#musicmonday: Make Room | Community Music

Here is where I lay it down 

Every burden every crown 

This is my surrender 

This is my surrender 

Here is where I lay it down 

Every lie and every doubt 

This is my surrender 

And I’ll make room for you 

To do whatever you want to 

Do whatever you want to 

Shake up the ground of all my tradition 

Breakdown the walls of all my religion 

Your way is better 

Your way is better 

Here is where I lay it down 

You are all I’m chasing now 

This is my surrender

---

CCLI #7122057 | Evelyn Heideriqui, Josh Farro, Lucas Cortazio, and Rebekah White © 2018 | Praise, Supplication, Surrender, Worship Mike Curb Music, FYWBTG Publishing, A New Song For A New Day Music, Father Of Lights Publishing

Join the #AmokNovel Cover Reveal and Release Tour!

OKAY okay okaaaayyyy.

So I'm finalising the cover and I'm SO EXCITED to share it with you! And I'd like to get you excited along with me!

If you'd like to join my cover reveal party and online launch tour, here's where you can sign up! 

In the meantime, check out Jiwosophy's website! 

#bookreview: KL Noir: Magic | edited by Deric Ee

KL NOIR: MAGIC by Deric Ee

I'll forgo the star rating on this one, mostly because it felt pretty evident that Noir is still not my thing, so I'd hardly give a fair rating.

There's a level of magical realism to most of the stories (hello, supernatural Malaysia) here that made the anthology more palatable to me as a whole than some of the earlier books in the KL Noir series. On the other hand, there's also a level of obliqueness to quite a few stories that makes for a rather overall 'eh' feeling for me.

As of now, here's a short list of stories I really enjoyed:
Dastar - Sukhbir Cheema - THIS!!! This is the one story I would read over and over again. I would probably recommend you buy this anthology just for this story.
The Radio - Lily Jamaludin - This was a great start to the book, actually. Simple, understated.
Tooth and Consequences - Terence Toh - lol Terence, as usual, starts off dark and grim and then goes in unexpected directions. (Looking forward to TOYOLS 'R' US)
Pontianak, Risen - Nadia Mikail
Jaga Diri, Jaga Hati - Hong Jinghann
We Are Young - Joshua Lim - I don't know if I really "enjoyed" this, but it did stand out.

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#musicmonday: Nothing Without You | Will Reagan, United Pursuit

 

When I am tired and weak

Lord, will you carry me?

And when I'm feeling low

Hold me close

When I am tired and weak

Lord, will you carry me?

When I am broken in two

Pull me through

#Flights2021 live tweet notes embed [closed 19/4]

Doing a mix of taking notes and tweeting, so am going to embed the start of my live tweets so I can find them again myself. 

It should be noted that these are my interpretations of what has been said (as processed and condensed at time of tweeting) & not verbatim notes. Hopefully, I do not misrepresent what any of them said! 

The Ingredients of a Breakthrough Short Story:

The Ingredients of a Breakthrough Short Story:
Mod: Coral Moore
Panel: Eliana Ugarte, Ande Dudak, Salik Shah, Valerie Valdes
Starting with intros and a short story they loved. #BreakthroughShorts #flights2021

— Anna Tan (@natzers) April 17, 2021

Publishing outside the US

Alright, next up is #PubOutsideUS with Darusha Wehm, Kat Clay, Zhui Ning Chang, Sascha Stronach.#Flights2021

— Anna Tan (@natzers) April 17, 2021

Beyond the Western Lens

#BeyondWesternLens is moderated by Phong Quan (PQ), with speakers Ng Yi-Sheng (NYS), Zhui Ning Chang (ZNC), and Yudhanjaya Wijeratne (YW).#Flights2021

— Anna Tan (@natzers) April 17, 2021

Short Stories are Not Baby Novels

May or may not be awake enough for Short Stories are Not Baby Novels with Jaymee Goh, Erin Roberts, Todd Sanders, Jose Pablo Iriarte and SB Divya in a couple of minutes. #NotBabyNovels #Flights2021

— Anna Tan (@natzers) April 17, 2021

Sensitivity Reading as Developmental Editing

Alright! Next is Sensitivity Reading as Developmental Editing which has a really long hashtag: #DevEditsAsSensitivityReads

Nicasio Reed (NR), Zhui Ning Chang (ZNC), Marlee Jane Ward (MJW), Yilin Wang (YW).#Flights2021

— Anna Tan (@natzers) April 18, 2021

How to Give and Receive Critiques Like the Best

And so my super super last #Flights2021 session is How to Give and Receive Critiques like the best, and I am up and awake and have had breakfast. #GoodCritique.
Mod: Cliff Winnig (CW)
Panel: Monte Lin (ML), Jane Funk (JF), Rashida Smith (RS)

— Anna Tan (@natzers) April 19, 2021

#bookreview: Of Kindness and Kilowatts | Susan Kaye Quinn

Of Kindness and Kilowatts by Susan Kaye Quinn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Ok, first up, I feel kind of mean that this is only a 3 star? But it is what it is. [It's a very personal-reason rating though, as in I liked it but not SUPER liked it mainly cos there was too much physics in it haha]

We're moving up the ladder in this series, where the problem of shady bosses in When You Had Power and nasty power outages in You Knew the Price have escalated to reach Southern California's Public Utilities Commissioner, Akemi Sato. Is this threat real? Or is the Regional Director going off the rails? In a pandemic? (Well, a new virus outbreak anyway.)

I feel like Of Kindness and Kilowatts suffers from "second book syndrome" (even though it's the third), where the strong buildup from the first two books have reached a bit of a plateau. There's a lot of physics in this one (which went a little over my head) and they make some cool (and disturbing) discoveries, but the tension isn't as high as the previous one, and it feels more plotty (idk if this is a word, but it now is). But you gotta get through this one to get to the final book, Yet You Cry When It Hurts!

Relationship wise, this one focuses on Akemi and his relationship with his estranged father, Dai - which again was personally not as relatable for me as the themes of found family and community were in the first two books.

Plus points: it has tea! <3

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from the author. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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The Nothing is Promised series:

#bookreview: Slow Brewing Tea | Randy Loubier

Slow Brewing Tea by Randy Loubier
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

80% of why I picked this up was the title; the other 20% was because well, it did sound intriguing.
To be honest, when I started reading, I wavered between "I hope he does it well" and "how terrible can this get?"

Loubier does quite well in the beginning. Itsuki's teachings start off mysterious and enticing, wrapped in Japanese sayings and Taoist words (I don't know how accurate this is) - though if you've been a long time Christian, it's obvious that it has a Christian source, no matter what other trappings are added to it. There's a tension in Isaiah's search for God - his reactions and anger come from a place of truth. I'm sure many who have been hurt by the church can relate.

As you proceed through the story, however, and Itsuki's teaching gets clearer and more explicit, the narrative itself starts to get just a little too preachy - especially during, you know, the expected conversion scene. (Is this a spoiler? It can't be a spoiler - it's key to every Christian fiction.) I suppose, as a pastor, Loubier didn't quite manage to stop from sermonising just a little. It IS, however, a story about coming to faith - so it's not anything unexpected or anything that might blindside you.

I suppose if you like a little dose of apologetics with your fiction, this is the sort of thing that you'll like. I think it will appeal more to those who are already Christians or people who are struggling with faith & the church. It was just a tad to slow (lol) and on-the-nose for me to truly enjoy it.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

View all my reviews