Robert Raymer's Blog, page 15

Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award 2012-Round Two

My Leap Year 2012 just got off to a good start, not only did I get my first French review of Trois Autres Malaisie the French translation of Lovers and Strangers Revisited, but also my novel The Resurrection of Jonathan Brady, which was short listed for 2011 Faulkner-Wisdom Award, just made it to Round Two of  the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award 2012.
Round One was based solely on the 300-word pitch.  There are 5000 submissions, and 80% didn't get through.  Your pitch has to be well written and it must stand out. The good thing about this, it forces the writer to zero in on what their book is about in a way that captures the reader's attention.  If you don't, they won't even bother with your novel.  This is true for agents, too (and for publishers).  Accept it, and nail that pitch!
Here's what worked for me (268 words):
The Resurrection of Jonathan BradyA story about lonely hearts, second chances, lost teenage love, and the delusional, idealized love of erotomania…
         All it took was one look through a rearview mirror to convince Jonathan Brady that a well-known socialite Cabrina Chaval is still in love with him.  During Cabrina Chaval's debut in The Magic Flute twenty-two years ago, Brady was only sixteen, too young to understand the implica­tions of that look—the way she poured out her heart, her soul to him.  Now she's contacting him again.          When Cabrina Chaval invites Jonathan Brady, an economics professor, to paint her house during the summer, he convinces himself—through a series of coincidences—that she truly does love him.  Because of her prominent position in society and the fact that she's still married, he accepts that their love must be kept secret.  While recap­turing the innocent love between two sixteen year olds and coming to terms with the sudden loss of his domineering mother, Jonathan Brady's delusion takes him through five distinct stages of love—from Heightened Aware­ness, to Playful Pursuit, to Courtship and Romance, to Jealousy and Suspicion, to Reconci­liation and Acceptance—all unbeknown to Cabrina Chaval.Through a chance meeting, Cabrina Chaval begins to reconstruct Jonathan Brady's life and, in the process, elevates his love for her to its penultimate stage—Eternal Love.The Resurrection of Jonathan Brady (96,800 words) was named a short-list-finalist in the 2011 Faulkner-Wisdom novel contest and an earlier version, under a different title, an almost finalist in their 2008 contest.  It also placed fourth in the 2008 National Writers Association novel contest. #  #  #
Compare this (if you want) to the version that got through to Round Two for their 2010 Award, though under a different title.  Minor changes here and there, except for an additional paragraph that wasn't in the original.  Those minor changes do add up!
Here's also the link to the pitch that made it through to Round Two in 2011, a different novel.  I have since overhauled that and re-titled it to The Mother of that Boy since the book is more about the mother than the boy.
So that's three Round Twos in a row.  For the Second Round judging the field will be narrowed to 250 entries in each category (general fiction/young adult) by Amazon top customer reviewers from ratings of a 5,000 word excerpt (about 18-19 pages.)  The Quarter Final Results will be posted on 20 March.  That date is already circled on my calendar. It's time to move into those upper rounds...
What would truly make this Leap Year special for me is to breakthrough in even a bigger way with an agent and a two book deal.  That's my major goal for 2012, one of the reasons I've cut back on blogging.  Instead I've now spending that time (including some overnighters) rewriting three novels and part of a fourth for both the Amazon contest and James Jones Fellowship.  Sent in four entries last night, a two-page outline and 50 pages of each, which I've been going over and over again the last two weeks, a culmination of a very tiring two months.
But I'm just getting warmed up.  If I'm truly going to make this year special, I have to do what it takes.  Pull out all the stops and take some serious risks.  That's exactly what I've been doing the last few months.  How about you?  What are your plans for 2012?  A good confidence builder for me was listing out my top 25 achievements (which I stretched to 50) and that really got me thinking about my life and the direction that it's heading.  If you've never done that, or it's been a while, I highly recommend it.  It definitely raises your self-esteem because its proof that you have accomplished some things that you're  proud of.  (It doesn't matter what others think; these are your accomplishments.  They can list their own!)
Good luck, especially for those of you still in the running in the Amazon contest or are considering joining next year, and for everyone else, too!  Let's make this Leap Year special for all of us!                —Borneo Expat Writer

Trois Autres Malaisie Gets Reviewed on Eurasie.net

Trois Autres Malaisie, the French translation of Lovers and Strangers Revisited was just reviewed on eurasie.net by Emmanuel Deslouis on 15 February 2012.
Here it is for those who can read French (sorry, I don't either, but please pass along to any friends who do, especially if they have an interest in Malaysia or Southeast Asia.  Thanks!)« Trois autres Malaisie » de Robert Raymeréditions GOPE, 216 pages. mercredi par Emmanuel Deslouis"Tout voyageur qui met un pied en Malaisie s'aperçoit assez rapidement que le pays a – au minimum – trois visages principaux : malais, chinois et indien. Une composition triple qui découle de siècles de commerce, d'échanges et de rencontres. L'auteur de ce recueil de nouvelles, Robert Raymer pouvait difficilement échapper à cette tripartition. Qui donne lieu à des variations très différentes les unes des autres. Côté malais, on assiste à l'arrivée d'un étranger à la peau blanche dans sa belle famille malaise. Et on réalise qu'il est fort compliqué d'être un « mat salleh ». Le choc des cultures, bien entendu, mais aussi celui des traditions, présenté dans une autre nouvelle, où de jeunes musulmanes vont avoir toutes les difficultés du monde à lutter contre les traditions. Dans la partie « chinoise », changement de ton : l'heure est aux relations amoureuses... qui tournent mal. Un couple d'amants tombe dans les excès de la routine jusqu'au déchirement. Un second duo se retrouve de manière effrayante au-delà de la mort. Enfin, la partie indienne nous présente une histoire effrayante : celle d'un avocat, assis devant le comptoir d'un bar, et dont l'ivresse cache un terrible secret. Au final, un enchevêtrement d'histoires qui glissent entre les cultures, les langues et les traditions. Très dépaysant."                                                                                                                                                   





                 
*Here's a link to the intro and excerpts, and also to order as well as my meeting the French translator Jerome Bouchaud in Kuching. 

**Here's the link to my website, to MPH online for orders for all three of my books, including my latest, Spirit of Malaysia and to the French translation of Lovers and Strangers Revisited, Trois autres Malaisie.  Thanks!

Borneo Expat Writer

In Two Days—Tomorrow Will Be Yesterday. So Make Today Count!

Sometimes it's oh so easy to give up on your dreams, whether you're an artist, entertainer, actor, performer, or writer.  You don't seem to get the breaks or you keep shooting yourself in the foot or maybe you just don't have what it takes to succeed, so you toss in the towel or move on . . . . Too often it's just a matter of giving up too soon or not hanging in there long enough.  Yeah, it can be discouraging, but you just never know what's on the other side of that brick wall that's designed to stop you.  Randy Pausch spoke about this in his Last Lecture. 
The question you should be asking yourself is not when is this going to happen, but how can you make it happen? What do you need to do today—yes today and not tomorrow!—that will take you a step closer?  If you're not sure, try mindstorming, or brainstorming on your own.  Mindstorm is a success-driven technique whereby you pose a question of your desire or a problem that you wish to solve and then write down 20 answers or 20 ways to move forward, and keep going until you reach 20! 
Often it's that last one, an obvious solution that you have overlooked, like doing some research, or plotting an outline, or printing out your manuscript and editing it on paper (and away from internet temptations!), or committing to working on it a half-hour a day if that is all the time you can spare, or consider waking up an hour early and working on it while the house is quiet and the everyone is still a sleep.
Another suggestion is just to get mad at yourself for not keeping your commitments, or acknowledging the truth—even if the truth hurts—that maybe you're not doing enough to help yourself.  Yeah, you want success bad enough, but so does everyone else, but are you willing to do what it takes?  Naturally, we'll say, yes, of course, I'm willing to do what it takes.  If that's the truth, then ask yourself, is that what you're doing right now?  Is that what you have been doing this past week?  This past month?  This past year?  Right about now we start to rationalize or recite our favorite excuses about work or family or time commitments. 
We don't hold our feet to the fire.  Instead we let ourselves off the hook and say something lame like, well if you were in my position…or maybe, it just wasn't meant to be…or that others just got "lucky".  I don't think so.
To start this New Year right—a Leap Year at that—you got to take responsibility for your own actions, simple as that.  You got to say, well that was last year.  Yeah, I let myself down, but this is a new year, a fresh start to set things right.  This is what I'm going to do differently this year.  These are the steps I'm going to take starting today.  These are the commitments I'm going to make.  

Write them down now, while the thought is there…
For me, I always seem to get myself fired up when that first novel contest of the year, Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award makes its announcement.  Don't know how I missed the first two, but when the third one came around, I made sure I had a novel ready. Then last year, I got an early start and began rewriting my novels in November.  This year, well today's the day.  Tomorrow is already too late!  You know what they say about tomorrow.  In two days, tomorrow will be yesterday. 
That's a sad thought.  So unless you want to turn your tomorrows into yesterdays, then make today your day.  Ask yourself, what can I do right now, this very minute that will move me in the right direction, and then build on that momentum.  For me, I already began revising my pitch statements—start with something small, something manageable to get the ball rolling.  That's all you need, a little momentum to get moving forward.  Then every day find a way to keep that momentum going, even if it's only for half an hour.  Commit to this!  Pretty soon, you'll start finding that extra time that you'll need. 
Imagine if you did that every day, how this week, this month, this year will be very different from last year.  In fact this year could be your best year ever.   Just see the potential, make a plan, try some mindstorming, mind mapping, whatever works for you, and just go for it.  All the best for 2012! 
             --Borneo Expat Writer

 *Here's the link to my website, to MPH online for orders for all three of my books, including my latest, Spirit of Malaysia and to the French translation of Lovers and Strangers Revisited, Trois autres Malaisie.  Thanks!

Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award 2012

It's that time of the year again to dust off your novel or overhaul it.  The competition is pretty stiff from all over the world but it's a good opportunity to work on your pitches and your excerpts which you'll be sending to agents anyways.  So clean it up and take your best shot, whether your novel is unpublished or self-published.  The question is will readers love it?  

Find out by entering it in the 2012 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award for a chance to win one of two $15,000 publishing contracts with Penguin USA and distribution of your novel on Amazon.com. 

(23 Jan-5 Feb unless full)  First Round : Amazon editors will review a 300-word pitch of each entry. The top 1,000 entries in each category (2,000 total entries) will move on to the second round.(23 Feb) Second Round: The field will be narrowed to 250 entries in each category (500 total entries) by Amazon top customer reviewers from ratings of a 5,000 word excerpt. (20 March) Quarterfinals: Publishers Weekly reviewers will read the full manuscript of each quarterfinalist, and based on their review scores, the top 50 in each category (100 total entries) will move on to the semifinals. (24 April) Semifinals: Penguin USA editors will read the full manuscript and review all accompanying data for each semifinalist and will then select three finalists in each category (six total finalists). (22 May) Finals: Amazon customers will vote on the three finalists in each category resulting in two grand prize winners.  June 16th Voting ends. Grand prize winners will be announced. Last year, one of my novels advanced to Round Two. 
The previous year, another novel also advanced to Round Two.
This is also a great way to get your 2012 Leap Year off to a great start.  All the best, and may the best novel win.  Hopefully one of ours.          --Borneo Expat Writer

  *Here's the link to my website, to MPH online for orders for all three of my books, including my latest, Spirit of Malaysia and to the French translation of Lovers and Strangers Revisited, Trois autres Malaisie.  Thanks!

Matlan Marjan, a Malaysian Shakespearean Football Tragedy

*For zoom, click on article, then right click, click view image, click zoom

This is my article from the November 2011 issue of Esquire Malaysia.  You can only grow if you learn from your past mistakes.  If not, then you're doomed to repeat them until you do learn...

I found this article on Matlan a challenge to write since I don't follow football.  But Esquire asked me to write it with a literary approach.  Luckily I was living in Malaysia when Matlan scored those two goals against England and when the scandal broke out so I knew the background.  Now I had to do a lot of research, find the story, and a theme . . . The day (the year actually) Malaysian football died...

 *Here's the link to my website, to MPH online for orders for all three of my books, including my latest, Spirit of Malaysia, and to the French translation of Lovers and Strangers Revisited Trois autres Malaisie.  Thanks!

The Kuching Writing Workshop, Dec 17, 2011

Last Saturday was the "Turn your Personal Experiences into Published Articles" workshop in Kuching.  The turnout was about half of what we had in KK due to it being a last minute arrangement and too close to Christmas.  It also fell on finals day at Open University (and at least one other university); so many people who had expressed an interest couldn't attend.  Those who did make it, including Charles from Miri, got a lot of writing done.  In fact Charles, who had attended the same workshop in KK in August, felt this one was better, maybe because he completed his first draft. 

In KK, like many writers who only write on computer, he seemed to have trouble writing longhand.  Writing longhand, however, can be liberating.  You just keep going to the end instead of reworking the beginning over and over to perfection (some never get to the end and just give up on the story.)  At the workshop, after all the pre-writing prompting that we use on your story, by the time I let them write, after they had already been thinking about narrative for about an hour, they were raring to go.

Charles did bring me another story to edit, which is the best way to improve as a writer.  Get some direct feedback, some guidance to take your writing to the next level. Consider it an investment into your writing future.  When I began, I hired someone to critique my first 20 or so stories, and the better ones ended up in that original collection Lovers and Strangers (1993 Heinemann Asia). 
Also attending the workshop was Allen, a photographer interested in travel writing, and Jasmine who has an interest in copywriting and who first came across me on a Malaysian airlines flight when she read my short story, "Merdeka Miracle" that I wrote with Lydia Teh and Tunku Halim.  Brenden, who's studying in KL, was the youngest, who I first met at the 2009 MPH Short Story workshop in Kuching.
In the afternoon session we had Edrow who not only came with his 18-year-old daughter Joan, but had already completed a novel and had even been submitting it to UK agents!  After the workshop we talked about the whole finding-an-agent process and some alternatives.  It can take some time and plenty of rewrites.  Then there was my French friend Annie, who wrote a nonfiction manuscript about her experiences in Borneo, and writes a blog.  She has already blogged about the workshop, which she called "so refreshing; a tonic boost really."
As I told the participants at the beginning of the workshop, you may know the beginning of your story as you begin to write today, but you may not know the full ending—where that story will take you years from now.  I used the "Mat Salleh" story from Lovers and Strangers Revisited as an example.  That story had its beginning when I visited my ex-in-laws in Malaysia for the first time while still living in the US.  It was then that I decided to be a writer and took two correspondence courses offered by Writer's Digest, one on the Short Story and the other, Advanced Short Story. 
Getting some helpful feedback, I kept reworking the story, glad that I had kept a journal and took a lot of photographs.  When I moved to Malaysia, "Mat Salleh" became not only my first published short story in Malaysia, but also my first published short story in the UK—in My Weekly (they even ran the story with colour photos).  When it was published in Lovers and Strangers (1993 Heinemann Asia), I thought that was the end of the story, especially after a pair of publishers bought out the publisher and dropped its Writing in Asia series. 
Twelve years later "Mat Salleh" and the revised collection, Lovers and Strangers Revisited (2005 Silverfish) was taught at USM in Penang.  The collection was republished a third time by MPH in 2008 and even went on to win the 2009 Popular Reader's Choice award.  I thought that was the end of the story—a rather nice ending, too.  But Lovers and Strangers Revisited got translated into French as Trois Autres Malaisie.
Then I got an email last week and that old version of "Mat Salleh" in that original collection caught the eye of a film director at Ohio University in the US and they wanted to film the story until I suggested that for their purpose, the revised version of "Home for Hari Raya" might be a better choice, and they loved it.  So you never know the full ending of your story, where it'll take you over the years and even decades, but the beginning you can start at a writing workshop.  You just need to get it started and see it through completion, draft after draft.
So, what have you written lately?  If you lack the discipline to start something new on your own, then sign up for one of my workshops.   Or any workshop that just happens to be in your area.   Good luck with your writing!

Ohio University to Adapt "Home for Hari Raya" into Screenplay and Film!

My Leap Year just took a leap forward after meeting someone new, Frederick Lewis, a professor of film/video at Ohio University who contacted me last week regarding the possible filming of one of short stories. We discussed on the phone what they were looking for and I clarified which book he had read the story from—it was the original collection of Lovers and Strangers (1993 Heinemann Asia) that they had at their library (just as I had blogged about), and not the 2009 Popular Reader's Choice Award winning Lovers and Strangers Revisited (2008, MPH) 

Lewis, who has received numerous grants, awards and nominations for his independent documentaries, has also received praise from film festivals for the full-length feature Trailerpark based on a short story collection by acclaimed author Russell Banks, which was made by 70 of his students for an advanced narrative production class. 

Lewis had previously brought some Ohio University students to Kuala Lumpur a few summers ago, and, coincidentally, to Sarawak, on the island of Borneo where I happen to live, though we never met.  He told me via email and also on the phone that he is trying to bring students back to Malaysia in December 2012, during their break, to shoot a short film.  He said that my stories from Lovers and Strangers have come up in their research and conversation while looking for a short story to adapt into a screenplay and film.  

After discussing what he was looking for, I suggested that "Home for Hari Raya" instead of their original choice "Mat Salleh" might be a better fit.  So I sent him the link from Istanbul Review, which had published it online in May 2011 (I blogged about that too) and the link to the story behind the story.
Four days after receiving the revised Lovers and Strangers Revisited version of my story, Lewis emailed and said, "My students love 'Home for Hari Raya'.  They are going to begin work on adapting it into a screenplay."   He then added, "The story contains all of the elements we agreed we wanted more than 6 months ago when we started the search."
He said the screenplay has been assigned to OU student Margaret Babington, who will be contacting me as the screenplay progresses.  Jeremy Parolini, who is doing a degree in Media Management, will be the producer. Lewis will begin working on the Education Abroad proposal with a goal of shooting this in Malaysia next December.  This will involve working out the logistics—how much the trip will cost each student, where they will stay, and where they will shoot.  They will be working with the local film industry and liaising with Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM).
Ohio University, by the way, has strong ties to Malaysia, going back 30 years.  As many as 2,400 Ohio University alumni live and work in Malaysia—the University's greatest concentration of alumni outside the United States.  The present Tun Razak Chair in Southeast Asian Studies is Habibah Ashari, director of the International Education College (INTEC) at UiTM in Shah Alam.
"The next 3-4 months will determine whether we get our proposal approved and can recruit students for the production phase," Lewis added.  For some of the students and their parents, it'll be a dilemma, since it may be the first time they'll spend Christmas away from their families—half way around the world in Malaysia.  But it's too good of an opportunity to miss, not to mention that, well, Malaysia is the tropics and the tropics trump Ohio winters every time!
My fingers are also crossed.  Although this may not be Hollywood calling, I'm still looking forward to working with Frederick Lewis and this team from Ohio University.  The fact that I grew up in Ohio and attended Miami University (in the same MAC conference), gives the story—about three Malay sisters returning home for Hari Raya following the death of their father—an interesting twist for Ohio University, or as Lewis stated, "A very pleasant bonus!"
Not a bad way to end 2011 and kick off 2012!                  —Borneo Expat Writer

 *Here's the link to my website, to MPH online for orders for all three of my books, including my latest, Spirit of Malaysia, and to the French translation of Lovers and Strangers Revisited Trois autres Malaisie.  Thanks!

"Home for Hari Raya" to be Adapted into a Screenplay and Filmed

My Leap Year just took a leap forward after meeting someone new, Frederick Lewis, a professor of film/video at Ohio University who contacted me last week regarding the possible filming of one of short stories. We discussed on the phone what they were looking for and I clarified which book he had read the story from—it was the original collection of Lovers and Strangers (1993 Heinemann Asia) that they had at their library (just as I had blogged about), and not the 2009 Popular Reader's Choice Award winning Lovers and Strangers Revisited (2008, MPH) 

Lewis, who has received numerous grants, awards and nominations for his independent documentaries, has also received praise from film festivals for the full-length feature Trailerpark based on a short story collection by acclaimed author Russell Banks, which was made by 70 of his students for an advanced narrative production class. 

Lewis had previously brought some Ohio University students to Kuala Lumpur a few summers ago, and, coincidentally, to Sarawak, on the island of Borneo where I happen to live, though we never met.  He told me via email and also on the phone that he is trying to bring students back to Malaysia in December 2012, during their break, to shoot a short film.  He said that my stories from Lovers and Strangers have come up in their research and conversation while looking for a short story to adapt into a screenplay and film.  

After discussing what he was looking for, I suggested that "Home for Hari Raya" instead of their original choice "Mat Salleh" might be a better fit.  So I sent him the link from Istanbul Review, which had published it online in May 2011 (I blogged about that too) and the link to the story behind the story.
Four days after receiving the revised Lovers and Strangers Revisited version of my story, Lewis emailed and said, "My students love 'Home for Hari Raya'.  They are going to begin work on adapting it into a screenplay."   He then added, "The story contains all of the elements we agreed we wanted more than 6 months ago when we started the search."
He said the screenplay has been assigned to OU student Margaret Babington, who will be contacting me as the screenplay progresses, while Jeremy Parolini, who is doing a degree in Media Management, will be the producer. Lewis will begin working on the Education Abroad proposal with a goal of shooting this in Malaysia next December.  This will involve working out the logistics—how much the trip will cost each student, where they will stay, and where they will shoot.
"The next 3-4 months will determine whether we get our proposal approved and can recruit students for the production phase," he added.  For some of the students and their parents, it'll be a dilemma, since it may be the first time they'll spend Christmas away from their families—half way around the world in Malaysia.  But it's too good of an opportunity to miss, not to mention that, well, this is the tropics and the tropics trump Ohio winters every time!
My fingers are also crossed.  Although this may not be Hollywood calling, I'm still looking forward to working with Frederick Lewis and this team from Ohio University.  They will be liaising with UiTM in Shah Alam and working with the local film industry, including, possibly, Amir Muhammad, who met with Lewis during his earlier trip to Kuala Lumpur.  That would be cool since I first met Amir when he was stringing at the New Strait Times back when Lovers and Strangers was originally published 18 years ago.
The fact that I grew up in Ohio and attended Miami University (in the same MAC conference), gives the story—about three Malay sisters returning home for Hari Raya following the death of their father—an interesting twist for Ohio University, or as Lewis stated, "A very pleasant bonus!"
Not a bad way to end 2011 and kick off 2012!                  —Borneo Expat Writer

 *Here's the link to my website, to MPH online for orders for all three of my books, including my latest, Spirit of Malaysia, and to the French translation of Lovers and Strangers Revisited Trois autres Malaisie.  Thanks!

Leap for Success this Leap Year—2012

Yes, 2012 is a Leap Year when February will finally have 29 days again.  This is particularly special for those born on that day—now they can celebrate their birth on their actual birthday.  Why not make this year special for you, too?  How?  Well, you can start by changing your routine, by doing things differently or doing different things—maybe the things you've been putting off for years, even decades.
What's been holding you back?  Is it your self-esteem?  Here's a fun way to raise your self-esteem, and not a bad way to end 2011.  Make a list of your top 25 accomplishments. Do it chronologically for a nice trip down memory lane.  I first did this in 2006 and then expanded my list to 50, adding in quite a few that I had overlooked in my previous list.
By completing your own list, you'll already be thinking about what you can do for 2012!  Now here are five ways to make your Leap Year special.  In fact, these five things alone will not only have a profound effect on your 2012, but also your life!
1)      The books you read. What books have you been meaning to read but haven't gotten around to?  What books will help you in your career?  What books will get you thinking in a new, better way. What books will help you out of a rut?  What books will help you with your finances?  What are the books that others have been strongly recommending?  Set a goal to read a half hour or an hour a day, a book a month.
2)      The people you meet.  Are you always hanging around the same people, having the same conversations?  Then meet some new people!  How?  Attend a workshop or a seminar, or go to a conference and meet people who may share your same interests. Or take up a new hobby, like photography or flying or scuba diving, or enroll in a course and study a new language or anything else that interests you.
3)      The thoughts you think. Pick up some personal development CD's and listen to them in your car as you drive back and forth to work.  How many hours are wasted stuck in traffic?  Not any longer!  Pretty soon you've be thinking about yourself in a whole new way.  You'll start to see opportunities that have been there all along.  Why spend the rest of your life complaining about how bad things are?  How is that helping you or your spouse and family?  Instead of focusing on what's wrong in your life (and the world around you), start appreciating all that is right and start seeing the possibilities! 
4)      The decisions you make. Get in the habit of making decisions, even small decisions.  If you're forever putting off decisions, well that is your decision—to put them off!  This year, see how many decisions you can make in one week.  Can you make six decisions each day—three in the morning, three in the afternoon? How about six impossible things before breakfast? Deciding on one impossible thing, after really thinking about it, may make that impossible thing, very possible.  Maybe not right away, but you're stepping in the right direction the moment you start to make some decisions with your life.
5)      The actions you take. We all talk about what we want to do, but do we actually take those steps to do them?   Or are we resigned to the fact that our goals are merely pipe dreams?   Only one way to find out!  Decide on a new course of action for 2012, make a plan how you can accomplish it, then get started while the thought it still there, and do the very first thing that needs to be done.  Often it's a click away.  Do a little research and find what you're looking for.  Then follow your plan through to the end. If you fail, well at least you tried.  Now you can try it again in a new way and make better decisions!  Put your whole heart into it!
Now end the year by making a commitment to yourself that 2012 will be like no other year.  This is the year that it will all begin for you.  Already you're making a list of books you want to read; the various ways you can meet new people; the self-development tapes you want to check out (to change the way you always think); the decisions that you want to make (aren't you tired of procrastinating?); and the action steps you plan to take, so you too can leap forward for success in 2012.
In fact, why wait every four years?  Why not try this every year!  
          —Borneo Expat Writer

 *Here's the link to my website, to MPH online for orders for all three of my books, including my latest, Spirit of Malaysia and to Trois autres Malaisie.  Thanks!

My Copy of Trois autres Malaisie has arrived!

 














My copy of Trois autres Malaisie   has arrived!  The whole process, from the initial contact by Editions GOPE to explore the possibility of translating Lovers andStrangers Revisited into French to my receiving this copy took about one year. 

Although the cover is the same, it's not—it's better (though it's not as sharp in jpeg, above).  But holding the books side by side, you'll see (and feel) the difference.  The cover is now glossy, which makes the colors appear more alive and the woman more real; her exposed eye seems even more mysterious.  The cover type is also bolder and stands out, though my name is smaller (on the spine, too).  The thickness is about the same, even though there are three less stories; the height is shorter.  Inside, other than the obvious language difference, you'll  notice another big difference.  There are ten illustrations from different artists and a hibiscus is used as a colophon (to denote breaks such as major scene changes). 
Also, in back, Editions GOPE, has added illustrations and a synopsis of several of their books, including Trois autres Thailande and Le Monde de Suzie Wong , the French translation of Richard Mason's The World of Suzie Wong.  This is good; it means that in future books and in new editions of past books, Trois autres Malaisie will be added, too. There is also Trois autres Malaisie translator, Jerome Bouchaud's Malaisie: Modernite et traditions en Asia du Sud-Est.
The stories are regrouped into three sections: The Malays, The Chinese, The Indian.  Since the majority of the characters in "Neighbors" are Chinese it's placed at the beginning of the Chinese section.  Here is the table of contents (I added in the original titles—some I could guess at, most I could not)  
LA MALAISE…Mat Salleh (Mat Salleh)Les pierres saintes (Smooth Stones)Le regard (The Stare)Les vendredis (On Fridays)Hari raya (Home for Hari Raya)Symetrie (Symmetry)Naufrage ( Only in Malaysia)
LA CHINOISE…Les voisins (Neighbors)A l'hotel de la gare (The Station Hotel)Le guetteur (The Watcher)Les amants anonymes (Lovers and Strangers)
ET L'INDIENNE…Le futur avocat (The Future Barrister)La chambre de grande soeur (Sister's Room)Teh-o a Kuala Lumpur (Teh-o in K.L.)
*Here's the link to the excerpts, to MPH online for orders for all three of my books in English, including my latest, Spirit of Malaysia, and my website