A few months ago, I received an email informing me about an award called the Book Award 2020 organised by the National Library of Malaysia. Within the text of the email was an invitation to submit a publication of my choice to be considered for the award. I thought it was a hoax and wrote back to ask if this was really true. Lo and behold, it was! So began the process of submitting The Age of Smil...

A few weeks ago, I received a message from a friend about the publication of a new book called The Ordinary Chaos of Being Human. I found this title intriguing and went about looking for more information about both the book and its author. Duly fascinated, I made a request via my friend about whether or not the author was open to being interviewed. She was. So, without further ado, I allow me to s...

When I was still contributing feature articles to the New Straits Times, one of the most curious assignments I had was to work on a story about a quiz master. I never forgot this story for a few reasons. One, a quiz master? What on earth was that? Two, the gentleman in question had a unique name (although I suspect that like most Indian names, it's probably not unique in his hometown) - Phanindra....

"In my books, I try to bring my settings to life by giving minute descriptions of the buildings, the way of life of these ancient peoples, their food, their farming practices as described by the archaeologists and scholars who studied them. This is how it works sometimes in science fiction and most of the time in historical fiction. Writers create (or recreate) the universe in which their story is...

Mbeke and I first met a year and a half ago during a celebration hosted by 7C Life RealiZation Centre. A few months later, during the full moon, we travelled together to a resort in Sepang to take part in a session called 'Gratitude of Life' where we immersed ourselves in seawater. The purpose of this session was to express our gratitude to Mother Ganga and set our intentions for a successful and ...

Introduction: I met Farella a few years ago. I was assigned to a story by the papers and went to meet this pretty young lass. I was fascinated by her gumption - she had a dream, a desire and she made it all happen. Here, in her own words, she tells her story. *** Aneeta: Let’s start with a little about you. Please tell me where were you born? Where did you grow up and what do you do for a living?...

Dato' Dr. Andrew Mohanraj © Aneeta Sundararaj “Same old. Same old. 2004 has been so boring.” These were the words my friend said on Christmas Eve. Neither of us was aware that our belief that the year would end on a dull note was premature. On Boxing Day, I was at home in Alor Setar. I was busy caring for my puppy who was recuperating from an operation. I’d shortened her leash by twirling it aro...

Breanne Dyck is the founder of MNIB Consulting and helps online training businesses scale their impact, their team and their revenue. Her strategies help to create transformational learning experiences that customers can't stop talking about. Breanne regularly consults on flagship products and programs, CreativeLive courses, live events and workshops for thought-leaders such as bestselling authors...

Introduction Margaret wrote to me a while ago to ask if I'd put information about the publication of her new book in our newsletter. I was fascinated by her story and asked if she'd like to be interviewed. She agreed and here's her story. Aneeta: Margaret, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Let’s start with something about you. Where were you born? Where did you grow up? Where do you li...