Equatorial Snow at Crossed Genres

My short story, Equatorial Snow, is up at Crossed Genres. It's free to read, but please support CG by buying the print/ebook formats.

Hardcover, too

The One That Jumpstarted My Journey

The Door Opens Wider

My First Story in Print

Publishing your work

There isn't an easy way about it

The Birth of an Age

Hi, I'm Fadz, and I'm a professional writer

Published Author in the House!

Finally, I'm a published writer! I got an email from one of QLRS's publishers earlier tonight: From: Kai Chai subject: QLRS Oct Issue Dear Fadzlishah, I'm Kai Chai, the short story editor of QLRS. I'm happy to tell you that we have selected your contribution, Mother, for the October issue, which will be ready in a couple of days' time. Have a good weekend, Kai Chai. That's a big first step. QLRS carries substantial weight in the Southeast Asian region, for future print publication. Now I have something to write for the credential part of a query letter. And that's the aim, to have my name on a cover of a book! Will post the link once it's out. HAPPY! I bet I'll fall asleep grinning tonight. A big shout-out to Sarah, who told me to submit the story to QLRS. Cha cha cha cha cha, cha! Cha cha cha cha cha, cha!

Sweet Taste of First Victory

Oh wow. I was hoping, I was hoping, but I was too afraid to have expectations. Before that, a quick recap. Been busy procrastinating. Playing online games again. EVE-Online, to be exact, a game about spaceships and space exploration. And I had a tiring call on Sunday, and when I came back on Monday, I...well...kinda went dead(er). Slept from evening to the next morning. Problem was, I didn't take off my contact lenses from when I put them on, on Sunday morning. We're talking about daily contact lenses here. Naturally, my eyes were red and swollen. Could barely open my left eye. And I misplaced my spectacles somewhere, having not worn them for a long time (skin condition, later story). Spent the whole day almost blind. Yep, without my spectacles or my contact lenses, everything is just a blur to me (short-sightedness, -7 both eyes). Had to squint mere inches from the 'puter screen to make out what I was doing. At any rate, Tita mailed me a website for writers, http://www.writing.com. It's a hub for aspiring writers to display their works, and to share comments and constructive criticisms. A platform for exposure, of sorts. She also linked me a daily competition on the website, where they give a prompt and writers submit stories less than 1000 words or poems 40 lines or less. When I checked the site after midnight yesterday, the prompt was to end the story or poem with "In the end, there were no regrets." I wrote a storm. In less than an hour, I came up with a story (what else, jiwang la), and disturbed Tita at 02:30 with a mail asking her to check it out for editing. I know. Totally wrong of me. Lucky she wasn't asleep. Other than some minor hitches, she gave it a green light to be submitted. So. I submitted. Immediately after I did, I received a mail congratulating me for becoming a Registered Author. Hear that, me, author. Anyway, I waited. And waited. And kept on refreshing the pages. And waited. And read the other entries. There were a couple more short stories and three or four poems. Fine, I can hear your derisive laugh. With so little entries, it's not a competition. Well, bugger off. I watched The Matrix to kill time. Man, I miss watching the trilogy. And when it was done, sometime after midnight, I refreshed the competition page. 2 winners, and mine is one of them. Yay! I've even gotten 2 criticisms to boot. Life is good. So this is what it feels like to win a writing competition. Sure, it's 1000 Writing.com Gift Points (GP). I don't even know what the points are for. I can sleep almost blind but happy. Now the next prompt is a story about a conversation overheard in a bus. Hmm.... PS: Do tell me if you can't access the short story. I'll post it here.

Stuck

On Fangs, Feathers and Newt's Tail

MPH-Alliance winners are announced

Argh! It hurts! It burns my eyes! It breaks my heart! A little melodrama is therapeutic, I heard. Sharon Bakar posted the list of winners for the MPH-Alliance The Prize 2009. And my name's not in it. There goes my delusion, my last dangling hope like a monkey clinging to dear life while a swarm of ants gnaw at his tail. Splat. Just like that. Oh well. Life's like that. On with life. With more heads to open, with more bad news to break, with more life to be photographed, and of course, with more stories to be written. Just because I didn't get shortlisted doesn't mean my pieces were crap. I will find a way to publish them, maybe here. Then I can link the stories and you can comment on them. Want to post them here, but apparently even posting on my own blog would consider the stories published, and that will put a red light on getting them published anywhere else (never been published rule). One thing for sure though. I want to one day walk on the raised platform at Kinokuniya, my footsteps clomping on the polished wood, and stop by Malaysian Literature section, to see my name in print. The numbers of Malay English writers can be counted with one hand at the moment. But I refuse to do it for the Malays. I refuse to do it simply to see my name on the shelves. I want to do it because I love reading, and I hope to share that love, that experience, with the world. I want to do it because deep down, I know this is what I do best. Wish me luck.