A new review of Wolf At The Door

Here.

Heartfelt thank yous to Laura Lee.

And yes, the first anniversary of Wolf At The Door is fast approaching. Watch this space for…something. 😉

[Fiction]: Freaky Wolf Eyes

“Mom’s doing that again,” April poked her sister at her side. “You know. Freaky wolf eyes.”

Aurora, older and therefore the wiser of the two, nodded sagely. “That means she’s angry at something. The pack is making her mad again.”

“I want to have freaky wolf eyes. Scare the boys in my school.” April giggled and buried her face behind her book to hide her giggly fit.

“You need to become a teenager, like me.” Her older sister puffed out her chest proudly. “You need to have your First Shift.” Aurora had cause to be smug. She experienced her First Shift two months ago. It was a momentous occasion for her.

April blew an exasperated raspberry. “I have five more years to go. I hate it.”

Apparently I got tagged.

Writers, here are your rules for the Lucky 7 Meme:
1. Go to page 77 of your current MS/WIP
2. Go to line 7.
3. Copy down the next 7 lines, sentences, or paragraphs, and post them as they’re written.
4. Tag 7 authors.
5. Let them know.

~*~

A sneak peak into what I am working on:

My heart burst and split into a pink-colored lotus. It floated into the sky.

My heart burst and became a sun. It shone in the darkness, with other stars.

My heart burst and the wires unravelled even more.

The jewel in the lotus. Om mani padme hum.

~*~

The monks came every day during the week to chant. After their duties were done, they would stay and talk to us as clergy and family friends.

One of the monks, the leader, spoke to me privately after the last round of sutras before the cremation. “Your path is not easy, Xu Yin.”

A review of Rider

A review of Rider.

4/5!

The Ayam Curtain wants YOU.

Kong jiao wei: Hokkien, colloquial, lit. “speaking bird language”. A cock-and-bull story, a flight of fancy.
*~*

In conjuction with BooksActually, we are assembling a collection of very, very short speculative fiction stories to be published in the second half of 2012. Anchor contributors to the anthology include Dave Chua, Judith Huang, and Alvin Pang.

Speculative fiction is fiction that contains speculative elements — things that are different from the world we live in. It covers the genres of science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, horror etc., although it is certainly not limited to that.

We are looking for stories of alternate worlds marinated with a local flavour: Tell us your visions of an alternate Singapore. Airships? Robots? Exciting new laws? Let your imagination take wing.

Our submissions fall into two categories:

Category I: SPEAKING BIRD LANGUAGE
From the branches above Orchard Road to the void decks where old men with cages gather, bird share stories of fantastic realities they have visited in a cacophony of tweets.
Send us microscopic glimpses into fantastical worlds of lengths between 100-150 words.

Category II: THE AYAM CURTAIN
Numbering more than 23 billion across the globe, there are more specimens of Gallus gallus, the domestic chicken, than any other bird in the world. On paper, by the reckoning of numbers, they are a runaway success as a species. But what utopias do they dream of, caged in their factory farm coops?
Send us 500-1000 word stories of worlds where the boundaries have been shifted in strange ways.
*~*~*~*
Submitted entries should:

1. be speculative fiction– fiction that largely contains elements of science fiction, fantasy, horror, alternate history/reality, and related genres.
2. be primarily written in (UK) English
3. be authored by Singaporeans or residents of Singapore (not necessarily PRs).

The finer print:

1. Submissions are open between 1st April 2012 and 31st May 2012.
2. Multiple submissions are allowed.
3. Email your stories to specfic.sg@gmail.com, with “AYAM CURTAIN + (category name)”, AND your name in the subject.
4. Send submissions in a readable font, either in .rtf or .doc formats. We don’t want .docx files, it makes some computers cough up hairballs. Include title, your name, and pen-name (if applicable) in the text of the document.
5. Selected authors will receive 5 complimentary copies of the anthology, as well as a 40% discount on as many other copies they want to buy.
6. Reprints are okay, as long as you have the rights with you. Do let us know if you’re sending us a reprint.
7. All submissions chosen for the anthology may be edited.
8. The editors reserve the right to reject submissions based on inappropriate content, including (but not limited to) excessively graphic sex & violence, and disrespect towards individuals, groups, cultures and religions.
9. We’re still working on details of the publication – watch this space.

send us your brainfruits

The Ayam Curtain wants you!

The first chapter of Speaker is up.

The first chapter of Speaker, sequel to Rider, has been uploaded. For readers of Rider, this is the chance to see what actually happened to Lifang:

First Chapter: Speaking

[Fiction]: A Kimono Of Yellow Wood Sorrel

I submitted this for the TOMO YA anthology. It didn’t get accepted. But now I have found a better use for it.

For the #ICTIT folks.

A Kimono Of Yellow Wood Sorrel

Rider Soundtrack – Full range.

If I Could Fly – Lifang’s Wish
Paradise (Peponi) African Style – Paradise
Eternal – At One With The Sky
Kings And Queens – Lifang’s Anthem
Stronger – Sometimes Secrets Hurt and Make Us Stronger
Sister Drum – Sisters
Akeboshi – Wind
Autumn Moon – Lantern Festival/Mid-Autumn
Bai Nian – Chun Jie/Spring Festival
Temple Bell – Morning Temple Bells

Extra Track:
Last Exile OP – Flying

Many thanks to Fadzlishah!

Very very short story: Rage Machine.

Inspired by a Twitter conversation about how Singapore could engender so much rage and how we could harness the rage:

Anger fueling her heart, she plugs straight into the machine. The city lights up and thousands die, hard-plugged, rage all channeled.

It’s March!

Yes, it is.

I turned 37.

I submitted two novellas. Wish me luck and a lot of rainbows.

I am also the judge for Singapore Dreaming. An urban fantasy competition!