Speaking of sucking, I went to Kinokuniya during lunchtime and guess what I saw. Books on vampires, zombies, werewolves, and other creepy crawlies on display, sold at 25% discount with other purchase (in other words, buy something else to activate the discount). And right beside the entrance I found this amazing book: By Blood We Live, an anthology of vampire stories by famous authors including Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, Anne Rice, Tad Williams, Kelley Armstrong and many more. Come on. Vampire short stories! That's something to die for and to sink one's teeth in (pun intended)! I've always wanted to buy anthologies from top authors, and having a whole collection on vampires...wow.
Click on the picture for a link to the official website). So the price is RM64 before discount. My receipt shows a minus RM16 (25% off). I've only started reading the second story. The first one is Neil Gaiman's interpretation of the original Snow White, not the happily-ever-after Disney version. He told the story from the the stepmom's perspective, in first person PoV. The story is dark and twisted, the prose beautiful. I love it! I'll read the whole book through and write the review later (maybe much later, at the rate I'm going with my lousy journal-keeping.
There are other books on the display counters, books on vampires and witches and angels (my favorite supernaturals), some of them I never even noticed all the times I went to Kinokuniya. I don't celebrate Halloween (although I find it fascinating). But being able to afford to buy all these books (two or three at a time, mind) gives me reason to celebrate!
Speaking of celebration, my birthday is coming this 20th. I'll turn 28, which means I will have less than a year to come up with a complete manuscript, and another year to put my baby out for acceptance. Tita forwarded me a mail saying MPH is accepting submissions for novels and anthologies, but limited to mainstream, literary, crime/horror, romance and some other literary/mainstream-related genres. Strictly no fantasy, no sci-fi, no erotica. Crap. So MPH is out of the question for me!
Funny thing is, my Urban Fantasy/Supernatural novel showcases Kuala Lumpur, from the loftiest vantage points to the shadiest alleys. But since Fantasy is a niche-genre, local publishers are hesitant about buying the works. Same goes with Malay novels. So in order for me to publish a novel that partly advertises Malaysia, I have to seek out publishers from other countries who I hope will be interested at the exotic settings and cultures. I hope to really finish that novel, so that I can revisit this post, and we will all laugh together at some lame joke I tell, simply because I'm famous and everything that comes out of me is golden. Seriously. That's the true Malaysian way, eh?
Well, I've discussed with Tita about a possible anthology project. Theoretically, it shouldn't be hard for me to come up with 13 to 15 stories in a few months. I've produced 14 new pieces since I joined WDC mid-August, and won 8 out of 11 Writer's Cramp entries. If that bears fruit, I may be able to approach MPH for possible publication.
I am also sending out some of my babies for online magazine publication, to add to my resume when I type out that query letter. Funny thing about publication is, in order for a new writer to publish a work, he preferably has to have other published works. Weird, right? So for agents to know how serious I am about my novel, I must have a few stories published or competitions won to impress them, more or less.
Did I mention I'll turn 28 this 20th?
Thursday, October 8
Loving October
Hotdamn! I haven't updated in ages. Since I joined http://www.writing.com (WDC), I've been actively writing new short stories. I also joined a small writing group within the site, where I give reviews and comments on other members' pieces. Works both ways, so it's all good. I couldn't give reviews on poetry because, quite frankly, I suck at it.
Speaking of sucking, I went to Kinokuniya during lunchtime and guess what I saw. Books on vampires, zombies, werewolves, and other creepy crawlies on display, sold at 25% discount with other purchase (in other words, buy something else to activate the discount). And right beside the entrance I found this amazing book: By Blood We Live, an anthology of vampire stories by famous authors including Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, Anne Rice, Tad Williams, Kelley Armstrong and many more. Come on. Vampire short stories! That's something to die for and to sink one's teeth in (pun intended)! I've always wanted to buy anthologies from top authors, and having a whole collection on vampires...wow.
Click on the picture for a link to the official website). So the price is RM64 before discount. My receipt shows a minus RM16 (25% off). I've only started reading the second story. The first one is Neil Gaiman's interpretation of the original Snow White, not the happily-ever-after Disney version. He told the story from the the stepmom's perspective, in first person PoV. The story is dark and twisted, the prose beautiful. I love it! I'll read the whole book through and write the review later (maybe much later, at the rate I'm going with my lousy journal-keeping.
There are other books on the display counters, books on vampires and witches and angels (my favorite supernaturals), some of them I never even noticed all the times I went to Kinokuniya. I don't celebrate Halloween (although I find it fascinating). But being able to afford to buy all these books (two or three at a time, mind) gives me reason to celebrate!
Speaking of celebration, my birthday is coming this 20th. I'll turn 28, which means I will have less than a year to come up with a complete manuscript, and another year to put my baby out for acceptance. Tita forwarded me a mail saying MPH is accepting submissions for novels and anthologies, but limited to mainstream, literary, crime/horror, romance and some other literary/mainstream-related genres. Strictly no fantasy, no sci-fi, no erotica. Crap. So MPH is out of the question for me!
Funny thing is, my Urban Fantasy/Supernatural novel showcases Kuala Lumpur, from the loftiest vantage points to the shadiest alleys. But since Fantasy is a niche-genre, local publishers are hesitant about buying the works. Same goes with Malay novels. So in order for me to publish a novel that partly advertises Malaysia, I have to seek out publishers from other countries who I hope will be interested at the exotic settings and cultures. I hope to really finish that novel, so that I can revisit this post, and we will all laugh together at some lame joke I tell, simply because I'm famous and everything that comes out of me is golden. Seriously. That's the true Malaysian way, eh?
Well, I've discussed with Tita about a possible anthology project. Theoretically, it shouldn't be hard for me to come up with 13 to 15 stories in a few months. I've produced 14 new pieces since I joined WDC mid-August, and won 8 out of 11 Writer's Cramp entries. If that bears fruit, I may be able to approach MPH for possible publication.
I am also sending out some of my babies for online magazine publication, to add to my resume when I type out that query letter. Funny thing about publication is, in order for a new writer to publish a work, he preferably has to have other published works. Weird, right? So for agents to know how serious I am about my novel, I must have a few stories published or competitions won to impress them, more or less.
Did I mention I'll turn 28 this 20th?
Speaking of sucking, I went to Kinokuniya during lunchtime and guess what I saw. Books on vampires, zombies, werewolves, and other creepy crawlies on display, sold at 25% discount with other purchase (in other words, buy something else to activate the discount). And right beside the entrance I found this amazing book: By Blood We Live, an anthology of vampire stories by famous authors including Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, Anne Rice, Tad Williams, Kelley Armstrong and many more. Come on. Vampire short stories! That's something to die for and to sink one's teeth in (pun intended)! I've always wanted to buy anthologies from top authors, and having a whole collection on vampires...wow.
Click on the picture for a link to the official website). So the price is RM64 before discount. My receipt shows a minus RM16 (25% off). I've only started reading the second story. The first one is Neil Gaiman's interpretation of the original Snow White, not the happily-ever-after Disney version. He told the story from the the stepmom's perspective, in first person PoV. The story is dark and twisted, the prose beautiful. I love it! I'll read the whole book through and write the review later (maybe much later, at the rate I'm going with my lousy journal-keeping.
There are other books on the display counters, books on vampires and witches and angels (my favorite supernaturals), some of them I never even noticed all the times I went to Kinokuniya. I don't celebrate Halloween (although I find it fascinating). But being able to afford to buy all these books (two or three at a time, mind) gives me reason to celebrate!
Speaking of celebration, my birthday is coming this 20th. I'll turn 28, which means I will have less than a year to come up with a complete manuscript, and another year to put my baby out for acceptance. Tita forwarded me a mail saying MPH is accepting submissions for novels and anthologies, but limited to mainstream, literary, crime/horror, romance and some other literary/mainstream-related genres. Strictly no fantasy, no sci-fi, no erotica. Crap. So MPH is out of the question for me!
Funny thing is, my Urban Fantasy/Supernatural novel showcases Kuala Lumpur, from the loftiest vantage points to the shadiest alleys. But since Fantasy is a niche-genre, local publishers are hesitant about buying the works. Same goes with Malay novels. So in order for me to publish a novel that partly advertises Malaysia, I have to seek out publishers from other countries who I hope will be interested at the exotic settings and cultures. I hope to really finish that novel, so that I can revisit this post, and we will all laugh together at some lame joke I tell, simply because I'm famous and everything that comes out of me is golden. Seriously. That's the true Malaysian way, eh?
Well, I've discussed with Tita about a possible anthology project. Theoretically, it shouldn't be hard for me to come up with 13 to 15 stories in a few months. I've produced 14 new pieces since I joined WDC mid-August, and won 8 out of 11 Writer's Cramp entries. If that bears fruit, I may be able to approach MPH for possible publication.
I am also sending out some of my babies for online magazine publication, to add to my resume when I type out that query letter. Funny thing about publication is, in order for a new writer to publish a work, he preferably has to have other published works. Weird, right? So for agents to know how serious I am about my novel, I must have a few stories published or competitions won to impress them, more or less.
Did I mention I'll turn 28 this 20th?
