Artist interview: Josh Yeoh!

Hope, Coffee, And Melody by Barb Ver Sluis

Taking a page off the interwebs, I'm doing an artist interview with Josh Yeoh in line with the launch of his worship album, In That Day, today!

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So, questions, questions, questions!

This album, In That Day, seems to have sprung to us from out of nowhere, along the lines of *khazam! An album appears!* Can you give us the low down on how it came about?
Technically, I've wanted to do a worship album even before my first album. I just never felt it was the right time. And then right after the 168 Hours of Prayer this year, I got the "green light" from the Man Upstairs. Which was ridiculous, because it was also when I was the busiest. But I knew it was Him, and even when He said it'd be done in November (which is ridiculous... I say that a lot, don't I?), I knew that it would be a testimony about His strength being perfected in weakness. So yeah, it's been something that's on my heart for a long time, but it only just kind of came together in the past three months.


How does the recording of In That Day compare to Is Anyone Out There?
I thought about how to describe it because I don't want you to think that one is more or less personal than the other; they are both deeply dear and personal to me. So this is how I think I'll describe the difference. It's like if you had two blogs -- one for random "this is what is going on in my life" type entries that people are welcome to read and they might really be impacted or learn something from it, but the main focus was really just what you were going through. That would be "Is Anyone Out There?". Then the other type of blog where you have a message burning on your heart and you write passionately about it and people who read it are impacted not so much by your personal experiences, but what you are saying as a result of those experiences and what you are learning combined. That's "In That Day". :)

You mentioned in your e-mail update that things were getting a bit crazy towards the end - what kept you going through it all?
Prayer. Seriously. And people stepping up to say, "Hey Josh, don't go crazy, let me help organize your life for you". That and caffeine. Caffe Laffare.

Describe the theme of your whole album in one word. :)
Revelation.

Which was the most difficult song to write? And which was the easiest?
If degrees of difficulty were measured by hours, then "Prepare The Way" would be the most difficult, simply because it started when I was 16. I have a fun story about that, you'll have to ask me next time. :) And the easiest would be "The Bridegroom King", which wrote itself in less than five minutes. I think I edited one word.

Describe yourself in three words.
Friend of Bridegroom. (You didn't say it had to be grammatically correct)

When is the next time you're going to update your blog? Will it be sometime in the next decade? *evil grin*
Have you been on my website? I totally wrote a blog there! It's ominously reminiscent of the blog entry I wrote when I tried to restart my other blog. And the other one. And the other one. But thankfully, this time, I think I have a plan of action.

Who's your favourite songwriter and why?
Oh no. I hate these types of questions. It's so restrictive. Can I pick two? That's already asking a lot! I like Phil Wickham and Brooke Fraser, although they both write pretty differently. But I like them for the same reasons: the way they marry text, tune and theology.

Tell us how and why you started writing songs.
I think the first song I ever wrote was for Teacher's Day when I was 10. I, unfortunately, still remember parts of the song. So I started writing out of necessity? :) I guess that's somewhat true. Why did YOU start writing, Anna Tan? [not answering that, nope!]

Any words of advice to aspiring songwriters out there?
Don't say "God gave me this song" and then refuse to edit. Songwriting is a craft. It's partnering with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and it's good stewardship to learn how to write good songs. I'm constantly learning. I just discovered I really like using internal rhyme. That and... don't stop writing. You never know how a song you wrote over 10 years ago and thought wasn't much good would come back and become the opening song of your second album. :)

Thanks, Anna!

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Alright - so if you're free tonight, drop by at Excel Point Community Church (EPCC) at 7:00pm for his album release performance together with the Saturday Night Live (SNL) service. 
2-2-15, Pekaka Square, Lebuh Pekaka Satu, 11700 Sg. Dua, Penang, Malaysia

Other album release performances:
17 Dec (Sat) 8pm @ Fettes Park Baptist Church (FPBC) (15 Jalan Meranti,11200 Tanjung Bungah, Penang)
18 Dec (Sun) 8pm @ FGA Centre Air Itam (10, Jalan Air Itam, Mukim 16 Air Itam, 11500 Penang)

Working on a run sheet

I've been working on a run sheet for Project Dance.
It's still messy.
Maybe Pin & Mace have set the standard too high. I mean, how do you compete with things like this?

And it wasn't just one... there were several. I'm just doing one.
You can probably judge the level of difficulty and the level of expectation to get a job done by my level of procrastination. The higher the first two are, the higher the procrastination.
Got to get this baby done.
Project Dance starts Friday.

P/S I'm switching back to the new blogger UI. This may or may not mess up the Intense Debate commenting system again. If you face any problems, please tweet me @ natzers. Thanks! <3

Upcoming album launch: IN THAT DAY by Josh Yeoh

Okay... so I'm pretty excited about this coming album launch. =)
I've known Joshua since we were little tots, or more like babies. I was trying to find the photo of us as babies... I thought it was on facebook, but apparently not anymore. Here's an entertaining picture of us anyways (him at least):

Back (L-R): Joshua, Francis
Sitting (L-R): Ee Laine, Yuin-Y, Me!

Oh wait, I found it.

L-R: Uncle Darren & Charis, Uncle Keat Cheong & Joshua, Uncle Heok Hee & Esther, Uncle Lye Hin & Timothy, my dad and me.

WAY back, right?
I could go through a gazillion things we've done together, but I won't. I've already written about it for his birthday post here. I'm really blessed to be his friend and it's really awesome to see what God is doing in his life. I'm jealous! (Ah, another post for another day)

Back to the topic at hand, in that day releases Dec 10 - which is this Saturday! 

Josh's sophomore project introduces 13 songs, all birthed in the Prayer Room, "In That Day" is a worship album that centers on the revelation of Jesus as Bridegroom, King and Judge. The album features well-loved tracks from Josh like "Where You Are" and "Desire Of Every Nation", and many new and original songs that will usher you into His presence and ignite a deeper longing for the Day when we see Him face to face.

Check out the previews here and here and see you at the concert(s)!

MORE INFO

Website: www.JoshuaOneEight.com

"Like" on Facebook for updates: www.fb.com/JoshYeohMusic

Follow on twitter: @yeohjo

Email: info [at] JoshuaOneEight [dot] com

p/s: I'm thinking of doing an interview, but I don't know what to ask. If you have any questions you're dying to ask him, let me know! E-mail me at natanna [at] gmail [dot] com. Will try to get this up by this Sat! (Assuming he entertains my questions).

p.p/s: The video announcement says that the digital release should be yesterday (12/5), but up to the time of posting, the bandcamp link still says it's blank. I'm assuming it's a timing glitch (USA vs the rest of the world) but will check and find out![edit: link is working!]

My thoughts on a month of hard writing

This year's nanowrimo was a great success - I actually reached 50K words by Nov 30! *confetti*
The story is far from completion though. It's going to need a major ton of revision to get this monster anywhere near something I would even let a beta/critique partner read (I don't have one yet, but you get the drift).

A quick review of a month of writing:

1. I write better and faster when I've been stewing over a scene for a few days. It's also more defined as I would have gone through several variations of the scene before writing it down.
2. With reference to point 1, I am very indecisive. One of the major pains to edit this monster is the fact that I changed my mind over some major plot points a few times throughout November and as I was pushing to get the words out (no edits, remember?) there are some very huge plot holes and jumps/shifts in between scenes/chapters. I even have chapters marked "stuff I hate", "revise this to new plotline" and "this does not fit in the story". Ugh indeed.
3. Writing 1,667 words generally takes between 1 - 2 hours, unless I am distracted by twitter and facebook and blog surfing, in which it probably takes 5 hours. I really need to stop distracting myself.
4. It is possible, by really pushing myself, to write up to 9K words a day. I think it was almost 10K, but some of it crossed the midnight line. Yea, so approximately 9K. But that was doing nothing else but write and eat. I'm not sure if that is a feasible option unless I resign and take up writing full time. OR if I decide to take leave for specific writing stints (only worth it if I already have a good plot, structure and world already drafted).
5. It is never a good idea to reward myself for finishing a chapter/scene by reading just one chapter of a book. The one chapter often becomes two, then three, then the whole book. Not a good idea when you're working on a deadline.
6. Dialogue is still my strongest point, I think, or at the least the easiest for me to write. I don't struggle half as much with writing a conversation between the characters than coming up with suitable narrative to explain something or to get them from point A to point B. This comes to the thought - maybe I should concentrate on my script-writing first instead of pushing for a novel.
7. World building is tough. There are so many finer points to think of that my brain can't handle (see point 2). It does get rather confusing when in one scene you create a world almost medieval in nature because that was how the idea came to you but in the next scene, because of some key piece of technology that you thought was necessary to the plot it seemed positively modern. Throw in magic into the mix and you have to figure out what kind of magic it is, how it works, how it can or cannot be used, how the characters learn to use it. Language and names also become a bit of an issue. Yes, so all that needs to be predefined before writing the story, not while it is being written.
8. Talking to someone about the story, the plot, the problems and the ideas is very useful. I managed to catch up with an old school friend before catching Az Samad's performance at China House, and just talking about it helped me to realise more problems with the story, as well as some tentative solutions.

Alright, so I'm giving myself a break from writing in December, during which I'm participating in Novel Publicity's Blog Tour promoting three new authors, so watch this space for reviews! Edits will probably start in February (after the craziness that is called January Deadlines) for an older story, not this one.
I'll also be cracking my brain for some ideas for the upcoming East Asia Graduates Conference (EAGC) happening in Malaysia in 2013 - want to get a tentative timeline for publicity as well as draft format for the website and blog in writing by the end of this year. Argh.
ALSO, Project Dance happens in Penang this weekend (9-11 Dec) and I've been busy getting things up in the blog, tweaking the budget (it's in the black, yay!) and thinking of other miscellaneous things at the oddest of times. If you happen to be in Penang this Sunday, drop by at Queensbay Mall from 1pm to 5pm to catch our free performances. :)

And FINALLY, a very good friend is releasing his sophomore album this weekend! Congrats, Josh! More on that in the next post...

#nanowrimo: I did it!

*does jiggly wiggly dance*
Am not quite coherent right now, so I shall leave you to stare at the beauty of my cert.
Will be flying down to Kuala Lumpur tomorrow on the 7am flight so I will have to be up by 5. URGH.

A short #nanowrimo update, and back to writing

I have 3 more days to write my remaining 20K words for nanowrimo.
I'm crazy to even think I want to try, but I think I will, just to see if I can.
See, I figure, with write or die I make about 500 words in 15 minutes. Which is 2,000 words an hour. But this is virtually impossible, because after 15 minutes of straight writing, my mind wanders. And then I need a 10 minute break to surf the internet (talk about self-control & self-discipline issues!)
So this means I can write about 1,000 words an hour (on a good stretch), give or take maybe 100 or so on either side depending on if I'm on a roll or if I'm just pushing through a scene. Which means I need 20 hours to meet the 20K. (The math is right? I may be an auditor but my mental math sucks. Would you believe I still count my change on my fingers?)
The upside of this is that I had originally take leave from work for project dance (and to be lazy) from this week onwards... the downside of which is I have to cancel one day's leave tomorrow to meet a deadline, but that's still TWO WHOLE DAYS OFF WORK.
And see, I usually spend 12 hours a day staring at a computer screen at work ANYWAY, so spending 20 hours over two days staring at computer screen to FINISH THIS NOVEL isn't going to be much different from what I always do.
And yes, that was me pep-talking myself.
It's 10AM and I have 19K to go.
See you Wednesday.
(I really should start a writing label/tag that says "I am crazy")

[edit 12.07AM, 11/29/11: Reached about 40K by midnight and am crazily impressed with myself. Would have gotten more done if I didn't get distracted following new twitter accounts and blogs after dinner.]

And where is your faith?

[edit: you should read this with the playlist.]

Sometimes I wonder where my faith lies in all this. This pursuit of a better sentence; of words that tug at your heart and try to build; this story that is bursting forth in mouldy rags.

Because somewhere along the way, the tangible presence became an intangible longing, and the intangible prize reached out its arms and masqueraded as the real thing. Ah, it is easier to destroy with a word than to build with a tome. And yet sometimes behind the stories are the kernels of truths, half-forgotten.

I need You, because without You all this is empty. And the longing shows in the depth of it all, because I am shallow. I skim the surface, looking for the emotions that shore me up, lift me up, forgetting the roots that dig deep into the refreshing fountains that never end. Forgetting the foundation that brought me here in the first place.

All of my life, in every season
You are still God, I have a reason
To sing, I have a reason to worship
Desert Song - Hillsong

Still You stay behind the scenes, working unseen the untold stories, playing out the hidden dramas, drawing forth the silent songs. And there is that core that says, return. It calls, drawing me, pushing me, saying there is more. Have you forgotten? These eyes have forgotten heaven in its splendour. majesty in the flesh.

Our God is greater
Our God is stronger
God you are higher than any other
Our God - Chris Tomlin

And strength cloaked in weakness bids me come again, to cry out because I cannot. Because my heart is weak; my knees, they knock; my hands, they shake. And again this dream is too big for me to hold, this mystery too vast for me to comprehend, this longing too overwhelming for me to bear. And I need You. And You are there.

So we cry out Your Name, El Shaddai, God of grace
We rely on Your grace, Adonai, crowned in praise
We Cry Out - Gateway Worship (excerpted)

And oh, the depth of this love, so easily forgotten, so easily discarded. Yet it beats; it pounds; it grasps. It never lets go. You never. let. go. And You spur us on, deeper in, higher up, further onwards, to Narnia and the north, to where the unseen realm meets reality, blended in magic and fire and glory and majesty, driven by the Great Myth.

We are His portion and He is our prize
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes
If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking
So Heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets
When I think about, the way
And oh, how He loves us so
Oh how He loves us
How He loves us all
How He loves - David Crowder Band

Still. all. you. are. Breathe. deep. Remember.

Jesus, Your Name is Power
Breath, and Living Water
Such a marvellous mystery
Revelation Song - Kari Jobe & Gateway Worship

And all He is is all we are and all we are is all of His. And round it goes, the serpent that swallows it's tail in an endless ellipse. And where is your faith in the midst of it all?
Hidden.
In the depths.
Of who you are.
Of who you have forgotten.
Of who you long to be again.

The God I know
Your heart beats within me
As You are, so are we
The God I know - City Harvest Church

Wonderfully generous writers

Over the year as I've participated in various blogfests, notably the Rachael Harrie's Third Writers' Platform Building Campaign, Rule of Three (#REN3 or Renaissance) and the A to Z blog challenge in April, through twitter and through my Triberr group (Writer Warriors!), I've come to know quite a few very awesome writer people on the interwebs. One thing that really astonishes me is how remarkably generous they are. Here's some of them:

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The first plug I'm going to make is somewhat personal. After all, my stories are on it. Katharina Gerlach has compiled a total of 176 stories from 81 different writers from the Third Writers' Platform Building Campaign (with our permissions, of course) and is offering it as a compilation titled Campaigner Challenges 2011.

To quote Cat in her own words,:

I "stumbled over" an eleven year old boy who taught me how much can be achieved by doing small steps every day persistently. His name was Harry Moseley, and he passed away peacefully in his mother’s arms on Saturday 8 October 2011 at 11.10pm. The most amazing thing about Harry (in case you haven’t heard yet) is that he single handedly raised over £85,000 (that’s roughly 137,000 USD) for brain cancer research by fund-raising and selling hand-made bracelets. Awed by this boy who looked death in the eye but who was determined to enjoy every day, I decided to raise funds for people in need too.

All proceeds from the sales of the book will go to Help Harry Help Others to fund more research on Brain Cancer. The ebook is currently available on Smashwords and Amazon at USD2.99 each.


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I haven't personally read Raine's books yet, but I met her through Triberr and have I've been following her blog. This month she's introduced the Raine Gives Back programme where 5% of all her monthly book earnings will be given to a charity of the month. If you're interested in fantasy/romance stories consider getting her books, the Saraquel Trilogy.

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Lisa Vooght from Flash Fiction posted about the With Love anthologies here.

The With Love Project was crafted by a small group of talented artists and authors, that donates to Doctors Without Borders. This project helps and supports Doctors Without Borders, donating enough money from the project to aide in providing vaccinations, support resources and AIDS medicine to those who couldn’t otherwise provide for themselves. The money is allocated for the various needs by Doctors Without Borders.

There are currently three books on offer - With Love, Dawn of Indie Romance and After Dark. Li has offered some snippets on her blog to promote the latest book, After Dark, and they are good. Of course, with Li in the mix, it has to be good. :)  It's currently on my to-buy list. Maybe it should be on yours too.

After Dark is available on Smashwords and Amazon.

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The next one isn't quite a book plug. I met Carol through the #amwritingparty hashtag on twitter. I don't think the hashtag is still going - the last time I check it seemed to be pretty dormant. Anyway, she is going on a medical mission to Haiti with Mission Haiti Medical and is raising funds from for the trip.

As part of this mission, all serving are required to get immunizations and raise enough to cover our plane tickets and stay in the meager accommodations as well as money for RX meds and supplies for the mission. Additionally, we're expected to bring as much over-the-counter medicine as we can carry...if you can spare even a dollar, less than the cost of a cup of coffee, that's a box of children's vitamins from the dollar store--at minimum. Because we also have pharmaceutical connections and can purchase RX drugs and supplies at cost, so that $20 can support the medical needs of something like 60 Haitians for over a month. 

Do give if you can. I just did.

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#nanowrimo update and a #fridayflash

And this is how you stagnate:



A 5-day vacation followed immediately be 3 deadlines (one submitted, two to come) is the root cause. I don't know how it's going to work out, especially since I've been hitting some snags plot wise. But at any rate, since I'm at it, I'll give you the initial short story I wrote that started off the whole idea in the first place. Maybe it should have remained a short story (but probably more developed) than this mess of a novel it is trying to become. I'm still wondering if I should work on a short story for the Commonwealth competition.

Urgh. I need more than 24 hours in a day. Or probably at least learn how to survive (and function) on less than 6 hours of sleep.

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Shell was left alone. He had the urge to laugh hysterically, the ridiculous image of the one time he had argued with his teacher in school and had been punished to stand in the corner of the room wearing the dunce cap arising in his mind’s eye. He gulped it down, reminding himself of the vast difference in circumstances.

His hands were tightly bound before him, a length of chain that looped through his collar holding them waist level. Twisting his head to the left and up, he saw that the end of the leash had been tied to a metal ring in the wall. Not as if he could move it anyway, there was some kind of magic in the bonds that prevented his fingers from untying them. He shifted his weight on to his left foot, the brand on his right sole was aching again.

He stiffened as the door opened. The tall, blond princess entered, coming to a stop before him. Kest snapped her fingers and a goblet rose from the side table, floating gently into her hand. She sipped slowly, her eyes still focused on Shell.

“What magic is it that you have?” she asked, her voice low and throaty.

“M… Magic, Yo… Your Highness?” Shell’s wide eyes were still staring at the goblet. “I… I’m just a m… musician.”

Her long fingers pinched at her lower lip, her eyes narrowing. “Musician! Pah! You think you can sooth my father with mere music? There is magic in the tunes that you play.”

“Maybe it… it’s in the instruments, Your Highness. I… I don’t know any m… magic.”

“In that old harp they chain you to? It’s been there for the last fifty years, soaking up the blood of each musician that has displeased my father. Most of them last for only a day or two. You’ve been here for nearly a month. And yet I wonder why I never noticed you earlier. You, who dare perform magic in my courts.”

He was shaking now, shrinking back into the corner, sure that his end had come.

“I… I didn’t mean to, Your H… Highness. It was… was a mistake. I…”

She laughed as he fell on his face.

“P… Please don’t kill me! I… I won’t do it anymore.”

“Don’t do it anymore.”

Shell couldn’t tell if it was a question, or a statement. “No… no, I…”

“Do you have a death wish then?”

Her voice had moved. Shell sneaked a peek up to see that the princess was now reclining on her couch.

“Come here, boy.”

He glanced up at the wall to see the leash untying itself. He swallowed hard as he crawled toward her, hampered by his bonds.

There was amusement in her voice as she said, “You may rise.”

With a nod, he got to his feet, walking as best as he could in the short length of chain that connected his ankles.

“The shoes, please. Put them by the door.”

“As you wish, Your Highness.”

He worked at the many laces that held the high boots together, but it seemed that as he got each one untied, somewhere else his work was undone. The knot in the pit of his stomach grew bigger with each passing moment, beads of sweat rising on his forehead. And yet the princess didn’t speak. He didn’t dare turn to look at her, wondering in the back of his mind if this was some strange game she was playing, a prelude to his torture and execution.

He grit his teeth as he worked on, determined not to give in.

“What is your name?”

He startled at her words, his fingers fumbling. “Shell, Your Highness.”

“Relax, Shell. Close your eyes and imagine the knots in your mind. Can you see the centre? Play it like your harp.”

Shell closed his eyes and tried to think, the image of his own grisly death intruding into his thoughts. And yet even as his eyes shut off the light, his fingers seemed to find their own way in the darkness of his mind. A gentle touch here, a tug on that end, a pull, a push. He blinked as the boots slid easily off her feet into his hands. He wobbled to his feet.

“Never mind about that,” the princess flicked her fingers and the boots flew away of their own accord. “Come here.”

He sat where she had gestured, pulling his knees to his chest.

Her eyes, level to his from where she reclined, scrutinised his face.

“So strong, and yet so unaware. Do you know that even my apprentice has yet to reach the magical strength required to remove my boots? And you do it on your first attempt.”

“Please, Your Highness, I won’t…”

“You won’t what? Do magic anymore? You can’t help it, boy. It’s in you. And if you stop, if your music ceases to please my father, you’re as good as dead. No. I could use you.”

She stopped pulling at her lower lip, seeming to come to a decision. “Come along then,” she said as she got up. She strode to the door. Shell gaped as the boots laced themselves around her feet. The leash tugged at him and he hobbled along behind her. 

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Competitions: #REN3 and Commonwealth

If you haven't already visited the Renaissance blog... go now!
The shortlist of 6 has been up since Sunday, and you have two more days to vote for your favourite story. The poll will close at 11.59PM GMT on Friday 11th November, and the winner of the blogfest will be announced on Monday 14th November!
I'm kind of sad that I didn't make the list, but all the stories were so awesome that it doesn't really matter. :)

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So maybe I'm slow-ish, but I just found out that Commonwealth Writers is holding two competitions:

Commonwealth book prize
Awarded for best first book, this prize is open to writers who have had their first novel (full length work of fiction) published between 1 January and 31 December 2011. Publishers must enter the book on behalf of the author except in the case of self published authors from eligible regions who can make their own submission. Regional winners receive £2,500 and the overall winner receives £10,000.
Entry forms must be submitted no later than Friday 9 December 2011 (5pm GMT). Books must be received by the Prize Administrator no later than Friday 16 December 2011 (5pm GMT).

Commonwealth short story prize
Awarded for the best piece of unpublished short fiction (2000 – 5000 words). Submissions must be made by the author of the short story. Regional winners receive £1,000 and the overall winner receives £5,000.
Entry forms must be submitted no later than 30 November 2011 (5pm GMT). 

So head on over if you're eligible! 

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Nanowrimo progress since the last update: 0.
:(

Nano Spotlight at Kelworth Files

Today I'm over at Chris's blog, the Kelworth Files for his Nano Spotlight, where he asks me 4 Nanowrimo-related questions and a sneaky ninja question.
Do pop on over!

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Nanowrimo update:
I've crossed the 10K line and am pretty much on target up until yesterday. Today, I may have to work late (nothing unusual) in order to be able to leave work early-ish tomorrow (which to an auditor means after the official working hours of 5.30pm, but before 8pm) because a friend of mine is helping a friend of his do a video commercial shoot and asked if I wanted to help out. So maybe no additional words today.
Or for the rest of this week, depending on how much sleep I actually need.
My dad is graduating with his Masters this weekend so there is a graduation dinner on Thursday followed by the graduation ceremony on Friday and on Saturday, my family and I fly off to the exotic Land Below the Wind (I think?) of Kota Kinabalu. (That's located on the Malaysian Borneo, if you're checking).

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But I had a blog post I wanted to do up on Sunday, which I haven't but which I might. We'll see.

The #nanowrimo update

It's four days into #nanowrimo (well, five, if you count the fact that it's already past midnight) and I've achieved a grand total of 5,529 words. Which is not bad, since I didn't write anything on Thursday at all. (Day 4's goal was 6,666 words)

I was hoping to be something of a plotter this year, seeing that I had a story arch and all, but right now... I'm not following the plan.
I had organised the story into two parts - the first part explores Shell's prophecy, his feelings of disparateness with his own country/race and how he was captured by the Danyans. The second part jumps forward about 15 years. Shell has found his niche in the Danyan society and is one of the cream magicians (main thought: echoes of Daniel in the Bible). Then he is ordered to lead a strike against his own country. His family, what's left of it, is still there. The main thought I'm playing with at the moment is the idea of loyalty to your country. How far and how deep does it run if you've left it for so long? If you've never felt like you belonged there? Will Shell have any qualms about the attack or would he just do it?

I got stuck on Day 1 and 2 because I just couldn't get a beginning out as I had envisioned. I mean, I had this whole Chapter One is going to introduce the MC, Chapter Two is going to play up on the MC's interaction with his family/society, etc.... but I just couldn't write it.
So about 3K words into the beginning, I gave up.Today I jumped right into what I figured would be the "Part 2" of the story and wrote 2.2K words in about 2 and a half hours.
Maybe I will still write Part 1... but we'll see. If I can't find enough energy to be intersted in writing it, it probably won't be very interesting to read it either. Maybe I need to keep on writing this "meaty" Part 2 stuff first to know more about Shell before I go back into that bit.

So I guess I'm still partially a panster.

Toodles off to do a bit of championing. :)

George Town Literary Festival 26&27 November 2011

GAH! I am on duty in church on this weekend!

It's the Open Minds virtual launch party!

Open Minds is finally launching today!
So as part of the party, I'm posting my review of the book. *throws confetti*
Special thanks to Susan for the e-ARC of the book.

In a world where the ability to read minds comes with puberty, Kira Moore is still a zero at sixteen. She can’t read minds and no one can read hers, making her the outcast with no viable future whom nobody trusts or likes. As a zero, not only does Kira have to deal with the normal pains of growing up, raging hormones and all, she also has to deal with being an outcast just because she is different.

Then the incredible happens - she accidentally controls her best friend (and secret crush) Raf’s mind, almost killing him. Desperately trying to get a hold on her new mindjacking power, the only one who seems to be able to help her is bad boy Simon Zagan. Even as she is pulled into his orbit and dragged deep into the hidden world of mindjackers, it gets both harder and easier to fit in - because now she can pretend to be like the others, but at what cost?





Quinn has written a brilliant post about her theme, quoted here:

The idea of tolerance (or the lack of it) is a compelling one for me. The human brain is wired to distrust the "other" - to be wary or outright hate those who are different. This is the wolf of hate, that Rick Hanson spoke of so eloquently. It takes conscious acts of courage and open mindedness to overcome this natural tendency to fear people who are different, to feed our wolf of love instead of the wolf of hate. While racial intolerance has a tremendous impact on the world, I think of tolerance as a broader issue that affects interactions between all kinds of people. Even small acts of open mindedness can have a huge impact on the people both giving and receiving.

• Open minds treat you with respect, instead of snubbing you for being too strange or too new or too foreign or too shy.
• Open minds are compassionate, giving you a hand up when you are down, instead of pretending they don't see your pain or piling on when the pack attacks.
• Open minds accept you, treating you like the flawed, unique, wonderful person that you are, instead of judging you by your looks, skin color, or accent.

I love Kira’s voice in the book, which draws you into her internal dilemma even as she tries to figure out how to survive in a world that thinks her a freak. I love the way she tries to hold on to her principles and to stand up for what is right, even when it makes life even more difficult for her. I believe that the world needs more positive examples who will stand up and fight for justice and truth - and Kira Moore is one of them.

All in all, a great read.

Other miscellaneous tidbits:

• Open Minds was started as a NaNoWriMo novel (yay for NaNoWriMo!) two years ago
• Closed Hearts, the coming sequel to Open Minds, will be written during NaNoWriMo this year
• Kira, in Malay, means count. In a bizarre way, I think the name is very apt. Kira is trying very hard to make her life, and the lives of other young mindjackers and zeros count. 

 

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PRIZES!

Susan Kaye Quinn is giving away an Open Books/Open Minds t-shirt, mug, and some fun wristbands to celebrate the Virtual Launch Party of Open Minds (Book One of the Mindjack Trilogy)! (Check out the prizes here.)


Three ways to enter (you can have multiple entries):

1) Leave a comment here or at the Virtual Launch Party post

2) Tweet (with tag #keepingOPENMINDS)

Example: When everyone reads minds, a secret is a dangerous thing to keep. #keepingOPENMINDS @susankayequinn #SF #YA avail NOW http://bit.ly/SKQOpenMinds

Example: Celebrate the launch of OPEN MINDS by @susankayequinn #keepingOPENMINDS #SciFi #paranormal #YA avail NOW http://bit.ly/SKQOpenMinds
3) Facebook (tag @AuthorSusanKayeQuinn)

Example: Celebrate the launch of paranormal/SF novel OPEN MINDS by @AuthorSusanKayeQuinn for a chance to win Open Books/Open Minds prizes! http://bit.ly/SKQOpenMinds







*********************************************************************

When everyone reads minds, a secret is a dangerous thing to keep.

Sixteen-year-old Kira Moore is a zero, someone who can’t read thoughts or be read by others. Zeros are outcasts who can’t be trusted, leaving her no chance with Raf, a regular mindreader and the best friend she secretly loves. When she accidentally controls Raf’s mind and nearly kills him, Kira tries to hide her frightening new ability from her family and an increasingly suspicious Raf. But lies tangle around her, and she’s dragged deep into a hidden world of mindjackers, where having to mind control everyone she loves is just the beginning of the deadly choices before her.

Open Minds (Book One of the Mindjack Trilogy) by Susan Kaye Quinn is available in e-book (Amazon US (also UK, France and Germany), Barnes & Noble, Smashwords) and print (Amazon, Createspace, also autographed copies available from the author).

********************************************************************

Nanowrimo... coming soon!

So... I've decided to make another attempt at nanowrimo, only because I actually have a story.
And by that, I mean that I have characters (five of them so far) and I have a story arch, and I have a beginning, and I have an ending (I think. It might change as it goes), and I have something of a muddly idea of a middle. So that, I hope, is going to make it just that little bit more easier to keep going after last year's fiasco.

To be fair, I had a great idea last year. I actually was on target up to about somewhere in the second week. And then it happened. I realised that I just didn't know enough of about what I was trying to write about. I just couldn't continue writing after that. Sigh. Don't worry though, that story is still in the pipeline... I will get back to it when I feel that I know enough! (Also, when I have time to go and research).

This year's story... will not face that problem because I am writing what I love to read the most. Fantasy. I don't think it's going to be quite under the epic category (I'm not sure what fits there) but it's gonna be an exciting adventurous story and if I get stuck... I'll just re-read a favourite for inspiration! The thing that is going to be a challenge though is this whole world-building thing. I suck at it. I suck at making decisions as to why this should happen and why it should not. What kind of magical structure it should be? Mysterious or rule-based? Inherent or learnt? (I'm leaning towards inherent)
Argh, and this whole plotting thing? Sigh. I'm so seriously a panster. Then again, who knows? I might find that it's easier to write with all this background and structure in place. We'll see.



At any rate, Sommer Leigh is inviting YOU to be a NaNoWriMo champion. 

What does that mean? 
It means even if you aren't going to join in the fun, you'll be standing by the sidelines and cheering us on.
How do I do that?
Simple. See that linky list down there? Take a few minutes of your time to visit each of those blogs and leave and encouraging comment - ESPECIALLY on posts that sound something like this: "MY NOVEL SUCKS SO MUCH I'M GOING TO GIVE UP!"
What if I'm taking part?
If you're taking part, add your name and link to the list! And don't forget to pop by at your fellow wrimos blogs and leave sparkly writer dust! Add them to your buddy list so that their wordcounts can cheer you on! (I'm natanna at the site) Most of all, have fun. Write fast. Write with abandon. You have the rest of the year to edit. Just get those words out.
(Also, check back here on Nov 1 for a special post...)

#REN3: Coach Thief (part 4)

Read:
Part one
Part two
Part three


Prompt: There is a new arrival in town
Wordcount: 590

---

“Look, Cousin Randall. We can easily explain ourselves,” Jean started.

“Why do we need to explain anything to him?” Jane interrupted, pulling away from him. “You’ve already told him enough as it is.”

“I barely said anything!”

“Oh,” she lowered her voice, “telling him we’re engaged isn’t enough, is it? Next you’ll be telling him my family name.”

Randall cleared his throat.

Jean glanced at him. “Come on, Jane. Be reasonable.”

“Reasonable! About what?”

“About the gun in his hand?”

“He won’t shoot. Will you, Randall?” she fluttered her eyelashes at him.

“Well. Now. Why don’t you tell me what this is all about?” Randall said, lowering his gun.

“We just got engaged a week ago,” Jean said, ignoring Jane’s glares. “And Bill’s a new hire.”

Randall tugged at his collar. “Well, congratulations again then, but how could Bill not know? Population about Roundeli is probably much less than our three hundred and thirty three in Renaissance and I’m sure an engagement in the Johnson family would be a pretty big do…”

“Ah, that’s because, we didn’t exactly…”

“Look, Cousin Randall, let’s be reasonable,” Jane glared at Jean. “I made a mistake. Jean here has cleared it up. Can’t we leave it at that?”

“We could, I suppose,” he said slowly. “But there seems to be a lot of confusion about here.”

“Oh, no one’s confused,” she said brightly. “The coach belongs to Jean, and I didn’t recognise his new coachman. Jean here, and the coachman, of course, will follow you back to your place, where I’m sure they will have a wonderful stay in all the comforts of Renaissance. I will have to be heading back to Assart. Have to return the horse, you know. Is that all settled?”

Jean shrugged.

“As settled as can be,” Randall finally said, throwing Jean a look that clearly meant ‘you had better tell me all about it when she is gone’.

“Wonderful. I’ll be on my way then.” Jane made her way to her horse, Jean trailing after her.

“Stay out of trouble,” Jean said wryly, as he gave her a peck on the cheek.

“You better keep your mouth shut,” Jane warned him as she mounted the horse.

“Will you be in Assart when I head back to Roundeli?” he asked.

“I don’t know yet. We will have to see the situation then. I will try to write to you as soon as I can settle things.”

The four of them turned as the pounding of hooves carried over the wind.

Randall squinted in the hot sun. He could make out two riders coming in with speed.

“Plenty of visitors to Renaissance today,” he commented.

Jane leaned forward, her mouth tight. “Time to run for it,” she hissed even as she spurred her horse and galloped away.

Jean watched as one of the riders peeled away, turning to follow Jane’s tracks.

The other rider rode up to the post office.

“What was Jane Heriot doing here?” he asked roughly.

“That wasn’t Jane Heriot. I think you were mistaken,” Jean said. He gripped the railing tightly to keep his hands from shaking.

“Don’t lie to me, boy. I can recognise that redhead from more than a hundred paces. Is her pa here?”

“Nope, no one called Heriot in this town, right Randall?”

Randall nodded. “Those kind stay over in Heriot’s Pass where they belong.”

The man rumbled with laughter. “Outlaws never stay where they belong, mister.”

Randall stared at Jean speculatively. The young man had a lot of explaining to do.

---

And we are done!

#bookreview: Character Development from the Inside Out

Character Development from the Inside Out by Scott Morgan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


If what you’re looking for is a book that pulls out from your own subconscious the basic building blocks of how to create compelling characters, then Scott Morgan’s Character Development from the Inside Out is a great resource.

Character Development is a well-structured resource book that leads you a step at a time through subjects like the necessity of creating believable and relevant characters, how characters and their reactions really drive the story (even if it’s a plot-driven novel), getting to know your characters, types of characters and, of course, how to actually build your character. He relates the process with how an artist draws a figure model - from the bare bones outwards.

Morgan also drills down into three main genres - defined as heroic, commercial and literary fiction - to discuss typical heroes and villains that are often found and gives keys to understanding how they were created and how it can be applied in developing your own characters.

Following his points is not difficult - Morgan relates his key points to everyday life observations and our own natural reactions to the people around us. To further drive it home, he then links these to characters in different novels which makes you sit up and go “hey - I kind of knew that. Why didn’t I realise it before?”

This is one resource I will probably be reading again for refreshers.


View all my reviews

Note: I received this a review copy of this book from Scott Morgan.

#Fridayflash: Waiting

She sighed, watching as pink and orange fingers stretched across the sky above her. The smell of synbatec* wafted over the salty breeze; like old newspapers, she had once told him. He sank onto the mat next to her. Propping up her head with her left hand, she seemed to align herself to him, her eyes devouring that forbidden mystery cloaked in softening half-shadows. Engines roared to life in the distance - work would be starting in an hour or so, but she was wastopaneer** now. Free.

The minutes ticked by and she watched him breathing, wondering when he would say something. If he would say something. She shifted her body again and again. Finally pulling up the edge of the rattan mat, she brushed at the sand until she found an offending stone. She walked to the edge of the water. A flick of her wrist and the stone skipped out into the horizon, finally sinking in a slow wave. Dusting the grit off her hands, she sat back down on the mat wondering what would happen next.

He was moving now, sniffing at the air. She sniffed tentatively with him, wrinkling her nose when she caught it too. The look on his face now was similar to the one he had when he had told the waiter off for spilling the coffee yesterday.

“Sorry, I didn’t realise…” she blurted, her hands reaching towards him in supplication, waiting for the cutting words, bitter sneers.

Instead, he caught her hands, pulling her tight against him, wrapping his arms around her waist. “Tacise***,” he whispered. It doesn’t matter.

She caught her breath as he leaned in; her eyes widening.

His first kiss was the sweetest thing she had ever tasted.

---

Wordcount: 289  

* a synthetic perfume
** someone who has just been retrenched
*** Don't worry.


---
From Rachael Harrie's Third Campaigner Challenge:

Write a blog post in 300 words or less, excluding the title. The post can be in any format, whether flash fiction, non-fiction, humorous blog musings, poem, etc. The blog post should show:

• that it’s morning, 

• that a man or a woman (or both) is at the beach

• that the MC (main character) is bored

• that something stinks behind where he/she is sitting

• that something surprising happens.

Just for fun, see if you can involve all five senses AND include these random words: "synbatec," "wastopaneer," and "tacise."   (NB. these words are completely made up and are not intended to have any meaning other than the one you give them).

I know the title is rather unimaginative. I suck at titles.

Edit: I knew I forgot something. I'm #78 on Rachael's linky if you feel the urge to vote for me. :)

A to Z, Intense Debate, Character Development and a Launch Party!

A to Z
The A to Z Challenge now has its own blog here: Blogging from A to Z April Challenge. Click join to become a Friend of the Alphabet!

IntenseDebate
I don't know if you've noticed, but I've recently installed IntenseDebate as my new commenting system. I saw it from over at J.L. Campbell's blog and thought oh hey, that looks snazzy! And it solves the reply-to-comment problem I was having. So I hope it works =]
I noticed that it seemed to revert to the old commenting system sometime during the day. It could be because the new Blogger interface is not supported (the how-to guides were based on the old one) so I've switched back. Tweet/e-mail me if you have problems commenting so I can figure out whether to stay with it or not.
Edit: I figured out at least one thing wrong... IntenseDebate does not show up if you use IE. BOO, IE!! It apparently shows up fine on Safari and Firefox so far. 

Character Development from the Inside Out
I don't know what took me so long to get onto goodreads but I'm seriously loving it! I've just received a pdf promo copy of Scott Morgan's book, Character Development from the Inside Out for review purposes as part of the WriteHook-A-Palooza event. It's good stuff - the review should be up probably by Saturday. (I'd say Friday, but I've got the Third Campaigner's Challenge scheduled then).

Open Minds Virtual Launch Party
I'm taking part in Susan Kaye Quinn's upcoming virtual book launch on November 1st. I "met" Susan recently via our triberr group, Writer Warriors, and am looking forward to reading her novel!
The party involves:

• posts on #keepingOPENMINDS
• reviews of Open Minds
• guest posts by Susan! 

You can sign up here if you want to join in the fun (the guest post option is now closed, though). I'll be posting my review on 1st Nov itself so remember to check back here AND at her site on 1/11/11 to party with us. :)
She's hosting an ARC giveaway right now so hop on over to enter. Two paper ARCs are up for grabs!

Here's the blurb to keep you entertained:

When everyone reads minds, 
    a secret is a dangerous thing to keep.

Sixteen-year-old Kira Moore is a zero, someone who can’t read thoughts or be read by others. Zeros are outcasts who can’t be trusted, leaving her no chance with Raf, a regular mindreader and the best friend she secretly loves. When she accidentally controls Raf’s mind and nearly kills him, Kira tries to hide her frightening new ability from her family and an increasingly suspicious Raf. But lies tangle around her, and she’s dragged deep into a hidden world of mindjackers, where having to mind control everyone she loves is just the beginning of the deadly choices before her.

#REN3: Coach Thief (part 3)

Read part one and part two.

Prompt: Relationships unravel or strengthen, a long-kept secret is revealed
Wordcount: 574

---

“Did I? I don’t seem to recall.”
“So you be a liar and a thief.”
“How dare you accuse me…”
“You don’t have problems accusing everyone else.”
“Let go of me, you… you…”
The verbal volley made Jean’s head spin. He was just glad no guns were making their appearance just yet, though he could see the man’s trigger finger twitching involuntarily.
“Hold on a minute here,” he interjected, stepping in between them. “What are you doing here, Jane? Were you following me?”
“Oh Jean, I saw someone drive off with the coach and I couldn’t find you, so I came after him.”
“Then why did you say it was yours?” the man growled. “Who are you? And I don’t like being lied to, woman.”
“I…”
“She’s my fiancee,” Jean said quickly, shooting a look at her.
“And who might you be?”
“I’m Jean Johnson. I’m here to visit with my cousin Randall.”
“That the truth now,” he replied, rubbing at his stubble. Jean wasn’t sure if it was a question or a statement, so he just nodded.
“Well, then. This is a pickle.”
“What is?”
“I always thought Cousin Jean was a girl.”
Jean laughed. “My mother was French.”
“And that makes it alright?”
“No, that makes it normal - in some faraway places, like the Roundeli Mountains.” Jean had a sneaky suspicion that this would turn out to be his cousin. The man looked less tense now, starting to smile genially at Jane. “And you are…”
“Cousin Randall.”
“Ah. Glad to have finally met you, Cousin.”
“Likewise.”
The two men shook hands.
“Done with your letter writing, Bill? You’ll have to take the coach round to Cousin Randall’s place,” Jean addressed his coachman.
“All done, sir.” Bill purchased a couple of stamps and left the letter with the postmaster.

Noticing Jane’s pinched face, Jean hung back as Randall and Bill headed toward the door.
“Cousin Randall, you two go on ahead. I just need to have a talk with Jane for a little while.”
Not waiting for a reply, Jean turned on his fiancee. “What’s wrong now?” he hissed.
“I thought you didn’t want to announce our engagement just yet!” she said frantically. “Did you forget?”
“Forget? No - he looked like the family-man type and I didn’t know who he was. And it’s the truth anyway. You are going to be my wife, aren’t you?”
She smiled coyly angling her face up for a kiss. He kissed her on the nose.
“What if your mother finds out?” she whispered.
He put his arms around her waist. “We’ll steal the letter before it reaches her. Don’t worry, Jane. We’ll sort it out somehow. Practically though, what do we do now?”
“I’ve got to get back to Assart before Bob throws a fit.”
Jean looked out the window. “You had better leave soon if you want to make it before sundown.”
“Yes. But I’ll miss you.”
“You can ride up any day you want, missy.”
She giggled. Hand in hand, they headed out the door.

Randall was leaning against the coach inspecting his gun, the brim of his hat pulled low over his eyes.
“I do have a question, Cousin Jean.”
“What’s that, Cousin Randall?”
“If this here woman’s your fiancee,” he tilted the barrel carelessly at Jane. “How come this here coachman of yours doesn’t know that you’re engaged? And why would she not know your own coachman?”
Jean held her close, protectively.

---

Tune in next Wednesday/Thursday for the grand finale! :)

Edit: Read part four here.