David Seow's Blog, page 36

London Day Two, 2014

I hate Jetlag almost as much as I hate blogging on an iPad. While Kenneth and Celine managed to get a full night's sleep, I was able to sleep for ad grand total of an hour!  So I was up till the dark blue sky washed into a pale grey and a steady drizzle tapped on my window.
Ken, Celine and I headed to Costa Coffee for breakfast and then to Folyes bookstore, my favourite bookstore in London! I took the tube to lunch with my Agents: Jay, Helen and Andrea. 

It's always great catching up with the wonderful ladies of Jacaranda and it was really nice meeting Steve Barron, Ng Yi Sheng and. Michael Jenkins and everyone.

I had a really good time and we discussed our projects and is had to talk about the new book and Emma's current project.  We'll be catching up again over the next few days at the London Book Fair.The rest of my photos are in my camera and I'll only be able to download them once I am back home.

Oh and I had one of the best fish and chips I've ever had. Yum!!!


After lunch Emma and I walked back to the hotel and checked in on Ken. I hD been fading steadily since lunch and  as soon as I hit his couch , my eye lids felt like they weighed ten tonnes and gravity finally took hold.
They flipped back open when Ken sympathetically -not- snapped: "Don't fall asleep on my couch!" He kindly invited me for a roast beef dinner at his cousin's house but I was just too tired and headed back to my room and promptly passed out.
And guess what? I'm back up again!! Well, I'm going to try to get some sleep now. till tomorrow! 

London Day One, 2014

So my journey to London was quite an eventful one. Mum and Dad offered to give me a lift to the airport at 6:30am so I could check in by 7am for my 9 am flight. As you can see by the photo below I did make my flight with Auntie Susanna, Mika, Kenneth and Celine (not pictured) several obstacles had to be overcome first.



1. We had left the house when Mum asked if had my passport. I replied that I had but just to be sure I checked only to discover I did not. Panic ensued and Dad u-turned back home. I made a frantic rush back to my room and, thankfully, it was by my printer!
2. We left for the airport once again  and the heavens opened unleashing blankets of rain. We could hardly see in front of us. Dad missed the turning to the expressway to the airport and we drove around before his car started breaking down. We made it to a petrol station near home and tried to call a cab to no avail.
3. My big brother came to the rescue and he drove to the station to pick me up. Thanks, Kor. Once. we were off, I realised I left my Heavy jacket in the car. He u-turned back to get it and then we floored it to the airport. Auntie Susanna, Ken, Mika and Celine were already there and we checked in and boarded the flight with time to spare. 
4. I was hoping for a smooth flight but three hours in, in the middle of breakfast service, the plane hit turbulence and an airpocket. Someone screamed and I gripped Auntie Susanna's hand till I practically cut off her circulation. thanks Auntie Susanna!

5. We landed at around 4pm and Auntie Susanna, Ken and Mika were met by Auntie Susanna's sister, Auntie Dolly and her daughter, Kim. They looked really happy to catch up again. 
6. While Miks and Auntie Susanna went off with Kim and Auntie Dolly. Ken,Celine and I headed to our hotel before going to Earl's Court Exhibition Centre to check out the Singapore Pavilion at the London Book Fair. It looks good even though it's still under construction. 
Kenneth then headed to catch up with Auntie Susanna and Mika while Celine and I opted for a fish and chips takeaway dinner before calling it a night. Sadly not much sleep was to be had by me. I hate Jetlag!  
Stay tuned for day two.

Sam, Sebbie and Di-Di-Di go to Bologna

At the Epigram Booth

Sam, Sebbie and Di-Di-Di made their first trip to Bologna with Edmund and Ilangoh and now they're safely back home again, but not for long. They'll be headed to the London Book Fair next week. If you're there, please check them out at the Singapore Pavilion!

Also Soefara has done a brilliant job of the paper dolls we'll be using at our book launches and school visits. Thanks, Soefara!

Jamie Foxx, Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield in Singapore

So I had a long and tiring but fun day yesterday. It all started about two weeks ago when my friend Ray told me about the Mediacorp competition to win Red Carpet tickets to meet the cast of the Amazing Spiderman 2.

I had no expectation of winning but I did write my 100 words about why I should meet the cast. Obviously being a writer didn't hold any weight as I did not win that competition but I did find out on Monday that I had won a pair of passes to the Spiderman 2 Red Carpet at the Marina Bay Sands skating rink and the press conference after that.

Setting up the Red Carpet
As instructed I turned up at noon to pick up my passes and to catch up with Ray. Some fans were already in line and the first 250 winners would get a free Blue Ray DVD. Yes, I got one! Now all I have to do is get a blue ray player!







Now to gain entry to the red carpet area you had to wear a blue wristband, hold a spiderman mask on a stick, which could also serve as a fan and a Spiderman cap. We were told spots along the red carpet would be on a first come, first serve basis, so we were determined to be among the first to claim our spot.





Joyce turned up and we all sat around chatting and sharing stories with the other fans who were there. The thing with these types of events is that it's always good to have company as the wait can be long and very tiring.
Finally at 4:15pm, security started admitting people and Ray and I jumped in immediately and we were among the first five in line. Then the fans started streaming in.Thankfully we found our spot, right along the red carpet and then the waiting began. Staff sporting blue or red Spiderman t-shirts raced up and down the red carpet, checking their schedules every now and then before conferring with one another. 


Then a host of fans dressed as Electro and Spiderman turned up and walked the  red carpet before the official Spiderman of the event showed up and performed his 'spidey' leaps and poses for the fans and press.




Then things got into full swing when director Mark Webb arrived on a tram and started signing autographs and talking to the press. He then made his way over to us and he signed my poster.

When Oscar winner, Jamie Foxx, arrived a few minutes later, all hell broke loose. The crowd surged forward and the barricades began to buckle. I was afraid for 7-year-old fan Mikayala would get crushed.  "Stop, pushing" I snapped and Ray and I  tried to lean back from the barricades, hoping to push the crowds back somewhat. But it didn't work. Maybe if one of us had let out a toxic fart, it might have.
Jamie Foxx slowly made his way over to us and as I asked him to sign my poster, I dropped my pen! Sorry, Mr. Foxx. He and his minder kindly retrieved my sharpie before he signed the poster for me.
Right before I dropped my pen.

Next on the red carpet was the stunning Emma Stone. The crowd went wild and the pushing and shoving increased and once again the barricades began to tilt. "Stop shoving!" Ray and I snapped to no avail. At that point, security came over towards us and began to push the barricades back. 
They positioned themselves right in front of us and I was afraid that Emma might just pass by us completely. Her minder assured us and she came over and signed my poster. She was really sweet with Mikayla, the 7 year old fan. 


I gave her two copies of my book as a souvenir and she kindly thanked me before she moved on to accommodate as many of the other fans as she could.

Now we had to wait for Andrew Garfield to make his way over to us. The crowd still continued pushing and Andrew's minder came over and asked me to lift Mikayla over the barricade so she could stand on the red carpet. 
And when Andrew came over he took a few minutes to chat with her and asked her how she was. I told him she was getting squashed.



With that he continued signing autographs for the rest of the fans.Ray, Joyce and I took a while to leave the scrum of fans and then we went to the Mastercard Theatre for the press conference. But Ray and I left when they said no photography was permitted which was the most absurd thing I've ever heard. No photographs at a press conference? Really?
Well that was the only downside of the whole day. We left tired but happy. Unfortunately I lost my camera bag, a rosary in the cab that I took on the way home. To make matters worse, my computer crashed later that night and that's why it took me so long to post this.
Now you've still got a chance to catch the stars at the floating platform tonight, Saturday 29. And remember to switch off the power for an hour for Earth Hour tonight.

Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone and Jamie Foxx in Singapore

So I had a long and tiring but fun day yesterday. It all started about two weeks ago when my friend Ray told me about the Mediacorp competition to win Red Carpet tickets to meet the cast of the Amazing Spiderman 2.

I had no expectation of winning but I did write my 100 words about why I should meet the cast. Obviously being a writer didn't hold any weight as I did not win that competition but I did find out on Monday that I had won a pair of passes to the Spiderman 2 Red Carpet at the Marina Bay Sands skating rink and the press conference after that.

Setting up the Red Carpet
As instructed I turned up at noon to pick up my passes and to catch up with Ray. Some fans were already in line and the first 250 winners would get a free Blue Ray DVD. Yes, I got one! Now all I have to do is get a blue ray player!







Now to gain entry to the red carpet area you had to wear a blue wristband, hold a spiderman mask on a stick, which could also serve as a fan and a Spiderman cap. We were told spots along the red carpet would be on a first come, first serve basis, so we were determined to be among the first to claim our spot.





Joyce turned up and we all sat around chatting and sharing stories with the other fans who were there. The thing with these types of events is that it's always good to have company as the wait can be long and very tiring.
Finally at 4:15pm, security started admitting people and Ray and I jumped in immediately and we were among the first five in line. Then the fans started streaming in.Thankfully we found our spot, right along the red carpet and then the waiting began. Staff sporting blue or red Spiderman t-shirts raced up and down the red carpet, checking their schedules every now and then before conferring with one another. 


Then a host of fans dressed as Electro and Spiderman turned up and walked the  red carpet before the official Spiderman of the event showed up and performed his 'spidey' leaps and poses for the fans and press.




Then things got into full swing when director Mark Webb arrived on a tram and started signing autographs and talking to the press. He then made his way over to us and he signed my poster.

When Oscar winner, Jamie Foxx, arrived a few minutes later, all hell broke loose. The crowd surged forward and the barricades began to buckle. I was afraid for 7-year-old fan Mikayala would get crushed.  "Stop, pushing" I snapped and Ray and I  tried to lean back from the barricades, hoping to push the crowds back somewhat. But it didn't work. Maybe if one of us had let out a toxic fart, it might have.
Jamie Foxx slowly made his way over to us and as I asked him to sign my poster, I dropped my pen! Sorry, Mr. Foxx. He and his minder kindly retrieved my sharpie before he signed the poster for me.
Right before I dropped my pen.

Next on the red carpet was the stunning Emma Stone. The crowd went wild and the pushing and shoving increased and once again the barricades began to tilt. "Stop shoving!" Ray and I snapped to no avail. At that point, security came over towards us and began to push the barricades back. 
They positioned themselves right in front of us and I was afraid that Emma might just pass by us completely. Her minder assured us and she came over and signed my poster. She was really sweet with Mikayla, the 7 year old fan. 


I gave her two copies of my book as a souvenir and she kindly thanked me before she moved on to accommodate as many of the other fans as she could.

Now we had to wait for Andrew Garfield to make his way over to us. The crowd still continued pushing and Andrew's minder came over and asked me to lift Mikayla over the barricade so she could stand on the red carpet. 
And when Andrew came over he took a few minutes to chat with her and asked her how she was. I told him she was getting squashed.



With that he continued signing autographs for the rest of the fans.Ray, Joyce and I took a while to leave the scrum of fans and then we went to the Mastercard Theatre for the press conference. But Ray and I left when they said no photography was permitted which was the most absurd thing I've ever heard. No photographs at a press conference? Really?
Well that was the only downside of the whole day. We left tired but happy. Unfortunately I lost my camera bag, a rosary in the cab that I took on the way home. To make matters worse, my computer crashed later that night and that's why it took me so long to post this.
Now you've still got a chance to catch the stars at the floating platform tonight, Saturday 29. And remember to switch off the power for an hour for Earth Hour tonight.

Sherlock Sam Book Launch, Penang Food and The Red Dot Award

Two Saturdays ago, I made my way to Books Kinokuniya for the launch of the latest Sherlock Sam book, 'Sherlock Sam and the Vanished Robot in Penang' by AJ Low aka my friends Felicia Low and Adan Jiminez.

The place was packed! Denise was there babysitting her charge for the day, Wen. Catherine and Sarah were there with their kids, Ilangoh and Erin were busy making sure everything was running smoothly and the editor who made it all happen, Sheri, was taking the backseat in the back of the crowd.



When Felicia asked who could tell them what AJ Low stood for, I raised my hands to which Felicia said, "Not the grown-ups." Now if Kenneth had been there on time he would have probably remarked that David's not a grown up!

I started taking photos and I wondered why the images were a bit smudged and then I realised that my lens was dirty. I dashed up to Best Denki to buy some lens cleaner. The problem now is that I have a whole bunch of photos from my launch and they won't download.What's up with that?

When I made my way back to the launch, things were in full swing. Adan and Felicia engaged the kids with a code-breaker game and handed out toy lego robots of their character Watson.  

Then a kids and grown ups formed a long line to get their books autographed. Kenneth arrived just in time to get a set of his books
signed.



I adjourned with Denise and Wen to the TCC cafe in Kinokuniya. Wen's mood fluctuated between laughing fits and hissy fits. I filmed his temper tantrum and showed it to him and he did not look amused and proceeded to fling things across the table. I'd post the video here but I'm afraid if I did that would be my last post ever as Denise would probably KILL me. I'm get into trouble with lots of people all the time anyway, so I might as well put it up here.

Then Denise had to head off with Wen and Felicia, Adan, Kenneth and I made our way to the York Hotel for the yummy Penang Hawker Fare buffet.  We ended up staying until it closed for the night.

Before I forget, I have to say a big Congratulations to both Adan and Felicia for winning then Red Dot Award for Sherlock Sam! Great job.

FIRST PRESS For A Day with the Duchess

Goodbye to SCBWI's Lady with the Perfect Prose.

It's with great sadness that I have to say that my good friend and SCBWI Singapore Coordinator, Catherine Carvell is moving back to Australia. Catherine's a fantastic author and an equally great co-ordinator  for our meetings.  It's going to be really strange and different without her here. I call Catherine my literary twin because we've gone through the same ups and downs on our writing journey and we've got a lot of similarities in life, although I'm not British-Australian, I'm not a woman, I haven't gotten married, nor do I have to two fantastic kids.

Last week we gathered at out regular meeting spot - it's kind of like a local version of the Central Perk - The Book Cafe for Catherine's last official meeting.



And wouldn't you know it, the genius that I am, I forgot my camera. Anyway, it was a busy day: I spent the morning going through final proof-checks before heading to the police station to help my mum file a lost and found report. Then I had to dash over to Tanglin Mall to pick up a cake for Catherine's farewell meeting and then heading to Emma's for a meeting with our agent, Helen. It was a great meeting, BTW.

At 6:00pm, Emma called for a cab and we floored it to the Book Cafe. Catherine was already there so I had to surreptitiously hand the cake to the restaurant manager to keep in the kitchen. Saraharrived shortly thereafter with a huge bouquet of orchids, which was also handed over to the kitchen staff.


Catherine, David, Evelyn, Vidhya, Simon, Linda, Tracy, Maddie and my distributors Denise and Kelvin from Closetful of Books were already settled in our assigned corner of the cafe.  Catherine's brilliant and soon-to-be-blockbusting best-seller, Darcy Moon and the Deep Fried Frogs had just arrived and Catherine looked quite at home signing copies of her book. She's a natural. Her distributors were more than happy when they made a tidy sum from book sales that night.


After announcing her imminent departure to the rest of the members, we started the meeting proper by critiquing manuscripts from Vidhya, Simon and Linda. 

Vidhya's piece was an engaging piece about a lunch that mysteriously vanished, Simon's was funny is a squirmish, blood and guts way, and Linda's was about going home.

Catherine read Linda's story and it touched home! Linda later confessed she didn't think about that when she submitted in for review.

SCBWI RA showed up in the middle of the critiques after a full day of planning this year's Asian Festival of Children's Content. Though he was swamped at work, nothing was going make him miss Catherine's last meeting!
With the critiques over it was time for the cake and flowers. Sarah and I brought out cake and Sarah carried the flowers. I think Catherine was surprised. At least I hope she was. 



Catherine gives  a speech!
With her flowers and cakeAfter a short, informal but heartfelt speech, we all dug into the cake, which was kind of difficult to cut into. Then we all sort of sat around chatting and catching up before it was time to head on home. It's still hasn't sunk in that it was Catherine's last meeting but I'm sure it will. I'm sorry that Emma, Kenneth and I won't be here for her book launch next month at the Arts House but I'm sure it will be fantastic. I'll miss you lots, Catherine. You're a great friend.



One last shot of the groupFront Row (left to Right): Vidhya, Linda, Evelyn, me, Kenneth, Simon, Kristy, David
Back row: Vinnie, Maddie, Tracy, Emma, Sarah, Catherine.
Absent with regrets: Felicia, Adan, Emily, Kate.

Young Authors, Books and Dinner with Kate Forsyth

Kenneth Quek, Gabby Tye, Lesley Anne Tan and Rachelle Toh


OK, I should have blogged about this sooner. Sorry about the delay. Last week I was rushing about all over town for various events. First up was a New Word Order session with young authors,  Rachelle Toh, Lesley Anne Tan, and Gabby Tye and  moderated by Deputy Director of the Book Council, Kenneth Quek.
Lesley Anne writes the Danger Dan series with her mum Monica Lim for Epigram and we share the same editor, the brilliant and supremely patient Sheri, who was also at the talk along with Epigram's marketing maestro, Ilangoh. 

For an hour, the three young authors discussed their experiences in publishing.


Check out my blurb
Book two




Kenneth and Lesley Anne



The next day, I met up with my old friend and colleague Dr Rose Sivam to film a spot for a project she's working on. I practised my most intellectual interview tone for my spot to find out that she wouldn't be using the audio for my segment. Well, I suppose that's one way to make sure nobody hears what I have to say: shoot me without the audio!

At the end of the week, Kenneth was back at the Arts House to host an evening with best-selling author Kate Forsyth. It was a fascinating talk, and she overcame incredible odds early on in her life to become a fantastic author. She's truly inspirational and incredibly funny too.

Kate Forsyth and Kenneth

After her talk and book signing, we headed to the Esplanade to grab some a bite to eat.





As it was a Friday night, everything was packed and noisy, but we managed to find a quiet Chinese restaurant. It was practically empty and upon seeing that I thought the food would be rubbish, but I was pleasantly surprised and I'll definitely go back there.

Emma gives a copy of Princess Petunia to Kate
Telling Kate why I always want to quit writing!
After dinner snap

Fun at the Opera

"People's reactions to opera the first time they see it is very dramatic; they either love it or they hate it. If they love it, they will always love it. If they don't, they may learn to appreciate it, but it will never become part of their soul."  Edward Lewis as played by Richard Gere in Pretty Woman, 1990.


Art and Opera has always been part Susanna Goho-Quek's soul;  now it's the subject of her fifth children's book,  "Fun at the Opera", which is based on a child's magical night at the Chinese opera.


As a child, Chinese opera was a big part of Auntie Susanna's life. Her mother managed an opera troupe and her older brother was the star of the show.  
She had such a great time watching the performances that she wanted to write about it for the new generation of children who have not even heard of Chinese opera. To ensure an even wider audience, she has written the book in English and Chinese and plans to translate the book into French, Russian, Tamil, Malay, Dutch, German Japanese and many more languages.

I've had many conversations with Auntie Susanna about the opera and she fears that the opera, which dates back to the 10th century, is  a disappearing art form and she wants to do all she can to prevent its extinction from the world stage.
To that end, she has made it one of her primary objectives to collect and preserve as many Chinese opera items as she can. She has amassed an amazing array of costumes and she's still collecting more for her private treasure trove of artifacts.
She eventually hopes to hold an exhibition some time in the near future. (Calling all sponsors!)  






In addition to writing and illustrating her book about the opera, Auntie Susanna paints exquisite portraits of both male and female opera stars. The a selection of these art pieces are available for sale at her gallery, The House of Suzie Wong at Lot 10 in Kuala Lumpur. 




Chinese opera is considered such a cultural treasure that it even has a prime spot on UNESCO's Intangible Heritage list. Fun at the Opera is available from Closetful of Books now.
Auntie Susanna with Dr M.M. Pallam Raju, Minister of Human Resources
 Development, India, at the launch of "Fun at the Opera" at the New Delhi
World Book Fair