Janice Siew's Blog, page 3

I dislike unsolicited calls

There are some delivery calls to let us know what time they are delivering the goods, especially for bigger items e.g. tables, chairs, sofa. Bigger items that you just cannot place outside your home for a long period. They may get stolen.

Although nobody does that (steal your things) anymore, it is still safer to let the buyer know when the delivery is.

I had bought stuff online as usual. And the humid weather has gotten worse in Singapore, so I bought a dehumidifier.

I expect the delivery man to call because the item is huge and not possible for him to leave it outside my apartment.

Then I got a call yesterday, seemingly urgent, because the caller called twice.

When it is an unknown number, we do not usually pick up calls, unless it is from a landline. But because the delivery man may call from his mobile, I picked up the call.

And then, shucks, some insurance agent called...

He explained that he was not calling me to ask me to buy a new policy. But the call was to ask me if I wish to upgrade from my current policy. I said I have my other policies, so I'm not interested. Annoyingly, he said, 'I know you have. Everybody has. But this is an upgrade.' I am just not spending any more money on policies. So I rejected, and he gave up.

What makes him think that just because it is an upgrade, I may get it? How many does he think the same way that he does? I just need basic insurance, and that is it! And even if I need an upgrade, I have my financial consultant to advise me.

Well, I know he is just trying to get some business from me. But no way that is happening, given his attitude.

Some irritating guy spoiled my mood that moment just when I thought my item was here.

Ah well. Some rant again.

Social Influencer / YouTuber

To create a new content that would capture views is hard.

Facebook did give me a chance to monetise from the content that I post, but there are strict criteria that I have yet to hit.

The bare minimum criteria I should hit should be gaining 10,000 followers! I believe this is the hardest, but I will work hard for it! LOL

The rest should be the amount of posts/stories/reels to create per week. That is not hard, but I guess I do not reach my intended audience who are people who read children's books. I did try to use Facebook ads to try to get more views and sales, but it failed.

Trying to do you-tubing is worse because I don't get out of the house much, except at weekends. To be a YouTuber means that you have to create a video every day. And your video has to interest people. You have to know what is trendy these days.

I am following this Taiwanese YouTuber, who is a fan of flying on the plane. His videos are mostly on the planes. Of course, he may be sponsored to fly. But to be as infamous as him may take years. His family moved to Singapore 2 years ago to let their kids study here. I have been following him few years even before he came to Singapore.

He had a brain tumour not long ago, but luckily, he survived it. He had to go back to Taiwan for surgery and treatments, His videos became shorter because he was fighting against this illness. I am still following him wherever he is back to flying after recuperation. I did not watch his videos during the period that he was recuperating.

Of course, it did not matter to him, but if I am the YouTuber, I would be sad that the breadwinner of the house was affected by the number of views which would become his income.

To become a social influencer or YouTuber is not hard if you have the passion and the means to create your content. I wish I just had enough passion for this. Anyway, being an author is probably the same. You have to write a book that would suffice to interest your intended audience to start to see your book being purchased. I will just have to keep writing then.

Perth trip 2024

We went for a short trip to Perth last week.

For the first 2 days, we stayed on the outskirts of Perth. It was a nice house, but we forgot to take a photo of the 2 days we were in because we were enamoured by the life there!

We reached Perth airport around 5 pm. We had rented a 7-seater car, and by the time we were done with it, it was already 6-plus pm. We drove 30 minutes to an Airbnb and went for dinner in a nearby Chinese restaurant. My brother and parents headed to the nearest grocery market to buy food for the next few days, while my husband and I prepped the kids to sleep.

The temperature in Perth was around 26-28 degrees Celsius. It was quite a good stay there.

We toured around Fremantle market and Perth city after we had our breakfast the next morning. So much to see! We realised that the drive on the road there was similar to that in Singapore. There are similar signs and there were similar road lamps too!

My dad cooked when we were back at the house. The house was pretty much equipped, and we had no problem finding the things we needed.

On the 3rd day, we left for Margaret River after breakfast. It was a 3-hour drive, but it was tolling for my parents. Found the holiday cottage! We booked the largest cottage, which had 4 bedrooms too. The farm animals were just in front of the cottage! The temperature in Margaret River was comfortable at 20 degrees too.

The cottage was also well-equipped, considering that they have the kitchen tools for visitors who wish to cook there! They even have a patio for BBQ! But we did not use it because it was cold at night. The holiday cottage was also kid-friendly because there was a huge play area nearby.

Found a nearby town to explore and of course to shop in the supermarket as well.

We went back to the cottage and my dad cooked us dinner.

The next day, we began touring the nearby town area, Augusta, which was an hour away.

Of course, we visited the famous landmarks, including the lighthouses and beaches. Drove to Leeuwin Estate to visit the vineyard.

On the last day, our flight was at 5 pm, but again, we had to drive 3 hours back to the airport. Went to Cosco after our lunch before going to the airport. Overall, our trip was fruitful!

Here is a compilation of the 4 parts of the trip!

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/4931d3_0530789bd2134af597ab38f7f068d9a3/480p/mp4/file.mp4https://video.wixstatic.com/video/4931d3_9784cbb66e9246a69e87598636109954/720p/mp4/file.mp4https://video.wixstatic.com/video/4931d3_f0f28d99188e4c12b15b84e2888f0a28/720p/mp4/file.mp4https://video.wixstatic.com/video/4931d3_3e478ca109524de2967b7a39297a8201/720p/mp4/file.mp4

Book Merchandise idea!

I saw the mockup banner that AllAuthor provided for 'Boastful Brian', and I love it!

The first thing I did was to retweet and post it on FB and Instagram.

It would be awesome if I had this cup! It would be great if anyone wanted this cup. It would be fabulous if I had other merchandise of 'Boastful Brian'! Suddenly I had the idea of making merchandise of all of my book covers.

And I found a couple of websites that are doing Print-On-Demand! And then I thought of selling them on the website. Then again, would any of you want to purchase them? I know I want one of the cups because it looks so cute! Haha.

Simply said, these websites can not print for you, they also ship for you! It is so tempting to go into this small business. But how viable is it? The buyers should be my book fans, to purchase these merchandise. They can be cups, tees, recyclable bags, or phone covers. Oh, I'm spoiled for choices!

Anyway, this is such a wonderful thought. If you are an author like me, you may already have such a business. Let me know what are your thoughts about this idea. Such an idea can be fulfilled if all of my books are published. Can't wait! So exciting to think about it!

Considerate Caleb is on pre-order!

My C book is finally live! And it is on pre-order! The release date is on 31 March 2024, which falls on Easter day. My book is nothing about Easter though.

I just wish to publish it on a memorable day. =D

My book is on Book Sirens, Book Bub and Goodreads. If any of you wish to read them, please check them out! Please, please, please leave an honest review!

It will be on Kindle Unlimited as well! I would update again for a free e-book!

I will put out the links below. They are probably still under pending review. But it will be done soon.

Book Sirens Book Bub Goodreads

My paperback copy will be published a week earlier. This is because I will need to order author copies to send them to my national library. Nonetheless, if you wish to read it earlier, just download the ebook from above!

Haha, just updated my series' profile as well. Can't wait to have all 26 books on it!

Jasper was bringing an Usborne book to school today because the teacher wanted to read them a book. I asked him why didn't he bring the books that Mummy wrote.

He told me because my books are too lengthy. ='(

I will try to remember that my picture books are for kids whose attention life span are shorter compared to adults. Sigh.

Anyway, I will start to work on my D book soon! Ah, it is such a wonderful thing to think about!

New Book Review Page in my Wix

I have been trying to think of new ways of promoting myself as a children's book author and a reader.

I know that many of the authors whom I have followed on Facebook and Instagram have been posting book reviews. I am just trying a different approach.

I do not know who has been frequenting my Wix site, and I am grateful to all of you who have visited. Although my contribution is small, I hope to help out through my Wix and my social media too, in exchange for some visibility. =D

Anyway, since the start of publishing and marketing my books, I have been reading and reviewing some books that I found on BookSirens, Goodnightreads, some ARCs that were requested and the free ebooks that I have downloaded. I do not have Kindle Unlimited, and I'm not sure why I can't be subscribed to it. I can only download free ebooks, or request ARCs for now.

I am posting my book reviews on Wix, and if any of you can recommend any free ebooks or ARCs that I can download, I will be happy to review them!

If you are interested to see what I am reading, you may visit the book reviews page. I tried to set the page to show 20 reviews per time so that you wouldn't have to scroll too much.

Are there any other ways that I can market my books as well?

I thought of opening a shop online, but the cost would be too much if I had to cater shipping and delivery myself too. I have yet to try to market to Singapore readers as well because other than social media, I have no idea how.

To all the other authors who have helped to market my books on social media, I am thankful for your help! I will try to read and review your books as well!

Trip to Malaysia

Finally!

I finally have a bit of strength to post about the latest happenings of my events.

Have been having post-COVID coughs for the past few months, and it worsens if I step into a chilling place. Recently, it is not just post-COVID cough only, I can feel my entire body turning weak after the whole trip to Malaysia. I am lethargic and can only lie in bed while coughing. Starting to take some meds now which is why I am feeling better.

Anyway, I am still taking cold medicine, so I am feeling drowsy now. May take a nap later.

Let's talk about the happy events!

Updates on the Lunar New Year!

The trip back to my father-in-law's hometown is kind of long. So we always spend a few days before for a stopover.

Day 1-3:

We were headed to Port Dickson for a 3D2N trip before going further down the north.

We arrived there around midday, so we went to the nearest mall to have lunch and explore! The kids love to shop and have fun there! Went to the beach which it's near our accommodation and checked it out!

The view was beautiful because it was near the sea! We could hear the town playing Chinese New Year songs every evening. I did not capture the view though. =(

Went to Ostrich's farm and chocolate factory on our second day. It was a small farm but they housed our lunar calendar animals! There were: cows, rabbits, horses, sheep, monkeys, rooters and dogs. Of course, the farm could not have rats, tigers, snakes, and dragons. But I was not sure of pigs. Maybe because there are special farms for pigs? Or because of the country's policy?

We had plenty of time, so we went to the small aquarium by the sea.

On the last day, we left to go to Sitiawan in the morning. Had breakfast before leaving Port Dickson.

Reached my husband's grandma's place for lunch. His relatives came back later too. It was 2 days before the Chinese New Year.

Day 4-6:

On the eve of CNY, the table was cleared for food! And an extra table was bought out for the younger generations - us!

More relatives came back for the reunion dinner. In this case, we had a reunion lunch.

Ah Ma's dishes were heading out from the kitchen! Yums!

It was my son's birthday as well! Woohoo! We went to a mall a day ago to buy him a cake and it was enough for everyone. Fortunately, there is a space for the cake in the fridge. Haha! Bought him his present at the mall too. Got something for hubby and Jaime too.

Firecrackers started on the night of CNY eve. My father-in-law bought Pop Pop! to play with the kids. We didn't watch them, so I only took a video shot of the firecracker outside my window. The window was bordered up to prevent insects, so the video only shows a blurred sparkle and the sound of the firecracker.

Lunar New Year started with Ah Ma giving red packets to everyone for luck.

We gave it to her as a form of respect and tradition as well. And we gave it to the singles and children.

After Ah Ma had prayed to the ancestors, we were ready to take our annual photos!

Ah Ma didn't feel like she's pretty enough so she didn't join.

We headed out to my father-in-law's god-grandma place for a house visit!

We had lots of yummy CNY goodies at her place, and the kids ate more~!

We went back to our frequent visits to the mall and the eating place near the mall.

We didn't go visit the temple because it was too hot.

On the 2nd day of CNY, hubby, his cousin and I went out to FamilyMart before lunch.

We always slacked away in a cafe on the 2nd day, because we had nowhere else for visitations! Found FamilyMart had opened near Ah Ma's place so we went to check it out.

We ate lunch back at Ah Ma's even though we were slightly full from FamilyMart.

We played card games for the whole afternoon after that.

Day 7-8:

On the early morning of the third day of CNY, we were preparing to go back. As usual, we will make a stopover for a night before coming back to Singapore.

It was quite a short drive because my father-in-law wished to arrive before the traffic became heavy in the late afternoon. We were just in time for lunch.

We went to another mall just beside IKEA and left the place around dinner time.

Stayed a night at the hotel and left for Singapore in the morning after breakfast.

We did not purchase much because the car boots had no space to put extra things in them!

But the kids do have theirs! Their 'spoil of wars' included t-shirts, shorts, shoes, toys and stickers.

I have posted daily videos about our trip. So here's a compilation of the videos!

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/4931d3_3d01b4feeb9e4e09930aa48c3cabf520/360p/mp4/file.mp4https://video.wixstatic.com/video/4931d3_5cd0a667d0f841ee9294c225d67729bf/360p/mp4/file.mp4https://video.wixstatic.com/video/4931d3_d842d3ac22154707bcd44f01b7fd1e5b/360p/mp4/file.mp4https://video.wixstatic.com/video/4931d3_f5009d0f01b148678d9a39a7299081cb/360p/mp4/file.mp4https://video.wixstatic.com/video/4931d3_613741a8c3f2471fa4e541b9c534f324/360p/mp4/file.mp4

Some updates..

Considerate Caleb

Oh my! My illustrator came back with a rough draft of 'Considerate Caleb' a few weeks ago. When I saw it, I wished to showcase it to you all! But! It was unfinished, so I am waiting for him to come back with more.

He is also working on a few other projects so I don't mind waiting, since I am going on a week trip to Malaysia next week for Chinese New Year!

Chinese New Year / Lunar New Year

Speaking of CNY, we go to Malaysia every Chinese New Year, because my husband's paternal family are all in Malaysia. Only my father-in-law came to Singapore to work some decades ago.

It is quite exciting to go back to a big family, but it is also a chore to pack. Now we are going on an 8D7N, the packing is more to be done! Urgh!

Well, it is still quite fun to explore the Chinese New Year culture in Malaysia. It is illegal to put fireworks in Singapore because the country is too small, so you have to have a permit. But it is fun and legal in Malaysia!

The fireworks are always set up by the neighbours or the small community in our town. The fire crackling sound is always from the midnight of CNY eve to the wee hour of Day 1. Then it will repeat on Day 2 and Day 3.

I will post again next week and show some Lunar New Year photos!

Here are some of the photos from last year:

I'm a Naggy Mum

My friend once told me that her son was complaining about her being nagging.

Now, I finally understand that.

I told Jasper to take a shower yesterday, and he cried.

He was doing his maths with his grandpa. That was when I told him to bathe.

Well, my son loves his numbers and alphabet. I bought him his new shirt for Chinese New Year, and he told me he liked it because there was a number on it.

Anyway, he cried while telling me that he was doing his maths book. Then he says in Chinese, 'Can you don't be..' (He wanted to say naggy, but he didn't know the Mandarin word for it. Not helping him there.)

And I said, 'Oh, I didn't know you were doing that. You can continue after you take a shower. Nai nai (his grandma) is waiting for you.' I leave the showering job to my mums whenever they come over. His grandpa also coaxed him to take a shower first.

I understand his frustration. I am always frustrated when my mum tells me to do things that cannot be put off later while I am focusing on my tasks.

Now I tell Jasper the same thing. To put priority things first. Of course, he doesn't understand this concept yet, so I have to intervene.

My daughter has just turned 3. It is harder for me to educate her than it is for Jasper. Often than not, it is exasperating to talk to her. I can't even explain why she cannot do things the way she does, because she cannot grasp the concept. She would just continue doing her way happily. And then I would give up.

For example, she loves to play with water, and anything to pour water in.

Two days ago, I bought a kid's water dispenser for them, so that they will learn to drink more water. Jaime loves the small cup that I bought and she started to play with them. She put the small cup into her bigger cup that had water in it. I saw this and told her that she could not drink the water anymore. I tried to take away her bigger cup, but she stopped me. And continue playing with the cups. Fortunately, she did not drink from either cup. I gave up.

I try to tell myself every time that this is not a huge matter. It is not a life-and-death issue. xD

The education journey is hard. I appreciate teachers even more. That they had to take care of 20+ kids. And I always tell my mum that. She also agrees with me. We cannot even handle 2 kids. Haha.

Moving on..

Sorry that the title sounds emotional, haha.

'Boastful Brian' is published, but only on Amazon. I am awaiting a review from Publish Drive to publish on other platforms, including my paperback copy.

Even though my sales are mostly from Amazon, I still want my book to be found on other platforms. Maybe I will put them up for a year. And if no sales are coming from other platforms, I will take the books down.

Now that 'Boastful Brian' is published, I shall continue to move on to my 'C' book.

I had a few beta readers for 'Considerate Caleb', and I am ready for illustrations!

Oh, my beta readers even did grammar checking for me, which I think is awesome!

Did I mention that Caleb is a chipmunk? I have a few types of animals and they can be big or small. I think Caleb, Tyler, Paul and Fergus are my smallest creatures as of now. I have yet to write N-Z. But I have their names written down already. Well, names are the easiest to find anyway.

'Considerate Caleb' is a story about a chipmunk who likes helping out his parents. Especially when his papa is injured! You can read about the short book blurb on my series page here: https://yurusiew.wixsite.com/janicesiewbooks/s-projects-basic!

I have not visualised the story yet, but I believe my illustrator will portray the Chipmunks family in stunning and unexpected ways!

Waiting with an excited heart!