Publishing is not a distant dream anymore

Recently, I’ve noticed that there was an increase in local publishers in Singapore. More and more Singaporean authors are stepping out to write for the younger audience. I think that is great, and it makes me excited knowing that the entry to the market is wider and that my little dream of being published someday might actually come true.

So for the last two weeks, when I am not reading or writing fanfiction, I think about original stories. I am tempted to rewrite my older stories. I had old plot bunnies that were unfinished, but I am not sure if that was the direction that I wanted to go along.

A part of me is afraid. Afraid of what the real editors and publishers might think of my stories if I show them what I had done before. I am going to be honest here – I think that my stories have some kind of standard. Sure, it’s not J.K Rowling nor Neil Gaiman, but I enjoyed reading my stories. What if that had just been my rosy picture? What if the editors didn’t like it, and that was the best that I could do?

The thought of that cripples me sometimes. Sometimes, I wonder if the one thing that I thought I can do decently is not quite my calling or talent.

Alas, fear never pushes the man forward.

Throne of Glass and rants

No, I'm not writing to complain about Throne of Glass. I've mentioned in my review that I absolutely adore the book. Yes, the reviews were spiralling in their dislike for Celaena Sardothien. I noticed and see where they were coming from. Yeah, Celaena was bordering on being an annoying Mary-Sue. But I love her, there's nothing I can do about that.

I reread Throne of Glass and over the next three days, sped through the two books thereafter, "Crown of Midnight" and "Heir of Fire"... until the last 150 pages of "Heir of Fire". I was apprehensive how the ending would be. I mean, at the last 150 pages, the story was not picking itself up yet.

Also, I was not ready for the story to really end. Readers of the series would know that the story turned for the darker in the middle of "Crown of Midnight" and I was afraid that the story would not end up the way I wanted. My hopes were dashed by quite a number of books (and manga) before... I certainly hoped that "Throne of Glass" would not join them. So I left the book there for another day or two... until I finally told myself to finish it or else I may forget the story altogether.

Then I realised. There will be a fourth book.

To be honest, the first reaction was "What nonsense!"

I was all prepared for an ending to find that the book was not at its end. I wish that there would be some indication as to whether the book has ended or not.

Then in hindsight, "Phew! Thank goodness she didn't wrap up the entire ending in a measly 50 pages!" That kind of ending would have sucked. Big time.

Back to my rant, that's the problem with series. It's difficult to know which book to read first. The authors publish books as though readers will always pick them up the minute they hit the racks. How are readers going to find out which book came first and how would readers know whether the books is really the last book? 'Cause I truly believed that "Heir of Fire" was the last book in the series. Can you imagine if I threw all twenty-two "Legend of Drizzt" books at you for you to figure out the order?

Actually, I wouldn't be so upset if not for the fact that the last book of "Throne of Glass" would only be available on the 1st of September. Golly, and how long would that be before the book comes to Singapore?

Patience, patience.

I'm awaiting "Queen of Darkness" very eagerly now.

And as a side note, fangirling over Chaol Westfall so hard that I almost sacrificed my free time to reread "Crown of Midnight". Almost.

Book Review (11): Stitching Snow

Hello, I'm back with another review. This was an impulsive buy. I had no clue what story it was. I just liked the cover of the book. After I bought the book, I read reviews and I was afraid that I would be disappointed.

It's funny that I read books that I've just bought instead of reading books that have been in my shelf for years unread.



Stitching Snow
R.C. Lewis

Synopsis (in my own words): Essie was stuck in a snowy planet and she's a tinkerer, fixing robots and stuff. One day, this beautiful man crashed into her place on a space shuttle. She wanted to help him and thus got herself pulled into her past.

Reviews on Goodread were less than stellar. The book is a retelling of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves", set in a futuristic world where people travel between planets. Let's see what I think.

1.
Firstly, Kudos to the author. Everyone said that it's boring and reused, I did not notice that the story was an adaptation. Maybe I was a little dumb in that, usually I spot references really quickly, but it was not until the last third of the book that I suddenly went, "Oh! Why did I not see that her seven drones were the seven dwarves?"

I'm an idiot.

I did not think that it was such a bad thing. The retelling was not obvious, in my opinion. Reused ideas? Come on, people, storytellers have been retelling stories for centuries. Get over that. I always like originality, but in this age, originality is hard to come by.

2. Setting
The setting was interesting. Maybe it was because I don't read sci-fi, but I liked the different environments of the planets.

Now, the things that I didn't like:

3. Characters
This was supposed to be a strength, but as I wrote, I realised that I didn't like it much anymore. So I have turned this into something that I didn't like.

The protagonist Essie is quite a strong-willed, feisty character. She had learnt to survive on her own in the icy tundras for many years. However, that's kind of what all the female protagonists are like nowadays. What happened to sweet, demure girls? I guess they never become protagonists. Maybe I should look for a book with a demure girl.

Back to Essie, the author did toughen her up, but I think she could have been just a tinge bit more crude. In terms of her character, I find her personality pretty generic and would not have thought of her as an interesting character. It was the same for her seven drones.

However, the character Dane was a strong complement to Essie. He was sweet and humorous. Even when he did things that I cannot say (because that would spoil the story), I never disliked him. I kept rooting for him and had my prediction on what Dane would turn out to be in the end. I was surprised with his development in the end.

4. Vocabulary
Rich, descriptive vocabulary EXCEPT for their verbs. Their spoken vocabulary was limited. It's always 'rigging' or 'botch' or something like that. It gets repetitive over 300 pages.

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Overall, it was a good read, I wouldn't reread it though. Not when I have many books to finish.

Verdict: Consider it

Pictures taken from:
Cover page

Recent Updates

Whoa, it has been one month since.

I've been busy with work, and now that I'm more free, I ended up reading more novels, playing more games and watching more "Whose Line Is It Anyway?"

So much for commitment.

I've been having a mental block for the two stories that I'm working on, no doubt. I will get back to it... as soon as I can.

Meanwhile, I'll let you people know that I'm alive through this blog.