On Saturday, I launched my 5th collection of short stories at the Georgetown Literary festival: The Rape of Nancy Ng: 13 Nightmares.
Unfortunately, because Anwar Ibrahim arrived an hour late for his talk (due to his flight being delayed) my book launch was moved to 6.30 pm instead of 5.45 pm.
Because of the late hour, we kept the launch short but sweet.
I was fortunate that both my son and daughter was also there this time, so it was bit of a family occasion. Although, from the book’s dramatic title, you may well guess that its contents can hardly be called family friendly.
Amir, my publisher, pointed out that technology or, rather, the dangers of technology appear to be a theme in this collection. I agreed with him. As he also mentioned, religious fundamentalism was another presence in the book. But to know for sure, I suppose you just have to read the stories.
My first short story collection, The Rape of Martha Teoh and Other Chilling Stories came out 21 years ago. This collection is, in a way, a sequel to that collection.
It took me 3 years to write the thing with most of the stories being tapped away in Chiang Mai where I was living at the time.
It includes the novella, Lodger. For David Bowie fans, you might recall his album of the same name. One of my stories written 21 years ago also took its name from a Bowie song. I also quoted him at the beginning of my novel, Dark Demon Rising. So, I suppose you can guess, that I’m a fan.
I do hope you enjoy these tales. I enjoyed writing them although the writing process took a lot longer than usual.
Write Lah! 
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