Selina Siak Chin Yoke's Blog
August 7, 2018
New Doors Open in Chye Hoon's World
Hello everyone!
I hope you're enjoying your summer! This is a short note to let you know that I have finally had time to add to Chye Hoon's World on my website. Click on the link below
http://siakchinyoke.com/chye-hoons-world
to open new doors!
There are tonnes of photographs. Here are some of the items you can now peek at:
Ceramics with phoenixes;
Nyonya belts;
Hand-beaded shoes;
The cave temple Chye Hoon visited; and
Unusual sights in Malacca.
More will come over time, but it will be a slow process. Please bear with me!
I hope you're enjoying your summer! This is a short note to let you know that I have finally had time to add to Chye Hoon's World on my website. Click on the link below
http://siakchinyoke.com/chye-hoons-world
to open new doors!
There are tonnes of photographs. Here are some of the items you can now peek at:
Ceramics with phoenixes;
Nyonya belts;
Hand-beaded shoes;
The cave temple Chye Hoon visited; and
Unusual sights in Malacca.
More will come over time, but it will be a slow process. Please bear with me!
October 2, 2017
I Can't Change Bin Liners!
It's true – and among the things I revealed during the recent publicity campaign for my latest novel,
When the Future Comes Too Soon
.
A selection of the publications I've appeared in:
The Guardian, which interviewed me on my favourite things in Ipoh, the town where my novels are set;
Nee Hao, who asked about my heritage;
History Answers, whose history buffs wanted details about my research; and
Female First, to whom I offered 10 facts about myself, including the gem that I can’t change bin liners!
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I was invited by an Orlando-based culture blogger to talk about my experience as a survivor and my life journey since. The podcast will be up tomorrow on Culture Chat with Mimi Chan (https://www.culturechatpodcast.com).
Finally, I have a series of book group meetings coming up in New York City. The dates and venues are below. I will talk about the inspiration behind my novels, how much is fact versus fiction and anything else people want to hear about! Depending on time, I may share some of the legends I heard about when I was growing up and read favourite passages.
If you belong to a book group in NYC and would like to have me drop in, get in touch via the contact form on my website.
Upcoming Appearances
October 19, 2017
Event: Book chat
Venue: Seward Park Library, 192 East Broadway, New York, NY, 10002
Time: 6.00 p.m.
October 25, 2017
Event: Book chat with the Rotary Club of Chinatown
Venue: 16 Mott St (upstairs), New York, NY 10013
Time: 12.30 p.m.
October 25, 2017
Event: Book chat
Venue: Yorkville Library, 222 East 79th Street, New York, NY 10075-1202
Time: 5.30 p.m.
October 26, 2017
Event: Book chat with the Harry Belafonte 115th Street Library Book Discussion Group about "The Woman Who Breathed Two Worlds"
Venue: Harry Belafonte 115th Street Library, 203 West 115th Street, New York, NY 10026
Time: 5.30 - 6.30 p.m.
Please come if you can! I look forward to meeting you and signing your books.
A selection of the publications I've appeared in:
The Guardian, which interviewed me on my favourite things in Ipoh, the town where my novels are set;
Nee Hao, who asked about my heritage;
History Answers, whose history buffs wanted details about my research; and
Female First, to whom I offered 10 facts about myself, including the gem that I can’t change bin liners!
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I was invited by an Orlando-based culture blogger to talk about my experience as a survivor and my life journey since. The podcast will be up tomorrow on Culture Chat with Mimi Chan (https://www.culturechatpodcast.com).
Finally, I have a series of book group meetings coming up in New York City. The dates and venues are below. I will talk about the inspiration behind my novels, how much is fact versus fiction and anything else people want to hear about! Depending on time, I may share some of the legends I heard about when I was growing up and read favourite passages.
If you belong to a book group in NYC and would like to have me drop in, get in touch via the contact form on my website.
Upcoming Appearances
October 19, 2017
Event: Book chat
Venue: Seward Park Library, 192 East Broadway, New York, NY, 10002
Time: 6.00 p.m.
October 25, 2017
Event: Book chat with the Rotary Club of Chinatown
Venue: 16 Mott St (upstairs), New York, NY 10013
Time: 12.30 p.m.
October 25, 2017
Event: Book chat
Venue: Yorkville Library, 222 East 79th Street, New York, NY 10075-1202
Time: 5.30 p.m.
October 26, 2017
Event: Book chat with the Harry Belafonte 115th Street Library Book Discussion Group about "The Woman Who Breathed Two Worlds"
Venue: Harry Belafonte 115th Street Library, 203 West 115th Street, New York, NY 10026
Time: 5.30 - 6.30 p.m.
Please come if you can! I look forward to meeting you and signing your books.
September 3, 2017
I've Been on The Arts Hour on the BBC World Service!
I was honoured to have been a guest on the BBC World Service's The Arts Hour programme earlier today!
We talked about many things, including book titles and new movies, such as Kathryn Bigelow's Detroit. There's also an interview with me and a clip of me reading from my new novel, When the Future Comes Too Soon .
Click on the link below to listen:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3csv0zl
(available for a month from September 3, 2017).
We talked about many things, including book titles and new movies, such as Kathryn Bigelow's Detroit. There's also an interview with me and a clip of me reading from my new novel, When the Future Comes Too Soon .
Click on the link below to listen:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3csv0zl
(available for a month from September 3, 2017).
August 1, 2017
A Quick Message
My latest novel,
When the Future Comes Too Soon
, was released on July 18, 2017. It has received a great reception so far, but if you read the first book you may be surprised by how different this second one is! What can I say? Please don't expect food in every book! Each novel in the Malayan Series will be quite different. The mood in each will reflect a different protagonist/narrator as well as a changing Malaya. I will also use language as a tool to show Malaya’s evolution. But there will be a common thread: I hope to immerse readers into the world of my characters as they grapple with change.
As part of an ongoing publicity campaign for When the Future Comes Too Soon , I’ll be appearing in a range of media (newspapers, radio, magazines and blogs). And I’m looking forward to meeting book groups! I’ll be in New York City in October and in Orlando, Florida in December; if you belong to a book group there and would like to meet me, please either contact my publicist Angelle Barbazon at JKS Communications (angelle@jkscommunications.com) or get in touch here on Goodreads!
As part of an ongoing publicity campaign for When the Future Comes Too Soon , I’ll be appearing in a range of media (newspapers, radio, magazines and blogs). And I’m looking forward to meeting book groups! I’ll be in New York City in October and in Orlando, Florida in December; if you belong to a book group there and would like to meet me, please either contact my publicist Angelle Barbazon at JKS Communications (angelle@jkscommunications.com) or get in touch here on Goodreads!
April 23, 2017
News about When the Future Comes Too Soon
I’m thrilled to announce that my second novel,
When the Future Comes Too Soon
, will be published on July 18, 2017, by Amazon Crossing.
This is the second book in The Malayan Series, but it is a stand-alone novel. You need not have read The Woman Who Breathed Two Worlds before being able to enjoy this latest book! It tells the story of an ordinary, middle-class family – the Wong family – whose members struggle through the three and a half years when their country is turned upside down by the occupying Japanese.
María Dueñas, who wrote the New York Times bestselling The Time in Between, has described When the Future Comes Too Soon as “...an intensely visceral evocation of life in Malaya during World War II."
And Man Asian Literary Prize-shortlisted Musharraf Ali Farooqi, author of Between Clay and Dust, has praised the book's "intricately drawn network of human relationships.”
I learnt a huge amount about Malaysia while writing this book. Its publication means a lot to me and I hope you will love it!
This is the second book in The Malayan Series, but it is a stand-alone novel. You need not have read The Woman Who Breathed Two Worlds before being able to enjoy this latest book! It tells the story of an ordinary, middle-class family – the Wong family – whose members struggle through the three and a half years when their country is turned upside down by the occupying Japanese.
María Dueñas, who wrote the New York Times bestselling The Time in Between, has described When the Future Comes Too Soon as “...an intensely visceral evocation of life in Malaya during World War II."
And Man Asian Literary Prize-shortlisted Musharraf Ali Farooqi, author of Between Clay and Dust, has praised the book's "intricately drawn network of human relationships.”
I learnt a huge amount about Malaysia while writing this book. Its publication means a lot to me and I hope you will love it!
February 28, 2017
Images of Old Ipoh
Hello everyone!
I've uploaded vintage images of Ipoh, the town in which The Woman who Breathed Two Worlds is set, onto my website (www.siakchinyoke.com). If you're eager to see what the protagonist Chye Hoon would have seen, go to the page below and click on the top left window.
http://siakchinyoke.com/chye-hoons-world
I've uploaded vintage images of Ipoh, the town in which The Woman who Breathed Two Worlds is set, onto my website (www.siakchinyoke.com). If you're eager to see what the protagonist Chye Hoon would have seen, go to the page below and click on the top left window.
http://siakchinyoke.com/chye-hoons-world
December 19, 2016
The Second Book is on its Way!
This is a short post to let you know that the second book in the Malayan Series will be published during the summer of 2017. (And yes, I'm referring to the northern summer!)
At this time, I can’t give you the exact publication date nor can I reveal the book’s title, though there is one. What I can say is that the sequel to the multi-generational family saga begun in The Woman who Breathed Two Worlds (Book #1 in The Malayan Series) will continue to follow the Wong family, so that anyone who has read my debut novel will recognise many of the characters. The characters themselves, however, are about to enter a world which nothing in their experience could have prepared them for.
Stay tuned! There will be further news early in 2017, as well as the chance to pre-order! On that high note, I wish you all Season’s Greetings, be it Happy Hanukkah or Merry Christmas or simply the very best in the year ahead.
At this time, I can’t give you the exact publication date nor can I reveal the book’s title, though there is one. What I can say is that the sequel to the multi-generational family saga begun in The Woman who Breathed Two Worlds (Book #1 in The Malayan Series) will continue to follow the Wong family, so that anyone who has read my debut novel will recognise many of the characters. The characters themselves, however, are about to enter a world which nothing in their experience could have prepared them for.
Stay tuned! There will be further news early in 2017, as well as the chance to pre-order! On that high note, I wish you all Season’s Greetings, be it Happy Hanukkah or Merry Christmas or simply the very best in the year ahead.
