Appearances and Reflections
Before we begin, it would be great if you could head to my website and…
The horror, the horror…
I have a pair of events in October, both of which are horror-focused, which… y’know. Fair. I mean, it is Halloween season.
The first is “From YouTube to Print: Uketsu’s ‘Strange Pictures’ | Worth the Hype?”. Here’s what it’s about:
In today’s content-saturated landscape, unsolved crimes and supernatural tales earn their niche in YouTube video essays, podcasts, Reddit forums and more. Yet mysterious Japanese creator Uketsu has achieved both viral YouTube and literary fame with Strange Pictures and Strange Houses, the latter selling 2.24 million copies in Japan as of late 2024.
With both titles translated from the Japanese into English by Jim Rion, Uketsu’s strange stories continue to captivate new audiences worldwide. What is the appeal of these pictures and diagrams woven into conventional narrative form? Are Uketsu’s stories mystery, horror or could they even be WeirdLit, as some online communities call it?
Join us as we dissect the strange draw of Uketsu’s work and what he gets right about storytelling.
Date: 7 Oct 2025 (Tue)
Time: 7.30pm - 8.30pm SGT
Venue: Zoom
You can register for the panel here.
The other event is “Lit After Dark” on 17 October. Here’s what this one’s about:
Three horror writers walk into a bar…
This October, haunt the eaves of Book Bag as three writers gather and tell you about the #BTS of their books! We have:
Meihan Boey, the award-winning writer of the Miss Cassidy series, Wayne Reé of Work Life Balance, and Xie Shi Min of Ghost Hunters of Geylang.
Get dressed up as a ghost or ghost hunter (bomoh also can), swap ghost stories and play some games to battle for your soul—I mean, win prizes!
The gates of hell open at 7pm.
Check out Shi Min’s reel for more information. You don’t have to register. Just come on down and join us.
Clarity from uncertainty
Since the last edition, I’ve received generous donations from two subscribers, Peter and Timi, to help with Luca’s vet bills. I’d like to thank you both from the bottom of my heart—and also let you know that your money’s already been put to good use: purchasing his prescription wet food. Not only are Nadia and I grateful, but Luca clearly is too. He is a food-motivated cat after all.
Luca’s diagnosis, the ensuing adjustments, and a couple of other factors led me to take a closer look at another aspect of my life. (Nothing makes you introspective quite like the harsh smack of reality.) I started to think about what really matters to me, as a writer. Are the goals that I’ve set for myself driven by my own desires—or an idea of success? Is the work that I’m focused on created with joy—or out of fear of failure? And what does that failure even look like?
The answers came surprisingly easily. After speaking with Nadia, I realised that that’s because I’ve had those answers since I was a kid. I knew exactly what I wanted out of life as a writer when I was fifteen, but through the rigmarole of the last nearly thirty years, through insecurities and self-doubt, that clarity was lost, dismissed, and beaten out of me.
The big picture hasn’t changed much. My specific priorities have though. I understand that I’m being pretty vague. This is a personal journey, after all, and while it does help to share some of it, I’m keeping most of it closer to the chest from now on.
I will say this: I have two racks of comics from the mid-nineties in our home office. I initially set them up because, hey, this is our flat—and I wanted to fill it with things that reflect who Nadia and I are.
But now? Now, these racks also serve as a little tribute to that fifteen-year-old version of me. You were right, buddy. I’m sorry you’re gonna have to go through so much shit, but you were right.
The Luca fund
As mentioned in the last edition, if you want to donate some cash to help with Luca’s vet bills—which continue to set us back quite the pretty penny—you can send any amount to me via PayNow if you’re in Singapore. Just respond to this email to get my number, if you don’t already have it. If you’re not in Singapore, you can send your donations via my Ko-fi account, which is linked to my Paypal.
If you don’t feel like just donating though, you can get a digital copy of Mr Memphis, my first collaboration with Ben. It’s the release that most directly and immediately benefits both of us. It would help greatly if you paid more than the $5 minimum though.
And, finally, if you want to get something physical instead (not like that, you pervert), I have shrink-wrapped copies of all three issues of FlashINK, the Singaporean tattoo magazine started by my sister-in-law. It has interviews by yours truly with Chris Garver from Miami Ink and the world’s most tattooed man, Lucky Diamond Rich, as well as a piece written by the late X’Ho. I’m letting these go for SG$75. If you want them, just reply to this email and we’ll work something out.
And that’s it for now
As always, please head over to my website and…
I’ll probably send another edition in a couple of weeks. I’ll have a new project to announce, one that’s very important to me—and it’ll have a trailer out by then too.
In the meantime, take care, folks.