Frequently Asked Question (FAQ)
Why revisit your collection of short stories?
Since I had been revising the stories every couple of years, both before and after Lovers and Strangers was originally published in 1993, it seemed natural to me to revise the collection when the opportunity came along to re-issue the book. I also wanted to give the stories, the characters, and myself as a writer a second chance to make the stories better, the details and descriptions more precise, and the endings more satisfying. I took the opportunity to add new scenes and back-stories in order to flush out the characters where necessary. (see Introduction, Lovers and Strangers Revisited)
Why Borneo?
My wife, a Bidayuh, is from Sarawak, and we’ve been planning to settle down there since we got married in her village, though I had hoped to delay the actual move until the end of 2008 for the sake of my eldest son who is still in school. We also felt it would be good to live closer to my wife’s family, including her three sisters and their children who are all within a few years of age of our son Jason, so the children could all grow up together. After my ten-year contract at Universiti Sains Malaysia ended in June’06, I got an offer to teach at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. We felt a change would be good for us; for my writing, too. Admittedly, I had been in Penang too long, 21 years, and was no longer experiencing Malaysia with fresh eyes. So I’m looking forward to living near a way of life that is rapidly changing – those in my wife’s village and those still living in the nearby rainforest.
What’s it like being an expat writer?
Living overseas as an expatriate you’re exposed to different cultures, different customs and different ways to view the world. You’ll have experiences – not always good mind you but some that are wonderful and others absolutely unforgettable – that you will never have in your home country. It also forces you to think about yourself, your culture, your beliefs, and your home country differently, and that’s not a bad thing for a writer. You’ll have these cross-cultural experiences, these unexplained reactions and emotions that you’ll be trying to make sense of and write about, for the rest of your life.
Any regrets living overseas for so long?
Not really, other than missing my family, especially my parents, who are getting older, and losing touch with some friends. At times, I feel out of touch or even clueless with my home country. I usually return for a visit every three years and a lot – culturally, politically – happens in those three years that I completely miss out on. Often I feel I no longer know my fellow Americans, especially those who had never been out of the states other than short jaunts to Canada or Mexico or the occasional two-week vacation overseas. I also know some expats who have lost all touch with home, and others who died overseas alone. It’s important to keep in touch with home, to have that anchor. Ideally, I would like to live in both places, part of the year there, and the rest over here in Borneo.
How do I get started to become a writer?
If you want to learn to become a writer, you can download "So You Want to be a Writer" by signing up for my mailing list (see the blue box on the top right of this page).If you want to read samples of articles or short stories, go to Writing Tips & Articles
Tell me more about Silverfish Books.
Silverfish Books was established in 1999 as an independant bookshop with a focus on literature, philosophy, religion and Malaysiana - areas which are either neglected or not addressed intelligently in the main stream bookstores. To find out more, go to www.silverfishbooks.com
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