… celebrating for the first time with Unbound authors. It has been 12 or 13 years since I did my MA and listened to ‘readings’ from a writers’ group. I was touched that my new international writer friends had travelled from all over- Italy, Coventry, Winchester, Oxford and London of course, to my corner of SW London. It reminded …
EXCLUSIVE: L@@k inside Heart of Glass cutting room!
“Do not enter when light is on!” Structural edit: that means blasting, incision, internal tissue re-organisation and cosmetic surgery. But of course, I am not talking metaphorically at all. I am talking about the body of work. Words. I’ve created strict exam conditions in the attic AKA the cutting room. There’s no furniture. I sit …
Seafood Wat Tan Hor at Chop Chop in Shepherds Bush
This is probably the worst meal I have ever had. I think my shoe is tastier. It cost 5.80 the princely sum for the worst meal I have ever had. I am also MSGed up to the eyeballs so will need a walking stick for the next few hours while my eyes adjust to natural …
Nasi lemak at Dapur while awaiting new passport
There has got to be a thrill to be subjected to a six hour wait to get one’s new passport in this day and age. And that thrill is Dapur, a Malaysian diner about three minutes’ walk from the visa and consular office at the Malaysian High Commission in London. Dapur means kitchen. It’s perfect …
100% in 100 days: Crowdfunding my book “Heart of Glass”
Crowdfunding. Is. Over. The three big little words. 100% in 100 days. And the last 3%? Was the longest, shortest journey in the world (I used to say that about giving birth: new person travelling down 62mm birth canal takes what? Anything from about 2 to 20 hours.) But what a push. What a journey. Made …
I was a punk even then
You can’t get more post-colonial, vintage and ironic than this! This photo was taken on my fifth birthday in Segamat, a little railway town in Johor, where we lived for a couple of years. It is on the line from Singapore to Bangkok via KL. We lived in a colonial bungalow which was the staff …
What has the 1980s Reagan era got to do with it?
Welcome to the Cinema. Make yourself comfy and watch my 1980s-inspired show. Go on! It’s only 1 minute 19 sec long, I swear. Join in the discussion. The 1980s Reagan era was a time of excess, greed and materialism. Do you agree? Which song or songs from the 80s do you identify with which reflect these values? …
“Support a JB writer’s book project” article by blogger Peggy Loh
Blogger Peggy Loh is a writer herself. She is, like me, born a writer, and born and raised in Johor Bahru. She is a writer with the New Straits Times. Read Peggy’s detailed and insightful write-up here of Heart of Glass and of me. Check out her blog also at peggyloh.com which is called MY Johor Stories. Her blog has …
L@@k inside settings of Chicago and Macau EXCLUSIVE! Original VINTAGE material!
If you have been wondering “why Chicago, why Macau?” why not take a look at the original, vintage settings? See inside the excitingly rare1964 book found in a wet market (Chowrasta) in Georgetown, Penang, which inspired the ideas and setting of Heart of Glass. Hope you are “stirred, not shaken.” (HINT) Welcome to everyone on board …
Crowdfunding Week 5 – Keep Calm and Carrie Fisher
OK guys so for 24 hours I had to get away from London, the internet, social media, work, family, self marketing and of course this crowdfunding (CF) lark. Luckily my friend Yvonne Lyon invited me up (not up, sideways, sorry) for her birthday celebrations. Since this process started I found myself impaired in every way …