Dark City: Lydia's launch and MPH initiatives

Saturday, December 16, 2006

Lydia's launch and MPH initiatives

Lydia had a most successful launch of Honk! if you are Malaysian today at the MPH Share a Gift
Carnival in Crowne Plaza Mutiara. There were children (some of them her own) tooting the 'roti'
horn and toting huge placards of her book cover. I thought the launch was extremely well done
and her book cover and endorsements by other personalities like Adibah Amin, Yvonne Lee, Kevin Cowherd and Phua Chu Kang were absolutely fabulous.

(I couldn't endorse it myself because I'm a pseudonym. Anyhow, I am credited for helping edit it.)
All photos at her blog.

Next, I had a long chat with Dato Ng (CEO of MPH Publishing) and Eric Forbes (Editor of MPH
Publishing) and these are some of the things you might be interested in:

1. MPH needs more editors! They are expanding, publishing more books than ever before. So please submit your name to Eric if you're interested. His blog is linked from here.

2. They also need more illustrators! Ditto the above.

3. MPH Online can deliver within 2 days to your home! And guess what, they will also deliver overseas. So anyone who has been asking where to buy Dark City (or any other Malaysian book) can go to http://www.mph.com.my/welcome/welcome.cfm

4. Calling all you book bloggers. Are you interested in meeting up once a month?
MPH will have a new store at Bangsar Village Phase 2. They're thinking of hosting this meeting, and throwing in tea! Interested?

5. Quill, the MPH magazine, is looking for more articles about writing. Interested? Submit to Renee Koh, who addy is in the mag.

Anyway, the chat was very fruitful and the outcome was that we might be having several book projects going with MPH. So much to do after I get back from my surgery on Monday!

13 comments:

Lydia Teh said...: Hi Lynette, thanks for coming to the launch. Yes, MPH really did a good job. You've got the knack for getting things down.

Will blog about it, but alas, something's wrong with my graphics program and I won't be able to get it fixed as I'll be away for a few days.; 6:50 AM
Artemis Hunt said...: That photo of yours is sexy as hell, Lydia! Eric did mention you must be the only author to have 3 photos in her book!

We'll all collectively see each other when we get back.; 4:03 PM
Yvonne Foong said...: Xeus, you are like a little bird that comes chirping with insider news for people like me, unable to be the little bird myself. Heh... I wanted to get to know Eric, but so shy to inconvenient him with my whiteboard.

eh, you wore very nice yesterday. I regret not dressing up. hehe!; 4:53 PM
Artemis Hunt said...: Yvonne, I'm sure Eric would've loved to meet up with you! He's very nice.; 6:06 PM
Ted Mahsun said...: Agreed! Met Eric for the first time yesterday, and he was very nice. Complimented my latest review too! *blush blush*

Book Bloggers meet every month? With TEA? I'm there! (I want Earl Grey.)

Honk! is better than I expected! I found myself laughing and grinning and guffawing in public while reading it yesterday! Congrats to Lydia!; 9:36 PM
eyeris said...: am still wondering if i can call myself a 'book blogger', sicne there's so much other nonsense on my blog... hehe; 11:00 PM
Lydia Teh said...: Xeus, where got sexy, Xandria is the sexy one lah. I sent MPH 3 pix and they decided to use all 3, so no harm. My bro's (photographer) hard work in rendering the pix picture-perfect is not wasted :)

Yvonne, so you are Doey. Was wondering who is it. Eric doesn't bite, he's nice with a capital N.

Ted, that's a lovely comment. I'm not responsible if people think you're pscho, okay?

eyeris, why not? As long as there are book reviews.; 12:35 AM
ilene said...: Lynette thanks so much for your autograph. My daughter and I truly appreciate it. So we finally met this mysterious writer of "Dark City"!; 2:09 AM
Anonymous said...: What surgery? Hope you are ok, you are your usual chirpy self :)

Gee....looks like I had missed all the fun. What to do? work, work work....can't get away as I don't have 'coolie' to stand in for this 'coolie' yet....

Next time, perhaps. I'm sure Lydia will be having book talks soon. (Please it be on a Sunday....); 6:27 PM
Anonymous said...: I like Earl Grey too or maybe a Cappucino. But for me, I'll only be able to meet up once a year! Whose going to bring the cake? Oh yeah, I'm not a blogger yet . . . still working on that one!; 8:44 PM
Anonymous said...: Hi everyone, I'm back after surgery. Half my face is in temporary paralysis, can't even close my right eye. Sigh. Have to sleep with an eyepad. There's a story to all this suffering somehwere, I can betcha. Hmmm, first chapter to next book planned.

Ilene, it was nice to meet you too!

Ted, Lydia is very humorous, isn't she?

Xeus; 4:59 PM
Eric Forbes said...: Welcome back, Lynette!; 5:09 PM
Artemis Hunt said...: Thanks Eric!; 9:51 PM

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Dark City 2 Snippets

For a brief moment when I got this book, I thought Dark City 2 was a collection of horror stories. So it was an unexpected treat to find it was anything but and so much more. This collection combines stories that are decidedly macabre (Till Death), suspenseful (Strong Chemistry), fiendish (Death Dealer) and most of all disturbing. The stories contain many surprises and twists. What's really cool about Dark City 2 is how familiar Malaysian scenes are ordinary things are creepily skewed. . . Reading Dark City 2 is like spinning a wheel of good fortune in that you're never sure what's coming next.

Geraldine Jeremiah, Galaxie

With 17 stories, there is something for everyone looking for a taste of the macabre and plenty for anyone who enjoys a wicked sense of humour.

Borneo Post

A perplexing page-turning read for those dark, stormy and rainy nights.Most of all, it is a terrific book for bite-sized samples of styles from our local authors.

New Straits Times

I . . . turned to the first story “Strong Chemistry” by Xeus. Three pages into the story I went “Wow! This is bloody good!”. . . . I couldn’t resist reading Xeus’s second tale – “Signature Spa”. I was set adrift by the scents of essential oils and I could almost feel the soothing treatments as the oils permeated my skin. I could guess, with trembling delight, at what was going to happen – it was like watching a car crash in slow motion. But the gourmet twist was a surprise. For me, it’s “Paradise Revisited” in 2008!

Tunku Halim

"Comprising 17 short stories, this Malaysian publication aims to send shivers up your spine, keep you guessing and leave you begging for more. "

The Star

"...Will leave you at the edge of your seat as every story has a twist."

The Edge Financial Daily

"In this sequel to the twisty, terror ride that was the original Dark City, 17 disturbing new tales of murder and debauchery, some of which strike quite close to home, are revealed.

From the claustrophobic tomb of Strong Chemistry, the perils of banking (All in a Day's Work), to the ultimate punishment for gamblers (The Penalty) and the calculated payback for murder (Zero Sum), 15 writers (including the Sun's very own Bissme S.) flex their creative storytelling abilities to tease and tantalise the reader.

My favourite story in the collection is Till Death (Lou Joon Yee), which is black humour at its best when a married couple's fantasy of killing one another takes an unusual twist. On another level, the story also shows the damage a poisonous atmosphere at home can wreak on its inhabitants.

Dark City 2 proves that there are good Malaysian short-story writers out there with an eye for detail and a love of the macabre."

The Sun

"I read Dark City 2 in three hours. Most of the stories are exciting and unpredictable in their own way but two of my favourites are Xeus’s Signature Spa and Chua Kok Yee’s The Penalty. It so happened that my 16 year-old like these two stories too. "

Lydia Teh

REVIEW SNIPPETS

"Why you should read this book: It's really good, that's why. Xeus has tapped into urban paranoia and everyday life in KL to produce situations that will leave you uneasy, yet are not too fantastic to be brushed aside as merely unrealistic.
Particularly poignant and haunting is Trashcan Child, which looks at a current disturbing trend and fuses it with a heart as big as the Twin Towers. We won’t spoil it for you; but one read of this, and you’ll be bound to shed a tear or two." The Malay Mail

“While unmistakably Malaysian in setting, the author draws on tortured minds common to all cultures. “The Scarlet Woman” is a funny, bittersweet, and ultimately Oedipal coming-of age story. Even more disturbing is “The Maid”, only superficially about low-paid immigrant workers. “Monster” involves a spoiled, badly behaved child who receives comeuppance that can only have been described by someone who’s spent some time dwelling on such children. The author...is a master storyteller, with a fine insight into the human condition. This is one of the best fiction books to come out of Asia in 2006.”

www.malaysiaoasis.com

“….Wow, what a read (Dark City) turned out to be….each (story) contains that oh-so-important a twist that turns everything you’ve read so far on its head." Borneo Post

"...Scratches the soft underbelly of Malaysian life to reveal a seething mass of barely concealed dread....Each (story) contains a twist....a couple are utterly shocking. My favourite is 'The Resistance'...This remarkable story has all the elements of a suspense thriller.....The secret weapon revelation in the end (though it is not explicitly stated) is, pardon the pun, a real killer....This is the KL you fear to imagine." The Sun

“…An entertaining and creditable collection.....All 12 tales harbour suspense and surprises along the way and a particularly vicious twist at the end. See if you can spot it coming.” The Star (1)

"Murder, sin, sex - a startling, gripping read with striking twists and turns from a dance macabre!"

Tunku Halim, author of ‘The Vermillion Eye’

"Who says the short story is dead? Xeus has concocted a rich broth of a collection in Dark City. These stories are the stuff of everyday life, all written in her inimitable style and with a clarity that is both visual and visceral at the same time. She exposes the murkiness that lurks beneath life's apparent ordinariness." Eric Forbes, Editor, MPH Publishing

“My favourite stories from Dark City are The Scarlet Woman, The Six Million Dollar Man, and Coup of the Century. They had especially ironic twists in them that I enjoyed immensely…..detailed writing is obviously Xeus’s forte.” The New Straits Times

“Laced with local superstition, anecdotes and spiked with twists and deception, Dark City turns out to be a maze of intrigue that will set you off in a labyrinth of bizarre dimensions.” FHM

“Each tale opens with a disturbing can of worms…..Psychotic, The Six Million Dollar Man and The Resistance are sensational and thought-provoking…..a fun read with plenty of thrills to keep you engaged.” Galaxie

“…..Will entertain and keep you turning the pages.” Quill

“….A portrayal of what happens when you merge paranoia with everyday life. If horror stories are your cup of tea, be sure to grab a copy of this book.” Borders

“Dark City opens up our city's Pandora box of ills. Each tale unfurls what could well be a scene lifted from your own neighbour's backyard. Get a taste of horror, suspense, terror and always, the bizarre twists, all in the comfort of your armchair."
Yvonne Lee, author of ‘The Sky is Crazy’

“Packed with surprises and unexpected twists…Each story centres on different themes, providing a glimpse into all things Malaysian. You would want to slap the author on the back for the candid misleads. Each story is unique without a clue on how the next story would go….Dark City…is unconventional and unpredictable. Definitely a worthwhile purchase.”

Yvonne Foong, author of ‘I’m not Sick, Just a Bit Unwell’

“Xeus is an adept writer, weaving the darker elements of society, serial killers, the dangers of a woman walking alone at night, to greed, lust and their five accompanying sins with great effect...

...I did have my personal favourites and these are “Psychotic” – never mess with a lady with a big bag, “One if by Land” where a prisoner finds that his sure-fire way out of jail only leads to another sort of internment, and even though I knew how it would end, “Coup of the Century”. Now, you’ll just have to get the book to see if you agree with me.”

The Star (2)

Dark City

Saturday, December 16, 2006

Lydia's launch and MPH initiatives

13 comments:

Dark City 2 Snippets

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