Two Brief Writing Interviews, One Session Holding a Toddler

Here are two interviews, my first forays into YouTube, split from the same impromptu session, back in 2008, after a reading in Kuching at Bing!  My website designers, Nic and Krista from Redbox Studios, were in town, so I asked them to attend  the reading and then roped Krista into reading something from one of her blogs, which she naturally blogged about. 

After reading an excerpt from “Transactions in Thai”, which has just been translated into French from Lovers and Strangers Revisited, Nic approached me about the idea for a You Tube interview for his website.  I was carrying Justin at the time, as everyone including my wife Jenny, was busy saying their goodbyes, so we found a quiet place alongside Bing!  As Nic asked me a handful of questions, I tried to think of suitable answers while hoping Justin cooperates.  Like any toddler, he can get restless and throw a tantrum pretty fast.  We both managed to get through it, in one quick take, and that was that.

Over the years I kept coming across various versions, some better than others.  Then today I realized that there were, in fact, two separate interviews, split from that one session, with appropriate headings and questions added in.  I’m sure I must’ve known about this, but at the time, I may have been distracted with marking exams, blogging The Story Behind the Story series,  and writing, with two small children clamoring for my attention to notice.  After seeing the different versions out there, I thought it’s about time that I post the two that Redbox Studios created for their website. 

Here’s the first “My Website Got Me Three Book Deal” (two books actually)  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Mo5Q13-Ob0&NR=1

And “Going Online Gave Me Tons of Publicity” 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EFeofDpFTk

Here are links to some of my author-to-author interviews of 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. 

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

Plus:

Five part Maugham and Me series

Beheaded on Road to Nationhood: Sarawak Reclaimed—Part I 

Malay Mail, Cyberspot 5 January 2009

For me, thanks to MPH, 2008 and cyberspace has been about publicity and helping other writers write. I stepped up my blogging and gave writers (and readers) a glimpse into the writing process with my on-going Story Behind the Story of Lovers and Strangers Revisited series, which also gave me a real-world look at my own progress as a writer, something I had been doubting. Now I could see the difference!

Then Sharon Bakar nudged me into the world of Facebook and I decided to use the new MPH cover – it’s prettier than my own face – as my “face”. Besides being interviews online, I even got Youtubed by Krista Goon (Mayakirana) when she visited me in Kuching. She and her husband Nic are nudging me to turn my website into a business, so that may well be in my cyberworld future.

The downside of cyberworld is that it eats into real world writing time. It’s all too tempting, seductive, even voyeuristic, peeking and delving into everyone’s Facebook, blogs, and websites, and replying those blogs that strike a chord – Sharon has far too many of them, which means she’s doing something right! It’s that perfect balance between cyberworld networking, family time, and producing publishable work that I’m seeking for 2009

Wish me luck, and I wish everyone a Happy, Healthy, Productive, and Prosperous New Year!

  --BorneoExpatWriter

Here are links to some of my author-to-author interviews of 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. 

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

Plus:

Five part Maugham and Me series

Beheaded on Road to Nationhood: Sarawak Reclaimed—Part I