Announcing the arrival of OMOE…

You must be wondering what OMOE is.

Well, it is the acronym for Obsidian Moon, Obsidian Eye, the next book in the Jan Xu series.

The first-round edits are done, the cover art form sent in. So, yes, the second book is arriving… in the future.

Meanwhile, enjoy reading Wolf At The Door. Signal boost, review… 😉

Review of “Wolf At The Door”

…by the very cool Aliette de Bodard!

Thank you, Aliette! 🙂

Mmm, a YA novel based on the Gang of Four… mmm. That’s a plan… in the future. 😉

Review of “Winged” by the Apprentice Storyteller.

Review of “Winged”

Thank you, Rebecca! 🙂

Thank you, Patty. :)

SFF Writers in Singapore – Interview with Joyce Chng

In honor of the red moon and lunar eclipse

I wrote very short stories within 140 characters (Twitfics!).

Beads of red caress the leaves. The forager curses, the moon placid and unmoved by his pain. No more nettles.

The lanterns throbbed like red hearts in the dark. Laughter and singing, the fae danced the moon. The hunter watched.

She removed the rouge off her porcelain face. The moon glowed, moon mirror maiden. With a brush, she became a he.

The oysters opened their shells, revealing their fleshy bodies. The moon beckoned. Chefs readied their knives

She stepped on a crab. Oh yes, she remembered. Migration season. She gazed at the blood-tinged moon. Ah, good times.

[Pic]: The sea, the sand and me (not really).

We brought our two daughters (plus, my folks) to Bintan, a resort island in Indonesia. The kids had fun, the adults ended up running after them. I managed to get some pictures in.

Relax, have a drink…

Soak in the green…

Soak in the sun…

Play in the sand.

Collect sea shells…

And dance…

[Pic] Colors.

I have just made a short roadtrip to Malacca/Melaka in Malaysia. It is a straight drive up north for us Singaporeans. I have to admit that I have not visited Malacca for a long time now. It is a designated UNESCO World Heritage site with Penang (Georgetown). I love the mix of cultures there: the Chinese, the Dutch, the Portuguese and the British. The history – and its vibrancy – is fascinating.

So here in colors, some selected pictures:

The trishaws are colorful, each with its own character (and decorations). Many trishaw men are elderly gentlemen who are also strong and hale.

The walk through Jonker Walk (Malacca’s Chinatown) was a lesson in colors and life itself.

Lastly, life adapts and grows, even in ruin…

YA saves

So there is an article by Wall Street Journal regarding YA being too dark for teenagers. There is outrage and #YASaves on Twitter is filled with touching stories and affirmation that YA fiction saves people at a time of strife, confusion and anger: the teen years.

The teen years are not all peachy-keen. Have you listened to a teen talk? Have you really really listened?

True enough, there are some cynical souls trolling on #YASaves. Yes, YA is literature. Some of the YA fiction out there is good literature. We get transfigured, changed, when we read/encounter good literature. It’s not because the money is there. It’s also not the cure all for cancer. It’s because YA does help people.

So, read, write YA. It’s for the readers out there. The teens and the adults.

So a sequel is in the works

Oysters, Pearls and Magic will have a sequel, of sorts. It is titled The Path of Kindness. But of course, I still need to deal with the other WIPs, wince.