It’s Deepavali, the Festival of Lights, in Singapore. And tonight (or last night, by the time this comes out) I’ll be lighting my little sandlewood, spruce and…
Terminating Tembusu and Tiny Candles
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Midautumn, Moonlight and Gratitude
The Mid-Autumn or the Mooncake Festival marks the end of the Hungry Ghost Month and the start of the last quarter of the year. But before saying goodbye…
Paths, Pages and a Circle to Meow
We’ve been renovating our bedroom. At last. After sixty-plus years of ignoring interior décor and living like perennial grad students, we now have closets…
Books, Books, Books and Book Space
I’ve kind of been struggling with books lately—not just the ones I’m writing, but the ones I’ve been living with. I have shelves and stacks and cupboards full of books…
Sick And (not ‘Of’) Fixing Doors on Bookshelves
My office is a bookmess right now because I’ve decided I need glass doors on my bookcases…
Singapore is Sixty!
Singapore is 60 years old! I didn’t make it to watch the National Day Parade this year; this banner is from the park next door where we went to watch the Red Lions doing flybys over the heartlands– You probably can’t tell from the photo…
A Sinkhole in Singapore, Children’s Stories and Celebrating Mr Subbiah!
Here in Singapore we’re celebrating Mr Subbiah–Construction site foreman Pitchai Udaiyappan Subbiah…
Two Card Games and a Wedding
It’s always hot in Singapore (We’re on the equator, after all) but recently it’s also been raining and rainstorming. Luckily even the showers are warm here, so it’s not so bad… and Singapore umbrellas are…
Blending Carrots and Murder Plots
Last weekend, instead of attending Pink Dot (Singapore’s annual celebration of our LGBTQ+ community), I was using a blender to pulverise carrots / pumpkin/ bananas and quick-cooking oats…
Stories and Sculptures: Jin Yong’s Wuxia World in 3D
This is the White-Browed Eagle King–he appears in Jin Yong’s “The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber,” as one of the leaders of the Ming Cult who later establishes…
Breaking out Books and Bowels amidst Friendship and White Fish
First the good news! I’m back in Singapore and my advance copies of The Rose Apple Tree Mystery are here!!! And even though I’d already seen the cover images, I think…
Growing Pangs, Changing Pains
Crimefest was wonderful–as always. But now that’s it’s over (for now even if–hopefully–not forever) there’s a bit of a let down, of course. The trouble with the wonderful high of meeting and hanging out with auld acquaintances…
Scattered but Stepping Forward–
We’ve been living in very interesting times lately–we just had our 90 year old Dad move in due to a bunch of stuff that came out. So after a whirl of medical appointments and investigations and nutritional consultations…
3 Eves and An Apple: Old Friends in a New World
‘What are those?’ ‘Those orange fruits? I don’t recognise the plant.’ ‘Smell familiar?’ [sniffs] ‘No… can’t smell anything–‘ ‘Some kind of fruit. Wonder if they’re sweet.’ ‘Take a picture and do Google search.’ ‘Okay, I got it – oh and it’s poisonous…’
Mystery Moments and Missed Water Changes
Last weekend I missed changing the water in Turtle Boy’s outdoor tank and the indoor fishtank–but I did work 8 and 11 hour sessions through Saturday and Sunday and I’ve finished and submitted the edits for a new middle-grade book…
Yearnings for Books and Soft Serve Ice Cream
‘The best time to plan a book is while you’re doing the dishes’–Agatha Christie. Though this may not have been her idea of ‘doing’ dishes! Aren’t they pretty though? Both Lent and Ramadan are currently being observed in Singapore…
Fasting, Focus and a Fantasy Scenario
It is fasting season in Singapore right now–Ramadan for the Muslims and Lent for the Catholics. I’ve been doing my version of fasting too. which is to skip lunch while eating an early breakfast and fasting, except for water…
Idea/Flower Tea Buds: Add Time and Hot Water
This came up because I went to the February Space Bar Write In Yesterday. I wrote about my first visit at the inaugural Space Bar last month…
May Your Lives be as Full of Happiness as the Moon is Full in the Sky!
Happy First Full Moon of the year (Yuan Xiao Jie) Everyone!! I’m sorry this is a day late, but the bright side (literally) is I get to write this on the fifteenth…
Writing at the SpaceBar and Old Chang Kee
This is going to be a quick, short post because of all the Chinese New Year prep (cleaning/ visiting/ coordinating) going on right now, but I really liked the tongue in cheek (I think) slant the Central Library took on this…
The Year of the Wood Snake is Coming…
Is anyone else finding it difficult to look forward to this new year? This is normally my favourite time of year–cool rainy weather with occasional thunderstorms (rain is predicted for the whole of next week here in Singapore)…