The Candid Storyteller

3 Funny names in 1 week.

2012-01-22T16:29:00.002+08:00

Day 1

I am in the midst of helping a non-profit organisation create their website. One of my tasks last week was to contact a merchant account and work out compliance issues. When I called the company, I had to wait a long while before I could speak with an officer. By that time, I was a little fed-up, tetchy and frustrated. I just wanted to get the whole thing sorted out. When I asked for the lady’s name (so that I could refer to our conversation in subsequent correspondence), she replied. “Eleven”.

I thought of asking her to repeat her name. I knew that if I laughed at her it would have been both embarrassing for her and terrible on my part. Instead, I asked her, “As in the number eleven?” She said yes.

I tell you ... the number of questions that went through my mind in the next few moments ... Did she have 10 brothers and sisters? Based in Shanghai, was this a direct translation of her Chinese name? Was 11 her lucky number? Was she named after a district or suburb? Or, was it meant to be 1 and 1 (like Mei Mei or Lai Lai,)? Was she born in the 11^th year of the Chinese calendar (i.e. in the year of the dog)? [http://chineseculture.about.com/od/chinesefestivals/a/Chinese-Zodiac-Sign-Find-Your-Chinese-Zodiac-Sign.htm]

It certainly lightened my mood and I was more ready to do business with her.

Day 2

I know people who have given their cars names like Jemimah and Hope. I’m no different for I named my dog Ladoo. All these odd names, however, are not related to humans. I would assume that most parents would choose names that are unlikely to subject their babies to ridicule. That is until I chanced upon a website that listed some of the strangest celebrity baby names: Kal-El, Pilot Inspektor, Apple, Kyd, Sage Moonblood, Ocean, River, Rocket, Audio Science, Diva Thin Muffin, Moxie Crimefighter, Tu and Jermajesty.

All of these, however, couldn’t beat the name a woman gave her new born child: Papaya. I wonder the child’s nick name will be. Paps? Papi? Pi? Paw-paw?

Day 5

As I read yesterday’s Life and Times section in the NST, I across Elaine Yim’s lovely article, Blooms of prosperity . One of the plants she mentioned was called Solanum Mammosum.

It is the common names for this plant that are most amusing: Nipple fruit, titty fruit, cow’s udders, Apple of Sodom.

Titty fruit?

My week’s complete.

Deleting My Facebook Account: A Narrow Escape

2012-01-20T20:17:00.001+08:00

I had only 1 New Year’s resolution for 2012: to delete my FB account. I’ve never been so relieved to get rid of a toxic burden. And here are the reasons why.

Cryptic comments

Let’s start with irritating cryptic one-liners like Spending the night with a hot bod? I’d spend hours trying to decipher them. Was it that my friend found someone new? Had the marriage broken down? What of the children? Imagine the anti-climax when she said, “Oh, no. We bought a new car and took it for a spin.”

Birthday wishes

On birthdays, I’d be privy to photos, gifts and romantic gestures played out ad nauseum. There were statements like I’m so lucky. I have the best husband/wife in the world. And, in less than a minute, the wife/husband would reply, complete with little kisses and hearts in the status updates. Horror of horrors, they’re sitting next to each other during this ‘exchange’. Is there nothing private anymore?

In my naiveté, I once told a friend who had over 200 birthday wishes how lucky she was. Her reply was, “Aneeta, these are the people who just wish. They’re not really my friends.” Huh?

Useless arguments

I’ve only engaged in one ‘argument’ on FB and, as I confessed to my best friend, it was because I had nothing better to do that night. The thing is, if I want another dachshund and a pet shop or breeder are my only options, I’ll still choose them. Insisting that other dogs will be put down isn’t going to make me feel any guiltier. Don’t lecture me about where to get my pets, thank you very much! Instead, I would be less antagonised if people campaigned for laws allowing flat-dwellers to keep pets.

To advance my business

How?

When my book was published, 1 friend bought the book. Just 1.

And don’t think I didn’t go out of my way to support my FB friends. I have shared my expertise in writing and editing for free. I’ve bought books by other authors and even offered them free publicity on my site.

What did I get in return? A few ‘likes’ for my articles and lots of heartache. One friend-of-a-friend maligned me and my work without having ever read my books or met me. Then there was the time I introduced a client to a friend only for the friend to be hostile towards us both because my timing was off and she wasn’t prepared for the spontaneous ‘meeting’.

Friends?

When I joined FB (must have been about two years ago), I was excited to get in touch with friends from school. Some had matured beyond my expectations: for instance, 2 who hated each other because one stole the other’s boyfriend were now sharing jokes.

Slowly, though, the hypocrisy emerged: on FB, the girls praised each other no end to the point of supporting one another’s disrespect for elders. But, when I met them in person, they confessed that they didn’t really like the girls they’d praised and also thought the criticism made of families was too much. Why, then, dishonestly support such callous statements in the first place? Why praise when you despise them so?

Although everyone else warned me about one girl, I ended up admiring her enormously because she said what all the others thought like, ‘Wah! You so lucky,’ ‘OMG. You’re so thin,’ ‘Your house so big one. You’re loaded.’ And it was unadulterated entertainment to read how the recipients of such comments justified their expenditure.

Am I jealous of these people? Not at all. They come across as selfish and their sole aim seems to be self-aggrandizement. Clearly, nothing has changed since school. What I envy is their ability to show off shamelessly without censor.

There has been some good being on FB – I was sure a friend would be in town to receive the flowers I sent her for her birthday. I learned about an engagement before we were officially told about the union. I saw pictures of holiday destinations I’d never been to like Maldives, Hong Kong, South Africa and Mexico.

There’s an old Tamil saying – on your deathbed, if you have 4 people you can call your friends, then you die happy. When I die, I doubt that my 4 friends will come from FB. So, deleting my FB account has been worthwhile and social networking be damned.

Article: Faces of Brilliance

2011-12-09T08:36:00.000+08:00

Faces of Brilliance

Some people collect stamps. And some collect coins. Then, there’s Dr. Bernard Cheong: he collects watches to the point where he says, “Practising medicine has become something I do in my spare time.”

Born in Kuantan, Pahang, Dr. Bernard’s parents chose to make Singapore their home when the city state left the Federation of Malaya. “My parents insisted that I go to a good school and enrolled me in ACS (Anglo Chinese School),” he says. New to the social dynamics at play, he felt totally out of place. “Even a primary school student would wear an Omega or Rolex. I learnt the difference between the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’.”

To read more, please click here.

The misunderstood shark - article in the NST

2011-11-27T15:22:00.000+08:00

This is a story about sharks and it’s become one of my favourite articles so far.

Am very proud that one of the photos is a cover shot and, I think, it’s the main story in today’s NST!

Here's the link:

http://www.nst.com.my/life-times/sunday-life-times/family-the-misunderstood-shark-1.11097

What you think of the sharks-in-residence?

Being Happy and Following Your Heart

2011-11-01T08:12:00.002+08:00

Follow Your Heart

During the Deepavali holidays, I got a chance to read Andrew Matthew’s book, Follow Your Heart. There is a section in this book that is extremely inspiring for any author. I’ve copied out the relevant text (which appears on page 87 of his book).

***

‘Being Happy!’

Being Happy!

When I took the manuscript of my first book, ‘BEING HAPPY!” to publishers, they all said: “The last thing the world needs is another self-improvement manual.” They also said that, to be writing books like ‘BEING HAPPY!’ I should be a psychiatrist – except for one fellow, and the thought I should see one~

But after a year and a half of rejections I found Media Masters, a publisher with a vision, in Singapore. Media Masters soon told me that the book market is extremely competitive, and that newspapers and TV have little interest in unknown authors. We needed a strategy.

We decided to take ‘BEING HAPPY!’ direct to the people. When we launched the book in Singapore, I took my easel and microphone into almost every book store in the city. I drew my cartoons, talked about my philosophies and signed books. In the high schools and universities, I talked to the students and in the corporations, I talked to the staff. We stuck with this plan until ‘BEING HAPPY!’ hit the Singapore best-seller lists, and then we used the same strategy in Malaysia, then Australia, and so on.

I spent six years travelling countries all over the globe. I spoke in warehouses and prions, and cartooned in a thousand shopping centres – my next book should be “Shopping Malls of the World”. For the most part I revelled in the project. But there were days when I would wake up in some hotel room and think: “If I go into another book store I’ll vomit!”

One book store at a time, one city at a time, one country at a time, we took ‘BEING HAPPY!’ to the international marketplace. And gradually, the newspapers and TV stations began to call us!

We had some fun along the way. We did a whole promotional tour in Australia during an airline strike. In New Zealand, they had me drawing cartoons on radio!

To launch ‘BEING HAPPY!’ in America, we organised a cocktail party for the media at the Australian Embassy on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. We sent out invitations to what seemed like every newspaper, news bureau, TV station and radio station on the East Coast of the USA. We catered for two hundred people. I flew to New York for the launch on June 20^th, 1990.

As it happened, June 20^th, was the day a fellow called Nelson Mandela also flew to New York. How many media people thought little Andrew was bigger news that Nelson Mandela? Zero.

If you have ever had a cocktail party by yourself, just you and eleven waiters, you’ll know that the service is unforgettable.

People ask me: “What did you do to sell a million books?” I tell them: “I flew a million miles, gave five hundred speeches, a thousand interviews – and lost my baggage twenty-three times!”

This story is not about books or business – it’s about any successful project you care to name. You start wherever you can. You do everything you can. It’s more about effort than luck.

***

I’d love to hear from you if you have similar stories.

When the heart rules the head - article in the NST

2011-10-18T08:11:00.000+08:00

In some cases, a headache can be a sign of problems with the heart, writes ANEETA SUNDARARAJ
IT starts with a throbbing headache that progresses to nausea and a feeling of dizziness. Soon, your vision is affected. All you want to do is draw the curtains, get into bed and sleep.

Perhaps there is something wrong with your heart, says Dr Yap Yee Guan, Prince Court Medical Centre’s consultant interventional cardiologist.

To understand the connection between your heart and your headache, Dr Yap says it’s necessary to know the structure and function of the heart: “The heart consists of four chambers — the left and right atria and the left and right ventricles. The muscle that divides the right and left sides is called the septum.”
In a normal, healthy heart, deoxygenated blood moves through the right atrium to the right ventricle. It then flows to the lungs to be oxygenated. Oxygenated blood flows back into the left atrium. From there it goes into the left ventricle and, finally, to the rest of the body.

Read more: Health: When the heart rules the head http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/Health_Whentheheartrulesthehead/Article#ixzz1b5ULlrpD

Life paralysed by migraine - article in NST

2011-10-18T08:10:00.000+08:00

THE smile on the faces of Mohammad Noor Mohamad Ishak, 47 and his family belie the trauma they’ve been through. “I had my first stroke in 2005. I was only 39 then,” says the legal advisor in a multinational firm.

“Our life was so stressful,” adds his wife, Roslina Mohd Yatim, 47.

The housewife explains that after the stroke, her husband could not move or drive. “Sometimes, he couldn’t even talk. But I was not going to allow him to stay inside the house. Every day, I would take him for a walk.

“I always encouraged his friends to visit him. Sometimes, he didn’t even know who they were. So, I used to keep a list of all the people who came. When my husband recovered, I showed him this list. He was so happy and said to me, ’People like me. I must be a good man’.”
Mohammad Noor went back to work after his recovery but life was no longer the same. “Many times, I had to take medical leave because of migraine,” he says

Read more: Health: Life paralysed by migraine http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/Lifeparalysedbymigraine/Article#ixzz1b5TupH21

Article featured on Suite.101

2011-10-15T14:07:00.000+08:00

I have been writing for Suite101.com for a while now. One of my articles 'When A Break Up Splits Your Social Circle' has been featured on the site.

Most pleased.

Here's the link to the page where the article's featured: http://www.suite101.com/divorce

Here's the link to the page where the article's published: http://aneeta-sundararaj.suite101.com/when-a-break-up-splits-your-social-circle-a383611

Website of a modern day Hempadpant

2011-10-15T09:07:00.000+08:00

Today is death anniversary (Mahasamadhi) of a saint in India who is known to many as Sai Baba of Shirdi.

My visit to Shirdi in June was quick and over in less than 5 hours. Before I went, I told my friends and family that I couldn’t believe I was going there. Now that I’ve gone, I still can’t believe I went there. With such disbelief is also a sense of awe that I did go.

I wondered if I was the only person who felt like this. Then, I chanced upon a site that records the events/miracles of those who have visited Shirdi. Reading the stories of all these bhaktas makes the memory of my trip there all the more poignant.

And for those who do read the Sai Satcharitra, this blog is even more meaningful.

I did not take the photo I've posted here (we were not allowed to take photos inside the Samadhi Mandir). Instead, I've use a photo taken by one of the people who wrote a story on the blog mentioned above.

Here’s the link to the blog by our modern-day Hemadpant: http://www.shirdisaibabaexperiences.org

Review of How To Tell A Great Story posted in several places

2011-10-14T19:01:00.000+08:00

A few days ago, Mayra Calvani posted her review. Now, she's submitted her review in all the following places as well (am so grateful for the effort she's made!)

Midwest Book Review www.midwestbookreview.com Submitted! It will appear in the November issue.

Open Salon
http://open.salon.com/blog/mayra_calvani/2011/10/14/how_to_tell_a_great_story

Blogcritics Magazine www.blogcritics.org (articles are often picked up by Google News and publications like The Boston Globe and USA Today)

http://blogcritics.org/books/article/book-review-how-to-tell-a/

Seattle Post Intelligencer

http://www.seattlepi.com/lifestyle/blogcritics/article/Book-Review-How-to-Tell-A-Great-Story-by-Aneeta-2214639.php

American Chronicle www.americanchronicle.com (articles distributed to California Chronicle, Los Angeles Chronicle and World Sentinel)

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/255234

RedRoom www.redroom.com
http://redroom.com/member/mayra-calvani/blog/book-review-how-to-tell-a-great-story-by-aneeta-sundararaj

Gather www.gather.com

http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474980573959

The Dark Phantom Review
http://thedarkphantom.wordpress.com/2011/10/14/book-review-how-to-tell-a-great-story-by-aneeta-sundararaj/

Mom Bloggers Club

http://www.mombloggersclub.com/profiles/blogs/book-review-how-to-tell-a-great-story-by-aneeta-sundararaj

GoodReads, http://www.goodreads.com

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/223182675

Scribe & Quill Ezine, http://www.scribequill.net/

(Quarterly newsletter with over 5,000 subscribers) Submitted!

The Brand Buzz Network

http://brandbuzznetwork.com/profiles/blogs/book-review-how-to-tell-a-great-story-by-aneeta-sundararaj

Book Marketing Network

http://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profiles/blogs/book-review-how-to-tell-a-great-story-by-aneeta-sundararaj

BookBlogs

http://bookblogs.ning.com/profiles/blogs/book-review-how-to-tell-a-great-story-by-aneeta-sundararaj

Review of 'How To Tell A Great Story' by Mayra Calvani

2011-10-12T22:13:00.000+08:00

Mayra Calvani's review of How To Tell A Great Story

***

For several years, Aneeta Sundararaj has been helping writers through her website with countless articles, reviews and interviews. Now, she has compiled all her experience and expertise in her new book for beginner writers, How to Tell a Great Story.

After a brief introduction, Sundararaj takes beginners through all the steps necessary to become a great storyteller, from vital preparation, to understanding themes, to the reasons for telling a great story, to painting your setting and much more. At the end of the book there are five appendixes: on planning and analyzing your research material, information for market research, character profiling, copyright issues for storytellers, and a sample storyline.

Written in an engaging, yet thoughtful style, and combining quotes and written material from other authors, How to Tell a Great Story makes a helpful, information-laden reference book for any aspiring storyteller. What I really like about this book, though, is the new angle the author brings into it: the importance of storytelling not only for writing stories, but for other aspects of our lives. For example, knowing how to tell a great story can be helpful in the workplace if you work in marketing and publicity and must give a presentation. A story connects people in a way that a simple explanation or demonstration cannot.

Sundararaj points out the importance of timing and intonation; in other words, often it isn’t just the story that’s vital but how you tell it. It is a talent some people are born with, but it is also a skill that can be learned and improved. The same logic works for writing. You may have a great story idea, but how you write it and execute it is what counts. The author’s advice works for aspiring short stories writers, novelists, and anyone who would like to get better at storytelling for everyday use. Reading this book was informative and interesting, and I look forward to more of Sundararaj’s work in the future.

Read more: http://blogcritics.org/books/article/book-review-how-to-tell-a/#ixzz1aZodnREd

My Article : Science and Spirituality of Ageing

2011-10-11T08:42:00.000+08:00

This article was published in the NST today. I enjoyed meeting Professor Rattan and really enjoyed listening to his 'pseudo-intellectual pontificating'. Here are 2 of my favourite passages from the article:

'Why exactly do we age? From a biological perspective, ageing happens when a species has lived longer than its essential life span (which is the necessary time required for the species to reproduce). For homo sapiens, this is approximately 35 to 40 years. After this, the ageing process begins — Rattan'
AND

“Why I’ve stuck my neck out and done this pseudo-intellectual pontificating is because I don’t like the misuse of the word ‘spiritual’. Most of the time, religions have what’s called the ‘fear factor’. Science takes away this fear and everything has to be explained by humans. Not by a ‘God’. To do this, scientists have to live and talk to each other.”

To read more, click here: Health: Science and spirituality of ageing http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/Health_Scienceandspiritualityofageing/Article#ixzz1aQfqPMQe

Advice about creating a platform

2011-10-06T11:06:00.000+08:00

In an article called, The Importance of Building an Author Platform, Gary McLaren writes about what an author should do today to create awarness about his book. His advice is sound and, most importantly, he says this:

... the new model for author platform still involves visibility and reputation but revolves around interaction between authors and their readers.

Here's the link to the article: http://www.publishyourownebooks.com/build-an-author-platform/

Untold Stories from Aurangabad and a Town Called Shirdi

2011-10-03T16:04:00.002+08:00

In my article, The call of Aurangabad, I wrote about part of our visit to India. I wrote about the city of Aurangabad, Bibi-ka-Maqbara, the Ajanta and Ellora caves and Daultabad Fort. The response to the article has been so encouraging – I’ve had emails, text messages and telephone calls from all sorts of people telling me they enjoyed the story.

Here’s a snippet of information that wasn’t published (the article I submitted was way too long and needed to be shortened!): On our way down from Daulatabad Ford, we were drenched in the monsoon rains. Sanjay pacified us by saying it was good luck to be caught in this, the first downpour of the season. I smiled, but knew that we were already lucky as our holiday in Aurangabad was a spectacular adventure filled with history, culture and religion.

There was another town we visited – Shirdi. We visited this town at the end of our holiday, on the way back to Pune. The reason we went there was because of my desire to take the darshan of Sai Baba of Shirdi.

Scene from India by Eve Lim

We left Aurangabad at about 10 a.m.. The day was bright and we were quite exhausted already. It took us about 2 ½ hours to reach Shirdi. The roads leading there (purported to be highways) can be full of potholes. There is hardly anyone on the road. On either side of the sometimes-bumpy-road, there were sugar-cane plantations. At times, there were small farms, trees with the odd buffalo taking a rest and little temples. It’s mainly countryside with nothing to see but scenes like the one in the photo.

Then, all of a sudden, the road becomes congested with traffic, there are buildings on either side of the roads, hotels, travel agents and restaurants. As you come to the main gates of the temple complex, the thing that hits you the most is the overwhelming number of people there. There are guides asking you if you need a tour of the complex, devotees of all shapes and sizes, drivers, pick-pockets, sanyasins and tourists. It can be suffocating.

While a lot of my experience in Shirdi was spiritual in nature, here’s a funny one: when we were walking back to our car, an elderly man walked towards me. He had a long beard, wore a kutra pyjama and carried a bunch of peacock feathers in one hand. He gave me a benign smile. I smiled in return. He touched my shoulders with these peacock feathers, as if to bless me. When he put his hand out, I realised he wanted money in return for his blessings. I shook my head and walked away.

I heard the sound before I realised what was happening.

Whack!

The same man with a benign smile had hit me on the head with those peacock feathers. His smile was gone. Instead, he wore a frustrated frown and held the peacock feathers up, as though to hit me again.

I frowned back and walked away, rubbing my sore head. I didn’t know that being hit my peacock feathers could be that painful!

Nevertheless, I feel blessed to have stepped on the soil of Shirdi and that I got darshan from Sai Baba. But that’s another story.

What Did You Expect?

2011-09-30T07:51:00.000+08:00

Cover design for 'The Banana Leaf Men'

“You know, Aneeta, next time, we try another place. The service in this Maniams is really so bad.”

“Sarah, who goes to Maniams for the service? The banana leaf meal is good. And cheap. Who cares about the service?

“Yes, but I’m paying them. They should be nice to me.”

“This reminds me of the joke my father told me once: this man goes to the coffee shop and asks the waiter for tea. When the tea is brought to him, he sees a fly in it. He calls the waiter over and demands to know, ‘What’s this in my tea?’ The waiter looks at the man and replies, ‘What did you expect for 80 sen? An elephant?’”

“It’s not the same.”

“It is the same, Sarah. What did you expect from Maniams? You pay RM5.00 for a full banana leaf and expect silver service.”

“Let’s not fight. Where do I turn now?”

[Note: I'm aware the image has no bearing/relation on the story. Still, it's the cover of my first book. Since the story is about a banana leaf meal, I thought I'll put this image here.]

Reflections: Publicity or Publishing

2011-09-29T09:11:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, I attended the Well.Lit Session. The discussion was all about Jane Austen and her works. One the questions posed was ‘Which is more important: Sense or sensibility?’ The discussion was animated, interesting and everyone agreed that Austen’s works had a universal and enduring appeal.

I like this play on words – sense and sensibility. Hence the title of this post: publicity and publishing.

In today’s NST, in an article called ‘Stars fade in a flash of scandal’, Chok Suat Ling asks three very interesting questions:

Indeed, shouldn't the people we celebrate and look up to, those who serve as role models -- whether they be celebrities, teachers, leaders, and especially politicians -- be controversy-free and have pristine reputations?

Or should artistes be judged solely by their ability to entertain, and leaders their ability to unite the community and serve their needs?

Should their actions, even if not against the law, negate their contributions to society and country? Or are their private matters no business of the public?

All these questions make me wonder . In the publishing industry, which is more important: publicity or publishing? Over the years, I’ve had many things said to me about this issue. Here are some of my observations:

Some authors get published first, then work on the publicity.

Some authors work on the publicity, then get published.

One non-fiction writer told me that it’s important to have a non-fiction work published first. With the publicity from that, his fiction work was published without delay.

To succeed financially as an author, you need publicity.

A published author who gets loads of publicity is not necessarily a great writer.

The publicity an author gets doesn’t necessarily have to be good publicity. Sometimes, authors who have bad publicity find more success in the industry.

Sometimes, the publicity is so bad that it destroys some authors.

Sometimes, the bad publicity is more about the personality of the author than the author’s work.

The publicity about an author doesn’t always have to do with the work in questions.

As you can see, there are so many permutations to this issue. I have made no conclusions. I What I’d like to know is, do you have anything else to add to this list?

Reflections: Into My Centre

2011-09-28T09:47:00.002+08:00

Last Saturday, I was fortunate enough to get chance to watch Ramli Ibrahim dance. The show was called ‘Into the Centre’ and featured Sutra Dance Theatre (KL) & Battery Dance Company (New York). The invitation stated that it was ‘an international dance collaboration celebrating the timeless spirit of both Eastern and Western dance traditions.’ The music was great, the costumes were lavish and dances thought-provoking.

The star of the show was Ramli Ibrahim.

Here’s some information about the man from his website: ‘Accomplished in ballet, modern, and Indian classical dance, Ramli Ibrahim is a cultural icon who has performed internationally for more than three decades. As artistic director of the Sutra Dance Theatre, Ramli has choreographed stunning works and nurtured some of the brightest dance talents from Malaysia. He was instrumental in transforming the dance scenario in Malaysia by boldly charting new paths and single-handedly establishing Odissi as a widely appreciated dance form.’

Here are a few stories of my encounters with Ramli Ibrahim, who, at 59, is amazingly agile and a stunningly beautiful dancer.

Ramli Ibrahim in Alor Star
This story goes back some 25 years ago. He had come to Alor Star and was performing for the Sultan of Kedah. The venue was the now-demolished Stadium Dato’ Syed Omar in town. My parents bought tickets and I wasn’t particularly excited. After all, previous Indian classical performances dragged on forever and were deadly dull. I didn’t think that this was going to be any different.

A day or so before the show, a friend of the family arranged for us to meet him and listen to him speak in, of all the places, the Family Planning Clinic. I do not recall what he told us. What I do remember is that my friends and I were precocious and didn’t really appreciate the knowledge he was trying to impart. We were duly told off by the person who organised the talk and were most remorseful.

The next day, however, I had a moment with my father that I will treasure for all time. From the programme, we knew that one of the dances Ramli Ibrahim was scheduled to perform was the Dasha Avatar. Upon reading those words, I became very interested. Dasha Avatar is, effectively, the 10 incarnations of Vishnu, namely:

· Matsya – Fish

· Kurma – Tortoise

· Varaha – Boar

· Narasimha – Half man, Half lion

· Vamana – the dwarf

· Parashurama – Rama with the Axe

· Rama – King of Ayodhya

· Krishna – Ultimate statesman

· Buddha – the Enlightened One

· Kalki – who is yet to come and is expected to appear at the end of Kali Yuga

While Ramli Ibrahim danced on stage, I explained to my father each of these incarnations of Vishnu and the stories behind them. My father, already aware of my obsession with and love for the Mahabharat, was enthralled and understood the beauty of creation.

From that moment on, I was hooked on watching Ramli Ibrahim dance.

Ramli Ibrahim at the launch of my book
Some years ago, a book of mine (a biography of a celebrated man) was being launched. I did not know that Ramli Ibrahim was invited to the party. So, I was mightily pleased when I saw him and said hello. Then, I asked him for a favour: would he come and say hello to my mother.

Ever so polite, he obliged and I’ll never forget the look on my mother’s face when she realised who was walking up to greet her.

I often wonder if he remembers this. I’d like to think so since he seemed to remember the event in Alor Star all those years ago when we mentioned it. I don’t expect he will as I’m sure he meets so many people each day. Still, my family will always remember that he was sweet and unassuming to us and he certainly made mother’s day.

Ramli Ibrahim in his element
A year or so after the launch of my book, I had the opportunity to watch Ramli Ibrahim dance at his Sutra House. Imagine: the stage is a beautiful open-air amphi-theatre. The night sky is clear and there are stars above. The crowd consists of people who pride themselves in the knowledge that they’re one of the lucky few who managed to bag tickets for this sell-out show. On the fringes of the stage, there is a profusion of tropical fauna. When the enchanting music starts, the dancers make their way to the stage and give their all. The precision with which they execute their steps is a testament to the enormous discipline they’ve shown to their art. In all, it’s magic.

During the interval, I was telling my friend about how I watched Ramli Ibrahim perform more than 25 years ago. I remember saying that I’d never seen him dance like that again. I told her of my 25-year-old hope that he would dance Dasha Avatar again.

After the interval, when he came onto the stage and explained that he was going to dance Dasha Avatar, I think I was going to cry. He also asked us to experience ‘rasa’. It is hard to describe this, but I’ll try: ‘rasa’ is a completely spiritual performance. In some small way, the dancer has created a micro-universe of himself and his audience. As he dances, the spiritual connection between us is magnified and glorified. I suppose, as a spectator, I should feel that he is dancing for me alone.

I will never forget this second time I saw Ramli Ibrahim dance Dasha Avatar. As his performance reached its climax, with his hands lifted high to the sky and the expression of complete surrender to the Universe, I bore witness to a man who was in the throes of a divine romance with the cosmos. In that moment, he touched my core, my centre and, perhaps, my soul.

E-publish and be damned

2011-09-27T20:17:00.000+08:00

http://www.freeclipartnow.com/termsofuse.php

IN an article called ‘Kindle: How you can make a million writing your own e-book’, Andrew Wilson shares his ideas about e-publishing. I’m guessing there’s more to the amount of work he did than he’s letting on. While it’s wise to read the whole article, what I’ve done is to condense his words to get a gist of the whole thing:

***

Step 1 – How to Start

Think about the type of book you want to write. Genre novels – particularly crime thrillers, fantasy, paranormal romance and chick-lit – seem particularly suited to the Kindle format. Experts say it is best to steer clear of literary fiction.

Read other people’s books. Look at the list of the top 20 titles and download those that look similar to your novel.

Consider the length of your novel. Many of the top sellers tend to be short, quick reads.

Proofread your novel for mistakes – pay a professional to vet your manuscript.

Step 2 – Judging a Book

A good cover is one of the most important secrets of e-book success.

DIY cover – in my novel The Gift Of Death, each of the key players in an old murder case receive macabre gifts.

Using my MacBook Pro (application called Photo Booth), I clicked on Effects and selected the X-Ray feature, which provides a kind of negative image. I enlisted the help of a couple of designer friends. I found an old gift box, wrapped a ribbon round it and then gave it to one of my friends to hold as they stood in front of a set of glass panelled doors.

When I was happy with the image, I sent the picture to my friend’s computer, and we played about with typefaces, fonts and colours until we were happy with the result. (Remember to follow Amazon’s technical guidelines regarding the cover image.)

I decided to add the ‘twisted gem’ quote from Kate Miciak at Bantam Delacorte, to give the book an extra boost. I then saved this image and uploaded it back on to my computer. The whole process – concept, photography and design – took something like two hours.

Chapter 3 – Uploading a Book

Before you upload your book, you need to write a description, which Amazon says can be anything between 30 and 4,000 characters (not words). This is your chance to really sell your work, so make the blurb pithy and compelling.

Amazon has provided a useful video and step-by-step guide (kdp.amazon.com), and the whole process of uploading it to the site was surprisingly straightforward.

If you are serious about self-publishing, it’s a good idea to also check out Smashwords (smashwords.com).

Chapter 4: Pricing

There are two royalty rates offered by Amazon – 70 per cent of the cover price if the book sells for between £1.49 and £6.99 and 35 per cent for titles priced at 75p. The overwhelming advice offered by the experts is to keep your price as low as possible.

Chapter 5: Creating a Brand

Once you’ve completed the uploading process by clicking the Save And Publish button, you’ll have to wait around 24 hours before your book is available for sale.

Build a backlist – in an ideal world, you would have a series of novels already written that you could offer your readers.

Promote the book on social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, together with specialist ones such as Goodreads.com and Kindleboards.com.

Create your own website and blog creatively. Post a series of short and infrequent blogs to your target audience. The idea is to attract readers to your website, where you can then engage them on an individual level until finally they begin to correspond by Twitter, Facebook and email. Locke calls this concept ‘loyalty transfer’, a technique that is the opposite of the hard sell.

‘One day I wrote the blog, the next day I was successful,’ he boasts. He ran a Twitter search for Penn State and found hundreds of people tweeting about a forthcoming game. He picked the first 100 and sent each one a direct message with the title of his blog and a link to it.

They in turn forwarded it to friends all over the world, many of whom clicked on Locke’s website and found his novels shared many similarities with his blog.

Traditional media are also good for spreading the word about your book – ask your local newspaper if they would be interested in running an interview with you. Word-of-mouth recommendation is the key to success.

Chapter 6 – In the Money

What are the chances of striking it rich?

Kindle owners are reading more – they now buy 3.3 times the number of books they purchased before owning the device. And, as volumes of Kindle owners increase, and assuming prices go up, someone over here will do it eventually.

Reflections: Abuse by Misuse Syndrome

2011-09-27T09:47:00.002+08:00

http://www.freeclipartnow.com

My story today is a snippet of a conversation I had with Sarah. She has a credit card and internet banking facilities which she will not use. I call it the ‘Abuse by Misuse Syndrome’. The conversation took place inside her car.

***
“So, Sarah, where are we going?”

“I want to go to the bank. Not the one in Bangsar. I have to put a cheque in to pay my rent.”

“Why not the one in Bangsar?”

“There’s always a traffic jam there.”

“Never mind. I can wait in the car while you go.”

“No need. Those traffic police are always there. I’ve already got one summons. Also, the machine is always spoilt.”

“Hmmm … OK. There’s another one I know. Turn left at the traffic light and go along Jalan University.”

“Where is this branch?”

“Somewhere in Damansara Heights. I cannot remember the name of the road.”

“OK.”

“Sarah, why don’t you use the internet to pay your rent?”

“I don’t like to use my card.”

“I’m not talking about the card. By the way, have you even used it since you got it two years ago? I’m talking about the net. It will make your life so much easier.”

“I’m too scared.”

“Scared of what? Turn right at the next traffic light and then take the Damansara exit.”

“The internet is not safe. People will hack into the account and take all my money. It’s like those people who steal the info on your credit card when you fill up with petrol and then, ‘Boom’, next day, there’s no money in your account. That’s why I always pay by cash.”

“Don’t be silly. If someone has cloned your credit card, you inform the bank and they’ll help you. It’s happened to me before. You just have to put a limit on your card so that in one day, there’s a maximum that you can use on the card. With the internet, things are even easier. You don’t have to go anywhere. Just transfer your rent to your landlord’s account. I do it all the time. I pay my yoga teacher, telephone and electricity bill using online banking. You won’t have to worry about traffic jams and police summoning you.”

“I don’t like the internet. My boss also lost a lot of money.”

“What?”

“He had to pay his landlord and transfer the money to his landlord’s account. Only, his landlord and his driver have the same name. So, when he punched in the numbers, he put the wrong account number and the money went into the driver’s account. But the bank was very bad to my boss.”

“Huh? Why?”

“The bank would not return my boss’s money. Now where?”

“Go straight at the traffic lights. Then, up the hill. The bank is not going to return the money. It’s your boss’s fault. Not the bank’s.”

“But it’s wrong. The bank should ask the driver to return the money. If it’s the bank’s mistake, they will return the money. But, just because it’s my boss’s they won’t. That’s wrong. At least they should ask the driver to return the money.”

“No. Think about it, Sarah. I know I wouldn’t like it if another bank wrote to my bank and asked my bank to take money out of my account to give to someone else. Would you?”

“Yes, but if the money came wrongly to your account, would you return it?”

“I probably would because I know the money is not mine. But, not everyone is honest.”

“But the bank knows that it’s a mistake. They must return my boss’s money. That’s why I don’t like banks. I don’t trust them.”

“Oi, Sarah, just because the bank won’t return your boss’s money doesn’t mean everything in the bank is bad. Having internet facilities has made my life so easy. Your boss could have made the same mistake if he took a cheque, went to the bank and deposited the cheque into the machine. He could still have punched the wrong numbers. Like now. If you punch in the wrong numbers, your rent will go to someone else.”

“I don’t care. I still want to do it the old fashioned way. Anything is better than the internet. At least this way, I know that no one can hack into my account. Don’t laugh at me. Where’s the bank?”

“There. Can you see it on the right?”

“Don’t laugh at me. Oh my God. There’s so much parking here. I’m going to come here every time to pay my rent.”

Article by Wan A. Hulaimi

2011-09-26T19:37:00.000+08:00

On Sunday, I read an article by Wan A. Hulaimi in the NST ('Don't underestimate the power of narratives').

The sentence that struck me the most was this: We are storytellers, always looking for narratives to make sense of ourselves, consciously or unconsciously, and on these narrations do we build our autobiography.

Makes me wonder just what my autobiography, if ever there is one, will be like ...

New Book by Brian Porter: Behind Closed Doors

2011-09-22T08:45:00.000+08:00

I receive the following information from Brian Porter about the publication of his new book, 'Behind Closed Doors':
***

Award winning author Brian L Porter, is pleased to announce the release of his latest Victorian Murder/Mystery novel, Behind Closed Doors. In a generous gesture, the book's publisher, Sonar 4 Publications, has agreed to donate $1 from every paperback sold to Brian's nominated charity, The Mayflower Animal Sanctuary, in Bawtry, South Yorkshire, UK. The sanctuary does tremendous work every year, rescuing, caring for and rehoming hundreds of abused and abandoned dogs, cats and small animals. Brian, a dedicated dog lover and rescuer, has adopted four of his dogs from the sanctuary and he is delighted that his book may go some way towards helping the charity in their work.

Behind Closed Doors

Autumn, 1888. The population of London is transfixed and horrified by the atrocious and horrific murder spree being conducted by Jack the Ripper. The newspapers are full of the details of the mutilations perpetrated by the killer and the apparent inability of the police to apprehend the unknown assailant. As Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Charles Warren throws the bulk of his investigative resources into the search for The Ripper, and the tabloid press scream of the crimes in banner headlines on a daily basis; on the new, ultra modern Underground Railway that has revolutionized travel around the great metropolis for the working man, another, less well publicized killer is at large.

Tucked away on the inner pages of the daily press, hardly enough to raise an eyebrow among discerning readers, one may have found a few, short articles which told of the strange and also, so far unsolved murders which are taking place on board the carriages of the new-fangled and much heralded transport system. Each murder takes place the day after one of the ripper killings, as the murderer appears to be taking advantage of the lack of police resources to tackle not one, but two, major investigations simultaneously.

Inspector Albert Norris is charged with bringing the railway killer to justice, but, as with case of Jack the Ripper, clues are few, the killer's motive unclear, and he is forced to carry out his investigations 'quietly and without causing a public panic' as the authorities seek to prevent a loss of confidence in the safety of the underground railway system. The press are being told even less, hence the minimal coverage, and Norris can count on little help from above as he attempts to solve the inexplicable series of murders.

Behind Closed Doors (ISBN 10, 0615529240 or ISBN 13, 978-0615529240) is available in paperback and Kindle editions from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk and in PDF e-book from the publisher, www.sonar4publications.com and from all good online book sellers.

For further information please go to http://www.inspectornorris.webs.com and for information on the Mayflower Sanctuary, visit www.mayflowersanctuary.co.uk

The Call of Aurangabad - article in the NST

2011-09-22T07:06:00.000+08:00

My article about our recent visit to Aurangabad has been published in the NST. Here's an excerpt:
***
THE city of Aurangabad has yet to make it to the Malaysian list of Top Ten Travel Destinations in India. Still, when I arrive in the city in the state of Maharashtra and meet my guide, Sanjay Vaswani, I am excited to be here.
Aurangabad is named after the Moghul emperor, Aurangzeb Alamgir (son of Shah Jahan, the man behind the famous Taj Mahal). During his second viceroyalty of the Deccan, Aurangzeb made it his capital in 1653 and named it Aurangabad.

But its history goes further back. With an abundant water supply and a strategic location between north and south India, the city was first built around a village called Khidki.

It’s known as the City Of Gates as there are 52 gates into the old city (each one was opened for a week every year). The principal ones were the Delhi gate (in the north), the Jalna gate (in the east), the Paithan gate (in the south) and the Mecca gate (in the west). Most of them are no longer used.
To read more of this article (and see the other pictures), go to The call of Aurangabad http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/Go_ThecallofAurangabad/Article#ixzz1YdBSD82j

How to Tell a Great Story – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat and Think With Your Taste Buds – Desserts

2011-09-21T09:39:00.000+08:00

‘The art of storytelling is not just about standing before a whole lot of people and saying the first thing that pops into your head. It is about communicating your thoughts, ideas and vision to people in an effective manner. It is about sharing your opinion with someone else. It is about recording your own history for future generations.’

When I first started reading How to Tell A Great Story I thought to myself “I write cookbooks so this book won’t pertain to me.” Wrong! This is one of the most informative books I’ve ever read pertaining to writing and that’s all forms of writing as well as speaking. By including speaking I want to point out that no matter what your topic, when you stand in front of someone you are a “story teller.” Whenever you start a conversation you perform all of the steps of telling a story. You have a theme or topic. There is a purpose in what you are saying and your conversation will have at least one character. How well your conversation, story or presentation is presented is determined by how strongly you emit your theme, purpose and characters. And this is what Aneeta Sundararaj will teach you in her book How to Tell a Great Story. She shows how to effectively make the theme the essence of the story. How to get the purpose of the story across to your audience. How to set up your settings using smell, taste, feelings, hearing and sight. How to build character within your characters. But most importantly she will help you understand ‘why’ you wrote or want to write your story.

This author takes it even further with her explanation of when, how and if you should use slang, swearing and clichés. The use of punctuation – what to use, when and where. And to wrap it all up she supplies the forms that can be used for your research which is a vital part of your writing. No one wants to hear someone talk about a subject that they know nothing about. All-in-all, this is a book that should not only be used by writers of all genres but also as a study book for corporate presentations, teachers of all school ages and maybe a pastor now and then. I write cookbooks but I will be referring back to this for my own writings.

Review of 'How To Tell A Great Story' by Dr. Neill Neill

2011-09-19T16:19:00.000+08:00

Several years ago I had the pleasure of reading Aneeta Sundararaj's prepublication version of "How to Tell a Great Story." I've been a storyteller all my life, but her book prompted me to see how I undervalued my storytelling as a columnist and as a psychologist working with clients. Everything shifted. My stories tightened up and I gained a keen awareness of why I would tell a particular story.

The sign of a good book is that you gain new insights when you reread it later. Today, five years later, I read the new, now-published version and again I'm excited about the new life I know my storytelling is going to take on. Aneeta's book is very basic, designed for the storyteller just beginning to write stories. Nevertheless, this experienced storyteller found some gems.

Dr Neill Neill, psychologist and author of the book, "Living with a Functioning Alcoholic: A Woman's Survival Guide. www.neillneill.com

Review of 'How To Tell A Great Story' by Jodi Webb

2011-09-19T08:41:00.002+08:00

Who is a storyteller? When you think about it…everyone. Whether you’re relating a family story at the dinner table, writing a novel, presenting a work update in your office, or giving a speech you are a storyteller. So everyone can benefit from this book. How to Tell a Great Story gives us a new way to look at the many times we communicate with others. We aren’t just talking: blah, blah, blah, we’re telling a story: Once upon a time…

Aneeta divides this books into effective sections that build on each other. First, let’s talk about what theme is and what some classic themes are. Next, determine what your theme is. And so it goes. The detailed Table of Contents makes it easy to zero in on just the section you want to review before an important presentation or when writer’s block strikes. The book also includes a generous helping of quotes from storytellers of all types revealing what works for them and giving the reader interesting things to mull over. The price of the book was worth it just to gain the viewpoints of these many successful storytellers.

I’ll be consulting How to Tell A Great Story before a begin my next short story AND before I teach my next workshop. This book will be equally helpful for both situations.

Jodi Webb
http://jodiwebb.com/news/review-how-to-tell-a-great-story/

Article in NST - Internal Repair

2011-08-22T19:03:00.002+08:00

Harvesting adult stem cells to repair the heart muscle is showing good potential. ANEETA SUNDARARAj finds out what the procedure entails

Read more: www.nst.com.my http://www.nst.com.my/nst/Section/index_html?section=Health#ixzz1VkqmjnmN

Latest Articles in NST

2011-08-10T17:26:00.000+08:00

Here's a list of my latest articles published in the NST:

Inherent protection : http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/Inherentprotection/Article
When to call in the electrophysiologist: http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/Health_Whentocallintheelectrophysiologist/Article
A matter of the heart: http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/Health_Amatteroftheheart/Article

List of Articles on Suite101 About Writing Novels

2011-08-05T21:27:00.000+08:00

Here's the list for the collection of articles I've written on writing a novel:

Writing Myths and Misconceptions

Types of Novels – How to Choose a Genre for Your Book

Vital Preparation for Aspiring Novelists

How to Find Strong Ideas for Your Novel

How to Do Research for Your Novel

Spicing Up Your Novel

Theme of Your Story

Why You Must Have a Synopsis of Your Novel

Types of Plots for Your Novel

How to Add Texture to Your Novel

Structure of Your Novel: The Three Act Drama

Bring to Life the Characters in Your Novel

How to Make Dialogue Dynamic

How to Create the Right Atmosphere in Your Novel

How to Create Suitable Settings for Your Novel

Find the Right Literary Agent

First Review for 'How To Tell A Great Story' (published by Bookshaker.com)

2011-08-01T09:13:00.002+08:00

Here's the review by Brian Porter:

There are many potential authors in this world, many of whom desperately search for informative books that can aid them in their search for the the best way to go about creating a story that will have potential selling power when it comes to submitting their book to publishers or agents. Without promising to be 'all things to all men' Aneeta Sundararaj has put together an easy to follow guide that gives would-be authors a great example of the way to proceed, from the tools required in order to begin the journey to become a published writer, to the methodology of actually putting a story in a format that publishers will find acceptable. A must for those seeking a valuable tool in their search for advice and information on improving, or perhaps, starting a writing career from scratch.

Brian Porter

http://charlesdreyfus.webs.com/dreyfuspromotions.htm
http://romancewriterandreader.ning.com/profile/CharlesDreyfus
http://romancewriterandreader.ning.com/profiles/blogs/how-to-tell-a-great-story-by

2011-07-27T07:16:00.000+08:00

The big news is this: How to Tell A Great Story is now published by Bookshaker.com and is available for sale on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. Here are a the relevant links (please bear with me as there are still kinks in the Amazon pages that I’m trying to sort out).

http://www.howtotellagreatstory.com/httags.html
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1907498575
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1907498575

I will be grateful if you can offer any assistance to market/publicise this new book. Here's what I've thought of so far:

1. You can buy the book and read it. Then, please post a review on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. Send me a copy of the review and I'll add it to the website.

2. If you have a Clickbank account, here’s the link you can use to promote and sell (and get a commission) the eBook - http://httags.jmap.clickbank.net. [Note, you have to enter your Clickbank id and will be taken to a page that gives you the full code to use on your website/blog].

3. On the website, I’ve inserted the Facebook widget on the top of the page. You can use this widget to promote the book on Facebook.

4. Here’s a page with graphics and links that you may wish to use to advertise the book on your websites in a more traditional way. http://www.howtotellagreatstory.com/Links.html

Please let me know what you think of the webpages and the new book.

Story-telling and Marketing

2011-05-18T16:47:00.001+08:00

On Friday, 13th of May, I read an article called Story-telling key in marketing (http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=34668397&postID=6605806054231676263). The most interesting parts of the article are as follows:

It is human nature to be drawn to stories, and story-telling is increasingly becoming an important tool in marketing.

In positioning a brand, advertisers are beginning to realise that people react more to story-telling than the products.

“It is through stories that people remember. Story-telling is driven by universal patterns. It denotes a tacit understanding in the mind of the listener,” said OgilvyAction Asia Pacific executive creative director Daniel Comar, who also reminded participants of some deadly sins to avoid in story-telling.

“The idea cannot be boring and lacking in drama. The plot cannot be confusing, and too much information should not be given to the audience,” said Comar.

AirAsia X Bhd chief executive officer Azran Osman-Rani said ultimately, no great marketing campaign would ever compensate for an average product.

“The most important thing is your product. It has to stand out and be different. No matter how exciting your story is, it will not sell if your product is not exciting or unique.”

The Happines Habits Experiment

2011-05-11T15:21:00.000+08:00

A publisher I know sent me the email below. I, too, participated in the experiment in question. The report makes very interesting reading.

----

The world has been fixated with the royal wedding because it gave them something to feel happy about. Now that most of the hype is over, most people's happiness levels will quickly return to normal.

The Happines Habits Experiment, carried out by wellbeing expert, Lucy McCarraher, and social psychologist, Annabel Shaw - authors of 'The Real Secret: what to do when the universe hasn't delivered everything you ever wanted' - shows there is a better way to raise individual and national
happiness levels.

Politicians here in the UK might hope that big events will distract the nation from its problems for longer. Research shows the kind of economic instability we are currently experiencing has a bad effect on the happiness of society as whole. Unemployment can cause the same level of unhappiness in individuals (worse in men) as a major bereavement.

So if we're not feeling good, why is there so much talk about measuring wellbeing these days? The answer's simple: happiness matters - not just to our individual lives, but to society as whole. Happier workers are more productive and salespeople are more successful. Relationships last longer, parents 'parent' better and children learn more.

Even doctors diagnose better when they are happier.

Doctors say that more people are coming to them with depression and anxiety about money worries. Anti-depressant prescriptions rose to an incredible 23 million last year - partly because some are staying on this medication for much longer. Psychotropic drugs, potentially addictive, seem an inappropriate way of helping people suffering from 'life', rather than a serious mental illness.

In their 'Happiness Habits Experiment' Lucy and Annabel asked people to undertake between one and six simple activities daily for three weeks. The results show that daily repetition of exercises - like smiling, being kind to others and repeating positive affirmations - really did raise happiness levels.

And better still, some of these activities can become habits in as little as three weeks. When Happiness Habits, like any other habits, become embedded, people no longer have to even think about them, they
just become second nature and the underlying structure of a happier life.

If many of us have the power to raise our own happiness levels by something as simple as Happiness Habits, why are we not all doing it? Partly because, even when we know it works, it's hard to remember and stay motivated to put the work in.

Mainly because there's no national programme to get school children into Happiness Habits, or that health professionals offer to help people to help themselves.

Only 15% of GPs in the UK say they can usually get the standard psychological therapy recommended (by N.I.C.E.) for their patients who need it. The NHS's 'Improved Access to Psychological Therapies' initiative is training up more therapists and offering online courses in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), but for many there is still a stigma to "mental health", even without the word "problem".

An evidence-based Happiness Habits programme of self help, with support from a trained non specialist or online, could reach the parts of society that no other current intervention is reaching.

Of the six Happiness Habits that were part of the Experiment, the most effective were "Spreading Happiness", "Simply Smile", "Fun To-Do Lists" and "Three Good Things". "And Breathe..." was helpful for relieving stress. No men chose to repeat positive affirmations ("Yes I Can!").

Respondents to the final survey agreed that working on three Happiness Habits at a time was the best number for raising happiness levels.

Now, Lucy and Annabel are calling for a Happiness Habits programme to become part of school standards and lessons. They suggest that the UK's NHS provide a nationally available, low level self help intervention based on Happiness Habits to support people suffering from 'life' (including those currently too embarrassed to ask for help) as well as those with low level anxiety and/or depression.

This kind of self help programme could substantially reduce anti-depressant prescriptions, pressure on GPs and therapists and prevent people awaiting psychological treatments from getting worse.

Given that one of the obstacles is being able to remember to carry out Happiness Habits, using new technology such as web- and phone-based apps could help engage young people and embed habits.

See the Executive Summary and download the full Report of the Happiness Habits Experiment here...

http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=HgK6_&m=1e40WuE8hAtL1X&b=meJrRbKYGUATOgVcM5j4rQ

Warm Wishes
Joe

The Story of My Website

2011-03-03T10:16:00.000+08:00

I am often asked questions like, "Who designed your website?" and "How did you learn to create 'How To Tell A Great Story?'"
Well, here's the story of how I started went about this website. The timing a little off, but bear with me, please. In September 2006, I attended a seminar here in Kuala Lumpur. It was all about setting up websites and making a living from it. If I previously felt somewhat depressed about the lack of progress of this website, I was immediately comforted hearing of others' frustrations.

However, some the tales were downright tragic. The one that horrified me the most was about a lady who invested RM18,000.00 (equivalent to about $4,000.00 US) in products to create 6 sites and earned not one single penny from any of them.

Can you believe that horrendous tale?

I will not tell you that setting up a website is easy. It takes hard work. But, I can tell you that I have created this site all on my own. And, using only one resource to learn how to do it.

When I started, I bought the 2004 version of a course prepared by the Internet Marketing Center. In very simple words, everything you see on the site, I learned from that manual.

Now, the Internet Marketing Center has come up with an updated version of this manual. Here's all the information you need to know about this product.
For the past 12 years, IMC has been continuously updating this #1-selling ebusiness start-up guide (formerly known as Insider Secrets), to keep up with the rapid pace of change online, adding new strategies and techniques, while refining and streamlining their simple step-by-step process.
For 2010 alone, they've packed The Step-by-Step Guide full of the most up-to-the-minute techniques you MUST have to succeed online, like:

how to reach your market through social media
how to win the SEO wars
how to earn more with pay-per-click advertising
and on and on...

But they didn't stop there!

For 2010, they ALSO added a number of improvements that make their guide easier to follow... even for complete newbies:

NEW interactivity, including replies to your questions
NEW 50+ minute webinars on the hottest Internet business topics
NEW how-to-videos that teach you the most critical strategies
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Grandfather Stories – A Short Story Collection by George Polley

2009-05-03T18:47:00.005+08:00

On the publisher's website, the blurb for this short story collection reads as follows:
This is a delightful collection of short stories told by a fictional grandfather about his adventures in Japan with young wolves, his adventures with a big neighborhood raven that he calls "Sir Raven," and a deer that he and his brother Yojiro saves from certain death.

At a glance, this collection of fictional stories reminds one of Aesop’s Fables: each story has some moral lessons imparted to the reader, involves a member of the animal kingdom and is written in language that is simple and, yet, engaging. For instance, in Grandfather and the Wolves, the author writes:

As he sat along the sidelines watching their fame, he thought to himself how much of a person’s experiences depend on how his perceptions influence the way he responds to situations. It was one of the most valuable lessons he had learned in his long life.

The author was born and brought up in the United States of America. In 2008, he re-located to Sapporo, Japan so that his wife, ‘could fulfil her dream of returning to the land of her birth.’ He has his own website: http://www.geogepolleyauthor.com/.

There are three sets of stories in this collection – Grandfather and the Wolves, Grandfather and the Raven: A story cycle and Grandfather and the Deer. Each set is a whole story on its own with its own chapters. Still, Grandfather, being the main character, is the strand that runs through all the entire collection.

In Grandfather and the Raven, the elements of characterisation and dialogue are what intrigue most of all. The raven is given a voice and usually says nothing more than, “Kaaa.” However, the reader is taught to interpret what these mean from the thoughts and ideas Grandfather gives to each ‘Kaaa.’ An example is as follows:

“Kaaaa,” said the raven from very close by. “Kaaaaa.”
“Are you agreeing, or disagreeing?” grandfather asked, forgetting all about his wife’s caution about ravens in general, and this one in particular. Since the raven said nothing, grandfather decided that the raven agreed, and didn’t need to say more.

As the story progresses, a discerning reader might find himself understanding what Sir Raven (the name given to this bird) without the need for Grandfather’s explanations.

The following, from Grandfather and Midori, is a further example of how the author created a language for Sir Raven.

“Nevermore,” said the raven.
Grandfather gave his friend a surprised look. “Where did you learn that?” he asked.
“It’s an old raven saying,” Sir Raven replied, lifting himself into the air. “I will go and see what that dog is doing ...”

Sir Raven proves to be an able guard to protect Grandfather from a vicious dog, a very good coach and motivator for a boy who wants to run like Michael Johnson and, a very polite and cultured dinner guest.

Perhaps, a criticism which can be levelled at Grandfather and the Raven arises from the fact that certain phrases are repeated. For instance, the following phrase from Chapter One is repeated in Chapter Two: … the raven replied, sounding very much like a rusty door hinge. This can easily be rectified should a newer edition of these stories be published.

Grandfather and the Deer is a lovely story of how a dog, a giant white Pyrenean Mountain Dog called Petunia, takes an injured deer under her wing and watches over the deer as she recovers from its injury. The other dogs in the care of Grandfather, Ichi, Ni and San – three Irish wolfhounds – provide the elements of humour and adventure in this story. While Petunia plays nurse-maid to the deer, Ichi, Ni and San are the guards who see to it the deer is not attacked by wolves during her four months of recuperation.

In all three stories, the author’s attention to little details like, ‘… one warm summer afternoon as they worked together in their daikon field…’ and ‘And the mochi Sir Raven had brought?’ all add colour to these tales and make you feel closer than ever to Japan.

When you finish reading these tales, you will, without any effort on your part, begin to have more of an affinity with the animals around you. You might even find yourself putting words into each bark of your pet dog or the chirping of birds as the day comes to a close. This charm is the lasting impression this book has on a reader.

If it had been the intention of George Polley to illustrate the beauty of nature with the use of his words and lessons we can learn from the animal kingdom about how to live in harmony, he has certainly achieved it with this short story collection. I look forward to reading more of these stories and hope that, someday, I will be able to buy hard copies to give as worthy gifts to friends.

***

Click here to read this review on the website.

The Old Man and the Monkey by George Polley

2009-05-03T18:41:00.006+08:00

This work of fiction opens with this paragraph: In a small park near one of the rivers in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, there is a bronze statue of an old man and a monkey seated side by side on a broad flat stone looking out over the river and the mountains. The monkey is bigger than ordinary snow monkeys; the top of his head reaches to the old man's shoulder. Looking at the bags under his eyes, one can see that the monkey, like the man, is elderly. Affixed to the base of the statue is a bronze plaque that reads: 'Genjiro and Yukitaro'. These two old friends sit and warm themselves in silence as the years and seasons pass.

The last sentence on the first page of the ebook gives a succinct introduction to the plot: Now is the time for me to tell their story and reveal for the first time how an improbable friendship like that between a man and a monkey happened, how it was good, and how it ended. This is a gentle start to a story that is both poignant and sweet. There are twists along the way and it is, therefore, a grave error to assume that the whole story has already been given away with that one sentence.

The sequence of events, from the very beginning, is so well-crafted that that ‘dream-like’ state of a story is sustained throughout. The economy of words used gives just enough information to make you understand and feel you’re with Yukitaro and Genjiro and, at the same time, leaves you wanting to know more.

If you were to wonder why George Polley is fond of the use of the terms ‘Old Man’ and ‘Old Woman’, he explains that, ‘[i]n Japanese folk tales, the Old Man, and Old Woman, are seen as symbolic of Wisdom. They often give wise advice and are revered for their wisdom. Monkeys are seen as mischievous and playful, and can be either evil and cunning or good and messengers of deities and the Buddha. …’

Here are samples of George Polley’s evocative use of language:

One by one, led by Yukitaro, the monkeys gathered around the villagers. Yukitaro went up to Harue’s tombstone and laid a flower in front of it, then turned and looked up into his old friend’s eyes with an expression of such sorrow and compassion that it brought tears to the eyes of everyone there.

That winter passed uneventfully, passing smoothly into spring, bringing with it a sprinkling of new babies and the promise of a good growing season.

The most notable example of humour takes place when the agitated mechanic, Tsuguo, mistakes Yukitaro’s generosity, in carrying a large mountain potato on his back, for a planned attack using a club on Genjiro and his wife.

The tale does not end with the death of the main characters. Indeed, there is a sense of ‘coming home’ when Junichiro (Genjiro’s grandson) finds what appears to be the remains of the monkey and informs his father. It is a hard-hearted man who is not touched when he reads, ‘… Junichiro and his father placed a small black headstone next to their headstone with this simple inscription: YUKITARO A friend’

What would have made this ebook perfect, however, would have been another round of proof-reading. A sentence in the last paragraph reads as follows: … It has taught me much about the possibilities of friendship and kindness and the bonds that exist between man and man and man and animal … [sic.]. That this sentence appears towards the end spoils the entire experience, somewhat. Still, this is not a major criticism for it is does not detract from the overall beauty of the story and can easily be rectified when the next edition is published.

The Old Man and the Monkey by George Polley is a lovely ebook and I look forward to the day when it will be published traditionally into book-form.

***

To read this review on the website, click here.

The Place of Compassion in Writing by George Polley

2009-04-04T12:14:00.001+08:00

Why compassion? It boils down to this: Without compassion writing, like all human communication, devolves into dismissiveness, attack and put-down, all of which are disconnecting, and ultimately dehumanizing. I do not like writing that treats human beings and the world they live in, as things to be manipulated, played with and destroyed. Psychologically speaking, a person who does that is called a sociopath, a psychopathic personality, whose behavior is antisocial and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience. I've worked for a few of them, and during my career as a mental health professional, I've treated a few of them, and I do not like them. So in my writing, I aim for a compassionate treatment of all of my characters, even the sociopaths.

The word compassion has two basic definitions: (1) A deep awareness of and sympathy for another's suffering; and (2) the humane quality of understanding the suffering of others and wanting to do something about it (WordWeb thesaurus and dictionary).

As a writer I think compassion, like humility, is vital to all good writing. And I don't mean brushing aside all of a person's negative traits. Some people are like the psychopathic doctor in Erik Larson's book The Devil in the White City. In what is the best description of a psychopath I have ever read, this is how Larson describes him: “Events and people captured his attention the way moving objects caught the notice of an amphibian: first a machinelike registration of proximity, next a calculation of worth, and last a decision to act or remain motionless.” If you're wondering how in blazes anyone could have compassion for someone like that, I hear you. Sometimes all I want to say is “I detest the miserable little shit!” and be done with it. Doctor Holmes in Erik Larson's popular history of Chicago during the 1890s is a good candidate to lob gobs of the stuff at. The thing is, he wouldn't have reacted at all except to look at you with those deadly lizard eyes and wait for the chance to kill, much like Pedro Gomez, the murderous Mexico City cop in my story “The Disappearance of Pedro Gomez”, which is also a chapter in my novel about Mexico City.

Though compassion does not come easily, it is important because it allows me to understand a person and what made that person the way he or she is. Compassion is neither wishy-washy nor sentimental, and it doesn't whitewash people; what it does is enable me to see the person, however horrific and dangerous he or she may be, as a human being who, through accident, experience or biological disorder, changed from an innocent newborn into a monster. Without compassion, it is all too easy for me to dismiss a person and to treat him as badly as he or she treats others. And this I refuse to do. So compassion is a vital element in my writing.

Years ago I read a book about Manuel, a young murderer in Santiago, Chile. He grew up in a poverty-stricken neighborhood, lived on the streets, and became a male prostitute because it provided him with income. He was in prison for murdering a prominent Santiago attorney, who was his lover. He was disconnected from people and viewed them as things to be used to get what and where he wanted. When the interviewer, a British journalist, met him, he was cold, distant, had the flat eyes of a reptile, and expressed no interest in the interview or the interviewer, but did approve the interviewer coming back if he wanted to. His main interest was in talking about himself. By the end of the book, I saw Manuel as a human being with a life, experiences and feelings that I could relate to. Did that make him into someone the interviewer or anyone else could trust? Absolutely not! Would that ever be possible? Probably not, and at best, a very long shot. A likable person? Not at all. But through the interviewer's eyes of compassion, I saw Manuel as another human being, albeit a dangerous one.

That is why compassion is, for me as a person, a writer and a reader, both needed and necessary.

***

To read this article on the website, please click here.

Useful Advice for Storytellers

2009-04-01T18:32:00.003+08:00

I read the following on Sharon Bakar's blog. She got the information for Leon's blog and he got it from someone else. Sharon applied it to creative writing. I'd like to apply it to storytelling.

***

1) Write everyday. It's easier than it sounds. Make time everyday to write SOMETHING. Even if it's one line scribbled into a napkin on the subway or the bus, or a whole precious early hour in the morning. This practice lets the mind know that everyday we must be observant, that we are paying attention, always.

2) Learn poems you love. Read whatever poems you can get your hands on. Not just the classics, but those poets who are writing today. Pick up journals, magazines, and anthologies; search for the poems that break you open. Read those poems over and over again until you have them memorized in your mouth. Don't worry about mimicking them, just accept them as your teachers and hold them close. Become an expert on the poems you adore.

3) Cultivate silence. Silence is essential in order to hear your own voice. Especially nowadays when we often have the television on, the radio on, or music playing all day long, it is essential to find some silence to listen to your own voice. Your own voice is the only thing your poetry needs.

4) Embrace revision. Revision might be the hardest thing that writers have to do, aside from battling our own internal demons, because it means admitting that we are wrong. Sometimes we are so wrong that we need to start all over again, and it's embarrassing. Sometimes we only need to change a comma, but listen, every poem needs revision and every poet needs to learn humility.

5) Practice gratitude. Cherish those friends and colleagues who care enough to read and comment on your work. If you truly pursue writing, you will come to realize how enormously important these people are to your writing life and therefore to your making of a "real" life. Make sure you read their work with the same care and closeness they offer you. And buy them coffee and cakes when they return a manuscript with pencil marks on every page. It is a true act of kindness that should be greeted with great gratitude. And be thankful that you want to write at all, what a powerful art to devote a life to, how lucky we are to love such a wild untamable thing.

3 useful ebooks

2009-03-31T16:21:00.020+08:00

Recently, I found three very useful ebooks. Two of them are by storytellers I've interviewed for the website. Click on the titles of the books to view them. Here they are:

1. 'Love Letters' - Click here if you're looking for:

The perfect words to congratulate your partner on an achievement they've had (Share with them exactly how proud you are of them with this beautiful love letter template)
What to say when you want to express just how much you miss your partner when you're apart (Chances are their heart is aching for a love letter almost as much as their heart aches to be back in your arms).
How you can declare your true love on paper. This letter is a must if you believe that your partner is the love of your life. Now you can make sure they know it with these beautiful words.
Special Anniversary love letters that you can give for each of the first ten years you're together. These wonderful letters also give reference to the traditional meaning of each of the first ten anniversaries. There's even a 20th, 30th and 40th Anniversary love letter (Congratulations to you and your partner if you ever write one of these!).
You'll also have special love letters that you can use every day of the week (And why shouldn't you celebrate every day if you have found that special love that so many people are still searching for?).
How to say sorry and make sure they know that you really mean it (There is nothing worse than summoning the courage to say sorry, only to have it not rejected because it wasn't convincing).
The right words to convey how you feel at special holiday times (there are letters for Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, Valentine's Day, Memorial Day, and many more) and make the occasion even more memorable.
A way to tell them what you'd like to do to them without blushing (with these sexy letters you can finally tell your loved one what really turns you on!)
You'll get love letters that let you show your gratitude (at last, you can make them understand how grateful you are to have them in your life).

2. Rob Parnell's Easy Way to Write a Novel

Do you have a book inside you that you've always wanted to write?
Are there events in your life you've always had a desire to write about?
Do you then tell yourself (wrongly!) that you don't have the time, the talent or the energy to write a whole book?

Because with step by step, no nonsense tips, techniques and simple strategies, this system will enable you to turn your most treasured dreams into reality.

You'll be able to turn on the tap to instant creativity.
You will gain the all important Author's Mindset!
You'll learn how to banish self doubt and lack of confidence.
You'll have access to all the tricks and skills of professional writers.
Best of all, whilst writing for no more than an hour or two a day, you'll be able to finish an entire novel - easily - in less than a month. Guaranteed!

3. How To Write A Great Children's Book
This comprehensive book will show you:

What you need to consider before you start writing your book.
The different types of children's books.
Why children's fiction is different from other fiction.
What is important in children's fiction.
How to create believable characters.
How to write realistic dialogue.
How to make sure your reader is 'hooked' after the first two pages.
How to show your reader instead of telling them.
Plotting and creating your book.
Editing and polishing your work to a professional standard.
The most common problems novice writers face.

The Support Group Groupie by Dr. Neill Neill

2009-03-17T08:46:00.003+08:00

I wrote to Neill and asked him if he would allow me to reprint this piece. He agreed. I found it very interesting. The original piece can be viewed here:
http://alcoholism.neillneill.com/52/support-group-groupie/

***

Mutual support can be a double-edged sword. Joining a support group can lead to renewal, likening it to pressing the REFRESH button on life. However, a support group can also keep you stuck pressing the REPLAY button and hearing the same thing over and over. The picture of your life can get out of focus.

Human beings are social creatures. We need to support one another and we need support. Barak Obama is right when he says we need to work together. Businesses are failing. People are losing jobs and even homes. There is a lot of pain out there; and wherever there is pain, you will find support groups…

Bob and Jim both lost their jobs in the forestry sector. A government agency had organized a series of information meetings for unemployed workers. When Bob and Jim started going, they met other unemployed workers who had been attending for a while.

It was not long before both had picked up some good ideas for getting back to work. And by being with other recently laid-off workers, both had shed some of their feelings of failure. Besides being practical, the meetings provided needed emotional support.

After a couple of meetings, Bob stopped going and put his energy into trying some of the back-to-work ideas he had gained. He felt relieved, because the majority of the ex-workers were pessimistic about finding work and the negativity was getting him down.

Jim, on the other hand loved the get-togethers. He reveled in the mutual support because they all had the same wound: being unemployed. He did not look for other work, because, after all, "There are no jobs."

Six months later, Bob was working in a different field and Jim was still going to his "support group." Bob had pressed the REFRESH button and Jim was still pressing REPLAY. Jim had become a support group groupie. This is an example of the same support group serving both the REFRESH and the REPLAY functions.

In any community, there are ongoing groups with a variety of themes. Some are positive and renewing of spirit. A dance class, a choir, a woodworking group, a book club, a motorcycling club and a gardening club are good examples. Others may be positive in the short term, but in the long term can serve to keep you stuck and powerless, as did Jim’s unemployed forestry workers group.

Go to a grief group if you have suffered a loss, but keep asking yourself the question, "Is this speeding up my healing and recovery so I can move on?" Go to an AlAnon group or an AA group if it helps, but keep asking the same question you would of a grief group.

If you find yourself not moving on, press the REFRESH button by trying something else, like volunteering at the SPCA, joining a hiking group or seeing a therapist.

How do you tell if a group is likely to be of the REFRESH variety or the REPLAY variety? First, notice whether the group is organized around an activity. If it is, and the activity is something you would like to try, go for it. Learning and trying new things is renewing and adds meaning to life.

On the other hand, if the group theme is a wound rather than an activity, be cautious. You may gain excellent information by joining a support group that dwells on what’s wrong, but it can become a trap after you get the initial knowledge. Some groups will even resort to using guilt and shame to hold you there.

If you attend a couple of meetings and discover that they not only dwell on the wound, but also hold the wound to be progressive and incurable, how could that possibly help you to live a fulfilling life in spite of your condition? Do not press REPLAY. Run; don’t walk.

If you were looking for a good therapist because you had lost your job, were drinking too much or were feeling powerless, you would look for one who could help you in as few sessions as possible to get to a place where you did not need him anymore. I encourage you to do the same thing in seeking a support group. Find one that will help you to not need it anymore. Then press REFRESH and move on to activity-based support.

Join the resistance and refuse to ever become a support group groupie.

Psychologist Dr. Neill Neill maintains an active psychology and life-coaching practice on Vancouver Island, BC, Canada. He focuses on self growth, healthy relationships and life enhancement after addictions. He is the author of Living with a Functioning Alcoholic - A Woman’s Survival Guide. Get on his list for notification that he has posted a new article and receive his free report, "Addiction and Codependency Simplified."

***

To read this piece on the website, please click here.

Removing Negative Thoughts Through Yoga

2009-03-16T17:09:00.003+08:00

Following yesterday's entry, I went in search of more on inculcating postive thoughts and words. I found a very useful article and here's the link:
http://www.yogawiz.com/blog/yoga-benefits/negative-thinking-and-yoga.html

This is what the article says:

Negative thinking can be purged through various ways. This can be done by encouraging positive thoughts, and practicing yoga. Yoga has several positive benefits. Let’s understand the five principles of yoga and how it can help you get into a positive frame of mind.

Relaxation: Yoga is about correct relaxation of the body and the mind. A relaxed body will be rejuvenated and fresh, and this in itself helps to dispel those dark, gloomy thoughts. Relaxation eases the tension in muscles, and drains out negative thoughts. If you are relaxed, you are less likely to get agitated and will be more energized. A higher level of positive energy can combat negative thoughts.

Breathing: Yoga is about precision and correct breathing methods. Deep, rhythmic breathing will draw in more oxygen into the body and expel the toxic, stale air. This will boost the energy in your body, refresh your mind and calm your entire being. Enhanced concentration is another benefit of yoga breathing. All these practiced together help to dispel negative thoughts.

Exercise: Yoga is about asanas or postures that tone the body, stretch the muscles and make the entire body more flexible. Asanas are done in coordination with pranayama breath work and even meditation. After practicing for yoga for sometime in the day, you will get the complete benefits of exercise. And exercise is known to help let go of negative thoughts and make you feel fresher. Yoga exercises and pranayama, when done together, can unblock certain energy centers and can remove negative thoughts from the system. Through exercise and healthy habits that yoga is all about, you will feel rejuvenated and more positive.

Positive thinking: Meditation is a part of yoga, and this is a positive experience that helps people let go of pent up emotions, anger and negative thoughts. The more you look into yourself and spend time in a calm, quiet place, enjoying the meditation practice, the more calm and balanced you will become.

Diet: While it is not compulsory, but yoga asanas can be accompanied with a yoga diet. Yoga diet prescribes Sattvic foods that nourish the body and the mind, and promote positive thoughts. Yoga also prescribes eating habits like not over eating and eat everything in moderation. Yoga diet helps to keep the mind and body healthy, alert, fresh and the overall mental frame, happy.

You can purge all the negativity in you through yoga and other techniques, if you really want to. The key lies in trying to be truly happy!

The Power of Positive Thoughts and Words

2009-03-15T09:57:00.012+08:00

In today’s papers, I was very pleased and grateful to read T. Selva’s piece for his column, Sunday With Selva. The title of his piece was, Think before you speak. Here are the parts of the piece that caught my attention:

… Hundreds of words pour out of our mouths everyday as our thoughts, opinions, judgements and beliefs are freely expressed. Most of us are also unaware to the positive or negative effect of these words, which has ripple effect on ourselves and those around us. …

… When we speak unkindly of anyone we are actually creating a negative vibration within us thus harming the harmony of our body, mind and spirit and destroying our self-esteem. Negative talk never help us do anything better other than to just waste our time and energy and disturb our peace of mind.

It is common to find individuals who go on a rage mood often forgetting the happy and good times they had enjoyed or benefited with their close ones. Why this happens is because when you are not in peace with yourself, you will be governed with anger, hatred and unhappiness.

At all times, we should think and analyse before we speak because whatever unpleasant words we say about another individual it is actually a mere reflection of ourselves.

… One of the best ways to handle issues that cause dislike is to change our thoughts and by doing so, we are actually changing our life for the better.

Next we should view things with compassion because we are all not perfect and we are bound to make some mistakes at some point of time. Remember constant negative speech traps us and prevents us from finding joy, peace, love, happiness and success.

T. Selva ends his piece with a 'Guide to Positive Thoughts and Words'.

Avoid gossip and unhealthy talk.
Stay away from complaining about others.
Look at the good qualities and strength of others.
Do not allow unpleasant emotion to control you.
Wish others well and avoid holding grudges.
Choose to speak words that are uplifting so that you can boost yourself.
Use positive spoken and written words to envision success.
Successful people take control of their words rather than letting their words control them.
Before you speak ask yourself: Is what I am about to say going to uplift, inspire or motivate the listener?
The choice of words you use should be in alignment with your vision and dreams to see personal success.

***

This whole piece reminded me of a story I both heard and read about Stephen Covey. He was on the subway when a gentleman came into the train with his children. The children were running around and making a lot of noise. The father did nothing to calm his children down. After a while, Stephen Covey could not take it anymore and asked the man if he was going to control his children. The man then apologised and told him that they had just returned from the hospital; their mother just died and they probably didn’t know how to handle it.

The lesson to learn is that the perception one has of another person’s circumstance can be so far removed from the reality of what is going on in that person’s life.

For years I’ve been trying to apply the lessons from these self-help gurus and practice having only good thoughts and speak good words about everyone I've come across. Here’s a story where I succeeded: Sometime last year, Bill Keeth wrote to ask if I would review a book he’d written, Write It Self-Publish It, Sell It. Having self-published a book before, I was very keen to read this book. One of the criticisms I had of his book was that the new chapters in the book did not begin on a fresh page. When I made this criticism, I tried to apply the lessons I’d learnt about making criticism of someone else from all these self-help gurus and tried to see it from his point of view. This was what I concluded: I would hazard a guess that having to commence each chapter on a new page might have increased the total number of pages and, hence, the overall budget.

I was very pleased when Bill Keeth wrote to me, after the review was published, to say that this was exactly what happened. Our email correspondence began, in earnest, from that point on and I’m happy to say he’s now a columnist for my newsletter, thereby adding much value to it.

I’ll end this post with a quote from Michael Bernard Beckwith in Rhonda Byrne’s The Secret: Oftentimes when people begin to understand the Great Secret, they become frightened of all the negative thoughts that they have. They need to be aware that it has been scientifically proven that an affirmative thought is hundreds of times more powerful than a negative thought. That eliminates a degree of worry right there.

Write It, Self-Publish It, Sell It by Bill Keeth

2009-03-05T13:09:00.007+08:00

Paperback: 252 pages
Publisher: Halterburn (9 May 2008)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0955886309
ISBN-13: 978-0955886300

How time flies! As I write this review, it appears that it has been some five years now since I self-published The Banana Leaf Men. When I started that project all I knew was this – I had a manuscript, I wanted it published and I wanted the books sold. I remember agonising over what font to use, how many lines to squeeze onto one page, what the cover design of my book should be and so much more. I had to learn (very fast) what words like ‘typesetting’ meant; the accounting concept of ‘sales-on-return’ and ‘taking on consignment’ soon became the norm. When someone pointed out to me that it had not been properly formatted in that there were just too many spaces between the paragraphs in the text, I remember being completely dumbfounded. Now, had I had Write It, Self-Publish It, Sell It in my hand, I would have been able to read, on page 89, as follows:

SPACING OF TEXT FOR A NEW PARAGRAPH. A new paragraph should be indented on the next line down. That is, there should be no line space before the new paragraph begins (as you might otherwise do when writing a report, say). …

There are times I’ve listened to people stand up in public and ask questions like, “I have written something; I want someone to publish it.” When it is explained to them that they will have to go through a submission process, they say, “But no. I don’t want to have someone else have all the profits. I want to do it myself. I just need a publisher.” If you’re a person who's asking, "What's wrong with that question?" or you need to understand what words like, publisher, literary-agent, print-on-demand, editor, typesetter, printer, distributor mean, you will find this book extremely helpful.

The most important section, for me, was the information on page 69 wherein Bill Keeth provides the 25 Specifications for Self-Published Fiction. Again, I wish I had had them before. For instance, he asks, and answers, questions like: Are the pages of this book 90 gsm or better? Are the pages of this book white, or do they have a greyish/yellowish tinge? Does this book have an ISBN number? Does the book show the publisher’s imprint or the author’s? How I wish I had known all this before ...

An excerpt of the official description of this book, which appears on the Amazon.com (UK) site, provides a more comprehensive idea of what the book is about:

Write It Self-Publish It Sell It supplies the answers to all the questions you ever wanted to ask about self-publishing. Why would anybody want or need to self-publish in the first place? Is your book good enough to self-publish? Isn't self-publishing just another name for vanity publishing? Are there any famous writers who originally self-published, then went on to be commercially published? Should you self-publish with a print-on-demand company or a local printer? How much will it cost you to self-publish? How many copies of your book should you order for a first print run? How do you go about placing your book with bookshops great and small? Which mere handful of the hundreds of self-help manuals on sale is essential for writers of fiction? How may you sell your book title via Amazon? What is the simplest way of getting your self-published book into every public library in the UK?

Make no mistake about it, Write It Self-Publish It Sell It is an absolute must for every writer of fiction - unpublished, self-published and otherwise.

As for the necessary qualification needed to write such a book, Mr. Keeth has self-published two novels, Every Street in Manchester and Manchester Kiss. The former was shortlisted for the prestigious Portico Literary Prize and I think that says enough about his expertise in this area.

This book is no ‘boring’ manual. Instead, the style of writing is one I have not read or heard spoken in a long time. The manner in which Bill Keeth has written this book is so entertaining; the descriptions are apt, the conversations recorded made the text come alive and indeed, the humour can make you laugh out loud. At times, I was so reminded of Sir John Mortimer’s Rumpole of Bailey. Here are two of my favourite pieces from the book:

Page 20 STARK TRUTH No. 8: Having duly succeeded in fulfilling all the required submission criteria, and/or avoiding all the pitfalls listed above, there is no way you are guaranteed commercial publication unless you also have: Price Charles’ mother; or Angelina Jolie’s photogenic good looks; or Wayne Rooney’s feet or Jordan’s wobbly bits; and preferably, all six.

Page 93 A SPACE OF YOUR OWN “The will to work,” says John Braine, “builds all the seclusion one needs,” But you really should contrive to create a space of your own in which you may do your writing undisturbed – even if it’s only your garden shed, the family car parked up in some quiet spot, or your place of employ when everybody else has gone off home for the day.

For instance, I have a room, small in itself, which is invariably commandeered as an when a guest stays overnight or household items no longer enjoyed the approval or regard of She Who Holds the Casting Vote At My Present Address are temporarily side-lined en route to the charity shop or the council tip. The room contains my PC, printer, hi-fi, bookshelves, and a small filing cabinet (aka a bedside cabinet with a deep drawer). It is not a perfect location, partly for the reasons already stated; and certainly, an upstairs room would be marginally better in order to distance myself from household noises and to afford me a more expansive outside view. (From the upstairs window on a good day I can see the Pennine Way above the M62 footbridge at Windy Hill). But the room I have serves its purpose well enough, affording me shelter, privacy, reasonable quietude, and the triple benefits via an opening window of the wall beyond my PC of daylight, ventilation and an exterior vista consisting of a couple of hardy perennials, the door of an outbuilding and beech tree which, luckily for me, is a neighbour’s responsibility.

The single complaint I have about the book is the fact that new chapters do not begin on a fresh page. Still, from experience, I would hazard a guess that having to commence each chapter on a new page might have increased the total number of pages and, hence, the overall budget. Having chapters begin on a new page would have been nicer but this is just an aesthetic problem which does not in any way detract from the content.

Would I recommend this book to others? Firstly, last weekend, a subscriber to my newsletter asked me a question I’ve been asked many times since the publication of The Banana Leaf Men: how does one go about self-publishing a book? For the first time, my answer was different from the normal, “Well, I cannot explain it all to you now. Why don’t you send me an email and we’ll discuss this further?” My answer was, “I have just the book for you – Write It, Self-Publish It, Sell It!" Secondly, some time ago, a reporter asked me if I would be willing to self-publish again. My answer was a firm, “No.” However, after reading this book, I am so tempted … really tempted. Is this not enough of a recommendation to invest in this book?

***

To read this review on the website, please click here.

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

2009-02-22T08:48:00.005+08:00

Perfect Paperback: 489 pages
Publisher: Doubleday (2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0385513224
ISBN-13: 978-0385513227

No doubt, the publication of The Da Vinci Code has been great success. On the cover of this book, the blurb reads as follows:

While in Paris, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is awakened by a phone call in the dead of the night. The elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum, his body and the floor around him covered in baffling symbols. As Langdon and a gifted French cryptologist, Sophie Neveu, sort through the bizarre riddles, they are stunned to discover a trail of clues hidden in the words of Leonardo Da Vinci – clues visible for all to see and yet ingeniously disguised by the painter.
Even more startling, the late curator was involved in the Priory of Sion – an actual secret society whose members included Sir Isaac Newton, Victor Hugo, and Da Vinci, among others – and he guarded a breathtaking historical secret. Unless Langdon and Neveu can decipher the labyrinthine puzzle – while avoiding the faceless adversary who shadows their every move – the explosive, ancient truth will be lost forever.

If one is already familiar with books like Bloodline of the Holy Grail: The Hidden Lineage of Jesus Revealed, the theories explained in this book will not be anything new. Certainly, it will never be described as a ‘breathtaking historical secret’. However, what is impressive about this book and makes it stand apart from the others is the fact that these very theories are weaved into a storyline that is so readable. A perfect example of this is the conversation between Teabing and Sophie:

“At this gathering,” Teabing said, “many aspects of Christianity were debated and voted upon – the date of Easter, the role of the bishops, the administration of sacraments, and, of course, the divinity of Jesus.”
“I don’t follow. His divinity?”
“My dear,” Teabing declared, “until that moment in history, Jesus was viewed by His followers as a mortal prophet … a great and powerful man, but a man nonetheless. A mortal.”
“Right,” Teabing said. “Jesus’ establishment as ‘the Son of God’ was officially proposed and voted on by the Council of Nicaea.”

This information, that Christ was mortal and made Divine some three centuries after he died, is not something new. However, in revealing this fact through dialogue, the author has imparted this information in a very clever and appealing way.

Reflecting on the creative process involved of this book, it is clear that extensive research has been carried out. Thereafter, crafting a story that has clearly appealed to the masses is very commendable. Classified as a thriller, The Da Vinci Code is certainly a page turner. The plot is so well structured that the story flows from beginning to almost the end without a hiccup. There are many twists and turns along the way and if one is already familiar with thrillers, it will not be difficult to guess who the villain is. The manner in which the story concludes, however, makes the previously fast and furious pace of the novel come to a grinding halt, especially the part about Sophie’s real identity. Maybe, she could have remained as nothing more than a cryptologist. Still, this is fiction, and certainly, the conclusion the author chose, adds drama to the tale; but one is left wondering if another conclusion might have worked better.

Perhaps, the biggest problem with this book is that the language used is not evocative enough. For instance, the author has written, ‘Fache frowned inwardly at the delay.’ This sentence, in very simple terms, seems illogical. Is it possible to frown inwardly? Adverbs that end with the letters ‘l’ and ‘y’ – for example, ‘noticing Langdon sweating slightly’ – are used in abundance and spoils the narrative somewhat. That said, there are moments when the descriptions of characters raise the quality of language; for instance, Teabing’s bushy eyebrows arched with intrigue. Needless to say, while the narrative sometimes leans toward too much telling, it is the dialogue which helps to improve the quality of writing and the element of ‘showing’ necessary in fiction. For instance, Teabing says. “Good heavens, no! I would not wish a British chef on anyone expect the French tax collectors.” It is through this character, Teabing, that the element of humour is evident and adds that light-heartedness to a very complicated subject matter.

The lasting memory of this tale is that you will find yourself looking at all of Da Vinci’s paintings searching for the clues Dan Brown has mentioned in his book. It might even leave you wondering about what else has been hidden. Certainly, it is a book that makes you admire how clever Dan Brown is: he has taken one of the world’s worst kept secrets and has created a story that has such wide-spread appeal and entertained millions all over the world. Surely, this is something that any storyteller can aspire to achieve.

***

To read this review on the website, please click here.

The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing by Mayra Calvani and Anne K. Edwards

2009-02-20T17:11:00.009+08:00

The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing
by Mayra Calvani and Anne K. Edwards
Perfect Paperback: 186 pages
Publisher: Twilight Times Books; 1st edition (June 15, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1933353228
ISBN-13: 978-1933353227

Have you read a review and wondered whether it is good or bad? Have you ever wanted to venture into writing reviews but don’t know how to begin? Are you wary of writing a review and having publishers think that it might be too amateurish for them to consider publishing? Well, The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing answers these questions and so much more.

A website has been created to feature this book: http://www.slipperybookreview.wordpress.com/. On it, you can view the full synopsis for this book. The pertinent questions asked and the statements made – which are mostly dealt with in Part 1 of the book – give an idea of what this book entails. For instance, the book will teach you:

How to differentiate the various types of reviews.
How to prevent amateurish mistakes.
How to tell the difference between a review, a book report, and a critique

The book begins well by teaching you an important skill and that is learning to read critically. The authors say,

‘Though different reviewers work in different ways, good reviewers usually have a pencil or a highlighter in hand to take key notes or mark important lines or passages they may want to refer to later while writing the review. This is especially true in the case of long, in-depth reviews. If you don’t want to write or mark the book, then keeping a notebook for notes is a great idea. You can jot down clue words as you read along, or write down any page numbers you plant to quote from.'

It is a mistake to assume that the book targets only a person who wants to write reviews. Indeed, Part 2 highlights the fact that The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing is very useful for anyone in the publishing industry – from authors, publishers, booksellers to librarians – as ‘this book will also bring to light the importance and influence of book reviews within a wider spectrum.’

It is often said that one of the best ways to teach another person something new is to share with them exact examples of the points you’re trying to make. The authors have done this throughout the book but it is most evident in a section entitled, ‘Types of Reviews’. They have taken the trouble to write a review of a fictional book called, ‘Day of King Rex’. What makes it special is that they use this same book and, thereafter, write a terrible review. The reader, therefore, gets a clear picture of what is the difference between a good and bad review.

Following this, there are more examples of other kinds of reviews, namely:

The Sugar-Coated, Overly-Positive, Amateurish Review
The Nasty, Overly-Negative, Amateurish Review
Then, there are exact examples of the following kinds of reviews:
Long, In-Depth Review and Breakdown.
Article-Review and Breakdown.
Non-fiction Review.
Children’s Book Review and Breakdown.
The Anthology Review and Breakdown.

The thoughts, ideas and suggestions shared in this book come from two authors, Mayra Calvani and Anne Edwards, who are clearly ‘veteran’ reviewers – The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing is peppered with examples of reviews they’ve written which have been published widely. They generosity in sharing their knowledge comes through, especially in the section about teaching a person just how to start their own book review site. There is also valuable advice given which is this: ‘The bottom line is, if you want to become known as a serious reviewer, charging for reviews is a bad idea. Maybe this perception will change in the future, but this is how it is now.’ Indeed, there is a further warning given (which actually adds a sense of humour to this book): ‘Take it from Jim Cox, editor at Midwest Book Review: “Here is the secret to being financially successful as a book reviewer--marry rich.”’

No doubt, there are times you might wish to write a negative review. The authors have taken great trouble to explain how to write such reviews. They start with explaining how not to embarrass yourself.

'…When you phrase your reviews tactfully, the authors themselves can learn and profit from your negative reviews.
Avoid statements like “This is a terrible book” or “This is the worst book I’ve ever read.” This screams ‘unprofessional’ and will label you as an amateur. There are other statements you can use to convey your negative reaction to the book. For instance, the harsh phrases mentioned above can be replaced by, “This book didn’t live up to its full potential because …” or “This novel didn’t work for me for the following reasons…”'

The authors’ generosity continues in Part 3 where they give you lists of resources – from print publication to online sites and magazines – that accept reviews. Sharing this set of resources gives this book that ‘wholesome’ feel.

This is certainly a book many a reviewer would wish they had known about before writing their reviews. In all, The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing is highly recommended for a person who is not only serious about writing reviews regularly, but for anyone who has more than a passing interest in the publishing industry.

The lasting impression of The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing is that the information shared has been done so with absolute honesty. It is, therefore, seemly to end with two pertinent passages from this book.

‘... and ultimately, a reviewer’s foremost--and probably only--obligation is to readers, not to authors and publishers.’

'Thus, if a reviewer would maintain a relationship with any publisher, they must be able and willing to account for negative reviews. Otherwise, that publisher will drop them and in time, that same reviewer might find themselves with a reputation for giving unfair reviews which means online sites that accept outside reviews may not be willing to post them either. While one does not have to give good reviews just to continue reviewing, one must be fair and objective in their reviews.'

***

To read the full review on the website, please click here.

'Lottie's Babies' - by Dr. Christina J Johns

2009-02-18T14:11:00.004+08:00

Here's a story that Christina shared with me when I interviewed her for the website.

Mattie Mae Hollis was a part of our family for over fifty years. During those years, Mama and Mattie Mae helped each other a great many times. I, of course, remember only the most dramatic occasions and most particularly I remember the time Pickering Head had those two dead babies at Sneadlin's funeral home.

Mattie Mae was the one who phoned mama for help that crisp Autumn day, but the help wasn't really for her this time. It was for Lottie, Mattie Mae's best friend.

Mattie Mae was phoning from Mr. George Reed's gas station about a block from Sneadlin's Funeral Home. To my consternation, mama hadn't seen fit to pass on the information that Lottie's house had burned down that past weekend, and that her twin babies were killed in the fire.

This was the kind of thing mama never told me. She always thought I had a morbid turn of mind, and I suppose she saw herself as not feeding what she and my grandmother deemed my unhealthy and definitely unladylike obsession with all things secret.

Of course, the minute I heard the words "dead" and "babies" and then "funeral home" in the same few sentences, my ears cranked around like those of a cat hearing footsteps in the leaves.

Now, there are a lot of peculiar things about this story. One of them is that Lottie's two babies were even taken to Sneadlin's Funeral Home. You see, Sneadlin's was a white funeral home, and if there was any life function in the 1950s south that was more segregated than religion, it was death.

The only thing I can figure out is that the babies had somehow wound up there because it was an accident, a fire, and somebody got put through to the wrong funeral home. But even so, it seems like somebody would have realized the mistake and phoned a black mortician. It doesn't make sense.
Mama's was never any help with this issue. She refused to talk about the incident and when I pressed her, she denied it even happened. "Lydia, this is just something you’ve made up. You were a strange child."

She always did this to me. It took me over fifty years to work out that mama, Frances Sarah Ward McPherson had a lot of secrets. She didn’t like talking about the past and whenever anything "uncomfortable" came up, her way of dealing with it was to just deny it ever happened.

But, I remember as clearly as I remember the color of the Catawba river that Lottie's two precious babies were left in the cold waxy hands of Pickering Head.

The problem Mattie Mae was phoning about on that crisp autumn day was that Pickering wouldn't let Lottie look at the bodies. I stood just inside the white swinging door to the breakfast room, my ear pressed to the crack, listened to Mama talk.

Seems, Pickering said he'd already closed the coffins; that the bodies were too badly burned and that Lottie didn't need to see them. Pickering, of course, being white, thought he knew better than Lottie what she needed. He also probably thought that once this poor black woman was told with some authority by a white man that she didn't need to see her own dead children, she would go away and let it be.

But Pickering Head didn't figure on the combination of Mama and Mattie Mae Hollis.

Lottie was broken hearted when she found out she couldn't see her babies. She walked all the way home to grieve and wait for the funeral, but Mattie Mae was at her house to hear the story.

Now, Mattie Mae Hollis didn't have much to say on a day-to-day basis, but she was about as determined, when she got her mind set about something, as anybody I've ever seen, except my mama.

Mattie Mae and Lottie walked the five miles back to Sneadlin's Funeral Home and knocked on the screen door to the side porch. They wouldn’t have even thought about knocking on the front door. Pickering Head, the director of the funeral home, opened the glass door to the porch and walked out.

"What ya'll want?" He asked as he reached the screen door.

"We wants to see the chillin.'" Mattie Mae told him.

Pickering Head opened the door with his left hand and pointed to Lottie with his right. "I already tol' Lottie, those children are beyond recognizing. Now she’s got no business bothering us and upsetting herself more than she's already upset by pawing all over them. I got better things to do."

"She their Mama." Mattie Mae said, standing firm on her two enormous flat feet.

"Now, ya'll go on away from here before I call the law." Pickering said. "I already explained it to you. Now, git."
Mattie Mae told mama later that he said "Git" like he was talking to a couple of dogs.

Mattie Mae Hollis stood on the side steps of Sneadlin’s Funeral Home, staring at Pickering Head. She did not move one inch.

"When you gon’ send the babies to the church?" She asked.

Pickering gave an exasperated sigh. "Mattie Mae, I’m gonna send the babies to the church when I get the money for doing ‘em and not before."

Pickering Head closed the screen door to the porch and when he went inside the house, he locked the glass door behind him. He left Mattie Mae and Lottie standing on the steps. Lottie was crying.

Mattie Mae put her arm around Lottie.

"You stay right here." She said. "I be back. Me and Miss Sarah Ward straighten this out." Mattie Mae strode across the street towards Reed’s gas station. "Me and Miss Sarah Ward gon’ jerk a knot in Mr. Pickering Head’s tail." She muttered to herself.

When the phone call from Mattie Mae came, I could see my mama reddening in outrage. "Why that’s ridiculous." She said. "Absolutely ridiculous. He has no choice but to let Lottie see them if she wants to."

Mama cast a worried glance in my direction, then said into he telephone. "There’s nobody here Mattie Mae, to stay with Lydia."

"I’ll go Mama." I said, perhaps a bit too eagerly under the circumstances. "I don’t mind."

She shook her head. "I don’t want you at a funeral home. I don’t even like Funeral homes and this thing might be ugly business."

My eyes widened. Ugly business was just my cup of tea at that age. "Please Mama." I begged.

"Oh alright." Mama said exasperated by my eagerness.
"I’m comin’ Mattie Mae. Ya’ll just wait right there." She put the telephone down.

"Come on Lydia, if you’re coming." She called.

I raced to find my tennis shoes and then get to the back door so Mama wouldn’t have to wait.

Mama stood there, tying a scarf around her head, looking down at me. "You are the strangest child." She said, but she was always saying that. I didn’t take it personally. I couldn’t even tell you how many times Mama or my grandmother, Dannymom, said that to me from the time I was about four to the time I left home at 19. Granddaddy Will was the only member of the family who said it with that crooked smile of his, like it was a compliment. But then, Granddaddy Will died with a bullet in his brain which calls his judgement into some question.

By the time Mama drove up to Sneadlin’s Funeral Home in our car, I was sitting forward in the seat with my face almost in the window. I was craning my neck to see what was happening.

"Lydia, sit back in the seat. You could at least try to act like a lady in public instead of a gaping monkey."

Lottie and Mattie Mae were standing on the wooden steps outside the screened porch of the enormous old house that used to belong to one of the Cobbs before it was turned into a funeral home.

"You stay in the car." My mama ordered as she got her pocketbook and gloves and started to get out.

"Mama." I whined. "Let me go with you."

Mama stopped moving. She raised her eyebrows and her eyes became big as saucers. I knew that look. It could have frozen me in hell. What it meant was stop whatever you are doing instantly. In this case, it was whining. "Stay." She said.

I knew there was no point in arguing. So, I watched Mama walk across the front lawn, her light navy blue coat trailing behind her, her beige gloves clutched in her tiny hand, to talk with Mattie Mae and poor Lottie, who was still crying.

They were obviously not paying a bit of attention to me, so I rolled down the window to see if I could hear. But, all I could hear was the exchange of women’s voices. Mama’s little frame got straighter and straighter, Mattie Mae and Lottie were gesturing with their hands and every few minutes, Lottie would cover her face with both hands and drag them down her cheeks, sobbing.

All of a sudden, Mama turned and walked up the steps to the door of the screened in porch. She rapped so hard on the door with her little fist, I could see the wood frame moving from across the street.

She waited like a little soldier ready for battle. Nothing. She rapped again. Then, I started to see what Daddy called "the Irish" rising in her. Mama was about to lose her temper.

"Pickering Head." She shouted out, right there in the front yard of Sneadlin’s Funeral Home. "You come out here. I know you’re in there. You answer the door this minute."

The glass door to the house opened and out came Pickering Head even more ashen and unctuous than usual.

"Why Miss Sarah Ward." He said, feigning surprise. "I didn’t know you were out here. You could have just come right on in the front door. It’s always open."

"The point is not where I could have come in, Pickering. The point is where they could have come in." Mama’s left arm flew out, pointing behind her at Mattie Mae and Lottie, without taking her eyes off the pitiable Pickering Head. Mattie Mae and Lottie both stood up straighter.

"And the point is that you have to let this woman see her children. And the point is that you don’t slam the door in a woman’s face and tell her to "git" like she was a dog. And the last point, Pickering, is that I’ve known you for a long time, a very long time. I knew you when you still had cotton lint in your hair and were sneaking up behind young women in the mill and pinching their fannies. You have never had and never deserved the least little bit of power or authority or respect. And so you’re just the sort of man to lord your imaginary authority over two women who you think can’t do anything to you. You are not going to call the law on these women. I am going to call the law on you if you don’t open those coffins and let Lottie see her children right this minute while I’m standing here."

All the time mama had been delivering this breath-taking soliloquy, Pickering Head had been bending and bowing and holding his hands up in front of him and putting the fingertips of both hands on his cheeks in an attempt to somehow appease mama.

Oh, Mama knew Pickering Head, but Pickering Head sure didn’t know my mamma. If he had, he would’a known that after what he had done, trying to appease mama would have been just about like trying to appease Hitler.

Pickering Head grew paler and paler as he realized he was dead meat. He moved backward and held the screened door while Mattie Mae and Lottie and then Mama filed inside. They all went into the house, and the glass door closed behind them.

I couldn’t believe all this was going on and I was sitting in the car.

I sat there trying to weigh the trouble I would be in for disobeying Mama against the chance that she would be so distracted when she came out, she wouldn’t even notice if I weren’t in the car.

Mama, Lottie and Mattie Mae stayed inside Sneadlin’s for what seemed like hours. I slumped down in the seat, keeping my eyeballs just high enough to see out the window. The sun was getting hotter and hotter, and what had been an autumn day, was fast turning into summer. I lifted my thighs off the seat, trying to keep them from sticking to the upholstery.

I knew Mama wasn’t ever going to tell me what was happening inside.

I let my hand stray over onto the door handle and then pushed it down. The sound it made seemed very loud. I wasn’t really going to get out, just open the door for some air. I scanned the front of the funeral home for activity. None. I scanned the street in front of the car and then turned around and scanned the area towards Reed’s fillin’ station. Nobody.

I twisted in the seat and pushed open the door, putting my two tennis shoed feet on the asphalt. Just getting some air. Then, I darted across the enormous lawn and into the azaleas next to the house.

The windows of the old Cobb house were that wavy, old timey glass. Fortunately for my purposes, the windows on the front porch went from floor to ceiling and the ceilings were at least 16 or 18 feet high. I jumped sideways onto the staircase and ran across the porch, flattening myself against the house. God help me if Mama came out the front door.

I peered into one of the windows, trying to do so without being seen. But, it didn’t matter. There was nobody there. Turning, I ran toward the end of the porch and jumped off again into the azaleas. It was then that I saw the back of the old Cobb house, where they had evidently built an addition. It went straight back from the old house, a long low monstrosity of a structure built with cinder blocks and aluminum windows.

I could hear voices now, women’s voices, my mother’s voice. And I could hear crying, wailing like I’d never heard before, even at a funeral. I turned and headed for the car as fast as my crooked polio legs would carry me. I almost dove into the window of the car I was so afraid, but was able to jerk it open and sit down when I suddenly heard the front door of Sneadlin’s slam with a force that might well have shattered all the panes.

I sat up straight to see mama storming down the stairs and across the lawn. I had never seen her look quite so furious. Mattie Mae and Lottie were trailing behind her, looking very much like they had seen a ghost. Lottie was wailing as she walked and Mattie Mae was staring straight in front of her with an expression that to this day I would not even try to describe.

Then, I saw the front door of the house open and an ashen Pickering Head emerge cautiously onto the porch. He held his arms out with his palms open and shrugged his shoulders. "Miss Sarah Ward," he called. "I’m sure we can work this out. It’s just a mistake. Somebody in the back just made a little mistake."

Mama stopped dead in her tracks. Her hand was holding her gloves so tightly I could see her knuckles whiten. She stood there for a minute and then she turned around. She marched back up the walk way, circling around Mattie Mae and Lottie. She climbed up the stairs and Pickering Head walked toward her in relief. When she reached him, though, the hand with the gloves in it reared back and she slapped Pickering Head. My Mama, slapped Pickering Head’s pasty face for him right out in public, on the street, in front of Snedlin’s Funeral Home. I couldn’t have been more shocked if she had taken all her clothes off and set her hair on fire.

While Pickering Head stood there with his hand on his cheed, Mama bent down and delicately picked up her beige gloves. Finished, she turned and descended the steps.

When Mama and Mattie Mae and Lottie and I got to our house, I was banished (under protest) to the yard while telephone calls were made and voices were raised and Lottie wailed. Finally, I was allowed to ride along while mama took everybody home. Nobody said a word and I knew that my continued existence on the earth depended on my keeping my own mouth shut.

Mama took Lottie home first and then Mattie Mae. When Mattie Mae got out of the car, mama held up her hand before I could even open my mouth.

"Not one question Lydia, not one. I know you don’t believe this, but there are some things you don’t need to know about."

I didn’t believe it and I sunk back into the seat in frustration and disappointment. What on earth could there be that you didn’t need to know about. Weren’t she and Daddy always telling me to learn. "Look it up in the dictionary, go look in the encyclopedia." Wasn’t that the constant refrain of our house. Now, there were things I didn’t need to know about.

Of course, to be fair, my mother knew if she told me, I’d tell everybody else in the known universe that would listen and in a small town like Wilkes’ Ferry, even if people commit murder, you still had to live with them and get along. In a town like Wilkes Ferry, you couldn’t afford to have too many enemies and Mama had just slapped a grown man in the street.

When I couldn’t find something out any other way, there was always spying, and the best time to spy was at night, after everybody else had gone to bed, everybody except me. I would wait, pretending I was asleep, until all the lights were out and Daddy went around locking the doors. Then there was a time when Mama and Daddy talked to each other. That was the time I waited for, the time I had to stay awake for if I wanted to learn anything important.
What I heard was that when Mama and Mattie Mae and Lottie had gone into the funeral home, Pickering Head had tried his best to talk them out of having him open the coffins, but Mama and Mattie Mae had insisted. Mama even had to threaten to phone the sheriff.

Faced with three determined women and the threat of the sheriff, Pickering relented. When he took them to the back, though, he didn’t have to open two coffins, only one. Both babies were together in the first little white coffin, laying on top of each other, like they’d been thrown in by a garbage collector.

The real kicker, though, was that they hadn’t even been embalmed. Pickering Head (even though he denied it) was going to charge Lottie, Lottie, a fortune on time for the burial of two embalmed babies in two coffins, when in fact, he had done nothing to the bodies except throw them in together.

‘I’ve never seen anything quite so heartbreaking in my whole life as those two babies all crumpled in together in each other’s arms." Mama said to Daddy, in their bedroom while I leaned with my back up against their bedroom door. Mama was crying, something she never, ever did.

"And Lee, I’ll never forget that smell if I live to be 100. Poor Lottie, poor, poor Lottie."

I stayed up a long time that night, imagining the two babies together in that coffin, playing back in my mind the scene when Mama slapped Pickering Head. Wondering what on earth Lottie must be feeling, and knowing in my heart of hearts that nothing, absolutely nothing would happen to Pickering Head or Sneadlin’s Funeral Home. Pickering Head was probably asleep.

I wondered, for the first time in my life if it had bothered Mattie Mae to have to phone Mama to get Pickering Head’s face slapped. She did things for Mama all the time, favors. They were friends, but somehow this was different. Mattie Mae was a big woman. He had hands that could wrench a chicken’s head off without hardly noticing it. I watched her do it one time. She could have probably pinched Pickering’s head off. Mama could scare the living hell out of me and even Daddy, but she wasn’t even five feet tall with her heels on.

I knew Mama wasn’t going to talk about it, and I knew what Daddy would say if I asked him: "That’s just the way things are Liddy." Grandaddy Will would have explained it to me, but I would have to had find him and sit him down for long enough when he wasn’t drunk. Not an easy task.
I sat and stared out my bedroom window. Everybody in Wilkes Ferry, Georgia, all 500 souls, seemed to be peacefully asleep. Everybody except me and Lottie. Poor Lottie.

Fundraising Storyteller - interview with Yvonne Foong

2009-02-10T08:57:00.005+08:00

I have a new interview posted on the website. It's Yvonne Foong and here are some excerpts from it:

***

Yvonne: I was diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis Type 2 at 16. But the very first symptoms became apparent when I lost hearing in the right year at 13. Gradually, I lost the use of both my legs, kept falling down for no reason, until my parents had to place me on a wheelchair three years later to see the doctor. Until then, nobody could guess why my bodily functions kept failing. An MRI revealed many tumours in my brain and along the spinal cord. I've since undergone one spine and four brain surgeries. The first two surgeries were performed at KL's General Hospital, and the next three at LA's House Clinic. Thankfully, I've regained the use of my legs, but became deaf in both ears from tumour growths. I'm now hearing with the Auditory Brainstem Implant - something like the Cochlear Implant, but modified for NF patients.

My most recent surgery in November 2008 involved a tumour affecting an optic nerve. I was born with an under-developed left eye, so doctors wanted to preserve my only vision left by removing the tumour surgically. But during surgery, they found the tumour attached to my optic nerve. Removing it this way would mean we need to sacrifice the nerve. Doing so would make me blind. I can't go blind, since I'm already deaf. I can hear with the ABI, but it will take a lifetime to train for speech discrimination. So doctors left the tumour intact, but removed surrounding bones to reduce pressure to the nerve and buy us some time.

Meanwhile, I have to raise enough funds for radiosurgery by March 2009. This is the second part of the treatment. It works to kill the tumour, preserve eyesight, and possibly improving it. The amount needed is RM94,000.00.

***

To read the full interview and to find out how you can help Yvonne, please click here.

Storyteller of the Skies - interview with Elmo Jayawardena

2009-02-10T08:48:00.003+08:00

I have a new interview posted on the website. It's with Elmo Jayawaredena. Here's an excerpt from the interview:

***

Elmo: I was born in Sri Lanka, a small town called Moratuwa. That is where I grew up and that is where my permanent home is. I have been an aviator all my adult life, flew big jets for SIA and retired in 2007 and now I train pilots for Sri Lankan Airlines. My main occupation in life is working with the poor through a humanitarian organisation I founded AFLAC International http://www.aflacinetrnational.com/ - that would say it all.

.... I wrote a lot to the news papers from my young days. I never spoke a word of English till I was 17. Of course we studied English. Then I thought I will write a book. To write a book you need thoughts and an acceptable way to express them. I am a self taught writer and very proud of it for what comes out from me is pure me.

... Sam Story was a story I did not have to create. Sam worked for me, a very poor retarded boy who showed me a different meaning to life. Sam’s Story is about the poverty of Sri Lanka and the war that has killed more than 60,000 people – the book is a lesson in life – that is how I see it. Penguin India is putting out a new Sam’s Story in April and a movie is almost completed in Sri Lanka. Sam’s Story won the Gratiaen award for the best book in 2001.
***

To read more of this interview, please click here

W I S P

2009-02-03T16:50:00.006+08:00

We have a new columnist on the website : Bill Keeth.

Here's the introduction on the website:

Bill Keeth lives in Middleton, Greater Manchester, in the UK, and he is already known to readers of this Newsletter.

Bill has self-published two novels – Every Street in Manchester, which was shortlisted for the prestigious Portico Literary Prize** alongside titles by two authors who are household names in the UK and beyond, and Manchester Kiss, a contemporaneous sequel. But his most recent self-published book is a non-fiction title – Write It Self-Publish It Sell It (pub. 2008), long-listed for the Portico Prize, which aims at supplying definitive answers to the many enquiries Bill has received about self-publishing subsequent to self-publishing his novels and selling on thousands of copies.

Writing a long-binned first novel back in 1977, Bill Keeth went on to become a founder member of a writers’ workshop at Manchester College of Building, where his debut novel was actually begun as a short story.

‘Much more recently,’ he says, ‘I got a yen to develop that short story into a full-length novel, whereupon it took me about eight months to do so, with Manchester Kiss following soon afterwards. And it was whilst unsuccessfully trawling the writers’ manuals with a view to placing Every Street in Manchester with a UK publisher or literary agent, I learned that best-selling Manchester writer Billy Hopkins (http://www.billysbooks.info/) had originally been constrained to self-publish his debut novel.

‘So it was with my forerunner’s advice in the matter that I successfully self-published at long last, fulfilling my dream of foisting a work of fiction upon an unsuspecting public.

‘“Don’t pay it back, pay it on,” says Lee Child’s macho hero, Jim Reacher to a character he lends money to in Nothing to Lose, pub. 2008. (In my humble opinion, the best Jim Reacher book yet.)

‘And I will be happy as Larry if, in paying on via this monthly column of mine, I go some way towards helping even one aspiring writer amongst its readership to follow suit.’

***

To read more about Bill Keeth and his first story, please click here.

Sam’s Story by Elmo Jayawardena

2009-01-30T13:11:00.006+08:00

When I started to write this review, I realised that this is the third review about book that has, as a central character, a houseboy – the first was Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and the second was Reef by Romesh Gunesekera.

On this website, http://www.samsstory.per.sg/main.htm, a synopsis of the story reveals that Sam’s Story is a story set in the year 2001. It is the tale of Sam, ‘raised in a tiny village too remote for maps, brought to work in Colombo as a house-boy, finding momentary happiness in a life muddied by difficult days and countless painful moments. … [He is] a dim-witted, illiterate houseboy, whose lot in life was to tend the gardens and care for dogs in the home of an upper-middle class family in urban Sri Lanka. … His story begins at the River house where he finds employment as a houseboy, and ends in his village to which he returns. In between the two, Sam relates episodes from his life; people that have passed through it, events that changed his world, happy childhood hours he enjoyed, tears he has shed, and days he wished he could forget. In counterpoint to these snapshots of the past are descriptions of his life at the River house; a lifestyle far removed from his own background, with people he comes to love, others he’d love to hate, and the myriad events that dotted the otherwise peaceful days he spent there.’

Elmo Jayawardena is a Sri Lankan pilot employed with Singapore Airlines. He writes in his free time and is the founder of a charitable organisation, AFLAC (Association for Lighting a Candle).

I first met the author at the LitBlogger event organised by MPH here in Kuala Lumpur. I listened to him speak about the book and his experiences. I remember him saying that there is not a single ‘big’ word in Sam’s Story. After reading the tale, this is true. The language is very simple which lends a charm to this book. Interwoven in this tale is the pain that war brings; for example, Sam practically hates the other workers in the house – Leandro and Janet. And the reason is revealed in the telling in this one sentence: Janet was from the other side that threw bombs. When the author spoke of his houseboy, he said that Sam has no idea what the war is about. Sam is Sinhalese and a Buddhist. He jus knows to hate the 'others'.

My favourite passage in this book is this:

'I cannot honestly remember a single day that someone laughed in my own house. I mean, really laughed, with a lot of noise and stomachs shaking, like the people who came ot the river house did. We smiled at times. Not too often, but we did smile from time to time. Even when we smiled, they were small smiles. I think the poor can give only small smiles. Since we were poorer than the poor, our smiles were mostly smaller than small similes. Just appeared and disappeared, like a broken moon in a cloud filled sky.'

Sam’s Story won the prestigious Graetian Award in 2001 for the best literary work in English in Sri Lanka. It was also long listed for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 2003. This is a story that is both poignant and touching. You will certainly have a smile on your face long after you’ve read it.

***

To read this review on the webiste, please click here.

Reef by Romesh Gunesekera

2009-01-29T20:46:00.004+08:00

Right at the very end of my copy of Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, I read that one of the novels the author liked was Reef by Romesh Gunesekera. I decided I would re-read this book.

Reef is not a difficult book to read for it is small in size. On this website, this is the description given for this book:

Reef is a love story set in a spoiled paradise. It is told by Triton, who at the age of eleven goes to work as houseboy to Mister Salgado, a marine biologist obsessed by swamp, sea movements and the island's disappearing reef. Triton learns to polish silver; to mix a love cake with ten eggs, creamed butter and fresh cashew nuts; and to steam the exotic parrot fish for his master's lover. As Triton recounts his story, an extraordinary voice emerges: naive and knowing, fearful and brave, a boy becoming a man in a world on the brink of chaos.

On the same website, it is stated that, ‘Romesh Gunesekera was born in 1954 in Sri Lanka where he spent his early years. Before coming to Britain he also lived in the Philippines. He now lives in London as a writer but travels widely. Recently he has been a writer-in-residence in Copenhagen, Singapore, Hong Kong and Southampton.’ I was fortunate enough to listen to him speak when he visited Silverfish Books, in Kuala Lumpur. There are two things I remember most from this meeting:

When he read from his book, he chose a passage which describes one of Triton’s creations. He spoke so very slowly; every word was pronounced and there was nothing hurried in his manner. It made listening to this author an absolute joy.
He mentioned that when his agent first saw the manuscript, the agent commented that it was a very short work. I suppose, I found it such a fascinating thing to remember because I often wonder what was implied in that comment. Was it a query as to whether the book was any good since it was so short? I never dared to ask.

The book was certainly very good. From the moment I started, I could not put this book down. The words flowed from start to end. Here are two passages that will show how meticulous the author was in his writing:

Mister Salgado, Ranjan Salgado, was a bachelor. A sweet smell clung to him, heady and unnatural, derived from an ivory bottle shaped like a bell and impossible to open properly. He would shake tiny, powerful drops out of the metal clasp at the top of its narrow neck and rub them on his hands, or his face or body. The scent made me think of cinnamon bushes, but it was the nature of the town to deceive.

&

After serving the tea, I went out into the garden. With the sun down, the air moved gently as though the plants had begun to breathe again having held their breaths all day. The drone of insects rose like scent. It was the time of the day when flowers would fall from the tress, petals bouncing off the small branches and resting briefly on a lower leaf before being released to touch the earth and die. The ground itself fiving a little as the heat of the sun left it….

The backdrop of the story is the civil war in Sri Lanka. It is in the last sentence of this novel – a sentence that is so beautiful and profound – that the horror of war and its lasting repercussions are most evident: A couple of hours later he flew out, after a glimmer of hope in a far-away house of sorrow.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading and re-reading this book. The story has remained with me to the point where I often wonder what happened to both Mr. Salgado and Triton. Did Mr. Salgado meet his beloved Nili? Did they rekindle their romance? Did Triton find much happiness in the UK? Then, I realise, it’s just fiction. And I feel sad.

***

To read this on the website, please click here.

Ibu Maluku: The Story of Jeanne van Diejen by Ron Heynneman

2009-01-29T18:40:00.002+08:00

This is what is stated on the back cover of this book:

IBU MALUKU is the unique story of a resolute woman, Jeanne van Diejen-Roemen, who survives the hardships of remote jungles, the horrors of two world wars (including a 3 ½ year internment by the Japanese), and the life-threatening political upheavals that preceded the birth of the Republic of Indonesia.

Her story reminds one of the exploits of Florence Nightingale, for Jeanne is also driven by an overriding sense of duty: to relieve the suffering of her less fortunate fellow-men.

During her often extremely difficult life, she distinguished herself as a planter, army nurse, midwife, gardener, and social worker. During the Japanese invasion, the stout-heartedness saved Ternate from total annihilation. After the war, she spearheaded the fight against leprosy, and enabled hundreds of Moluccan lepers to again assume a useful role in the society that had once exiled them. She also implemented plans to bring isolated forest people into the 20th century, and founded a hospital, a school, an orphanage, and home for the elderly. In recognition of her efforts, Indonesia’s first president Sukarno started calling her Ibu Maluku – Mother of the Moluccas – and the name stuck.

Though she had a carte blanche with Sukarno, her outspokenness finally brought her into conflict with him. This forced her in 1957 to leave the Moluccas and the people who had given her their trust, and she settled in Sittard, in the Limburg Province of the Netherlands. In 1978 she returned to the Moluccas to celebrate her 82 birthday among her Moluccans. Were it not for other commitments, she would have stayed, for it was there that she truly felt at home.

Many books about the East are centred around the countries where either the British or French were colonial rulers – India, Singapore, Sri Lanka, to name a few. It is rare to read a story that is based in an Asian country where the Dutch were colonial rulers. So, I was intrigued by this book the moment I laid eyes on it. The cover image, The Bay of Ternate by Antoine Payen, gives that visual impression of what it must have been like when Jeanne first arrived in Ternate. However, it is through words and stories narrated that one learns of the true condition of the people and the place that Jeanne van Diejen-Roemen came to know, care for and love.

Despite the fact that Malaysia (where I live) is geographically close to Indonesia, I did not know where these islands, Maluku islands, are. I was, therefore, very grateful that the publishers had thought to include maps of the region.

The sub-title, on the cover of this book, states ‘An extraordinary life in the vanishing world of the Dutch East Indies’. Throughout reading this tale, it was hard to separate the fact that I was reading an account of someone’s life story; I often felt I was reading fiction. There was romance, tension, murder, betrayal and all set against the backdrop of political upheaval.

It is a long story and covers 636 pages – it must have taken sheer tenacity on Ron Heynneman to keep at this book and indeed, it is stated that the project took 25 years! Written in Jeanne Can Diejen-Roemen’s voice, the author managed to infuse Ibu Maluku’s emotions, ideas and thoughts, which all added to the originality of the tale.

There are many passages I enjoyed in the book but one which touched me – because it showed just how much courage she had, the genuine love of the people of the islands, her compassion and the acceptance of what was – was this:

… Sukarno kept pressing, and … I finally blurted out: “And what should I tell them in America, Mr. President? Should I tell them the truth – that we lack doctors, hospitals, road, and houses? Should I tell them that our people go hungry because rice is disappearing into the black market, and that your soldiers are throwing my people in jail for making salt from seawater, whereas before we were exporting salt?” … Sukarno’s eyes narrowed, and his face turned into a mask. … Shocked, I realised I had gone too far. I, a Belanda, had offended the President of Indoesia and made him lose face! … Then he brusquely turned around and left … I went over the disastrous conversation sentence by sentence – and then I realised, with a sinking feeling, which words had offended him. “Your soldiers are throwing my people in jail for making salt from seawater, whereas before we [the Dutch] were exporting salt.” … What had happened could not now be undone, but I was at peace with myself. I had remained true to myself, and true to the people of the Moluccas whose case had been entrusted to me.

It is a book I will certainly recommend that people read.

***

To read this review on the website, please click here.

Cut The Strings - The True Story of a Soul Reclaimed by Lynn Grocott

2009-01-29T18:29:00.003+08:00

I was a little stunned when Lynn sent to me a copy of this ebook. I never expected it and I read it with much interest. My attention was grabbed right from the start. It was these words which set me reading this entire ebook in one go: Bryn Jones, who wrote the Preface used these words when signing off: ‘proud friend to Lynn and Glen Grocott.’

I was intrigued and thought that Lynn Grocott must be a special person for a man to write such heartfelt words. And the more I read the more reassured I was about this fact.

The story that Lynn Grocott shares in this book is harrowing, almost. It tells the tale of a girl who lost out on her childhood and was thrust into the adult world well before her time. It is a tale of physical abuse, sexual abuse, being bullied at school, admission to a psychiatric ward, facing the suicide of her parents, multiple sclerosis and even anorexia nervosa. In any ‘normal’ human being, even one of these illnesses could cause the sufferer to consider suicide and yet, Ms. Grocott not only overcame most of these challenges in her life, she has changed her life around and is now helping others.

The most significant part about this entire tale is the fact that she refused to accept that she has refused to accept that she is the victim in any of these circumstances. She says:

This is my story of breaking free from life as a victim and becoming an individual in my own right. It is my story of gaining happiness.

Furthermore, it is obvious that this realisation is the point where she made up her mind to change her life around. Ms. Grocott says this:

This book does not ask for your sympathy, dear reader; its aim is to show you that you can overcome anything in life. Absolutely nothing need hold you back. Even if now you feel like a victim, you can be a winner, turning unspeakable sexual and physical abuse, violence, deprivation and heartbreak into positive thought and action. We can all become winners instead of victims. We can learn to empower ourselves. We can become aware that we are all unique individuals with something to offer to the world. What is more we owe it to ourselves to discover how magnificent we truly are.

The reason why Ms. Grocott wrote this book is clearly stated when she writes:

I hope to illustrate to you that each human being has an incredible strength, and the vast resources to cope with anything that hinders happiness, peace and joy. I am not for one minute suggesting that by reading this book you will not face another challenge in your life, but hopefully you will be better equipped to deal with adversity when it rears its head.

I can add that without a doubt, Ms. Grocott has achieved her aim.

Reading Ms. Grocott’s tale, I found myself agreeing with all of the steps she took in her life save for one – I did not particularly like the fact that she made a decision to be voluntarily absent from one of her parent’s funeral. It would seem unthinkable to me; however, considering her position, her needs and perhaps the cultural divide between us, I was quick to stop myself from judging her and instead began to understand her position.

The language used in this tale is very easy to follow and the only thing that will stop the flow of reading this book in one go would be tears and having constantly to reach for tissues.

In the end, this is a story that is all together inspiring and worth every penny. It is opportune, therefore, to end by quoting directly from Ms. Grocott:

I have learned that the most important purpose in life is to be happy. Happiness is a state of mind; and despite what goes on around us we get to choose how we feel about it. …

I have learned the true value of happiness, it cannot be bought and it cannot come from other people. Happiness comes from accepting yourself, liking yourself and believing in yourself.

How to Be Happy at Work

2009-01-29T18:08:00.003+08:00

I received the following article via email and thought I'd share it on this blog.
__________
What if someone told you that you could be totally happy at work? You would probably find it hard to believe. You're not the only one. Tens of thousands of people are unhappy at their job every day. From accountants to interior designers, they all wish they were somewhere else. What if I told you there were ways to ensure you are happy at work? Would you do them? Let's find out.

1. Pick a career that fits your lifestyle. Are you busy in the morning but free in the afternoon? If so look for a position that's not the usual 9 to 5 routine. This will allow you to get more things done for yourself, and have less stress while you are at work.

2. Think about the commute. If you enjoy sitting in traffic, then the big city drive is for you. You would be the exception though. No body I know likes fighting traffic first thing in the morning only to spend the rest of the day in a cubicle. Look for a position a little closer to home.

3. Consider your pay rate requirements. If you are thinking about a job that pays less than you need to make, STOP! If you work for less money you are never going to be happy. Do not count on raises or bonuses to fill in the gaps. Decide how much you want to make and stick to it.

4. Do you enjoy socializing with others? Most companies have strict rules and guidelines regarding social interaction at the office. Not to mention it's hard to talk with someone through a cubicle wall or an office door. Look for a company that will allow you the freedom to socialize while you work.

All of these are very important things to consider when choosing a job or starting a career. There are those who actually like the daily grind of corporate life. If you are like me you enjoy a little less stress in your life. That's why so many Americans are deciding to work from home these days.

Isn't working from home only for retirees? Not at all. There are plenty of people with lots of reasons for working from home. You set your own hours, income is only limited by how much you want, no one is going to tell you to get off the phone, and say goodbye to that tedious commute.

A few years ago working from home was a hard thing to commit to. Today however, it is pretty easy to get started. All you really need is a phone and a computer with an internet connection.

If you think you are not ready to run a business from home, consider the following. These days it's easy to work a full time job AND work from home. That may be the perfect way to supplement your income.

If you really want to be happy at work keep these simple things in mind. You may decide you like the idea of being your own boss. Keep your options open and whatever you decide, good luck.

For more information about running a successful Internet business, visit Diego Norte's blog here: http://www.DiegoNorte.com/blog/

***

To read this article on the website, please click here.

Awaken the Giant Within by Anthony Robbins

2009-01-29T13:01:00.009+08:00

It surprises me not one bit that this book has sold over a million copies.

Briefly, this book has, as its subheading, ‘How to take control of your mental emotional, physical and financial destiny.’

There are four parts to this book:-

Part 1 – Unleash Your Power
Part 2 – Taking Control – The Master System
Part 3 – The Seven Days to Shape Your Life
Part 4 – A Lesson in Destiny

Thereafter, each Part is divided into chapters and each one paves the way towards the final goal of teaching a person to have complete control over his/her life.

I must admit that I read this book after being introduced to some of the concepts Mr. Robbins teaches by Paul McKenna’s Change Your Life in Seven Days. As such, I was not reading the words, neuro-linguistic-programming and some of the ideas expounded and examples shared for the first time.

On page 23, Mr. Robbins makes this challenge to his readers:

I challenge you not only to do whatever it takes to read this book in its entirety … but also to use what you learn in simple ways each day. This is the all-important step that’s necessary for you to produce the results you’re committed to.

I took up the challenge and began reading the book all over again and from the Foreword, written by Frederick L. Covan, PH.D., I gleaned this:

As the Chief Psychologist … I see so much human misery ... in the “normal,” “healthy” staff that treat them. I also see the same unhappiness in the high-functioning, relatively successful people I treat in my private practice. Quite often, the pain and misery are unnecessary and finally end when the people take charge of their beliefs, feelings and actions in order to modify the process of their lives. Unfortunately, most of the time they don’t. They wait, then try to alter the bad result or, often, go to a shrink wanting just to complain about their awful life or in some way be “fixed” by someone else.

Although some of my colleagues are offended or surprised when I recommend the works of such a young man who doesn’t have academic credentials, those who actually read or listen to Tony come to agree. In addition to comprehensive, good information, Tony has a talent and a compelling style that make his material easy to grasp.

As I progressed through the book, I kept remembering this statement by Dr. Covan and images of people who made it a point to be miserable kept popping into my head. Also, I found that I was remembering all those times when I had been negative myself. The thing is, this time round, I knew how to minimise the negative impact this was having on my psyche and that was brilliant.

One of the most poignant moments for me, reading this book, was this passage on page 348:

For example, let’s say a woman’s highest values are caring and contribution, and she chooses to become an attorney because she once met a lawyer who really impressed her as being able to make a difference and help people through his work. As time goes by, she gets caught up in the whirlwind of practicing law, and aspires to become a partner in her firm. As she pursues this position, her work takes on an entirely different focus. She begins to dominate and run the firm, and becomes one of the most successful women she knows, yet she feels unhappy because she no longer has any contact with clients. Her position has created a different relationship with her peers, and she spends all her time in meetings ironing out protocol and procedure. She achieved her goal, but missed out on her life’s desire. Have you ever fallen into this trap of pursuing the means as if they were the end you were after? In order to be truly happy, we must know the difference, and be sure to pursue the end itself.

For so many years now, I have had struggled with my decision to leave legal practice and pursue my dreams. This passage put into words my exact sentiments and I'm much happier just reading this book.

Mr. Robbins qualifications in this field come from devoting more that half his life to helping people discover and develop their own unique qualities and greatness. He has a special passion to make the world a better place to live by assisting individuals in capturing their destinies.

Mr. Robbins has presented his ideas consistently and with every new theory or concept, he has given a wealth of examples, ideas and shared his thoughts on them.

Where the terms become complex, Mr. Robbins takes the time to explain them in detail and where necessary, pictures, charts and props are used. There was never a time in reading the book when I did not understand what Mr. Robbins was trying to say.

I shall end this review by saying that this is a book I highly recommend that anyone who wants a change to take place in their life read. Also, I shall conclude by listing down many of the statements made by Mr. Robbins which touched me.

It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.
The secret of success is learning how to use pain and pleasure instead of having pain and pleasure use you. If you do that, you're in control of your life. If you don't, life controls you.
The only true security in life comes from knowing that every single day you are improving yourself in some way. I don't worry about maintaining the quality of my life, because every day I work on improving it.
It must be constant commitment backed up by action.
Once we effect a change, we should reinforce it immediately. Then, we have to condition our nervous system to succeed not just once, but consistently.
The first belief we must have if we're going to create change quickly is that we can change now.
The greatest leverage you can create for yourself is the pain that comes from inside, not outside. Knowing that you have failed to live up to your own standards for your life is the ultimate pain.
The difference between acting badly or brilliantly is not based on your ability, but on the state of your mind and/or body in any given moment.
Focus on where you want to go, not on what you fear.
You've got to be in a determined state in order to succeed.
My definition of success is to live your life in a way that causes you to feel tons of pleasure and very little pain.
All that you really want in life is to change how you feel.
Plan for pleasure for each and every day.
Remember, ask and you shall receive. If you ask a terrible question, you'll get a terrible answer. Your mental computer is ever ready to serve you, and whatever question you give it, it will surely come up with an answer.
A genuine quality of life comes from consistent, quality questions.
You and I have that same power at our disposal every moment of the day. At the moment, the questions that we ask ourselves can shape our perception of who we are, what we're capable of, and what we're willing to do to achieve our dreams.
Determination is the wake-up call to the human will.
It's not just getting a goal that matters, but the quality of life you experience along the way.
What kind of person will I have to become in order to achieve all that I want?
All too often, the security of a mediocre present is more comfortable than the adventure of trying to be more in the future.
People will do more to avoid pain than they will do to gain pleasure.
The truth is that nothing has to happen in order for you to feel good.
Never assume when it comes to rules. Communicate.
Repetition is the mother of skill.
Limited references create a limited life. If you want to expand your life, you must expand your references by pursuing ideas and experiences that wouldn't be a part of your life if you didn't consciously seek them out.
Loss is imaginary. Nothing ever disappears in the universe; it only changes form.
Leaders are readers.
Expand your references, and you'll immediately expand your life.
Everything in life happens for a reason and a purpose, and it serves us.
It's the moments of our life that shape us.
The beliefs that we use to define our own individuality, what makes us unique - good, bad, or indifferent - from other individuals.
Your capability is constant, but how much of it you use depends upon the identity you have for yourself.
Time and again, researchers have shown that students' capabilities are powerfully impacted by the identities they develop for themselves as the result of teachers' belief in their level of intelligence.
The kind of person other people perceive you to be controls their responses to you.
We look at what we do to determine who we are.
Only those who have learned the power of sincere and selfless contribution experience life's deepest joy: true fulfillment.

I really recommend that you invest in this book.

***

To read this review on the website, please click here.

Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda

2009-01-29T12:54:00.005+08:00

When writing an autobiography, the challenge for the writer, I would imagine, would be to write a story that everyone would say, "I want to read that!" More often than not, autobiographies of celebrities, statesmen and others can be deadly dull. I found, however, that Autobiography of a Yogi is anything but dull.

In so writing his autobiography, I would say, Paramahamsa Yogananda has probably fulfilled his life's mission and that was to introduce Eastern philosophy to the Western World. He writes with humour, simplicity and pure entertainment. However, all throughout the book you are learning. Learning about a philosophy, learning about the truth and yourself. Perhaps, one can say that he went beyond his divine mandate and actually introduced Eastern philosophy to the world.

What then is this Eastern philosophy that he talks so much about? It is all based in the art and practice of Kriya Yoga - prevented by divine injunction from explaining the whole concept, Paramahamsa Yogananda explains this as comprehensively as he can:

Kriya Yoga is a simple, psychophysiological method by which the human blood is decarbonized and recharged with oxygen. The atoms of this extra oxygen are transmuted into life current to rejuvenate the brain and spinal centers. By stopping the accumulation of venous blood, the yogi is able to lessen or prevent the decay of tissues; the advanced yogi transmutes his cells into pure energy. Elijah, Jesus, Kabir and other prophets were past masters in the use of Kriya or a similar technique, by which they caused their bodies to dematerialize at will. Kriya is an ancient science.

On the Amazon.com website, under Product Description it is stated as follow:

Autobiography of a Yogi is at once a beautifully written account of an exceptional life and a profound introduction to the ancient science of Yoga and its time-honored tradition of meditation. This acclaimed autobiography presents a fascinating portrait of one of the great spiritual figures of our time. With engaging candor, eloquence, and wit, Paramahansa Yogananda tells the inspiring chronicle of his life: the experiences of his remarkable childhood, encounter with many saints and sages during his youthful search throughout India for an illumined teacher, ten years of training in the hermitage of a revered yoga master, and the thirty years that he lived and taught in America. Also recorded here are his meetings with Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, Luther Burbank, the Catholic stigmatist Therese Neumann, and other celebrated spiritual personalities of East and West. The author clearly explains the subtle but definite laws behind both the ordinary events of everyday life and the extraordinary events commonly termed miracles. His absorbing life story becomes the background for a penetrating and unforgettable look at the ultimate mysteries of human existence.

It is a profoundly inspiring and at the same time vastly entertaining read. I would recommend it to anyone!

***

To read this review on the website, please click here.

Angel and the Enemy by Marnie L. Pehrson

2009-01-29T12:36:00.002+08:00

Having never read a piece of work specifically categorised as ‘clean-romance’ I was curious about this novel. I must admit that there was a part of me that thought that 'clean-romance' translated into 'boring'. Truth could not be further from reality. I was pleasantly surprised by how this story was not only deeply entertaining, it contained all of the ingredients for a great story which are suspense, drama and action.

Briefly, the story begins sometime during the Civil War between the States in America. Angelina Stone’s world is falling apart. Her beloved father lies rotting in a Union prison when her Georgia home is invaded by Yankee soldiers. She is traumatised by a particular experience and her saviour is one Elijah Willoughby. It is a long time before Angelina comes to terms with what happened. After the War ends and when her father returns, he convinces her to take up a teaching position in another town. There, she comes face to face with none other than Elijah. Their romance begins but it is not a journey without many obstacles; it reaches a satisfactory conclusion, nevertheless.

Certainly, I was hooked from the first page and I wanted to know more. Classified as a romance, it was easy to follow the plot and I could hazard a guess as to what would happen next. This by no means indicates that the story is without suspense for there were times when I was stunned by revelations made; for instance, I enjoyed discovering just who the man who stumbled along on one leg really was.

Living in the Far East and not having a clue how the land Ms. Pehrson wrote about looks like, I was still able to picture in my mind's eye the scenes she painted with her words. The landscape came alive and the various scenes were splendidly depicted. I can all but picture the homes of Angelina, Bonnie, Elijah, the school room and other locations mentioned therein. The conversation is dramatic and rather quaint. Care has clearly been taken to picture each and every portion of this book and an example of this is the way in which the ‘ladies of the night’ speak when Elijah happens to visit a place of ill repute. Their manner of speech and description of the place is apt and precise. A scene that requires special mention is the one where Angelina does some shopping in the General Store - the description of the items for sale added to the element of authenticity of the time period in question.

The main characters are developed and easily recognisable. The fear Angelina feels after her traumatic experience comes across as very real and palpable. Her strength of character and yet, that secret desire to have a knight in shining armour come rescue her is certainly something a lot of women would identify with. Certainly, I feel for her and I found myself genuinely wanting the two main characters to fall for each other. Elijah Willoughby is depicted with all of the normal human anxieties and clumsiness of a man in love; the sensitivity with which he handles the situations before him and his acts of kindness all but strengthens the reader's perception of him.

If there is to be criticism of the book, then I would say that Angelina’s younger siblings somewhat fade into the background soon after the introduction and seem superfluous. Nevertheless, I would highly recommend Angel and the Enemy to anyone who has a soft spot for romance and wishes to pass a few hours in a most pleasurable manner. It will leave a reader feeling all warm and happy with the knowledge that there is still some chivalry left in this world.

***

To read the review on the website, please click here.

The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

2009-01-29T11:17:00.010+08:00

In the middle of last year (2008), I was given this book together with Practising the Power of Now. The author provides an excellent explanation as to why it’s taken me so long to finish reading this book and also write this review; in the Introduction, he writes:

The pause symbol [elongated ‘s’] after certain passages is a suggestion that you may want to stop reading for a moment, become still, and feel and experience the truth of what has just been said. There may be other places in the text where you will do this naturally and spontaneously.

As a result of reading this passage, I duly paused when necessary; only, I seem to have paused for months!

The Power of Now is a non-fiction piece of work and on the back cover of the book, the blurb reads as follows:

Hugely successful author Echkart Tolle guides us through a challenging but extraordinarily rewarding journey to find The Power of Now. We learn that we can find out way out of psychological pain; authentic human power is found by surrendering to the Now; the silence and space all around us is one of the keys to entering inner peace. In the Now, the present moment, problems do not exist. In the Now, we discover that we are already complete and perfect.

There is also a description of who the author is:

Eckhart Tolle was born in Germany, graduated from the University of London and worked at Cambridge University. When he was twenty-nine, a profound spiritual transformation virtually dissolved his old identity and radically changed the course of his life. He is now a counsellor and spiritual teacher.

More recently, Eckhart Tolle also gained much notoriety when he appeared on Oprah Winfrey's show. A series of classes called, A New Earth classes, was organised based on his newest book, A New Earth.

Already aware of the principles of Advita, teachings of Buddha and little bits of Christianity, a lot of what Eckhart Tolle said was not new to me. However, I was very impressed with the way he managed to explain these complicated concepts in very simple terms. He chose to do it in a ‘Question and Answer’ style – a question is posed by the reader and he answers it. Here is an example of the pain-body concept being explained in simple terms:

Focus attention on the feeling inside you. Know that it is the pain-body. Accept that it is there. Don’t think about it – don’t let the feeling turn into thinking. Don’t judge or analyse. Don’t make an identity for yourself out of it. Stay present and continue to be the observer of what is happening inside you. Become aware not only of the emotional pain but also of “the one who observes,” the silent watcher. This is the power of the Now, the power of your own conscious presence. Then see what happens.

The entire book is presented in a logical sequence from explaining what enlightenment is to identifying pain and moving to other issues like enlightened relationships and finding happiness. The biggest problem with this book is the size of the font used – it is too small and this made reading this book more difficult.

Here are some of the things I’ve learned from reading this book:

'Instead of “watching the thinker,” you can also create a gap in the mind stream simply by directing the focus of your attention into the Now. Just become intensely conscious of the present moment. This is a deeply satisfying thing to do. In this way, you draw consciousness away from mind activity and create a gap of no-mind in which you are highly alert and aware but not thinking. This is the essence of meditation.'

'Waiting is a state of mind. Basically, it means that you want to the future; you don’t want the present. You don’t want what you’ve got, and you want what you haven’t got. With every kind of waiting, you unconsciously create inner conflict between your here and now, where you don’t want to be, and the projected future, where you want to be. This greatly reduces the quality of your life by making you lose the present.'

'When you know you are not at peace, your knowing creates a still space that surrounds your nonpeace in a loving and tender embrace and then transmutes your nonpeace into peace. As far as inner transformation is concerned, there is nothing you can do about it. You cannot transform yourself, and you certainly cannot transform your partner or anybody else. All you can do is create a space for transformation to happen, for grace and love to enter.'

It is not an easy book to recommend to people. I would certainly keep my copy of the book and read passages regularly. However, anyone who reads this book needs to be open to what I call ‘alternative theories’ and accept spiritual concepts which might be different from what they’ve believed all along; me giving a blanket recommendation like, “Yes, go and buy it,” will not do. It is a very good book and if read with an open mind, will certainly help to broaden the reader’s spiritual horizons.

***

To read this review on the website, please click here.

The Marriage Bureau for Rich People by Farahad Zama

2009-01-28T18:23:00.005+08:00

Sometime in November last year (2008), a friend of mine recommended that I read this book. I bought it and finished reading it in a day.

The blurb on the back cover of the book states as follows:

What does somebody with a wealth of common sense do if retirement palls?
Why, open a marriage bureau, of course. And soon Mr. Ali, from beautiful Vizag in South India, sees his new business flourish as the indomitable Mrs. Ali and able assistant Aruna look on with careful eyes.
But although many clients go away happy, problems lurk behind the scenes as Aruna nurses a heart-rending secret; while Mr. Ali cannot see that he rarely follows the sage advice he so freely dishes out to others. And when love comes calling for Aruna, an impossible dilemma looms …
A colourful coastal town and contemporary marriage bureau prove a perfect backdrop for a splendid array of characters making sense of all sorts of pride and prejudice – and the ways in which true love won’t quite let go – in this witty and big-hearted debut novel.

What I enjoyed most about this work of fiction was learning how Mr. Ali collated the information about his clients and cross-referenced them with potential suitors. I also liked learning of his logic about paying Aruna more than necessary:

‘Quarries are difficult places to work and I was expecting a hard taskmaster driving the poor workers. Instead I found a gentle-looking man with round glasses sitting in an office while the workers toiled away in the hot sun. I was surprised and asked him how he got his people to work like that and he told me that he paid his workers piece rates – the stone cutters, the saw operators, the haulers – each worker got a certain amount for every sheet. He said they managed themselves and if somebody was being lazy, they sorted it out themselves because it affected all of them. I don’t want to be sitting here all the time looking over the girl’s shoulder. I want her to work by herself.’

There was a chapter, right at the beginning, entitled, The Requirements of a Perfect Brahmin Wedding. This made it a little easier to understand lots of what was happening in the novel. The extracts from Mrs Ali's essays on the location of Vizag and the different castes were only placed right at the end. Perhaps, had these extracts from essays been placed at the beginning, it might have been easier to understand the differences between the castes when reading the story.

Of all the characters, I liked Mr. Ali most of all. He is the central character of this tale and what endeared him to me was that, throughout, he was portrayed as this harsh man who had given up hope on his son; he was meticulous in his job, clinical in his dealings with everyone, almost angry with his wife for her support of their son in pursuing his cause. And, yet, he was protective of Aruna. He wanted the very best for her and supported her when she wanted to get married.

On the last page of the book, it is said, The author, Farahad Zama, moved to London in 1990 from Vizag in India, where the novel is set. He is a father of two, and he works for an investment bank. This, therefore, gives the author that element of authenticity for he writes about a place he knows.

The lasting impression I have of this book is that it is a ‘feel-good’ book. There is humour everywhere. Here’s an example from the text:

‘What?’ he asked. ‘Do you think it’s amusing to lose all the flowers from the garden before the sun has even risen fully?’
‘No,’ she said, ‘but you are getting worked up too much over trivial things. After retiring, you’ve been like an unemployed barber who shaves his cat for want of anything better to do. Let’s
hope that from today you will be a bit busier and I get some peace,’ she said.
‘What do you mean?’ he asked.
Mrs Ali rolled her eyes. ‘I have been running the house for more than forty years and the last few years since you retired have been the worst. You keep interfering and disturbing my routine,’
she said.

And here’s another sentence under Acknowledgements:
My two boys who think that all writers will be as famous and rich as J. K. Rowling. If only.

Although I am unlikely to read it again, I would certainly recommend this to someone who was feeling depressed, lonely, sad or in any way negative and needs a quick ‘pick-me-up’.

***

If you'd like to read the review on the webiste, please click here.

Great Storytelling Network Newsletter

2009-01-28T17:10:00.004+08:00

The latest edition of the newsletter was published today. It features an interview with Carolena Sabah and Tadeh Daschi. I'm going to try to upload the link to the youtube 'show' featuring their film.

If you'd like to read the whole interview, please click here.

The Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coelho

2009-01-28T11:54:00.007+08:00

Late last year (2008), I received an email from Carolena Sabah. She had read my review of The Zahir and told me about a project she was working on based on The Witch of Portobello. I decided to interview her for the website and also went out and bought a copy of this book.

On the back cover of this book, it is stated as follows:

How do we find the courage to always be true to ourselves – even if we are unsure of who we are?
That is the central question of international bestselling author Paulo Coelho’s profound new work, The Witch of Portobello. It is the story of a mysterious woman named Athena, told by the many who knew her well – or hardly at all. Like The Alchemist, The Witch of Portobello is the kind of story that will transform the way reader thinks about love, passion, joy, and sacrifice.

I do not think that my perception of love, passion, joy and sacrifice has changed from reading this book. However, I will say that Paulo Coelho has been able to put into words, in a very elegant way, some universal truths about these emotions. It is the kind of book that will appeal to those who seek an explanation of these emotions in an entertaining and, yet, informative way. The effort to make such complicated emotions sound simple is enormous and certainly well-done.

The story is a series of interviews with fourteen people who knew Athena, the central character and the woman who, ultimately, came to be known as, ‘The Witch of Portobello’. Born in Transylvania to a gypsy mother, Athena was given up for adoption to Lebanese parents who named her, ’Sherine’. She went to live with them in Lebanon and, thereafter, England. When she grew up, she wanted people to know her as Athena. From a very young age, she was very intense in her feelings and, soon, believed wholeheartedly in the teachings of the Catholic Church. She turned her back on the Church when she was denied Communion because her divorce had come through. She then focused all of her attention on her own spiritual journey. She came across many methods of practice from dance to calligraphy. Through her work, she was sent to places as exotic as Dubai. Finally, her travels brought her to Transylvania where she went in search of, and found, her biological mother. After the reunion, she returned to London and tried to further her understanding of things by teaching others what she'd learned. This desire to teach was the start of what finally led her to her death.

Paulo Coelho, being a best-selling author that he is, needs very little introduction. This book is written in very much the same style as his other books – the sentences are short and the language is easy. The plot of The Witch of Portobello is very well crafted; every event, every conversation, every part of this tale reveals itself at the appropriate moment. Without doubt, Paulo Coelho managed to sustain the suspense in this tale because, throughout, I wanted to know how Athena died; in addition, the twist at the end is just superb.

Though Athena herself is never really ‘interviewed’ in this tale, Paulo Coelho still manages to 'paint' her character thoroughly. Even the other characters, from her biological mother, adopted mother, ex-husband and so on are very well crafted – their own troubles are interwoven into the tale and by the end, one almost feels sorry that they are being thoroughly deceived.

Here are some of the memorable sentences from the book:

‘When sacred texts are written, they contain the soul of the man who served as an instrument to spread them throughout the world. And that doesn’t apply only to sacred texts, but to every mark we place on paper. Because the hand that draws each line reflects the soul of the person making that line.’

‘What is a teacher? I’ll tell you: it isn’t someone who teaches something, but someone who inspires the student to give of her best in order to discover what she already knows.’

‘“…. do you believe that through dance we can enter a trancelike state that helps us to see the light? …”
“…Of course, and that happens not only through dance, but also through anything that allows us to focus on our attention and to separate body and spirit. Like yoga or prayer or Buddhist meditation.”
“Or calligraphy.”’

The important thing is to allow fate to intervene in our lives and to decide what is best for everyone.

‘I can see the storm approaching. Like all storms, it brings destruction, but at the same time, it soaks the fields and the wisdom of the heavens fall with the rain. Like all storms, it will pass. The more violent it is, the more quickly it will pass.’

‘What is ritual? It means transforming something monotonous into something different, rhythmic, capable of channelling the Unity.’

I am not sure I will read this book again as I feel I’ve gleaned all I can from the story. Still, it is a story that will remain with me for a long while yet.

***

To read this review on the website, please click here.

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

2009-01-27T19:13:00.009+08:00

On the back cover this work of fiction, the blurb provides the following description of the story:

‘In the 1960s Nigeria, a county blighted by civil war, three lives ntersect. Ugwu, a boy from a poor village, works as a houseboy for a university lecturer. Olanna, a young woman, has abandoned her life of privilege in Lagos to live with her charismatic new lover, the professor. The third is Richard, a shy Englishman in thrall to Olanna’s enigmatic twin sister. When the shocking horror of the war engulfs them, their loyalties are severely tested as they are pulled apart and thrown together in ways that none of them imagined …’

The war mentioned in the passage above is the Nigeria-Biafra War which happened between 1967 and 70. This work of literary fiction gave me an insight into what happened in this land that is so far away from where I live (Malaysia). While it was interesting to learn about this terrible War, I enjoyed, even more, learning about the people: the differences between the Igbo and Yoruba, the food they ate, where they lived, the kind of dress they wore and so on. It was all in the details and it comes as no surprise for the author says, in an interview published at the end of the book:

‘I wrote this novel because I wanted to write about love and war, because I grew up in the shadow of Biafra, because I lost both grandfathers in the Nigeria-Biafra war, because I wanted to engage with my history in order to make sense of my present, because many of the issues that led to the war remain unresolved in Nigeria today, because my father has tears in his eyes when he speaks of losing his father, because my mother still cannot speak at length about losing her father in a refugee camp, because the brutal bequests of colonialism make me angry, because the thought of the egos and indifference of men leading to the unnecessary deaths of men and women and children enrages me, because I don’t even want to forget.’

These are very powerful words from the author and go to show her dedication to making this story so real, so alive and such a pleasure to read.
What remains after reading the whole novel are some home truths, which would apply even in Malaysia. For example, one of the characters, Madu, asks Richard to write for the Propaganda Directorate. Richard says no and when he is asked if has thought about it, the ensuing exchange between him and Madu is very telling:

[Richard says,] “You would not have asked me if I were not white.”
[Madu replies,] “Of course I asked because you are white. They will take what you write more seriously because you are white. Look, the truth is that this is not your war. This is not your cause. Your government will evacuate you in a minute if you ask them to. … If you really want to contribute, this is the way that you can. … They will believe a white man who lives in Biafra and who is not a professional journalist.”

The sequence of events was very well plotted throughout this novel. The joys, the sadness and the very real fear of the characters were all narrated with style and elegance. Perhaps, the most telling part of the tale is that the title (‘Half of a Yellow Sun’) is so beautifully reflected in the way the story ends: one has the sense that the story is only half told since there is still a need for Olanna to find her sister. And, yet, the tale is at an end.

Other more memorable passages from this novel are:

‘They all laughed. There was something habitual about it, as if they had had different variations of this conversation so many times that they knew just when to laugh. Olanna laughed too and felt for a moment that her laughter sounded different, more shrill, than theirs.’

‘Each time he suggested they get married, she said no. They were too happy, precariously so, and she wanted to guard that bond; she feared that marriage would flatten it to a prosaic partnership.’

‘She put it down on the bedside table and came over and hugged him, a tremulous tightening of her arms around him. He was so surprised he did not hug her back. She had never embraced him that closely unless they were in bed. She did not seem to know what to make of the hug either because she backed away from him quickly and lit the cigarette. He thought about that hug often, and each time he did he had the sensation of a wall rumbling.’

‘The sudden though that something might be wrong with her body wrapped itself around her, dampened her.’

This is one book I shall buy several copies of to give as gifts to people. I have enjoyed reading it and will not hesitate to recommend it to others.

***

To read this review on the website, please click here.

Forgive me, Mother Earth.

2008-11-15T18:35:00.024+08:00

Merlyn Swan wrote an article and agreed to let me publish in under my column StoryAsia - Freddie and Fannie as Pointers to the Truth. In the article, Merlyn Swan refers to a disaster we are facing – the world economy – and another we may face – the environment. She also quotes from the 4th Principle of the Sanatana Dharma: So do not take anything extra - all that you accumulate is theft.

When I read her piece, I was reminded of Anthony Robbins who wrote about American companies who had given out loans ‘willy nilly’. You can read a full write up on this on page 67 of his book, Awaken the Giant Within. In the same book, Robbins also writes:

… On a national scale, most of the challenges that we’re currently experiencing are the result of not thinking of the potential consequences of the decisions we’ve made. Our crises … are all the result of short-term thinking. This is the Niagara Syndrome at its most potent. While you’re raging along the river, focusing on the next rock you might hit, you don’t-or can’t-see far enough ahead of you to avoid the falls.

As a society, we’re so focused on instantaneous gratification that our short-term solutions often become long-term problems. Our kids have trouble paying attention in school long enough to think, memorize, and learn partly because they’ve become addicted to instantaneous gratification from constant exposure to things like video games, TV commercials and MTV. As a nation, we have the highest number of overweight children in history because of our unrelenting pursuit of the quick fix: fast food, instant pudding and microwave brownies.

In business, too, this kind of short-term focus can be deadly. The whole controversy surrounding the Exxon Valdez disaster could have been averted by making one small decision that would have prevented oil spills in the event of collision. But the oil company chose not to, looking at the immediate rather than long-range impact on its bottom line. Following the crash and resultant spill, Exxon is responsible for paying a whopping $1.1 billion as some compensation for the devastating economic damage it has caused, not to mention the immeasurable ecological destruction to Alaska and surrounding areas.

Deciding to commit yourself to long-term results, rather than short-term fixes, is as important as any decision you’ll make in your lifetime. Failing to do this can cause not only massive financial or societal pain, but sometimes even the ultimate personal pain.

This book was published years ago, in the last century, in fact. And, yet, I feel that his words are even more important now than ever. Especially since I read what Merlyn Swan has to say about environment: The second is impending and is being relegated to the back burner while this is being dealt with. None the less the signs are already in place and one such is the meltdown of parts of the Arctic ice belt This second will be even more disastrous than the economic one as it concerns the environment in which we live.

Both these pieces only served to invoke a feeling of fear in me. Especially in light of what happened last week. You see, when I first moved to the city, I chose to live in a place that many considered unsavoury. Still, I loved my place for I was facing the little ‘green’ left in the city. Here’s a picture I took of the place seven years ago.

This is what it looks like now:

Last week, I received a pamphlet from the developers for this project. They set out their plan which basically says that in less than two years, I will not have this view. Instead, I will probably be looking inside someone else’s flat. I’m not worried about this loss of a ‘view’. What I am concerned about is this: there are going to be seven towers (24 stories each) of flats. That means that on average, there are going to be some 1,344 flats (with an average of 8 flats per floor). And this is not including the office suites which will be built once this project is done. Just imagine, in this space of no more that 30,000 square feet, there will be, added to what we already have, close to 2,500 new cars on the road. Imagine the pollution.

Nowhere in the pamphlet has there been a suggestion that there will be a park for children to play. Nowhere is there a smidgen about whether or not materials used in this project are environmentally friendly; forget any idea of a recycling centre. Nothing annoyed me more than being asked what kind of shopping centre I wanted – Jusco, Carrefour or Tesco? Especially since the first two are already in a huge Mega Mall just one kilometre away!

Priced beyond the average Malaysian’s range, what is even sadder is that, like most developments in Malaysia, the people who will be buying these flats are foreigners! The average Malaysian will probably be relegated to living quarters in the fringes of the city while these places are given to people who have never made us feel welcome in their country but happily rob us of what we have. A friend of mine told me that many times, rich foreigners, who visit the country once every year for a week or so, buy these flats. The greedy developers keen only to make a sale, jump on this chance and don’t care about the local people.

I suppose, I could understand the need for this development if the place where I live is over-crowded and there is a real need for some new housing. The reality is that most of the flats in my place, though all bought up, remain unoccupied! Why build more? Why take use up the little green space left? But, how can I possibly fight with corporate Malaysia? How do you ask them, “How will you deal with the pollution? What measures have you taken to protect the environment? What recycling projects have you put in place?” How do you explain to a greedy person that he’s stealing from Mother Earth?

Perhaps, I will take comfort from Merlyn Swan’s words in the abovementioned article. She says, “It is for us as individuals to understand exactly what living in the moment entails and recognise that whatever one wishes to … every action has a reaction that needs to be reckoned with …” It would be an impossible dream to think that just by writing this piece, the developers will re-think their project; that they will not rely on the vast financial fortunes they are sure to be rewarded with in the short-term; that they will consider the long-term environmental issues before proceeding any further. Still, I have taken this action to write this piece in this moment; in this small way, I hope that Mother Earth will know that I do not approve of this theft of Her resources and that I have done something; that She will forgive, at the very least, me!

***
Note: You may not copy the photos in this post. If you would like to use them, please contact me first.

Awaken the Story Within - A consistent man believes in destiny, a capricious man in chance - Benjamin Disraeli

2008-10-28T11:15:00.014+08:00

Last Saturday, 25th of October 2008, I was fortunate enough to meet two Malaysian début novelists at the MPH Breakfast Club for Litbloggers: Preeta Samarasan and Chiew-Siah Tei. Preeta Samarasan is the author of Evening Is the Whole Day (Houghton Mifflin/Fourth Estate/HarperCollins, 2008). Chiew-Siah Tei is the author of Little Hut of Leaping Fishes (Picador, 2008).

Both used the word ‘lucky’ when they spoke of their journey to becoming published authors. I wondered if they were really lucky. I listened to what they had to say. I was impressed by both the tenacity and determination these authors had to get their book published. Preeta Samarasan spoke of the editor to asked appropriate questions. In answering them, Preeta Samarasan was able to effectively edit her novel. Chiew-Siah Tei explained about her transition from being a successful writer in Chinese to writing in English. Both took years to complete their books but throughout, both worked consistently and, thereby, achieved their dreams.

This element of consistency and determination in their work reminded me of the story of the 1,000 tiny frogs. All these frogs were racing up a mountain. On the first day it was quite obvious that it would take a miracle for them to ever reach the top. There were many spectators shouting, “You'll never make it. It's too steep.” Over the course of time, one by one, the tiny little frogs started to drop out of the race. As the days went on the frogs became fewer and fewer until finally after a week one little tiny frog made it to the top of the mountain. The crowd could not believe it and when a reporter approached the little frog to interview him. When they reporter asked his questions, it became clear the frog was deaf! Unable to listen to a word anyone else said, this frog was able to focus on its ultimate aim.

Tony Robbins writes that to achieve success in anything at all, one must have what he calls concentration of power. I, therefore, wonder when people say they’re lucky, is it correct? Could it be that they have just worked consistently for a period of time? Or, is it the case that they too no chances and focused all of their attention, resources, energies, etc, on achieving their goals?

The Tricky Art of Self-Publishing by Bill Keeth

2008-09-15T06:15:00.002+08:00

There is, as subscribers to this Newsletter will be aware, no copyright law applicable to titles. But I am more than happy to credit the authorship of the above title to Foster J Dickson of Montgomery, Alabama, writer and teacher of writing. (Google the eponymous title and author on the internet to gain access to his cheerfully empathetic self-publishing exposition.) Because he further avers that “Writing is about art and publication is about money”. Similarly, in Write It Self-Publish It Sell It, I have been concerned to address the twin problems of writing well in the first instance prior to self-publishing successfully and selling your work on. Note, though, that it is not only Mr Dickson’s wise dictum that persuades me this way. For it has been my firm belief and contention throughout that, as a self-published author, you need all the help you can get. Therefore, when it comes to preparing your book for publication, your very first priority should be to ensure it is saleable. That is to say, the book you produce must be as readable as it is well-presented. Because the plain fact of the matter is that, no matter how eager you are to self-publish, you simply cannot afford to churn out any old rubbish.

Incidentally, forgive me, please, if I persist in referring to fiction writing by way of example. But since it is fiction I have hitherto self-published successfully (2,000-plus books and counting) it would be pretentious of me, I think, and quite possibly detrimental to my readership’s chances of similarly successful self-publication were I to pontificate about verse or personal reminiscences or biography or any other form of non-fiction. This is not to say that Write It Self-Publish It Sell It may prove uninteresting or unrewarding for writers whose output encompasses any of these other disciplines. Far from it. Because many of the topics I deal with within the 17 Chapters and 14 Appendices which comprise the book (e.g. what quality of paper to use, the ideal number of lines of print to the page, the actual font and size of font to specify, ISBN numbers, Barcodes, distribution of the finished product etc.) are applicable to any self-published title, no matter what the subject matter.

***

To read more of this article, please click here.

Snippets: Effective Communication, 'The Family' and extract from 'The Psychology of Success.'

2008-09-07T18:44:00.013+08:00

Each day, I receive many emails from all sorts of people. While I read them, I don't usually keep these emails. This time, however, I thought I'd pick out the ones that touched me the most.

Story 1 - Effective Communication

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: 'I am blind, please help.' There were only a few coins in the hat.

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, 'Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?'

The man said, 'I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way.' What he had written was: 'Today is a beautiful day and I cannot see it.' Do you think the first sign and the second sign were saying the same thing? Of course both signs told people the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people they were so lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?

Moral of the Story: Be thankful for what you have. Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively.

Story 2 - 'The Family' by Skye Thomas
I have often argued with my friends that while a child will certainly be important, he or she shoudl not be the most important thing in the world. The reply I often recieve is this: "Aneeta, you don't have children, you're not qualified to talk!" So, I end up keeping quiet. Therefore, I was very pleased to receive Skye Thomas's last newsletter in which she features an article called, 'The Family'. She put into words what I could not and she is a mother of three! This is what she said:

We all know people who say that the children should always come first - at any cost. I disagree. Children who are raised to be the center of the universe grow up to be adults who believe that they have a rightful place as the center of everyone else’s universe too. It is unfair to teach the children that they are more important then everyone else. They become self-esteem monsters and bullies. The real world will teach them a very difficult lesson. People will not like them no matter how special Mommy and Daddy think they are. It is better to teach children that everyone is equal in regards to needs, hopes and dreams, responsibilities, and other dynamics of getting along in the world. Mommy’s need for peace and quiet once in a while is every bit as important as little Billy’s need to jump and run and play. The key again is for the parents to find a balance between the opposing needs.

Story 3 - Excerpt from 'The Psychology of Success.'

Many years ago a Zen Master handed me a sealed envelope.
“Open it” he said “and tell me all of the things you can see.”
“I see there's a new, crisp one dollar bill inside” I replied.
“And...?”
“It's a piece of green paper. It's printed by the US Treasury and guaranteed by the United States of America to be worth one dollar.”
“John” he said with a smile, “You are missing the whole point. It's not the dollar or thing. That's obvious to everyone. It's the infinite possibilities, meaning what you can do with the dollar or thing, that's important to the would-be entrepreneur. For example, two men in the Florida Everglades. One man draws his friend's attention to the wildlife and says, “Look at all those alligators." And the friend replies, “Alligators? I only see Floating Handbags.”
Extracted from John Jude O'Callaghan's new e-book "The Psychology of Success." Get more info. mailto:johnjudeocallagan@verizon.net

Olympics, Carreras and my career

2008-08-25T16:34:00.013+08:00

In the last two months, something happened which gave me much to think about. Last night, when I watched the Closing Ceremony of the Beijing Olympics on the television and heard Placido Domingo sing, I was able to bring together all of my thoughts.

One morning, a month or so ago, I received an email from a writer which said that someone had made some comments about me on a blog. My writer friend was offering words of comfort. I was grateful, yes, but was more pleased that the comments had finally been made – there had been a lapse in this person’s comments about me for over a year now and I was expecting something. Suffice to say, this person has labeled me a failure; I might as well just drop off the face of the earth and not bother trying at all.

I will admit that a few years ago, comments such as these from this person would have hurt terribly. Now, I laugh. Why? Well, to answer that, I need to tell you the story about Jose Carreras and Placido Domingo.

I cannot remember where I read this story or even when but I remember the story. In it, Carreras, born in Barcelona, and Domingo, born in Madrid, became not only musical rivals but bitter enemies in 1984, concerning the political debate over Catalan autonomy. It went so far that both specified in their contracts that they would always refuse to perform together in any event. In 1987, Carreras was diagnosed with leukemia and had to have treatment which saw him travelling to the United States once a month. Unable to sing during these times, his fortune quickly started to vanish. He then discovered a foundation, based in Madrid, offering support to people suffering from leukemia. Thanks to that foundation, he recovered from his illness and returned to singing. When he made investigations, he found that the Foundation had been secretly created and financed by Domingo, with the sole purpose of helping him with his treatment. Domingo had chosen to remain anonymous. Deeply moved by this gesture, Carreras interrupted a concert held by Domingo in Madrid, knelt at his feet to thank him and to beg for forgiveness. Their rivalry then turned into a great friendship. Asked by a journalist why he had decided to help his rival, Placido Domingo is said to have replied: “We cannot afford to lose a voice like that.”

Apparently, this story is untrue. When I searched the website for this story, I came across the website by José Carreras. I also came across the entry in Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermosa_Foundation) which states as follow:

… In response to the rumour, the José Carreras International Leukaemia Foundation has issued on its website the following official denial:
In relation to the information published in different websites referring to a supposed financing by a Hermosa Foundation and Mr. Plácido Domingo of Mr. José Carreras’ leukaemia treatment, the José Carreras International Leukaemia Foundation and Mr. José Carreras himself feel compelled to deny all these in formations, especially refuting that any relationship exists or has ever existed between the pretended Hermosa Foundation and Mr. Carreras. No financial assistance from Mr. Domingo nor from said Hermosa Foundation, whose existence is totally unknown to him, nor from any other source was ever requested, neither received.
Moreover, Mr. José Carreras has a special interest in stating that friendship, profound admiration and mutual respect have always presided his relationship with Mr. Domingo. Mr. José Carreras has started legal action in defence of his own interest and right to honour and has the firm intention of legally acting against any person or corporation publishing non-confirmed and untrue informations on his person.

I’ve clicked on the link in Wikipedia but can’t view the webpage.

Whether or not this story is true, I really do not care. I know enough about storytelling to realise that sometimes, stories are true and, sometimes, they are not. What is more important is the lesson learned from that story. The lessons I learnt from this tale were as follows:

Time heals all wounds.
A person who is your arch enemy today may become your friend tomorrow.
Sometimes, having someone against you all the way can be very beneficial for your career. If someone vehemently criticises you today, however painful their words are, you have to listen to them – if the comments made help you to understand your weaknesses, then accept them and try harder the next time. If they’re nasty and unfounded, just ignore it and wait for this person to make a complete ass of himself … which, I’ve noticed, they inevitably do.
If I am to be labeled a failure by some, then so be it. I know in myself that I tried my hardest. I was true to myself and I have learnt from my mistakes.

I’ve applied these lessons to criticisms made about my writing career by this person and slowly but surely, I’m gaining my confidence. I have advanced as a writer and am firmly on this path I have chosen. I still make mistakes but I know that writing brings me much joy and it is proving to be an exceedingly enjoyable career choice indeed.

Photos from The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and The Most Comprehensive Site on Jose Carreras

Amazon.com and Paypal – Anyone in the world can buy (usually) but not everyone in the world can sell.

2008-08-13T10:35:00.012+08:00

I reviewed a book called Write It, Self-Publish It, Sell It by Bill Keeth. I published the link to Amazon.co.uk where people could buy the book. A few days ago, I received an email from one of the subscribers to my newsletter asking for assistance. He lives in the U.S. and wanted a copy of this book but could not purchase it. His order on Amazon.co.uk kept getting cancelled. It was a long, drawn out issue which was, thankfully, resolved. He’ll get his book.

All of this got me thinking about how complicated it can be for a self-published author. I know that when I started, I desperately wanted my books to be sold via Amazon.com; furthermore, as Paypal was free to join and seemed very popular, I wanted to use this facility. After much research, I knew that it would be financially and physically impossible for me to do this. When Bill Keeth faced his problems with his book, I wanted to know if things had improved and did some research.

For the purposes of this piece, let’s use a hypothetical author who has self-published a book and wants to have it sold via the internet. These are his characteristics:

He lives somewhere in Malaysia.
He has self-published a book.
He has created a website to sell his books.
He has limited funds.
He does not have a bank account either in the UK or the US.
He has people from the UK and the US wanting to buy his book.

Let’s start with Amazon.com. In the ‘Seller Account’ of an Amazon.com account (for U.S.), under the Amazon.com Advantage program, it is stated as follows:

If you're a publisher, label, or studio looking for a distribution and fulfillment channel for your products, Amazon Advantage is for you.

Click on the link and you’ll read this comment:

To enroll in Amazon.com Advantage, you must have an e-mail account and Web access, you must be located in North America, and you must have worldwide distribution rights to the Title you want to enroll. ...

That was the end of Amazon.com (United States) for our hypothetical author.

What about Amazon.co.uk? Well, in the ‘Seller Account' there, there is a statement under Instructions and Regulations which reads as follows:

1.1.3 To register as a seller on the Site, unless otherwise agreed by us in advance in writing: (i) you must be an individual that is resident, or a business that is established, in the United Kingdom; (ii) the goods you are selling must be physically located in the United Kingdom at the time of sale; and (iii) the place of supply of any services you are selling must be in the United Kingdom. Please note that if you are selling goods as a trader in the course of your business, you are required by law to make that fact clear to potential buyers in your listing.

For our hypothetical author, that’s UK out as well.

However, as I learnt from Bill Keeth, it’s not so easy for those who live in the US or UK either. He writes:

My books are listed under Amazon Marketplace, as opposed to Amazon Advantage, which most publishers use. And the reason I'm not listed under Amazon Advantage is because the commission charge is a whacking 60% - which, I know you'll understand is quite out of the question for self-publishers who won't buy thousands of books at a time.

Now, what used to happen with Amazon Marketplace is that Amazon would advertise the book @ a cover price of, say, £9.99 + postage costs + £1.99 search fee (or some such) - all of which meant no customer ever bought a book because it was cheaper in the bookshops. Now, all of a sudden, Amazon has dropped the £1.99 charge - BUT seem to expect customers to access the book via the Used and New section.

All this means that the most effective way for an author to sell his book is directly from his website. It might mean lesser exposure, yes, but certainly, there is more control and less hassle all round.

Then, comes the issue of payment - how’s the buyer to pay for the book and how will the author, as the seller, receive the money?

Paypal, being one of the easiest and most popular merchants, Paypal, comes in. It’s really easy to set up an account. It’s free and the html codes are all fixed and ready for you to use. Indeed, if you just want to request payment and don’t have a website, then, you can even just send the buyer an email.

The problem comes when you want to withdraw your money. For people living in the US and the UK, this is really not an issue as you have bank accounts and Paypal will send the money directly into your account. Now, for our hypothetical author, who has no bank account, in the US, it’s really tough. Paypal starts by boasting that it can be used in over 190 countries. Look closer and you’ll read as follows:

For those living in the countries like the US, UK, Australia, Canada and so on, it is stated as follows: PayPal Localized Sites – Your Customized Total Payment Solution.
Thereafter, the field narrows down: For those living in India, Hong Kong and so on, these people can send and receive payments. They can withdraw from their Paypal account into their ‘in-country’ bank account or to a U.S. bank account.
For those Jamaica, Argentina and others, they withdraw their money to a U.S. bank account or request a cheque from Paypal.
For our unfortunate hypothetical author in Malaysia, he can only withdraw his money to a U.S. bank account.

At this stage, our hypothetical author has a website, loads of books but no way to accept payment. I found one company that helps authors like our hypothetical author – 2Checkout. There is a one time payment of U.S.49.00 and the transaction fees are 5.5% commission on each transaction, plus a $0.45 charge per transaction. There are additional Penalties and fees which you can read on their website. More importantly, for our hypothetical author, he can receive his money in four different ways:

EFT — Electronic Funds Transfer
Payoneer — The 2Checkout.com-branded Re-Loadable MasterCard® (powered by Payoneer) is the solution for vendors who wish to be able to accept EFTs in countries that do not offer the EFT service.
Wire Transfer — Monetary wires are not as quick as EFTs, although they are typically suggested for payments greater than $10,000 USD.
Paper Cheques — Cheques are manually printed from our 3rd-party processor and then mailed out to the address given by the author.

I’ve been using 2Checkout since I started the website and have never had a problem with them. If you feel that 2Checkout is for you, then here’s the link to their website where you can sign up for an account.

“Should I continue writing?”

2008-08-08T19:47:00.004+08:00

A week ago, I read an entry on a blog about a recently published book. As the author is a friend-of-a-friend, I contacted the author as I wanted to buy a copy of the book. He gladly offered me a copy but wanted something in return; when I asked for details, he said, “I want your honest opinion. I want to know if I should continue to write.” I was amazed that someone, who has had his manuscript accepted for publication by a reputable publisher, would even entertain such thoughts. It got me thinking. Does someone, other than the author himself, have the right to decide whether an author should continue writing or not?

For me, Neil Gaiman answers this question:... Everything is suddenly both obvious and surprising … and it’s magic and wonderful and strange. … Mostly it's a long hard walk. Sometimes it's a trudge through fog and you're scared you've lost your way and can't remember why you set out in the first place.
But sometimes you fly, and that pays for everything. http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2007/10/why-write.html

I’ve had my fair share of comments made about my writing. I’ve accepted the criticisms when they’ve been constructive. When they’ve been destructive, I’ve learned to grit my teeth, say nothing and watch what happens. Most of the time, the people who make these comments end up digging a huge hole, which they eventually fall into, and, thereafter, I need only show them compassion. And, when it’s all over, I’ve gone back to writing for nothing anyone says about me or my work would prevent me from wanting to experience that magic.

So, does someone have the right to tell you not to continue writing?

No way!

A Study in Red - The Secret Journal of Jack the Ripper

2008-03-31T15:49:00.006+08:00

The description of this book on Amazon.com reads as follows:

A Study in Red - The Secret Journal of Jack the Ripper by Brian L Porter tells the story of Robert Cavendish, a modern day psychiatrist who is bequeathed a strange set of papers which purport to be the journal of the long-dead infamous Whitechapel Murderer whose crimes gripped the hearts and minds and instilled terror on the streets of Victorian London. As he begins to read the journal, Robert becomes convinced of it's [sic] authenticity and finds that the words of the Ripper have a strange and compelling effect on him. Unable to cast the pages aside he finds himself being drawn into the dark and sinister world of the killer until he is unable to distinguish what is fact and what is fantasy. In short, Robert Cavendish begins to feel as though he is being taken over in some way by the soul of the long-dead Ripper. …

The cover design of this book is arresting and true enough, one does not have to read very far into the book before the fear sets in. However, it is not the kind of fear that will make you put the book away; instead, the author managed to sustain the interest of the reader to the very end.

I felt somewhat reprimanded when, some 25 or so pages into the novel, the author wrote:

How easy it would have been to skip straight to the end, to read my great-grandfather’s final notes, to see if the Ripper was identified, either by his own words, if true of by great-grandfather.

Indeed, had this ‘warning’ not been given, I might have been tempted to do exactly that! As it was, I behaved myself and read the book properly.

While I’ve heard of Jack the Ripper and seen some movie adaptations of the story, I never really delved into details of the life of this infamous person. So, I was fascinated to learn about him for this book - the period in time, the atmosphere, socio-economic strata of the people of London and the culture were all elements that were beautifully placed and described throughout the novel. What made this book special were these little details : Jack going to watch the stage play by Mr. Robert Louis Stevenson, ‘The Strange Tale of Dr Jekyll and Mister Hyde’ and, reference to Mr. Bazalgette.

I was grateful for the extensive research the author had clearly undertaken. That said, the quality of writing was such that reading the text was not overbearing but there was lightness of to the the arrangements and sentences; this made the tale a gripping read rather than a tedious one.

Although the main character, Robert Cavendish, was convincing, the character I liked most was, strangely, Jack the Ripper. While his deeds were vile and horrible, it was, above all, those human aspects of him – the neglected son, the dejected lover, the man who yearns for love – which endeared me to him. In the end, one almost feels sorry for Jack the Ripper. There is also the great grandfather, Dr. Cavendish, whose character was written with compassion in mind: his parental burden which, in the end, he discharged in the only way he knew how (I will not give you details here, as it’ll spoil the story).

Though the plot was plausible and the story flowed, I was a little perturbed by the way the tale ended. I would have preferred it had the words ‘Or … is it?’ been deleted. That sentence gave rise to the feeling that the author was merely playing around in telling me this story, almost trivialising the seriousness of what I had read.

Still, I would certainly offer this story to someone who has an interest in tales about Jack the Ripper. If there’s one thing I’ve learnt, it’s to have a new respect for Jack the Ripper.

***

To read the review on the website, please click here.

The Flight of the Swans by D. Devika Bai

2008-03-24T09:02:00.002+08:00

The Flight of the Swans is a work of literary fiction and is the author’s first book. On the cover of the book, the blurb states as follows:

The Flight of the Swans is a rich and fascinating family saga set in British India and Malaya. Cursed, and with blood on his hands, Captain Ramdas Rao Bhonlse is forced to free Killa Fort, which has fallen to the British. A strange flight of swans signals his flight from Killa; a flight that will drive Ramdas and his family into further adversity. But great adversity spawns great dreams.

Ramdas dreams of ousting the British from his motherland. His sons, the handsome and irascible Nilkanth and the plain and romantic Madhav dream of possessing the same girl, Tara Bai, who is the most beautiful courtesan in the land. And Ramdas’ granddaughter, blind Arundhati, dreams only of seeing one day. Woven into this tapestry is a lone white swan inextricably linked to the ebb and flow of the Bhonsles’ fortunes as they flee across India to Malaya.

The tale progresses along at a sedate pace but, just when you think you can predict what the end will be, the climax of the tale leaves the reader spell bound. It is a fitting end to a tale that has a central theme of family ties that bind. Ramdas’s strength of character is clearly evident when he is willing to risk all for his principles; in addition, his wife’s, reverence and obedience to her mother-in-law, Madhav’s love for his wife, Tara, and her own loyalty to her husband all show just how strong family bonds can be, how far parents will go to do the very best for their children and vice versa. Even Nilkanth, who is disappointed in love, ‘saves’ his parents when they face adversity.

Modern Malaysia faces the challenges of having multi-racial and multi-religious citizens. Sometimes, things get difficult and one does wonder whether there was ever a time when Malaysia’s people were happy. With this story, set at a time when there were many immigrants to Malaya, paints a picture of a land that was stunningly beautiful and whose inhabitants lived in harmony. There was much wealth to be shared, food for everyone and a sense of prevailing peace.

… She listened to Madhav with the curiosity and wonder of a child as he told her of the distant lands where forests kissed the sea, where palaces had golden tiles and ponds golden shores; where the people believed in fairies, spirits and dragons; and where the Tamils of Tamilakam and Klings of Kalinga met the natives, and merchants from far-off China and Arabia.
“What’s Suvarnabhumi?” Tara asked, fascinated by a name Madhav mentioned.
Madhav was only too glad to explain.
“It means Golden Land. A scholar told me it refers to a peninsula, across the eastern ocean, which centuries ago had rivers of gold.”
“And Kadahram? What does that mean?”
“It was a coastal city-kingdom in the peninsula. The Chola kings sent emissaries to Kadahram and all the other city-kingdoms in the land. But even before the Cholas, Indian merchants were carrying on a barter trade with the indigenous people there. They exchanged cloth, gems and beads fro gold and tin. Many of these merchants settled along the coast and married native women.”
“What were the natives called?”
“Malaiyur. That was ten centuries ago. History says they are now called ‘Malay’ and the peninsula ‘Malaya’.”
“Malaya. What a lovely name!...”

Being a retired teacher/school administrator, it is, I suppose, no surprise that the author has a very high command of the English language. There are many passages in this book which moved me but the two that I favour the most are these:

A soft breeze drizzled magnolia scent on Ramdas and Mukta. It fired their sensual mood. Soon, they were one, seeking the dizzying heights of their desire. And high above, the stars jostled for a better view and winked at each other, at the show of such raw passion below.

He looked deep into her eyes and gave her that intense smile that had so struck her the previous night.
At that instant, as he claimed her with his eyes, Tara knew she had found her ordinary man.

In a time when most stories are so depressing in the themes of sadness, anger, frustration that many authors choose to highlight, The Flight of the Swans is breath of fresh air. Indeed, the same themes are also analysed in this tale but, there is an air of lightness, joy and hope in it as well. It is what I would call a ‘Feel Good book’ and one I would highly recommend to those readers who would like another view of what Malaya was like.

***

To read the review on the website, please click here.

Contest - 100 Ways to Save Tax in Malaysia for Small Business

2008-03-20T20:25:00.004+08:00

Enter to win a copy of this book...

100 Ways to Save Tax in Malaysia for Small Business
Designed specially to cater for small businesses, whether sole proprietorships, partnerships or small companies, 100 Ways to Save Tax in Malaysia for Small Businesses has been prepared to give ideas and guidance on tax mitigation for business owners and the people who are responsible for looking after their affairs. The self-assessment tax regime puts considerable emphasis on the responsibility of individual taxpayers and those responsible for business tax returns to do the job right and do it on time if they are to stay away from unnecessary penalties and additional tax liabilities as well as the stress of challenges by way of tax audit. 100 Ways to Save Tax in Malaysia for Small Businesses is a book written not only to inform but also to help readers avoid some of these problems.

For more information, please click here.

To Have and to Hold by Philipp Blom

2008-03-07T12:14:00.006+08:00

In a nutshell, reading Philipp Blom's book is time well spent. At first, the sight of beetles and insects on its cover is not only disconcerting but also not at all appetising.

However the full title of the book, To Have and To Hold: An Intimate History of Collectors and Collecting, takes the reader inot the private world of people whose lives are so connected with the idea of collecting stuff that you're instantly hooked.

Start flicking through the pages and you need not go far before you encounter the first of many things that makes the book unique. The titles Blom gives his chapters are in themselves interesting, for example, 'Parliament of Monsters', 'An Ark Abducted' and 'Why Boling People is Wrong'.

The order in which her presents the chapters is cleverly structured to reveal the routes collectors take to explore their interest.

We begin with Blom's story about the three gentlemen he knew who had started him thinking about collectors and collecting. One of them collects books because he did not have much or a formal education in his youth. Now, he makes up for that by collecting and reading every book he can get his hands on.

Then, we are taken on a historical journey which involves the collection of mystical items and relics from a bygone ear. Next, there are strange plants, animals and insects to consider. Once nature has been 'conquered', we learnt about the collection of things human - organs, skulls and 'unnatural' people.

We turn next to what I like to call the hybrid between relics and humans - memorabilia of and from people who have become relics themselves. An example of this would be Napoleon Bonaparte's locks.

The book comes a full circle when Blom relates the story of another man who collects an enormous amount of books, manuscripts and anything at all in print.

It is obvious that lots of research has gone into this book. Moreover, what is astounding is the manner in which Blom has conveyed the intimate details of the collectors' lives, their problems, misfortunes, fortunes and idiosyncrasies and the era in which they live. He does it with such flair that the reader is bound to view this subject in new light. The language is simple and the message is conveyed effectively.

It is to Blom's credit that he is able to foresee the questions a reader may have and has inserted his answers where appropriate. For example, by the time one is more that halfway thought the book, one begins to ask, "Why on earth would someone collect deformed babies who were born dead or died soon after birth?" Blom answers by saying that the value of these collections lie in their usefulness, significance, meaning and association with the collector.

The reader will no doubt go through a gamut of emotions reading this book. How, indeed, is it not possible to laugh when reading this:

'... On leaving the Archangel the English party fired a salute with their ship's cannon, thanking their hosts for the hospitality they had received. One of the cannons was unfortunately loaded and ripped a large hole in a harbourside house, leaving the hosts 'gaping and in great perplexity'.'

In a chapter entitled The Exquisite Art of Dr. Ruysch, one cannot help but wonder how morbid a man the artist must be when his artwork, though beautiful, is made of things like a four-month-old foetus, minute kidney stones and intestines. There is also a demonstration of human cruelty when Blom writes about the eccentricity of one collector, Tsar Peter the Great:

'Peter was a voracious collector of ... natural oddities and freaks. His love of dwarfs and other freaks occasionally found expression in lavish and cruel festivities such as the marriage of the Royal Dwarf, Iakim Volkov, for which the tsar ordered dwarfs to be rounded up in Moscow and sent to St. Petersburg where they were shut up like cattle for several days and then received especially tailored clothes in which they had to celebrate Volkov's wedding as one large assembly of Lilliputians, while normal sized onlookers did little to stifle their laughter ...'

The illustrations in this book are clear and well-placed. Alas, there are no captions under any of these illustrations and at times, having to constantly refer to the beginning of the book for the title of a painting or sculpture and its origins can be most irksome.

All said and done, towards the end of the book, one realises that this is a serious study and Blom sums up by referring to the earlier-mentioned enormous collection of books and manuscripts: 'The sheer accumulation of books does not constitute a library. It is also their organisation, the ordering mind inhabiting and ruling them.'

Finally, he suggest that perhaps it is not wise to hold on to things. Still, this is one book I would not only like to read again, I will certainly hold on to it.

***

To read this review on the website, please click here.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

2008-02-14T10:23:00.007+08:00

If you have read my review of The Zahir, by the same author, you’ll know that I was meant to read this book first. Circumstances were such that I ended up reading this book second. Still, this was one book that seemed to be highly recommended by lots of other authors; for instance, there was a comment by Kenzaburo Oé, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature. Perhaps, it’s because I enjoyed The Zahir and had also heard so much about this author, I was expecting something more – something profound, new and exciting.

In my copy of the book, there is a plot summary provided, which reads as follows:

Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy, has a dream about finding a treasure in the Pyramids of Egypt. A gypsy woman and an old man claiming to be a mysterious king advise him to pursue it. “To realize one’s destiny is a person’s only obligation,” the old man tells him. “And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”

With the courage of an adventurer, Santiago sells his sheep and travels to Tangier in Africa. After a thief steals his money, Santiago takes a job with a crystal merchant who unwittingly teaches Santiago important lessons for his long journey ahead. After working at the crystal shop for a year, Santiago earns enough money to cover his losses and return home. But then something unexpected happens. On a desert caravan, Santiago meets and intriguing Englishman. The Englishman’s passions for knowledge and his relentless quest to uncover the secrets of the alchemy inspire Santiago to pursue his own dream of finding the treasure. As the Englishman searches for the two-hundred-year-old alchemist who resides in the desert oasis, Santiago falls in love with a young woman, Fatima. Exposed to the greatest and eternal alchemy of all – love – Santiago thinks he has found the treasure. But the greatest test of all is yet to come. With the help of the alchemist, Santiago completes the last leg of his journey – dangerous and infused with discoveries of the most profound kind – to find that the treasure he was looking for was waiting for him in the place where he least expected.

This story, timeless and entertaining, exotic yet simple, breaks down the journey we all take to find the most meaningful treasures in our lives into steps that are at once natural and magical. It is about the faith, power, and courage we all have within us to pursue the intricate path of a Personal Legend, a path chartered by the mysterious magnet of destiny but obscured by distractions. Santiago shows how along the way we learnt to trust our hearts, read the seemingly inconspicuous signs, and understand that as we look to fulfill a dream, it looks to find us just the same, if we let it.

The Alchemist can be read in one sitting. The language is not flowery and the message is simple – if you have a dream, pursue it. I enjoyed reading about the desert, the ways of the people there and their pursuits. However, I was not overly impressed with the depth of the tale. While most of the elements of storytelling were there, I found it hard to be spellbound by the tale.

I decided to read it from the beginnig. In the Introduction, the author says this:

What is a personal calling? It is God’s blessing, it is the path that God chose for you here on Earth. Whenever we do something that fills us with enthusiasm, we are following our legend. However, we don’t all have the courage to confront our own dream.

Why?

There are four obstacles: First: we are told from childhood onward that everything we want to do is impossible. … If we have the courage to disinter dream, we are then faced by the second obstacle: love. We know what we want to do, but are afraid of hurting those around us by abandoning everything in order to pursue our dream. …Once we have accepted that love is a stimulus, we come up against the third obstacle: fear of the defeats we will meet on the path. … Then comes the fourth obstacle: the fear of realizing the dream for which we fought all our lives.

… But if you believe yourself worthy of the thing you fought so hard to get, then you become an instrument of God, you help the Soul of the World, and you understand why you are here.

Only after reading this did I comprehend that maybe, the author's intention was to explain, in story form, his philosophy. If that was his intention, then I would say that he has has been successful in weaving these beliefs in his story.

This is a book that I would recommend to busy people – people who say, “But, I don’t have the time to read.” It is a book I would offer to someone who is looking for what his purpose on earth is, one who is searching for the meaning of life. I would not, I think, recommend it for someone who wants to be moved by the beauty of language. I enjoyed The Alchemist, yes, but I think it will be a long time before I read it again.

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck

2008-02-13T18:11:00.005+08:00

The Good Earth is a novel by Pearl S. Buck published in 1931. It was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel in 1932. The Good Earth is a story I’ve read over and over again.

In my copy of the book, Ms. Buck has written an Introduction. It is dated June 1949 and in part, explains why she wrote the book. It was the time when a new system of government was operational in China. But in the many pages, it is these words which struck me as most poignant:

I read many strange things today, many prophecies and passionate pleadings of what we must do to ‘save Chine’. I cannot be disturbed by those who do not know what Chine is. The Chinese people, too, are not disturbed. They remember the thousands of years.
Who shall say they are wrong? Who can say they are wrong when they understood life before we and our kind were born? If the world goes as it is going, they will continue long after we destroy ourselves to be saved.

Here is the plot of the tale, which I obtained from this website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Good_Earth

The story begins on Wang Lung’s wedding day and follows the rise and fall of his fortunes and his connection with the land. The land is a recurring theme throughout the novel, seemingly accepted and nurtured by the protagonists and rejected and ruined by the antagonists. … Wang Lung, through hard work and labour, slowly gains respect and dignity, while being financially secure. Wang Lung, along with his elderly father and new wife, O-Lan, fare relatively better than other farmers in the village. … However, when a devastating drought affects Wang Lung’s community, Wang Lung and his family flee to the Southern City to find work. When they are there, all of them, save Wang Lung’s father beg for food. … they live in abject poverty. Eventually, a riot occurs, and the mass of people break into the local wealthy family’s palace. Wang Lung encounters an obese … rich man who hasn’t managed to flee. The rich man is frantic, believing Wang Lung will kill him, and offers gold in exchange for his life. Wang Lung … reasons that the man is giving him the money, and that the money would return him to his land. Wang Lung takes all of the man’s gold and escapes the palace, taking the family north once more. … The wealth of the family is tied to the harvests of Wang Lung’s land, “the good earth.” … As Wang Lung becomes more prosperous and wealthy, the yearly flood covers all of his farm land, halting his and his servant’s farming activity. Wang Lung, finding himself restless and idle every day with no work to do, falls to the vices of the city: rich food and prostitutes. He buys a concubine named Lotus, who had placed a spell on him, and obsesses over her, forgetting O-Lan, his family, and the land. O-Lan, who remains humble and subservient to her husband, slowly deteriorates and becomes deathly ill. O-Lan dies, but not before witnessing her first son's wedding. … Wang Lung, now an old man, wants peace in his family, but there are always disputes, especially between his first and second sons. Wang Lung's third son runs away one day and joins the Communist revolution. … At the end of the novel, Wang Lung overhears his sons planning to sell the land he has worked his entire life, and makes a desperate, feeble argument to persuade them otherwise. They humour the old man with reassurances that they will do exactly as he wishes, but the sons seem determined to carry out their plan.

Each time I’ve read this book, I’ve experienced the same thing – it’s not what I experience when reading other books. With other good books, I’m drained of energy after reading the story. With The Good Earth, I’m not overly happy, nor am I overlay sad. I suppose you could say that I always feel in balance; as if, I were falling into the tale and yet, not so. There is a sense that I’m ‘gliding’ when reading this tale. I would certainly offer this book up to anyone who would like to learn the craft of storytelling in earnest. It has all the elements of storytelling and they’re all in the right place. A very good read.

***

To read this review on the website, and get details of publishers and the ISBN please click here.