Prime Time Morning

Hi, I did the TV thing this morning on Prime Times News. One of the anchors, Joanne Leow, pleasantly surprised me: she's read the book. Says she's doing her Masters in Lit and liked it.

How did it go? They asked some good questions. Like who would read the book? I answered "Thinking Singaporeans" but said I was not sure how many there are. We laughed a bit.

TV: It's a deceptive medium, visual and sound bytes, but an impression is created, for better or worse.

So it's done. But no idea who would be watching TV at 920 on the day after Xmas.

Book Sold Out!

Have heard from my publisher, Goh Eck Kheng of Landmark, and several friends that the book is sold out in a number of stores.

Promise you that I did not go around buying them up. Don't have that kind of ego, nor that kind of cash to spare.

Nice to know. But it's probably because the stores didnt stock many copies in the first place!

Out in Bookstores NOW

Ok, time for first writer's confession. I went to a book store tonight to see the book on the racks. I did not intend it really. My wife's shop is in Centerpoint (Plant & Planet for natural health btw). I went to pick her near closing time, and Times the bookshop was just the floor above.

So it's on the shelves, decent display (I did not move it to a more prominent position, no).

I looked at the price. $18.19. "1819" for a book about Singapore! Coincidence? I think SO.

The book review seems likely to be out tomorrow in the Sunday Times. I can hope but will not worry. How much can a writer do once his book is written?

Launch

The book is launched! We held a launch party on 18 Dec at the Indochine bar on the Singapore river, with a great view of the city. About 100 people came, friends from all walks of life as well as some from the arts and literary circle.

Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo came too. It was an honor to have him there, as the invite was informal and late. I told all there that he'd not read the book or endorsed any message. People laughed, as I hoped. But there are themes in the book that he and others in the government might not approve. So it was kind of him to come.

I got a chance to see some friends I had not seen for a long time. One of them said that I should publish books more often so we can meet up.

My publisher Eck Kheng actually tried to get people to buy the book. Great change since he usually focuses on the production and not the sales. It seemed to work. Was asked to sign dozens of books and the table of copies that was full was almost empyt by the end.

Perhaps it was more because all enjoyed the food and drink. Mike Ma of Indochine was really generous to sponsor the event.

I could not ask for a better start: 100 friends, a few hundred books sold, a Minister and several senior members of the establishment, good friends, good drink and food, and a view of the city. Can only hope that what begins well might carry on well enough.

Press interview

Just did an interview with the Straits Times and a young Life reporter, Stephanie. Was amazed how much she knew about me. Not just about writing, but about involvement in Parliament and the government's National Environment Agency, even back to university and school days. Glad she did her research but whenever I do an interview I always feel a bit concerned about talking too much about my life, rather than the work at hand -- this novel. Like this blog. I want it to be about my book, but not about me. The more I talk about the book, the more I think it may be controversial. There are people who are all rah-rah about Singapore. This novel is not be for them. A novel should lead people to think. Hope this novel will. But I have to recognize that's one big ambition.

The cover

City of Small Blessings: A Novel

This blog is to mark the launch of my novel, City of Small Blessings.

The novel, published by Landmark Books, will be launched on 18 December in Singapore.

What's the book about? An author may be the worst person to define his work simply (if he could he might not have written the book). So I'll quote the back of the book blurb.

"A Singaporean retires, migrates and then returns. But, he slowly finds, there is no simple return to the place called home. Once a well known public figure who contributed to his country, he is now outside the rush of workdays, on the fringe of a city he barely recognizes, distanced from his wife and son, even as he loves them.

A letter comes from the government and he begins a journey. In the present, he must face the new men of authority. In the past, he must confront old sacrifices and struggles. He regrets. He loves. He cycles and discovers."

I am not sure anyone will read this novel, at least not as I hope it will be read. I tried it on some friends who had liked my stories in Stand Alone, which I published back in 1991. They advised the novel is too serious. Inject more humour. Make things move faster

Some said the message in City of Small Blessings is too sad, too hard on Singapore. Think positive and praise. Be fair.

I do listen. I like to think I do. But sometimes a writer has first to listen to the story and bring his own compass to its telling.

Some could see what I was trying to do, and how I was trying to do it. Some could see the truths the story was trying to convey, palatable or not. That helped in those moments of doubt.

Now, the story that I have worked to tell in these past 12 years, with certainties and doubts, and challenges to find the time and the best words in the best order, will shortly become a book.

A book on bookstore shelves, with a cover, a price and a hope that someone will buy and read the story inside.

A common adage is that a book finds its own audience. I hold out that hope. I begin this blog to reach out to those who have found the book so they might, if they wish, tell me what they think.

So with the book, I am launching this blog.

Writing is a solitary business. So is reading. The writer of a novel does not connect easily to his readers and audience, unlike say a playwright. Readers too are solitary, distanced each from the other, unlike an audience in a play.

I hope the blog can help us connect and exchange views.

I wrote my story as best I could. But I do listen. I like to think I do.