Skip to main content

Browsing Through Borders.

Had some free time so I dropped by the Borders at the Curve this afternoon. Browsing through the shelves and leafing through the books that catch my eye makes me go through a plethora of emotions: envy, because all these writers are good enough to be published; sadness, because I'm not at that level yet; determination, because I want to become as good as them; joy, because I often find gems while browsing; and anger, because the books are so expensive! Phew! It's so tiring!

So I'm browsing through the shelves, going through each emotion in random order, when my father calls and tells me the news. Raja Ahmad says his editing committee have read my story (mentioned here, and here), and they love it. Hooray! Apparently the story, about a couple's trip to Kuala Kangsar, is "a physical story, but has deep, inner meaning".

I have no idea what that means but it sounds great! Certainly more so, considering that I only had the time to hammer out a first draft. I haven't reread it since, but I'm guessing once I do, I'll be wincing and grimacing till my jaws ache. More details on the story and when and where it gets published later.

Ooh, and I bought for myself two books: Xeus's Dark City and Naomi Novik's His Majesty's Dragon.

Comments

  1. well done, ted! i'm sure i will be buying your books soon

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ted, congratulations!!! Like I said, it's only a while longer when someone discovers your talent. I thought your sci fi story was humorous like hell! You stuck in there and never said die, that's gutsy. And now it's paying back for you.

    Thanks for buying my book! You can be sure I'll be there to support you when your first book comes out.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks Sharon and Lynette!

    I'm a bit nervous though, because I don't think the story's as polished as I could have made it if I had a little more time... :(

    ReplyDelete
  4. Congrats, Ted. You must be over the moon.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lesson: Commemorative Covers are Lame.

Well, I got the first day cover that commemorates the 35th anniversary of the establishment diplomatic relations between China and Malaysia that I mentioned a couple of posts ago. Except that it's not a first day cover, it's a commemorative cover, which is a slightly different beast. I guess I should read the news article properly next time! The difference between the two is that first day covers are specially-designed envelopes stuck on with specially-designed stamps, and marked with a specially-designed postmark. A commemorative cover is a specially-designed envelope... and that's it. All in all, it's an unremarkable affair, especially if you're used to well-designed first day covers (not that Malaysian first day covers are well-designed... but I digress). Oh sure, a commemorative cover has a stamp printed right on to it but that's just like an overglorified aerogramme. Lame. On the whole, what a disappointment. I haven't been collecting first day cover

HOWTO: Get Rid of Silverfish

The bane of every book collecting person: the Silverfish. DUN DUN DUNNNNN!!! How to get rid of them? If one book has been infected, place it inside an air-tight plastic bag along with some silica gel desiccant. The silica gel is important to get rid of moisture, because you will now place the sealed plastic bag with the book in it inside the freezer. Leave it in there for a couple of days so that those bugs catch their death of cold. If you're feeling particularly paranoid, (like I usually am) feel free to leave the plastic bag in there for a week. If they're not dead, then you might likely have an infestation of zombie silverfish , which is out of the scope of this blogpost. But what if a whole colony of silverfish decided to invade your whole bookcase? Then you have to make sure you're ready for war. Place a generous amount of silica gel (or if you can find it, diatomaceous earth) behind your books at the back of the shelves so that moisture levels remain low.

An Ipoh Ghost Story.

When I was growing up in Ipoh in the 90s, the only good bookshops around were Mubaruk's, which specialised in textbooks (and still does), and Novelhut, the second-hand bookstore that used to be in Yik Foong (and maybe still is there, but I haven't checked in years since I prefer going to their Ipoh Parade outlet when I'm in town). There was also a pretty good bookstore in the Parkson Grand in Ipoh Parade which could have been a Berita outlet, but I don't remember. This was in the days before they expanded Ipoh Parade into what it is today. (And temporarily causing the Convent school next door to consider moving.) I recall this because I was thinking of when exactly I started reading "serious" fiction, trying to pinpoint the years when I moved from young adult/fantasy/sci-fi books into non-genre fiction. I still can't remember, but it brought back memories of a book I bought from a short-lived bookshop in Old Town. Mum had brought me there, because she must