ride with the characters, not knowing what will happen next? Or planning every step of the way?"

I have to agree with Stephen. It's a lot more fun going for the journey without knowing what happens next. This is exactly what I'm experiencing now while writing Billy Lang, my children's book. I'm up to Chapter 9 now, and I have 10 extra chapters in the bag of what will happen to Billy later once he gets past this hurdle. And I'm finding that Billy is writing himself. (Or the hurdle keeps on getting more complicated all on its own.)

For example:

1. I had initially planned for Billy to be kidnapped by the boy with red eyes in Chapter 4 and whisked off immediately into the Demon Realm, whereupon they will go on a demon train ride through terrains never seen before by man.

BUT

Billy is kidnapped, but seized from his captors instead by a magician with the souls of dead children for his familiars. He is now imprisoned in the House with No Windows and is planning an ingenious escape or he would be certain to face an awful death. Naturally, obstacles conspire that this escape won't be easy.

Things just happen to the guy (out of no volition of my own) and he keeps finding ways to stay one step ahead! It's like I'm thinking, "What would he do in this situation?" Or, "What would this villain do in this situation?" Or, "What would this secondary character do in this situation to complicate matters? They're not going to be innocent bystanders, are they?" And they all end up as real people trying to outwit one another.

Maybe it's like what John Irving says, "I just think of the characters, and they write themselves."

(Bangs head on the wall.)

Anyway, at least I'm having fun with a protagonist who came completely to life all on his own.

Sun interview

2006-10-14T23:26:00.000-07:00

I'm really slow with this, I know. It was published over a month ago.

Dark City 2 - calling for submissions

2006-10-11T04:54:00.000-07:00

Ok guys, it's a go. Please do contribute if you want to and do spread the word around. Remember, this will be one of the very few anthologies which actually pays!

Dark City 2

For the Dark City sequel, which is scheduled to be published in April 2007, author Xeus is calling for short story submissions. Dark City 2 will be an anthology of dark and twisted Malaysian tales much in the tone of the first book.

The submission criteria are:
1) Each short story should contain around 3000 - 8,000 words. Please use double spacing and Microsoft Word.
2) Each plot must be in the same vein as Dark City 1, which are stories about the darker side of Malaysian life. The short story genres can be contemporary, horror, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, romance, Roald Dahl-style ironic etc.
3) The stories must meet the English and storytelling standards of the first book. (In other words, the editor will only select only what is publishable)
4) Each short story must contain a twist which hopefully no reader will see coming
5) This is open to published and unpublished writers of all ages. For unpublished writers, this allows you an opportunity to be published and to use this in your literary resume. You will then be able to sell your work more easily to a future publisher.

Your story will be selected on the strength of its plot, your ability to beguile the reader, and the shock impact of your twist. Your story must be concise, gripping and satisfying! Selected contributors will be paid RM 150 and 4 free books for each story. You can submit as many stories as you like.

The editor reserves the right to conceptually edit selected stories in the purpose of making them more appealing and ask you for a rewrite.

Closing date is Feb 28th, 2007. Good and publishable stories will be selected on a first come, first serve basis. So if you’re interested, get cracking now!

Stories are to be submitted to dark.city.xeus@gmail.com

For more information about Dark City, log on to www.darkcity-xeus@blogspot.com/

Dark City - the sequel

2006-10-09T04:50:00.000-07:00

Ah, apparently the National Library of Malaysia wants to order 500 copies of Dark City to distribute nationwide in all the library branches. I wonder if they know what they're buying :) Such a contrast to the Singaporean National Library, yes?

If this sale goes through, I would have sold almost all of the 3000 first print run already. (That is, if the bookstores don't return them at the end of the year!)

On another note, my Malay translation is taking a long, long time. Apparently, the guy has translated only 3 chapters!! My publisher says he will find another guy if this one doesn't complete it on time. Does translation actually take that long? (Okay, maybe if I did it, it will.) I = saya. He = dia.

Anyway, my publisher and I agreed on some things already. We want to do a sequel, and since I'm writing Billy Lang, there is one way to get a sequel out easily. That's right, I'm calling for submissions.

But before I go to the press with it, I need your opinions.

1. Since I believe in paying for submissions (unlike some anthologies), would RM 150 + 4 free books to each contributor cut it? (Note I'm taking this money out myself, and we're never ever sure what we're going to earn per book. And other people who collect anthologies don't even pay.)

2. My criteria are:
a) Up to 12,000 words per story
b) Must be in the same vein as the stories in Dark City 1 - meaning stories about the darker side of Malaysian life. And it must meet the English and storytelling standards. (In other words, I will only select what is publishable)
c) Each story must contain a twist that hopefully no reader will see coming
d) This is open to published and unpublished writers of all ages. For unpublished writers, this allows you an opportunity to say you've been published somewhere, and to sell your future work easier to a publisher.

Does this sound feasible to you?

And on yes, please do spread the word so that people can contribute. I will select the stories, of course.

Readers' writes and Yvonne Foong's book

2006-10-05T05:07:00.000-07:00

Do you, now and then, Google yourself?

I must confess I do it once a week. Since I have 4 or 5 pen names, I Google them every now so often. I also Google my real name to see what pops up. But the words that I Google most are "Dark City, Xeus." (I know, I know, I'm very pathetic.)

Anyway, I Google myself just to find snippets like these on other blogs. This one absolutely made my day.

http://thehaberdashery.wordpress.com/

"I noticed local author Xeus’s Dark City on the shelves, found an open copy, read the first page and couldn’t put the book down until the whole tale was finished. Xeus’s writing is elegantly understated, her dialogue noirish and she does clever flashback cuts to increase the suspense. This former fan of twisted, violent tales was impressed. It’s another book to add to the shelves next visit."

Was at MPH 1 Utama the other day and found Yvonne Foong's book 'I'm not sick, just a bit unwell' featured prominently at the bookshelf end in the Malaysiana section. It was rapidly depleted too! Please do support her. Congrats, Yvonne, for getting it distributed so well.

Reply from UK publisher....and how to write humor

2006-09-29T05:05:00.000-07:00

How exciting! I actually got my first reply from a UK publisher for my children's book, Billy Lang. It's far from being an affirmative, but at least they are willing to look at it.

I think you must think me lame, but this is very exciting for me!

"Thanks for this. We are looking at the programme for next year but not
including much children's fiction unless it fits well with other titles we
are planning. Anyway we will take a look and get back to you.

All the best."

On another note, I want to thank MPH MidValley for giving me a wonderful poster display, which absolutely works because the books began moving as soon as it was up. They are so kind!

I'm currently reading the 'banned book' The Marriage Market, by Nisha Minhas, which is absolutely hilarious, her funniest book yet. This one is about a British born Indian girl marrying a white man and being disowned by her family. It's a laugh a minute romp about a very serious subject.

Excerpt:
"With a hangover so severe that Aaron had to threaten his nine goldfish with his George Foreman Lean Mean Fat Reducing Grilling Machine for making too much gill noise, he arrived..."

Which brings me to: how you write humor?
I have been writing humor for ages in my That's Just Suzie column, alongside other articles.
And if there're several things I'm certain about:

1. You've got to be Over The Top (OTT) with your descriptions
2. Hit your readers with totally unexpected sentences
3. Your situations and dialogue have to be OTT
4. Mishaps are funny. People like reading about bad things that happen to other people, which are written in a funny manner.

What else do you think makes a book funny?

My first reading

2006-09-23T19:03:00.000-07:00

I have never been to a reading before, and so I always had this impression we must not read for too long (just enough to give everyone a flavour of what you write) or everyone will get bored!

So I arrived for the Bangsar reading really, really late. There were flash floods and hailstones around the Bangsar area, and for a moment, I expected to see frogs raining down too (it can happen), all because it was my first reading and the powers that be are conspiring to keep me from it. But I was not be deterred and I arrived 1 hour late.

(I also wished I had driven my Harrier instead of my very low Cellica, then I would have gone through the flash floods in a twinkle of an eye.)

I arrived when Joy (I don't know her, I got her name from Ted's blog) was reading a part of her script. Ted was there too (hi Ted!) and I met Aneeta. Sharon was busy coordinating everything, what a dear. Then Faridah read one ofher poems from The Art of Naming, about being a Muslim woman behind the veil, and I thought it was pretty poignant.

Then it was my turn! Sharon introduced me, and when she told everyone my book had been banned by the Singaporean National Library, everyone laughed. I read the first part of One if By Land (thanks Argus). After that, Aneeta read the shortest story from Snapshots (I can verify it was really short), and then it was all over because Jit Murad couldn't make it.

I had fun. So if you have a reading, you can invite me anytime. And maybe next time, like Yvonne, I will get a few friends to enact a scene. (PG rated, of course!)

Borneo Post review

2006-09-22T03:36:00.001-07:00

Thanks to dear Georgette for reviewing the book in Kuching, the land of the great want tan mee.

Fiendishly Malaysian

Dark City
Xeus

My book buddies and I have a long-standing issue with novels set in Malaysia and/or written by Malaysians. They either sound like they’re trying way too hard (usually very adjective-happy, with more sex and gore than necessary) or have a disturbing obsession with World War 2… nothing wrong in itself but can we stop dreaming of the past and move on to the present already?

It happened and I nearly missed it… all because of a mediocre cover and a hardwired aversion to Malaysian books.

‘Dark City’ appeared quietly in the local interest section of certain bookstores in town. I resisted, but reviews in national papers were positive, so I gave in and bought a copy. And wow, what a read that book turned out to be.

This effort by an author only known as Xeus contains 12 stories, each taking place somewhere in Malaysia and each containing that oh-so-important a twist that turns everything you’ve read so far on its head.

It begins by tossing you straight into the deep end. ‘Psychotic’ is a tale of Rachel, a young woman was kidnapped by a rapist and taken on a terrifying ride. The descriptions pulled no punches. The narrative is broken up by flashbacks to childhood, which readers would assume is Rachel's way of dealing with her present situation.

Let's just say that the clues were there all along.

'Trashcan Child', one of my personal favourites, is one of those stories where nothing really earth-moving seems to happen, until the last couple of pages reveals the actual context of the situation. It is about Pearl, who reluctantly adopted dumped baby Patience and raised her to adulthood.

'The Six Million Dollar Man' is the wealthy 60-year old Peter Song, whose selfish ways are about come back to haunt him... in ways you and I probably wouldn't have thought possible.

'The Resistance' describe the plans of a terrorist cell that is about to launch an attack on all of mankind. A flight attendant suspects something, but the perpetrators were way beyond her mild clairvoyant skills. This tale masterfully blends together two hot world issues of the recent years. I was laughing with delight (I'm twisted too, ok?) by the end of it. Incidentally, this is the author's favourite tale as well.

'A Grave Error' is a tribute to Edgar Allen Poe's fascination of being buried alive.

'Monster' sees a spoilt child being kidnapped. The father pays the ransom but didn't anticipate that someone else would want his monster of a son.

A character who was the main player in one story reoccur in a cameo role in other stories, which was pretty neat.

The author reveals little of herself, except that she is a freelance writer with 10 years of newspapers and magazine columns behind her. She did disclose that 'Psychotic' was originally meant for another anthology.

"I was asked to write a compilation of Asian erotica for the European market." she explained in a short email interview. "I started out with the best of intentions, but I cannot write straightforward erotica without twisting the story. When my agent read Psychotic, he gave up on me writing erotica! So Dark City was born."

One would think that opening an anthology with such a graphic tale may cause certain readers to put down the book and miss out on the other, less volatile stories. With the exception of the Singapore library banning her book from their shelves, there's been little such reaction in Malaysia.

But Xeus doesn't expect everyone to like all 12 stories.

"It's very hard to like each and every story in any anthology. Even Roald Dahl and Jeffrey Archer's collections, I end up only liking 3 or 4." she said.

'Dark City' may not be my epitome of the great Malaysian novel, but it does show that we're finally getting there.

Xeus is currently working on a children's book.

'Dark City' is available at all good bookstores in town.

Should writers be paid/paid better?

2006-09-20T02:43:00.000-07:00

I read with interest what Lydia blogged about: Carolyn Keene, the author of the Nancy Drew series, apparently doesn't exist. The publishers hired ghostwriters to write the novels. They were paid only $125 for each book and were required to give up all rights and maintain confidentiality.

There's no Franklin W. Dixon either, it's a pseudonym for the authors of The Hardy Boys.

Now, I feel terribly sorry for the ghostwriters involved here because Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys have sold millions of books worldwide. AND we do know there's a bit of that going on locally too. Some publishers of anthologies are NOT PAYING their short story contributors, citing it's a priviledge just to be published. Is this right or wtong?

Also, down South, Russell Lee actually collects emails on True Singaporean Ghost Stories from all over. Does he pay these people? After all, the stories came from them, not him. Anyone knows?

Now, let's say if I were to start an anthology under Dark City, and I were to collect the dark stories centering on KL from a bunch of different writers (actually, I was thinking of doing that) - how much should each writer be paid? (Bearing in mind there will be 12 stories.) By percentage of the take or a one off?

Yvonne Lee has wonderful updates on the media section of her website, The Sky is Crazy (see sidebar.) She's now appeared in Prestige and Female Singapore. Congrats to Yvonne for having over 40 media appearances now, the most of any Malaysian author!!

Does bookstore display matter?

2006-09-16T17:57:00.000-07:00

You bet it does!

Example: Was walking in 1 Utama yesterday, when I noticed the new MPH bestseller list. And I was over the moon when I saw Dark City at

No. 2 in the Humanities section (after The World is Flat)

No. 5 in the overall Bestseller section

I believe (not sure) this list is for June, July, Aug, seeing that the last list was posted in June.

Now, I believe the reason for the book's success in 1 Utama (It's sold over 110 copies there to date), is because of the wonderful display. The store manager is extremely supportive and he gave the book a pillar+poster display across the magazine section for 3 months, not to mention cash register display and also eye level display at the local section.

Contrast that to MPH MidValley, where the book was selling well for the first month when it was at the Hot and New section in front. Due to lack of space, it was relegated to the Malaysiana section, and thereafter, sold slowly. A lot of friends have complained to me they can't find the book in MidValley!

Nevertheless, together with Yvonne and Lydia for moral support (thanks girls!! We're truly formidable when we're together!), last week I've begged MidValley to give me a pillar+poster display too. They so kindly agreed, and my publisher has since printed an updated poster for them. It's up to me to follow up next week.

(MidValley's bestseller list is particularly important because that's the one that goes into The Star every week.)

So everyone, do make sure your books are displayed well. If you can't concentrate on all bookstores, just make sure you target the MPHs in MidValley and 1 Utama, Kinokuniya and Popular Ikano. These bookstores sell the most books. And if you have time, go down to the airport and target the bookstores there - books there seem to move with the speed of lightning.

Meanwhile, dear Sharon is having a reading this Saturday 23rd Sept in Bangsar (please see her blog). She's asked me to do a reading as well. I keep asking her, "Am I too low brow for your group?" But she won't hear of it! So I thought of reading 'The Resistance', simply because it's the shortest!! Is it a good choice?

I've also typed the entire Klue interview down below, because it's easier to do that than to wait for my husband to do a hi-res scan.

Writers, there's a job for you!

2006-09-13T05:13:00.000-07:00

Heads up everyone. There's a job at Star Weekender, full time. Editor's asked me to help her find someone.

Anyone interested?

Today is Roald Dahl day, as Ted and Sharon have blogged about already. Roald Dahl is one of those writers I actually study. And how do you 'study' a writer?

Well, when you're reading to 'study' instead of just for pleasure, you're actually taking note of the plot, turn of phrase, word usage, beginning, middle and ending etc. You're taking note of the style, the dialogue, the plot points within plot points, and how the writer builds up suspense and ends every chapter.

When I read Dahl, Poe and Jeffrey Archer, I'm actually studying their short stories and how to write twists.

When I read Margaret Atwood and Tom Wolfe, I'm studying their prose.

When I read Dan Brown, Michael Crichton or John Grisham, I'm studying their plotting and build up.

When I read Stephen King, I'm studying how to build up horror.

When I read Sophie Kinsella, Wendy Holden, Plum Sykes, I'm studying how to write humour in chick lit.

Who do you study?

Klue interview

2006-09-11T06:48:00.000-07:00

INTRODUCING XEUS

The denizens who inhabit Dark City, the first collection of stories by local author Xeus, are stabbed, raped, buried alive in coffins and mysteriously disappear. These are undoubtedly “twisted Malaysian tales”, as the suitably lurid cover pronounces, set in a nameless, Asian city that reads a lot like ours.

Xeus’s debut effort has proven a hit among lovers of psychological thrillers. The book has sold close to a whopping 2,000 copies in a mere three months, which by local standards, is sensational. And by a newcomer to boot, who took the plunge into the publishing industry after 11 years of freelance writing for newspapers and magazines.

I didn’t know anything about the publishing world. The agent was recommended to me by a friend, and almost immediately, four publishers wanted to publish Dark City,” she explains.

Not surprisingly, she professes a fondness for the macabre. “I read everything, even chick lit. But I’ve always gravitated towards writing about the strange and disturbing things that go bonk in our world,” says the mysterious author, who assumed her nom de plume to keep her full-time career outside the publishing world separate from her fiction pursuits.

She can now also add “banned author” to her CV. The Singaporean National Library refused to stock the book due to its explicit content. “It was too sexual for them! We pointed out that they stock many Western books with exactly the same content, but apparently, they won’t do the same for Asian books,” she explains. The book, however, is available for sale at bookstores.

That touch of notoriety should only help spur sales. The book is heading towards a second printing, with a Malay translation currently in the works which will mark her entry into that lucrative market. In the meantime, she’s already working on her follow-up, a children’s book. Kids, beware!

The first 3 chapters

2006-09-10T03:40:00.000-07:00

Thanks so much to Lydia, Yvonne, Ted and his better half for coming to my book talk! Can't make it through these things without you guys! (Hugs). I will repay you guys for every bit of your time spent on me, you'll see.

Right now, I'm frantic. The Frankfurt book fair is coming up next month and my agent is rushing me on my next book.

Apparently, he wrote to a UK children's publisher: "Can I contact someone in your submissions division as to whom I can send a manuscript to. I have an exciting Childrens
book story which has been written along the similar kind of theme published by you."

And the publisher wrote back: "Can you make a meeting 10 or 3.30 on the Wednesday? If you want to send the manuscript to me I handle all our publishing and would be interested to see it."

Oh darn, darn, darn, and I'm not ready!! I have only written 12 chapters and I'm not even halfway through the book, and I haven't even written the ending. And I can't write the first chapter unless I have written the last chapter. What to do, what to do?

Does it seem like your entire life is being compressed at times?

Okay, I've got the title: BILLY LANG CAN PUNCH HOLES THROUGH MOUNTAINS

Remember, this is a children's book, the first in a series.

And how about this for a sypnosis? (I suck at writing sypnoses.)

"It all begins when Billy Lang sees a face at the window. Suddenly, he is whisked away from the orphanage to a whole new world where boys grow knives from their limbs, tattooed girls can summon demons and where everyone who is anyone has a power beyond his wildest imagining.

But all is not well in this world. As warring forces struggle to kidnap Billy, he finds a key to his past, a secret so terrible it will unleash his own hidden powers and eclipse the world. And before Billy can unlock the secrets, he must first solve the puzzles and undergo three tasks....."

Does this sound remotely interesting to you and make you kinda want to read some more? (Just remember, it's a children's book!)

MPH Mid Valley Sunday 10th Sept 3.00 pm

2006-09-08T21:29:00.001-07:00

I have yet another book talk tomorrow (Thanks Ted for highlighting it!) and someone was saying to me the other day, "You should be used to it by now."

Actually, you never really get used to it. There's always this familiar fluttery feeling in the pit of your stomach that goes:

1. I'll really really be embarrassed.
2. No one's gonna show up except my friends and I'll really really be doubly embarrassed.

Anyway - to anyone who's reading this, please please do come tomorrow so that I don't have to stand there looking like a rained out pink flamingo (okay, I might wear blue). I promise to make it worth your while. Also I solemnly promise to return the favour by attending your book launches/talks when your first/second/third book is published.

Got my copy of Klue yesterday and yes! There's a nice pic they took of me in my home looking all Matrix-like in sunglasses and the book covering the lower half of my face. Will scan it later when my husband finally teaches me to use the scanner. (I found out only yesterday we have 2 scanners in the house. TWO! And I don't even know how to use them!)

Oh, and my Malay translator was complaining to my publisher that he doesn't know how to translate the naughty bits of Psychotic. He found the rest OK. What should he do? My publisher asked him to leave out those parts. Tee hee.

Galaxie review

2006-09-03T05:39:00.000-07:00

GALAXIE REVIEW

A serial rapist on the loose; a 16 year old boy desperate for a seductive prostitute; an unruly little boy who ends up a monster; a woman who abuses her maid…..These are just some of the stories that fuel Dark City. The book comprises 12 twisted tales set in Malaysia. The stories are written by a female freelance writer who goes by the name Xeus. Xeus’ stories are the result of her appetite for the dark side of life.
Each tale opens a disturbing can of worms. They concentrate on the ills that plague our society, with some twists thrown in for good measure. Some of the stories here like Psychotic, The Six Million Dollar Man and The Resistance are sensational and thought-provoking, while others are less intriguing. And even though some of the characters are not so believable, Dark City is a fun read with plenty of thrills to keep you engaged.

I'm still so amazed by the different tastes of different people. So far, everyone (either via media or personally to me) have told me about their favorite stories from Dark City. And it varies widely!

Argus Lou - when asked which stories I should serialize for The Star, she suggested Monster and Coup of the Century.

Malay Mail ed - Trashcan Child

NST - The Scarlet Woman, The Six Million Dollar Man, Coup of the Century

Jerry (my agent) - The Scarlet Woman

Many people (esp Singaporeans) - One if by Land

A few people, including Shashi (from the Sun) and Vaneeta (sp?) - The Resistance

Yvonne Lee - The Scarlet Woman

Zabir (Singaporean editor) - Session One

Ted - Incident at Monkey Gorge

My brother - Trashcan Child

My Uncle Albert - "It's all utter nonsense!" (Hee hee, I liked that one. Uncle Albert is a Rushdie and Tagore fan.)

My Uncle Victor - "Congrats, congrats. I guess we're forced to buy your book."

Lydia has yet to buzz me on her likes and dislikes :) And Bib has yet to read the book, I think!

Anyway, I was at the airport, and was gratified to see Dark City being sold out in all bookshops there. BUT the distributors are a little wary of restocking them because of ...reasons I can't mention here (Yvonne knows).

How to take (and give) rejection

2006-08-31T03:10:00.000-07:00

This is such an interesting topic I just have to blog about it. Ted linked some quotes from a local publisher, basically saying, "Rejection is not about you. It's about your work. You are not good enough yet to get published. So deal with it."

Brutal yes? What if that entire book was your life work and you have just been told it's not good enough? No words of encouragement. No constructive criticism. Just a flat, "No."

Lit agents and publishers call it the 'slush pile.'

I personally believe that if you want to reject someone, it's best to outline to the person:

1. It's the work you are rejecting, not the person
2. If this particular piece of work is not good enough, it doesn't mean your future work will not be good enough
3. These are the reasons: a)....b)....c)
4. BUT you can improve if you do a)....b)....c) e.g: write better grammar, make your sentences simpler, write a more compelling story etc
5. It's not the end of the world. JK Rowling herself was rejected many times.
6. Now, go home and take my advice and polish up your tome. THEN come and see me again when you are ready.

All this can be said fairly nicely. We need to nurture our young Malaysians, not deflate their hopes. (Yeah! The Merdeka spirit!)

I may not be a big time publisher, but I certainly hire people in a big time way (almost every month). Sometimes during the interview, when I decide I'm not going to take someone, I actually tell the person kindly, "You know, You have these good points 1), 2), 3). But you come across as not very energetic/your English is quite bad. That's why I can't take you on. But if you improve on a), b), c), next time I'm sure any company would be glad to have you."

The Sun had a bound woman pose

2006-08-30T05:24:00.000-07:00

Ah, pity the Sun isn't online, but they had an interview with me today and a striking photo of a model with her hands bound behind her back as a pose. Hee hee.

I'll post the article later. (That means a massive typing job).

But if everyone can head over to Argus Lou's new blog (please look at my links), she has a nice story there for your reading pleasure. Give her your comments, yes?

MPH Writer's hi-tea

2006-08-28T05:04:00.000-07:00

Sharon and Lydia have already blogged extensively about this, so I'm going to give my take on it.

It's my first MPH writer's hi-tea, and when Yvonne Lee whispered into my ear, "Every year got a lot of drama one," I didn't understand. Until I saw it for myself!

THE TOPIC: e-books. Not really appropriate because most people weren't that interested in it. They were more interested in getting published the traditional way.

THE TIMING: It started late...perhaps more time should have been allocated for Q and A.

THE MODERATORS: I thought they did a fine job with what they were given. This is what I said to Lydia, who's feeling a little down because someone sent an email around complaining about her moderation. "You did a fine job, Lydia. If anyone thinks they can do better, maybe they should give you pointers next time before the forum. After all, we didn't learn moderation techniques in school, did we?" And we all know there are personalities who cannot be told "Your time is up."

The highlight of the forum, for me, was Lillian Too! She's a little bit like Erin Brockovich in the way she tells it as it is, according to as she knows it. She doesn't mince her words! I think she deserves a forum all to herself. I know she stepped on many people's toes with what she said during the forum, but - like Lydia said - you can't please everyone all the time.

Among the things I gathered from her speech:

1. She says not to trust literary agents, esp UK and US ones (I have one myself, and so far, he hasn't given me any cause for doubt.)
2. She has sold 10 million copies since 1993 of all her books. Bravo! Despite that, she doesn't earn as much from royalties as she does from publishing and stocks and shares.
3. "Write a damned good book!"
4. She has personally pledged that if she thinks your book, dear author, is good, she will personally introduce you to Harper Collins et al and fight for you all the way.

I think she's a really good marketer and businesswoman, especially since she found a niche at that time not many people ventured into - feng shui - and took it all the way. And if she comes across as less than humble, well - remember, this is what makes the world go round, all types of personalities!! (I think she stepped on a few romance writers' toes when she said they follow a formula).

Then during the hi-tea, I circulated around with Lydia, Yvonne, Eric Forbes, Sharon and said hi to everyone I haven't met. I finally met Karen Ann Theseira. One of the Book Project writers (Vaneeta - hope I spelled it right) came up to me and said how much she enjoyed Dark City. I was so pleased. Also found out I sold 5 more books from 1 Utama since yesterday's talk.

I think May Zhee, the pretty 15 year old author of Vanity Bee, will go a long way. Apparently, she self-published and got a distributor all by herself, without any help from her father. Attagirl!

My first author appearance

2006-08-26T02:21:00.000-07:00

MPH, 1 Utama, 1.00 - 2.00 pm

It's over, and it's not a total disaster! Thank goodness some of my friends showed up, like Yvonne Lee, Margie, Pauline, Eanny. And I met Yvonne Foong and Kit for the first time. And some other people I don't know actually sat down to listen too. I think there were about 20-25 people there, including the ones standing behind the pillars and bookshelves.

Yvonne Lee was the most active participant in the Q and A, and she asked so many questions to keep the momentum going. Thanks Yvonne!

Basically, I just talked about writing and publishing in general, and coming up with ideas for the stories. Then I did some book signing. My agent Jerry was there, and he brought along an editor. After that, Jerry held centre court as everyone networked and exchanged cards. Let's hope a lot more writers get published after this!

The Singaporean editor Jerry brought along actually hated my first story :) But he thought the rest of the book was pretty good, though he says it can't come up to Edgar Allan Poe standards (obviously) because I described too much.

Rodney, the store manager, was there all the time and was most supportive. He said I'd sold over 80 books in 1 Utama, and he had just reordered another 50. (I checked with the computer, and it said I sold 85 copies.) He also gave me a rolled-up copy of the Bestseller List which cited Dark City.

So all in all, a new experience! Now for the Writer's Hi tea tomorrow. Apparently over 40 writers will be there at the Booker Room in 1 Utama. Lydia will be one of the moderators. Book exchange tomorrow, Lydia!!

Galaxie interview and author appearance

2006-08-24T04:17:00.000-07:00

Finally, got time to post it. As seen in this fortnight's issue of Galaxie:

GALAXIE INTERVIEW WITH XEUS

What are the inspirations for your stories in Dark City?
Urban legends, newspaper stories of rape, murder, kidnap, the Canny Ong incident and movies or shows like The Machinist, The Eye and Desperate Housewives.

Some of the titles of your stories are intriguing (like Session One, The Six Million Dollar Man) while others (Coup of the Century, The Maid) are more direct. How did you come up with the titles?
I’m really bad at giving titles to my stories but I do try to make them punchy.

While writing Dark City, were you spooked by any of the stories?
Not at all. I am hardly frightened by anything I write or read. Nothing really disturbs me.

What do you look for when you read a book?
I am drawn to good plots, the ideas that drive a story and great story-telling craftsmanship.

Can you name some of your favourite authors?
Michael Crichton, Dan Brown, Lord Jeffrey Archer and Stephen King’s early work ‘cause his later ones are verbose.

What kind of books do you like to read?
I read any book that has an interesting plot, even chick lit, but I find books on serial killers like Jeffrey Dahmer (the one who inspired Silence of the Lambs) fascinating. I love getting into the mind of serial killers.

What’s in store for you after this?
There are plans to turn Dark City into manga. I’m also working on a children’s book.

Oh, I have my first author appearance this Saturday!

It's at MPM 1 Utama, 1.00 pm - 2.30 pm. I honestly don't know if I can stretch it out that long. Don't worry, it's mostly Q and A and inspiration stuff. Please come if you can to support me! (Afraid no one will turn up)

MPH Writer's Circle yesterday

2006-08-19T16:41:00.000-07:00

Ted has blogged about this, so I'm going by a different angle and what I took from it.

Dato' Ng, CEO of the MPH Publishing Group, said that the 'in' genres now for fiction are Malay romances (and Malay books in general) and Children's books. I am in the midst of writing the latter (and having Dark City translated into the former), so I asked if he was interested. He said, "Of course, let's have a look at it."

(Actually, my agent is hoping to get this children's book published in the UK because I have actually met the UK publishing contact - blogged about earlier - but you never know how these UK publishing deals turn out. So I better arm myself with a whole lot of options.)

The most interesting part of the morning for me (other than meeting Ted) was the way Dato' Ng suggests and rejects books on the spot. Being 15 years in the business, he has an uncanny knack of knowing what sells and what doesn't. This is the gist of it.

Q: "Should I write an autobiography about a movie star?"
A: "Nope. Definitely not. It won't sell."
Q: "What about Siti Nurhaliza's wedding?"
A: "It's already been written about. Besides, if you don't have her permission, she might sue you."
Q: "I'm in HR. I want to write about how young people can find careers."
A: "Is there a market for this? Everyone just goes on the Internet and downloads this nowadays. The trick is to keep your book short and simple. People don't like to read long wordy books."

And I've learnt something about children's books. Apparently, the writer shares copyright with the illustrator, and the illustrator also gets part of the royalties. The illustrator's pictures might turn out to be more popular than the text itself!

As for non fiction, political figures always sell, and cookbooks are evergreen.

Dat' Ng also espouses self-publishing whenever able, especially for non-fic. But the con is finding a distributor for your book, because bookstores won't deal with single authors. ("Too much fuss creating a separate account and invoice just for your book, which might sell only 5 copies.") Naturally, fiction writers don't like to self-publish because it is horribly tabboo.

The other session was from Shoba Mano, who had success getting published the e-publishing way (these US publishers also do softcover) in the romance genre. Great going, Shoba!! Apparently, one can also attend writers' workshops on the net and google for a whole lot of publishers. Some of these publishers accept query letters and your first 3 chapters by email.

Although it is not my genre, I do know a little bit about Romance. I'm talking about pure romance (with its subtypes of historical romance, adventure romance etc), not chick lit, the latter of which I infinitely prefer.

According to the 'how to' books, Romance is one genre where it is easiest to get published. BUT you have to follow a certain plot pattern. There always MUST be a happy ending, when the lovers unite after many obstacles. If you don't follow this pattern, you will NOT be published in this genre.

So all in all, interesting morning.

Quill mini interview

2006-08-19T03:07:00.000-07:00

There's a mini interview with me in this quarter's Quill, MPH's magazine for writers.

Here it is:

DARK CITY

A collection of pulp fiction that will entertain and keep you turning the pages.

Who is Xeus?

Xeus* likes to write racy, explicit stuff. “I wanted to write without the fear of censorship, and in Dark City, the publishers let me go a mile.”

In Dark City: Psychotic and other Twisted Malaysian Tales, all seven deadly sins are explored in great detail.

Xeus took two months, between having a full time job, to write the first draft, another month to rewrite it and yet another for editing. “I wrote for one or two hours each day. Sometimes during weekends, I’d finish an entire short story in a day.”

Reviews from the trade press have been great, with accolades like ‘remarkable’ and ‘it’s that good’ being tossed around.

*a pseudonym

I also met Ted and his better half at the writer's workshop today. Hi Ted!! Looking forward to your first book. I'll post more on this workshop later.

Sniff...a sweet letter

2006-08-17T05:56:00.000-07:00

I bought the Merdeka copy of Galaxie today. There's a review of Dark City and an interview with me. I'll post those later. But meanwhile, I got yet another spin snippet for the back cover of my next English edition and Malay edition.

“Each tale opens with a disturbing can of worms…..Psychotic, The Six Million Dollar Man and The Resistance are sensational and thought-provoking…..a fun read with plenty of thrills to keep you engaged.”

Galaxie

Hee hee. I'm getting quite good at abbreviating reviews.

Anyway, there was a very sweet letter regarding one of my columns. I write 2 columns for Galaxie, and this is one I've kept for over 10 years now. Imagine - 10 years on the same column! Along the way, I've received bouquets and brickbrats. During the Michael Jackson baby stint back in the 90's, I wrote about how weird Mikey was (he still is) and received quite a lot of hate mail.

Recently, I wrote about how horny King Kong was and apparently received quite a lot of complaints as well! It's fun to write an entertainment column that provokes such strong feelings.

I've also received many great letters along the way, all of which are published in the Letters column of Galaxie. Going down (sniff) memory lane, I remember one letter telling how a student was reading my column under her desk in class, and she laughed out loud. The teacher demanded to see what she was reading, and she showed her. The teacher then read out my column to the entire class, and everyone had a good laugh.

And since I now have a blog, I'll share the most recent one in this current issue. There's no secret that I'm also Suzie of Galaxie, and since Suzie is also a pseudonym, here goes:

"I'm wondering about my most favourite column, Suzie Says. I've noticed that Suzie's page has not been featured in 2 issues and I was wondering why. I hope you've not stopped this column because she does have fans out there. Regardless of the complaints you got for her article Horny, Hairy Ape, many of us think her column is brilliant. I've been an ardent fan of hers for many years and I just worship her eruditeness and wit. I may be opinionated, but I think she unequivocally rocks and I think she is what distinguishes Galaxie from other local magazines. So please do not exclude her from future editions, OK?"

Santheira, via e-mail

Sniff.

Anyway, I was interviewed by The Sun today and Klue yesterday. More on that when it appears.

If you have writer's block, should you try to force it?

2006-08-15T06:06:00.000-07:00

Every now and then, I have the incredible urge to NOT write. Like for the last few days. I was bogged down by work, and didn't have the energy to lift a pen (uh, tap into a computer.) And of course, if I haven't written, I feel guilty as sin.

Do you ever feel that way?

So - do you force it even when you don't feel like writing, even when your brain's as dry and uncreative as a wispy bone?

Some writing books advocate that you should do 1 page every day, even if you don't feel like it. You should, they say, whittle at it even when the words are forced and painful and you feel like you're writing something totally unpublishable. Honestly, I've tried that, and I realized, "Hey, writing's supposed to be my hobby. I'm supposed to enjoy it. Why am I forcing it?"

Then of course, some days, the words and ideas just fly. I would do pages and pages and even whole chapters. Some of the stories in Dark City were written in 1 day, just because I had the 'urge.' That's why these days, when I don't feel like writing, I don't force it. And when I do, I let it flow.

What's your style?

Anyway, I'm going to the MPH Writer's Circle this Saturday. Gonna meet up with Oon Yeoh, who promised to interview me for his new magazine. Anyone coming? Thought I need the camaraderie of other writers to make me snap back into effortless writing.

Why the Singaporean National Library banned me

2006-08-09T04:55:00.000-07:00

My Singaporean literary agent gave me the scoop on why Dark City was banned by the Singaporean National Library.

"DC was restricted because of profane language and obscene content,says the report. No surprise,there is always a double standard when the authorities censure the local works as compared to their leniency with English and American works."

I see. So they are allowed to stock American and English books with profane and obscene content, like works from DC Lawrence or Joyce. But NOT Singaporean and Malaysian works.

I don't get it. Why the double standards? Are we in South East Asia meant to be 'pure'?

PURE? Us Asians? Who's anyone trying to kid?

I've been banned!

2006-08-06T03:19:00.000-07:00

Would you believe it? I've been banned by the Singapore National Library. They refused to stock my book in all their branches, citing 'It's too explicit and graphic" after reading a few chapters.

The outrage!

At least I haven't been banned here by our own Dewan Bahasa and Pustaka. They took 5 copies to keep as 'National Heritage.' I'm not sure I can quite call Dark City a national heritage, but at least I can count on my own countrymen/librarians to support me.

Aside, I've been offline for several days now, thanks to Streamyx. But those TM guys have been working around the clock to restore it. And they have. Kudos. They get a bad rap, but sometimes they get it right.