Faulkner-Wisdom Novel Awards—2024 Finalist for Novel: One Day Among the Ruins: A Lesson in Love and Friendship

 

  

One Day Among the Ruins:  A Lesson in Love and Friendship, one of the six novels that I re­wrote between 2022 and 2024 and blogged about, was named a finalist by The Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society’s The William Faulkner – William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition.

 

            

This was also my COVID-19 pandemic project that I finished in 2022 then rewrote this year for the competition.  Here is the pitch I’ve been sending to agents:

One Day Among the Ruins:  A Lesson in Love and Friendship (111,985)

An American backpacker and a British expatriate widow experience a lifetime in one day at Pompeii and a night in Naples.  Eat, Pray, Love meets The Graduate meets Indecent Proposal

One autumn day in 1978, between college and career, Mad­dox, an Ameri­can back­­pack­er in a funk about missing a love-interest in Rome, meets Alexis, a middle-aged British widow teach­­ing literature in Malaysia.  Their unlikely, cross-gen­­erational friend­­­ship is forged among the ruins of Pompeii as they share their per­son­al trage­dies and troubled fami­lies, fill­ing a void in each other’s lives.  Yet who is the teacher…who is the stu­dent?  Eag­er to learn more about her near-death ex­peri­ence, Maddox dares Alexis to join him for pizza in Na­ples.  Later he dares her to dance and dares her to ac­cept an un­usual birth­day present, teach­ing him about love.  For Alexis, the dare feels like an opportunity to re­cov­er some love­less years, if on­ly she could for­get about the gut-wrench­ing di­lem­ma that she had to face in the waning days of her son’s life.

Alexis and Maddox came from different generations, different worlds:  Alexis, born in India, the pam­pered daughter of British Raj officer, mar­ried off young on­ly to be­come a wid­owed war bride at eigh­teen, then a survivor of the London Blitz, while Mad­­dox hails from a dys­func­tional, blue-collar Midwestern family with multiple divorces and para­sitic step­sib­lings.  One thing they do share, other than their company, is their brutal honesty.

 “People—all of us, I suppose—tend to see the world in black and white,” Alexis in­forms him.  “Most of life falls in­to a gray realm.  Rarely are there right an­swers.”  She later adds, “For both of us, this was our journey that we had to make…to find our­selves in Pom­­peii—one the teacher, the other, the student.  Only God knows which is which.  In life, as you will dis­cover, each of us teaches and learns, often at the same time.”

Having backpacked three months in Europe in 1978 (and a month in Italy in 1985), hav­ing visited Pompeii (with journal, guidebook, and Bulwer-Lytton intact), having lived for twen­­ty years in Pe­­nang as an expatriate (like Alexis), I have tried to show how that one day—a time cap­sule, real­ly—can resonate in unexpected ways in world events being played out to­day.

              —Borneo Expat Writer

My interviews with other Malaysian writers:

Ivy Ngeow author of Cry of the Flying Rhino, winner of the 2016 Proverse Prize. 

Golda Mowe author of Iban Dream and Iban Journey

Preeta Samarasan, author of Evening is the Whole Day, finalist for the Commonwealth Writers Prize 2009. 
Chuah Guat Eng, author of Echoes of Silence and Days of Change.

MalachiEdwin Vethamani, author of Complicated Lives and Life Happens.

“Monkey Beach” accepted by Secret Attic, a British anthology, via a contest

It was impulsive.  I admit it.  In the Malaysian Writers Community, Tutu Dutta highlighted that it was the last day to enter the Secret Attic contest.  The prize awarded was minimal 25 British pounds.  No fee to enter, and since it was a new contest, I figured there wouldn’t be hundreds or thousands of entrants to compete against.  She said they were hoping to reach 60, the reason for the last-minute push.  They ended up with 78.

“What the hell,” I thought, and entered a novel excerpt set in Penang, titled “Monkey Beach”. In my rush, I failed to notice that they preferred under 1500 words.  Naturally it didn’t win.  To my surprise, however, I was one of ten chosen to be published—I wasn’t aware that was a possibility, an unexpected bonus.  Two of the ten writers are from (or based in) Malaysia.  The rest from the US, Canada, UK or Wales. 

That’s the beauty of international contests, you get to test your writing skills against those from other countries.  What may be ‘good’ in Malaysia or Turkey may not be so good in the UK.  By good I mean...your story-telling ability and the high standard of writing and all that it implies.  Having published short stories in all three of those countries (from my collection Lovers and Strangers Revisited—ten countries in all), I have a right to compare.

I admit I have not entered a short story contest in far too many years for various reasons (stories needed revision and I was concentrating on writing and revising novels).  Entering writing contests was how I came to write those 15 stories in that original collection (now 17 stories).  Back in the late 80’s, Malaysia had several major con­tests, The Star, Her World, New Straits Times (as an expat I could not enter).

“Neighbours”,  originally titled “The Aftermath” was a consolation prize winner in The Star contest thirty-two years ago.  By the way, during our Covid-19 lock­down, I have been asked to answer questions from the students at UITM next month via Google meet about that very story—still being taught!  *Here is the actual Google-Meet with students at UiTM-Penang.

The best thing about contests, besides the prospect of winning some serious money and the prestige, is the dead­line!  You either write and submit your story by the deadline or you miss out.  Many of those stories that I wrote were rushed to meet that deadline and didn’t win.  Of course not, they didn't stand a chance...they were rushed early drafts!  But, and this is the point, they got written!  I polished and entered them in future con­tests.  After I had enough stories and a good publishing track record, I compiled them into a collection.

I have also been on the other end, as judge and have blogged about what judges look for. One caveat, entering contests can be expensive when converting local currency into dollars, pounds or euros.  You must weigh the cost versus the benefit and your realistic chances of winning.  If the contest (or an anthology accepting submissions) is free, you risk nothing, so go for it!  Also, is there one winner or, perhaps, several?  More winners, increases your odds.  Are they publishing only the winner or are finalists considered for publication?

I admit that this contest that I entered was a pretty small.  It’s new.  It will grow.  The biggest contest I ever entered had over two thousand entries.  I sent in six stories, increasing my odds.  Naturally I didn’t win.  I won twice!  Third prize, RM2,000 and a consolation prize, RM500.

So, enter those contests!  Big and small—you never know.  More importantly, get those stories written!  Even though you may never win a contest you may have enough stories for a collection and, who knows, that collection itself might even win a contest!  That’s what happened to me when Lovers and Strangers Revisited won the Star-Popular Readers’ Choice Awards.  In addition to the money and the recognition, I received a pretty nice trophy for my efforts.

If you do win a contest, please think of me…and think of all those writers around the world who would love to be standing in your place.  Remember, if you don’t enter, you cannot win!

Good luck and may the best story win!

  --Borneo Expat Writer

My interviews with four Malaysian novelists and one poet: 

Ivy Ngeow author of Cry of the Flying Rhino, winner of the 2016 Proverse Prize.

Golda Mowe author of Iban Dream and Iban Journey.

Preeta Samarasan author of Evening is the Whole Day.

Chauh Guat Eng author of Echoes of Silence and Days of Change.  

Also, Malachi Edwin Vethamani, author of Complicated Lives and Life Happens.

My interview with Malachi Edwin Vethamani is in Blue Lotus 19

My interview with poet and short story writer Malachi Edwin Vethamani, author of Complicated Lives and Life Happens was published in Martin Bradley's Blue Lotus 19, pages 8-17. Originally I had blogged about our interview in July 2019 

My other interviews with Preeta Samarasan, author of Evening is the Whole Day, was published in Blue Lotus 12, Ivy Ngeow, Cry of the Flying Rhino, in Blue Lotus 13 and Golda Mowe, author of Iban Dream and Iban Journey, in Blue Lotus 15 and Chauh Guat Eng author of Echoes of Silence and Days of Change in Blue Lotus 16 

Blog links to the other interviews with four Malaysian novelists: 

Ivy Ngeow author of Cry of the Flying Rhino, winner of the 2016 Proverse Prize.

Golda Mowe author of Iban Dream and Iban Journey.

Preeta Samarasan author of Evening is the Whole Day.

Chauh Guat Eng author of Echoes of Silence and Days of Change.  

Five part Maugham and Me series

Joseph Conrad and Me

Trust the Novel Writing (and rewriting)Process. 

  

—Borneo Expat Writer

My Interview with Ivy Ngeow is in Blue Lotus 13

My interview with Ivy Ngeow, author of Cry of the Flying Rhino, winner of Proverse Prize and Heart of Glass, has been published in Blue Lotus 13, pages 8-17.

Also appearing in the issue:  

My interview with Preeta Samarasan, author of Evening is the Whole Day, was published in Blue Lotus 12, pages 8-21.

Five part Maugham and Me series

—Borneo Expat Writer

My other interviews with First Novelists

Golda Mowe author of Iban Dream and Iban Journey

Chuah Guat Eng, author of Echoes of Silence and Days of Change. 

Also, Malachi Edwin Vethamani, author of Complicated Lives and Life Happens.

My Preeta Samarasan interview in Blue Lotus 12

                                         

My interview with Preeta Samarasan, author of Evening is the Whole Day, has been published in Blue Lotus12, pages 8-21.

  

In the same issue there was an excerpt from Cry of the Flying Rhino by Ivy Ngeow, whom I had also interviewed­.  

Congrats to both Preeta and Ivy!

            —Borneo Expat Writer

My other interviews with First Novelists:

Golda Mowe author of Iban Dream and Iban Journey.

Chuah Guat Eng, author of Echoes of Silence and Days of Change. 

Also, Malachi Edwin Vethamani, author of Complicated Lives and Life Happens.

Five part Maugham and Me series

Ivy Ngeow: Asian Books Blog posted 500 words from Ivy about her book Cry of the Flying Rhino

Ivy Ngeow, who I recently interviewed and who interviewed me was asked to write 500 words about her book, Cry of the Flying Rhino.

Asian Books blog wrote: Proverse Hong Kong is a publishing house with long-term, and expanding, regional and international connections. This week sees a double bill of posts about Proverse. Yesterday, Gillian Bickley, Proverse co-publisher, talked about the company's aims, and development. Today, Ivy Ngeow, winner of the 2016 Proverse Prize for Fiction, talks about her new novel, Cry of the Flying Rhino, which is published by the company.

Ivy was born and raised in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, but she studied in London, and her work - journalism and fiction - has appeared in many publications in Malaysia, Singapore, and the UK

Cry of the Flying Rhino is set in 1996, in Malaysia and Borneo. It is told from multiple viewpoints and in multiple voices. Malaysian Chinese family doctor Benjie Lee has had a careless one-night stand with his new employee – mysterious, teenage Talisa. Talisa’s arms are covered in elaborate tattoos, symbolic of great personal achievements among the Iban tribe in her native Borneo. Talisa falls pregnant, forcing Benjie to marry her. Benjie, who relished his previous life as a carefree, cosmopolitan bachelor, struggles to adapt to life as a husband and father. Meanwhile, Minos – an Iban who has languished ten years in a Borneo prison for a murder he didn’t commit – is released into English missionary Bernard’s care. One day, Minos and his fellow ex-convict Watan appear on Benjie's doorstep. Now Benjie must confront his wife’s true identity and ultimately his own fears.

So, over to Ivy…

Cry of the Flying Rhino was written thirteen years ago after I made my one and only trip to Borneo with my mother. I was inspired by the dark, macabre and gothic nature of communal longhouse living and the tribal civilisation and culture which have been around for thousands of years. Two things triggered some ideas.

Firstly, during the trip, I saw a tattoo parlour called Headhunters. It piqued my interest in the traditional art and symbolism of Iban tattooing, performed manually with a hammer, steel pin and ink made from tree ash.

Secondly, long after our trip, I dreamt of a girl in a longhouse with eyes as huge as the “hollows of the benuah tree”. Those words came to me in the dream. I wrote them down. She looked sad and haunted and there was also terror in her eyes. I did not know who she was or what the dream was about but something unpleasant and unusual had happened to her and I set about finding out about the Iban culture, which I later discovered, is based on dreams. That dreams were everything, our hopes, work, happiness and luck.

In exploring the two triggers above, I found out that indigenous cultures are threatened and dying, because of loss of habitat due to logging and deforestation, and due to the conversion of the Ibans to other religions. As a result, orang asli (original people) like the Ibans are forced to leave their habitat for the city because their livelihood, dependent on being able to survive in the jungles on the fat of the land, is diminishing due to the jungles being cleared. Their way of life which is so rich in folklore, superstition and traditions will soon be lost. Ultimately the rapid destruction of the jungles will impact upon the rest of the world via climate change and so on. I also found out that children tattooed children which ensured that the art would never die. If adults were one day wiped out by an epidemic or a massacre, the surviving children would all have learned and mastered all survival and artistic skills including tattooing.

Cry of the Flying Rhino is a modern novel set in the railway town of Segamat, which has already been deforested and turned into miles of plantation, and Borneo, whose jungles are under threat. The Chinese GP, Benjie, has been forced to marry Talisa, a mysterious and tattooed teenager, and the adopted daughter of wealthy crass Scottish landowner Ian. Benjie has to discover for himself his wife’s true identity, when Minos and Watan, two Ibans who leave the jungle and appear in Segamat one day, looking for Talisa.

Cry of the Flying Rhino raises uneasy themes of identity, poverty, religion, race, greed, colonialism and post-colonial struggles, and deculturalisation because I want to convey to readers the issues and conflicts which affect Asia today using the medium of fiction. I hope the story will take them to another world.

Details
Cry of the Flying Rhino is published by Proverse, in paperback, priced in local currencies.

Asian Books Blog Book of the Lunar Year in the Year of the Rooster
Don't forget Asian Books Blog is currently running a poll to find its Book of the Lunar Year. To vote e-mail the title of your one choice for the winner to asianbooksblogvoting@gmail.com. Voting closes at 5pm on February 15th.

Congrats to Ivy and all of the attention that she has been receiving for her first novel Cry of the Flying Rhino!

For SIGNED FIRST LIMITED EDITIONS of Cry of the Flying Rhino

For book orders:
Paperback: amazon.com
Paperback: amazon.co.uk
Kindle eBook: US

Kindle eBook UK 

NEW author pages! See below:
Amazon author’s page
Goodreads author’s page

Ivy Ngeow interviewing Robert Raymer

My other interviews with First Novelists:
Golda Mowe author of Iban Dream and Iban Journey.
Preeta Samarasan, author of Evening is the Whole Day, finalist for the Commonwealth Writers Prize 2009.
Chuah Guat Eng, author of Echoes of Silence and Days of Change. 

Five part Maugham and Me series

Win-Win to Start Your Day and Jumpstart Your New Year Resolutions

Despite having run a marathon or two or three, exercising on a regular basis has been an on-going issue, so I created a win-win situation for myself.  First thing in the morning, while waiting for the boys to finish their breakfast and put on their socks and shoes, I stretch.  I go through this routine that takes about ten minutes.  What I don’t finish by the time the boys are ready to leave, I finish up after they are gone.

This is the easy part; the hard part is getting my butt upstairs to work out on the orbi-bike for about 20 minutes or the treadmill or go jogging.  So I created a win-win by reading personal develop­ment books while on the bike. (Of course people have been doing this for years, but are you doing it?  Neither was I on a consistent basis.  Sometimes months would go by...) I committed myself to read at least ten pages, thus creating a double win for me (plus I get to read all these books I’ve been meaning to get around to read).  So I get a win for exercising for my physical health and a win for reading self-helps book for my mental health.  What a great way to start (or end) the day.  It's also nice knowing that I kept a commitment to myself; more importantly I don’t have to wallow in the guilt of not exercising and not reading those books!  That’s another win!

Sometimes, you can back into a win-win situation.  For example, Ivy Ngeow, London-based writer that I met 30 years ago, won an award for her first novel, Cry of the Flying Rhino.  Her publisher asked me to review an advance copy.  At the time I was quite busy rewriting my own novel, but reluctantly agreed to do it in a month or two.  Ivy also asked if she could inter­view me for her blog (I was the editor for one of her first published stories).  I agreed, but then I thought, wait, I should be interviewing her since she has her first novel (two novels, actually) coming out!  This way I could create a win-win for both of us!  Ivy, despite her busy schedule working with two her publishers, agreed to be interviewed. 

For years I thought about interviewing other writers, so I thought, why not interview other novelists just starting out on their career?  In fact, I have two first novels written by Malaysian writers (one living overseas like Ivy) that I bought years ago but never read.  (I’m sure I have others lying around.)  So I made a commitment to myself to inter­view a novelist a month from October 2017 through December 2018, thus I would be read­ing fifteen novels that I probably wouldn’t gotten around to reading—another win for me.  And a win for those writers!

So far I’m nearly finished with a third novel, got a fourth that I bought for that purpose, a second inter­view is coming out later this month, so I’m off and running (and reading).  That’s good for me since I write novels.  Now I can read a novel knowing that I’ll also be interviewing this author and I’ll be asking questions that will not only benefit me, but also benefit the author (give them publicity), benefit other readers (give them insights into the author’s work), and benefit other writers (so they can learn the craft of novel writing and bolster their own belief that they too can write a novel).

Now I’m wondering what other ways can I create a win-win with myself or with others, including with my family, for 2018?  Might as well get a jump on those win-win New Year Resolutions.  How about you?  Any win-wins you can add to your life?

Now I just need to create a little more adventure in my life like the Maugham and me series!

More Reading, More Writing, and More Adventure for 2018!

         —Borneo Expat Writer

Interviews with First Novelists:

Ivy Ngeow author of Cry of the Flying Rhino, winner of the 2016 Proverse Prize.

Golda Mowe author of Iban Dream and Iban Journey. 

Preeta Samarasan, author of Evening is the Whole Day, finalist for the Commonwealth Writers Prize 2009.

Trust the Novel Writing (and rewriting) Process.