What are Malaysians in London famous for except Battersea Power Station, Genting Casinos and authors (umm, that would be me)? Meet young comedy genius, Nigel Ng from Kuala Lumpur, an award-winning stand-up comedian. He performs at comedy clubs here and abroad. He won Amused Moose’s Laugh Off in 2016 and was selected to be part of the prestigious Pleasance …
Heart of Glass: Literary Criticism Cheat Sheet
Heart of Glass is a dark tale about obsession, greed and music. It is a pacy literary crime noir thriller exploring the darkness in human nature. It contains Realism, Drama, Tragedy, Horror and Gothic elements. It is loosely naturalistic as a genre, which means the narrative style is straightforward American vernacular prose about mundane things in …
Why do I Write or Feel I Must Write?
Because it is very stupid. I could be doing a million other things, enjoyable things, non enjoyable things, things which could even make money. As I am approaching 41K WC of my FD WIP*, I begin question my own sanity again. I do not know what it is that makes me write. I really hate …
The Myth of Sisyphus: Is it Why Writers Write?
The Myth of Sisyphus is an essay by Albert Camus. Sisyphus was the legendary king of Corinth in ancient Greece who was condemned to eternally rolling a rock to the top of a mountain. The stone would fall back of its own weight and he has to start again. They thought that there is no more …
6 Things I’ve Learned about Being a Published Author
My aim had always been to be a published author. I have achieved my aim. Now what? Writing a novel or two is the biggest time, energy and mental pressure you can undertake. In fact to write this blog post I had to take two Nurofen and a double espresso macchiato in order to steady …
Author Events, Cry of the Flying Rhino, General, Literary places, Published work, The Reading Life, The Writing Life
NEWSFLASH: I will reading @BRIXTON BOOK JAM, Monday 5 March 2018 @Hootananny, LONDON
South London, are we ready? I am coming straight out of my garret to read from my new award-winning debut, CRY OF THE FLYING RHINO, at the Brixton Book Jam, on Monday 5 March 2018 7:30pm at The Hootananny. (95 Effra Road, London SW2 1DF) – a large pub with a performance space that can hold …
Can You Learn “How to Write Like Tolstoy” from a Book?
Somerset Maugham famously said that there are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are. How to Write Like Tolstoy by Richard Cohen should be read with caution. It is, like all other writing books, a How To book that is a How Not To, which means it shows …
Author Interviews, Book reviews, Cry of the Flying Rhino, General, Literary places, Published work, The Writing Life
ASIAN BOOKS BLOG: 500 words about Cry of the Flying Rhino
What were the inciting incidents which inspired Cry of the Rhino to become an award-winning novel? Asian Books Blog ran a 500 word article with answers and much more. I was also covered by the American author Robert Raymer in his insightful and entertaining blog, the Borneo Expat Writer. Robert and I interviewed each recently. You can also read the article here …
REVIEW: BBC’s “Chinese Burn” appalling script, racial stereotypes, human detritus not diversity
Did anybody catch this on the BBC over the weekend? A terrible TV film about three Chinese girls in London called CHINESE BURN. The script is so shocking and racist I can’t believe it was made. One has a permanent cleaver looking at little dogs to chop up and eat. One is an out-of-work actress who …
Cry of the Flying Rhino, General, Literary places, Published work, The Reading Life, The Writing Life
READ Cry of the Flying Rhino FOR FREE: Now at Southfields Library, South London
Calling SOUTHFIELDS or WANDSWORTH residents/library members/mums/friends/neighbours! What are you waiting for?!!! READ MY BOOK FOR FREE!!! Support local libraries and read for free. If you don’t, they will shut down. We don’t know how lucky we are. When I was growing up I had to read really torn, vandalised or simply extremely old and falling apart …