Signal Boost: Review of Rider by Joyce Chng

I finally got down to reading Rider by Joyce Chng properly and I must say I really like it.

Here’s my review from Goodreads:

What worked really well for me was this… The story has many visual aspects, where you can see the scenes coming alive in front of you. This whole new world is built rather well, and the flow of the story is smooth.

However, I think what stood out the most was the message left within the story itself – the inner struggles of sibling rivalry, of passion vs. talent, of creating instead of finding life, coupled with the outer struggles of nature and humanity. As entertaining as genre fiction should be, messages found and brought forward enhance its quality regardless.

What would have worked better would be another proof. Language is generally clear though there were a few switching possessive adjectives (I, Her etc…) which made certain lines slightly confusing and a little bit of formatting work though I credit that to the Smashwords formatting system.

Also, there were times (mostly in the beginning) where Lifang’s struggle and envy just turned into plain whining after a while. It could have been used to portray her stubbornness, though I felt there could be other ways apart from just internal anger.

Despite all that I really love this world that Joyce has created. Makes me wonder which section I’d be suited for in this world. A Reader, perhaps?

3.5/5 stars

Rider is available on Amazon and Smashwords.

Weekend Missions: Claws and Jaws *Rawr*

I call this session the session of the Great Reunion. The first Real Escape Game was great, held in a Cathedral at CHIJMES. Sarah, MJ, and myself lost by a mere few seconds in that one. The 2nd Volume came, “Escape from Werewolf Village”. So will we fall in this one?

Let us find out…

This was really a great escape game, especially with so many people we know in the same room (Thanks to Sarah and her Twitter blast). This is possibly going to be the paragraph with one of the most links so please bear with me…

People we knew:

• Joelyn Alexandra (I was there, yes)
• Sarah Coldheart (The messenger)
• Raven Silvers
• Mintea
• Dude
• Maxsterism
• MJ/ Jessica a.k.a. Mangy_Mongrel
• Lilian a.k.a. Luthieawu
• Lilian’s other half
• Peter (1/3 of HereBeGeeks) a.k.a. Prodigalgeek
• Wai Liong (1/3 of HereBeGeeks) a.k.a. Kakitaraisho
• Alvin (1/3 of HereBeGeeks) a.k.a. Direcow
• Vivian (Direcow’s wife) a.k.a. Mochafrapppp
• Incoherentboy
• Mint Kang 

And I think I pretty much got them all, minus the girlfriends and boyfriends and other friends. So Mintea, Dude, and Raven got grouped with three other Japanese players, and I was with Sarah, Max, MJ, Lilian, and Lilian’s other half.

Ready to go. Map and all. Heh.

This was held at *scape warehouse, so it was bigger and more spacious than the cathedral. One thing I preferred was the cramped, archaic feeling which was greatly amplified in the cathedral, which was smaller, older, and in turn, provided a greater feeling of getting locked up. The good thing about the warehouse, though, was the projection screen used on the stage. It provided another platform to create the mood, so I guess it balances out.

However, since the greatest sin you could commit in such a game was to give spoilers, I shall keep it exceptionally brief. Like the first round, it was solve all the puzzles in the room before you could get out. Unlike the first round, this was something different – there was no password. It was something you had to do.

So did we get out? =(

Nope. This was really tricky (and the frustrating aspect of it came when we realised we could have won accidentally if we were insane or bored enough) and even the emcee expressed surprise that we didn’t get through. No joke about that, he pointed at Max and said, “Eh you guys were so close and you didn’t get out?!”

Oh well.

But BIG CONGRATULATIONS TO THE GUYS FROM HEREBEGEEKS AND MINT KANG WHO GOT OUT! You could check out their post here.

And as Sarah said (her entry’s here), third time’s a charm? We’re all hanging off the edge of our seats for the 3rd Volume: The House of Dr. Mad, which will be coming towards the end of this year. BUT if you can’t wait, stay tuned to the Real Escape Game Facebook page because soon, you will be able to play the Real Escape Game Online! Pit your skills against people from all over the world in a real time!

For Mintea’s point-of-view, click here.

See you next round!

The great rawr. Photo courtesy of Sarah Coldheart.

Book Bites: Stef Thompson’s Criticism vs. Critique

I decided to take a short break from blogging after BEDA (Blog Every Day in April/ August), mostly due to the polishing and other editing I have to do for my pieces. That being said, however, I decided to go for Stef Thompson’s workshop on “Criticism vs. Critique”, basically how to give good critiques and how to receive feedback. This was organized by the Budding Writers League.

Image courtesy of the Budding Writers League.

So I was slightly late though they had barely started when I reached. It was a select group, which suited me fine. And since this was a workshop on constructive criticism and how to give and receive it, I shall blog it as such.

What worked well for me was:

• The flow of the workshop – there was no confusion; everyone was very much on the same page whenever a point was being made.
• How the workshop was conducted – it was cozy so it let everyone have a chance to share without feeling too “conspicuous” or “awkward”. At the same time, it maintained professionalism so it did not turn into an informal discussion panel that might have missed the point.
• Stef was very clear with her points – with her points, explanation, and examples so it was easy to catch.

What would have worked better for me was:

• We had notes, and they were only given to us towards the end of the workshop, which I thought could have been more helpful if they were given at the start – probably would’ve served better as a medium for us to take notes down as well.

So that’s my “critique” of the workshop that day. For more information on the Budding Writers League, their coming classes, and other information, click here.

Many thanks to the Budding Writers League for organising this workshop!

BEDA #30: Last Day and a Question

And so ends the first half of the year’s BEDA – Blog Every Day in April, if you will. Thank you all for reading all my erratic posts throughout this month, I really appreciate the support and eyeballs =)

To end this off, I shall prod you all with a question that you can feel free to answer in the comments section below. Since people on either side love to talk about this so much, I shall give you the avenue to:

“A girl can get bro-zoned as much as a guy can get friend-zoned. However, since guys get loads of advice on breaking out of the friend zone, girls have a different situation. How then, can a girl break out of the bro zone without being too uncomfortable in her own skin (e.g. Put on more makeup, wear more dresses, or act in ways she’s uncomfortable with)”

Let me know what you think about that =)

Good night (It’s 40 minutes to midnight here now) and see you in August!

BEDA #29: The Folio… or how it’s starting.

I was told that 2012 was the year of action. Seems like it though, I seem to be submitting stuff like crazy so far, so I’m going to be using this post to keep track on my submissions:

• Every Day Fiction – 1,000 word story titled”Flesh and Foliage”
• Fish Eats Lion – 2,500 word story titled”The Last Dragon Chaser”
• Finding Church – 2,000 word story titled”Born Twice, Die Once”
• Ayam Curtain – 1,000 word story titled “Bird, Rice”
• Trina Othello’s first novel in the series – tentative title “Watered Down”

So let’s just hope that this year’s line of action will bear fruit =)

BEDA #28: Random conversations about flats and lizards

Avarielle and I accompanied Lina and Dude for a showflat today. While we had them go on to their viewing, this was a random conversation that happened between myself, Avarielle, and Dude:

Note: For some context, the showflat was next to a canal and the water level was low. Dude saw something and this erupted.

Dude: Hey look! A monitor lizard!
Avarielle and I: Ooooo
Dude: *grins* I shall call it Peter. *pauses and grins some more* Peter has friends.

I want Peter Insurance every time I visit their flat in the future.

BEDA #27: There are just some days…

…which you’d just want to get through before you go back to sleep.

This is one of those days.

So please excuse this post while I hopelessly read articles about The Zodiac Killer and other crime fiction stuff that I need to catch up with.

BEDA #26: Cravings

It’s late and it has been a tiring day. But when it’s late and I’m tired and it’s pretty close to the weekend, I get cravings and right now, I’m craving for these:

Rigatoni, Quesadillas, Shirley Temple

I don’t know man.

BEDA #25: Practical Things

I quote Nigella Lawson, who said, “I don’t know, it’s the only practical thing I can do” on her first episode of Nigella Express, answering her son’s question – “Why do you cook?”

And because I’ve been known to think too far for my own good, I started thinking – why do I do what I do and why do I want to do what I want to do in the future? Makes sense?

As I thought about the answer to that question, the only thing that I came up was Nigella’s line.

It’s the only practical thing I can do.

I write to live lives I know I will never get to live. But I guess the other, probably more practical thing I can do in my life, is to study.

The things that never left me while I was in school remain the same – literature, theatre, debate; The eloquence of speech and debate, the beauty of theatre and drama, and the analytics of fiction and literature. I would say, however, the combined factors of these three aspects have been pushing me to enter a certain field – Academia.

Which led to my question: “Okay, who’s going to go, “WHAT?!” if I became Dr. Joelyn Alexandra?” on Twitter.

I guess it’s probably the only practical thing I can think of doing and like the idea of doing well. We’ll see how things go.

#BEDA 24: Fireworks in my Brain

Since it’s happening now, I should throw it out before it fizzles off and I abuse my muse again.

*

She sat with her elbows on her knees, her face buried in her hands. Releasing a sigh, she dragged her face along her fingers, ending with her chin cradled on the tip of her fingers. The sting on her left cheek grew dull, as she felt the warmth spread through her veins.

His steps echoed across the passageway. Her eyes were closed, but her sighs continued to flow into the silence of the place. He exhaled from his nose and sat down next to her, holding up a familiar bottle – Lemon-Lime Bitters.

With an acknowledged smile, she took it, “Thanks.”

*

Just a snippet, hope you guys enjoyed reading it (or whatever that is).