Want to read new books written by Singapore-based authors? We talk to some writers here about their latest publications – from ‘not so far from the present day’ science fiction to self-help books. These new books are available online now.
Meet Kia Holm Reimer
Book: 9 Things to Do and Consider before Expatriating
Kia Holm Reimer is a professional expat advisor, and her latest e-book, 9 Things to Do and Consider before Expatriating, gives all the details around preparation for expat life, from legal advice to challenges you can expect and more. We find out about her writing process.
What inspired you to write your book?
I’ve been very frustrated with expat spouse life on many occasions. Having opened up about this, I found that many felt the exact same way.
Closing my small company when moving from Dubai to France was another low – a punch in the stomach. I started writing to gain clarity and pick myself up again. I researched the ins and outs of company expat policies, mobility tasks, and relocation company responsibilities. It became clear that there is one task not covered by any of those entities: the emotional and individual preparation. The writing flew out of me and the book was done.
What can readers expect to find in the book?
My book is about preparing properly for an expatriation. What conversations to have at home, what you can expect, the legal actions to consider, about the “expat blues”, and more. I touch primarily on things not shared in a traditional expat process.
I use my experiences to make it as real as possible. I hope that the book functions as a mirror and offers tangible takeaways. Mostly, I hope the readers can steer clear of some hard situations I have been in myself.
My research varied from input from fellow expats, to reading research and reports. I also dug up some of the update-mails I wrote to friends and family in Denmark during our first three years, and an old document I wrote about living in Abu Dhabi – my first expat destination. They were a huge help.
What would you like readers to take away from your book?
My biggest hope is that readers feel they’ve gained valuable insights into the mental processes of an expat, and that they have tangible things to do and discuss. Also, I hope that couples will understand that both sides are key in making an expatriation a success. They are a team despite the different roles they take on.
What was one highlight and one low point during your writing process?
A highlight was the flow I experienced when writing and the purpose that surfaced as I made expatadvising.com and pursued being a leader in helping companies and expats all over the world to make an expatriation and repatriation a success. There was no real low point – I wrote it while living in gorgeous nature in France during lockdown.
What’s your day job?
I arrived with my spouse and two children in Singapore in December 2021. I’ve spent a good eight months adjusting, doing cultural training, working as a board member in DABS (Danish Business Associates Abroad), completing a leadership course at the Marketing Institute of Singapore, and scouting the job market while also researching the business environment.
I decided to register my own company. Today, I advise, speak, write and do workshops and training on expatriation/ repatriation. I have bigger plans for 2023 and cannot wait to reveal more!
The book is currently available as a free download at Kia’s website, expatadvising.com.
Word with the author – CANDY GAN and YEO CHENG YONG
It’s rare to come across a children’s book about a serious health issue like diabetes. CANDY GAN and YEO CHENG YONG break the mould by opening up about the sensitive topic in their book, My Name is Adam. I have Type 1 Diabetes.
What inspired you to write your book?
Candy: I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) when I was 2 years old. I grew up overseas (Shanghai and Tokyo) and attained both my degrees in London, so I’ve gone through different life stages with this condition in tow: studying, living independently, staying safe on holidays, building my career.
Out of all people with diabetes, 90 to 95 percent have Type 2 while 5 to 10 percent have Type 1. While Type 2 is a lifestyle condition, Type 1, which is usually diagnosed in adolescence, is an autoimmune condition that requires external insulin via injections or an insulin pump, and constant daily monitoring of blood glucose levels.
How challenging an adjustment this must be for the young children and their families! Some children can face exclusion from social activities, judgment for what they need to do to keep themselves alive, and misconceptions when they try to explain their condition to friends. I had my own highs and lows through the years, but a kids’ book about T1D was never a resource available to me. This book represents something I wish I could have given to my younger self.
Cheng Yong: When I was diagnosed at 20 years old, I recalled a children’s novel that had a character with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D). That was when I first learnt about the condition, and it helped me accept my own diagnosis more easily years later. There aren’t many localised resources on T1D, which would help children relate to and understand the condition better.
Tell us a bit about the story.
Candy & Cheng Yong: This book shares a fictional 10-year-old boy’s experiences after being diagnosed with T1D: the challenges he faces, how he returns to school, and how he builds his mental strength. It weaves in local elements such as an average primary school experience and familiar foods that patients can eat, and normalises the daily activities that children will need to do as part of managing their condition.
The book is written in appropriate language for children and their friends, teachers and relatives to understand T1D in a respectful, simple way. We hope this helps Singapore to become a more inclusive society for invisible conditions. To support this wider vision, the text is suitable for those with dyslexia, and page colours were intentionally chosen to cater to a variety of learning needs.
To craft the story, we spoke to a few families living with T1D in Singapore to understand the hurdles they have faced and overcome.
What’s your day job?
Candy: I work in public healthcare administration.
Cheng Yong: I’m a data engineer.
Available for borrowing at all public libraries. Purchase copies from wardahbooks.com and mayagallery.com.sg, or email enquiry@diabetes.org.sg to order
Young Expat Author
Shriya Asha Sharma is a 10-year-old living in Singapore whose new book Unicorn Adventures: The Dark Forest tells the story of three unicorn friends, Miso, Milky and Mocha, who stumble upon a castle in a forest. There they discover a cursed evil queen and two goblin servants who are trying to overcome the curse. The unicorns end up staying the night in the woods. What happens next? That’s for you to find out!
Shriya is an emerging talent who has pledged to donate profits from her book (available on Amazon) to the education of underprivileged children.
Christine Amour-Levar
French-SwissFilipina expat CHRISTINE AMOUR-LEVAR wears many hats: author, adventurer, human rights advocate, philanthropist – and regular EL contributor! Her new travel book Wild Wisdom recounts the amazing all-female expeditions she has led across the globe.
When was your first real travel experience?
When I was a child in Manila, my family and I visited the island of Boracay one summer. No one had really heard of it – it seemed that the only tourists who ventured there were intrepid European backpackers. My family and I took an overnight crowded boat from Manila and docked at Caticlan port, before transferring to a smaller banca boat to get to the pristine island. It was breathtaking: sand white as sugar, turquoise waters and glorious stars. I even caught my first firefly there. I never forgot that exciting feeling of being like Robinson Crusoe on a deserted island. No wonder I kept looking for that in my travels later on!
What are some of your favourite travel books or writers?
A favourite novel growing up was Shogun by James Clavell. Set in medieval Japan, it tells the epic story of a bold English captain who found himself alone in this alien land – it gave me a romanticised vision of Japan and made me want to study there. Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing recounts Shackleton’s harrowing attempt to reach the South Pole in 1914 – it’s an inspiring read about resilience in the face of adversity. And I love Felicity Aston’s Alone in Antarctica, a bracingly honest look at the daily grind of adventure – her story inspired me to explore Antarctica.
What was your most recent expedition?
In May 2022, I took a team of female divers to my home country of the Philippines, on a coral restoration project to support the Sulubaaï Environmental Foundation, a non-profit organisation. We also met with women from the local communities and had constructive discussions and exchanges on how best to protect nature in this region.
Name a life lesson that being an expedition leader has taught you.
Good leaders inspire their team to be a part of something bigger than themselves, something more meaningful and ultimately more fulfilling. I believe that we should all aspire to help others grow closer to who they are meant to be, and our real value as human beings ought not to be measured by how much we have achieved in life, but by how well we advance the lives of others along the way.
What’s harder: climbing a mountain or writing a book?
When I told Robert Swan that I had written a book and asked if he could write the foreword, he said, “I’m proud of you. A book is a hard task to master.” This, from the first man to walk to both poles, was eye opening.
Perhaps writing a book is similar to climbing the tallest mountain. However, on a mountain you have no choice. Once you reach a certain point, going back down is just as hard, and sometimes more dangerous. With a book, you can give up after you get started. My advice for people who want to write a book (or take up any challenging endeavour), is to approach it like climbing a mountain. There is no going back, you have to reach the summit somehow – only to feel the joy and satisfaction of a challenge overcome.
What do you hope readers take away from Wild Wisdom?
My biggest wish is that my journey can inspire others to take their aspirations into their own hands, find their purpose and go for it fearlessly, without limitations.
Find out more about the book at penguin.sg/book/wild-wisdom. It’s also available on Amazon.
Rachele Focardi | Reframing Generational Stereotypes
Tell us about your book.
Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z have different mindsets and expectations, and respond differently to varying communication styles, but they have one thing in common: they all feel misunderstood.
20 years of working with hundreds of organisations across multiple countries has given me a big realisation: one of the most common reasons for young employees to leave an organisation is linked to intergenerational conflicts – and shifts in demographic trends and digitalisation are exacerbating them.
I wrote the book with the intent of helping bridge generational barriers in the workplace. After all, what it boils down to is a lack of mutual understanding and awareness of the forces that shaped us.
What inspired you to write it?
In 2001, I got a job with a large international advertising agency in Italy. I experienced first-hand the psychological abuse that Gen X had to endure if they wanted to “build their bones” in a hierarchical and gerontocratic workplace.
A few years later, Millennials entered the workplace demanding meaningful work, a friendly environment, supportive leaders, work-life balance, and personal and professional development.
I seized the opportunity to spearhead a revolution by advising companies on how to meet the needs of the new generation. Although the transformation happened almost overnight, it led to significant disruption within the existing workforce – it took years for the older generations and Millennials to learn to coexist.\
Becoming a mother made me more aware of how polarised society is – and more scared for my children’s future. Secondly, I watched Gen Z become a generation of socially minded ethical consumers who feel a sense of responsibility to fix significant global issues.
For both our society and our businesses, being able to combine the drive, creativity and social-mindedness of today’s youth with the broad range of skills and experience of those who came before them will be the key to survival.
How is your book helpful for readers today?
We’ve all struggled at some point when interacting with other age groups. Friction between generations stems from a profound lack of contextual knowledge; people don’t realise how the behaviours or the mindsets they disapprove of are rooted in the historical, political and social context that each generation was brought up in. My book makes a strong argument that we cannot deal with our differences without understanding each other. It takes the reader on a journey through time to help them see things through the lens of different generations.
What’s your day job?
I’m a mother to three children aged two to seven years; this is by far the most important job anybody could have. Professionally, I advise Fortune 500 Companies, Asian organisations, NGOs, educational institutions and government agencies; I help them adapt to the needs of the new generations, bridge the generational divide, foster a culture of intergenerational collaboration, harmonise their multigenerational workforce and empower future leaders to drive positive change.
I also speak at key conferences around the world, chair a number of committees, sit on a couple of boards and tell their story whenever I’m given the opportunity.
Reframing Generational Stereotypes is available at major bookstores, Amazon, McGraw Hill and Book Depository. It’s also available for Kindle on Amazon US, and soon as an audio book on Audible.
Fredrik Härén | The Unvisible
This fantasy novel is Fredrik Härén’s most creative writing project. It’s about Alexandra, a journalism student who discovers an invisible race living together with humans, her struggles with keeping this secret from humanity and the consequences of her choices.
What inspired you to write your book?
The story came to me as the most vivid dream! It was clear, detailed and profound. I dreamt the story – the main characters, their names, the message of the book, the plot. I woke up and thought: “I have to turn this into a book.” It truly felt like I had been given a message to share.
What would you like readers to take away from your book?
The Unvisible invites the reader to reflect on many moral and ethical issues. I’m also proud of the fact that after finishing the book, many readers say to me “I now can’t unthink the idea that The Unvisible might actually be real!” To me that means they were really drawn into the story.
What’s your day job?
I’m The Creativity Explorer, an author and speaker on creativity. For the last 25 years, I’ve been travelling the world to learn about human creativity. During my explorations, I’ve been invited to speak more than 2,000 times to clients in 70 countries on six continents.
The Unvisible is available at linktr.ee/theunvisible.
Stand a chance to win a copy of The Unvisible by clicking here
John Hogger | The Adventures of Mittens & Midnight
What happens when two cats slip out of the household unnoticed and wander around their local neighbourhood? This illustrated story features scenes based on real places where John Hogger has lived or frequented during his time in Singapore. Cats have been of personal significance to him as his family have rescued and adopted several cats over the years.
What inspired you to write your book?
I’ve long been an admirer of the work of a few Singapore-based watercolour artists, mainly focusing on botanicals, black-and-white houses, shophouses and other iconic Singapore scenes. I think the watercolour style perfectly captures the tropical imagery.
During the pandemic, I spent a period out of work, and I wanted to do something with my time. I have a four-year-old daughter, so the book was partly written with her in mind.
In general, I wanted to create something that would be fun and engaging for young children while capturing the spirit of Singapore through the illustrations. I had the good fortune of being introduced to the talented illustrator, Raymond Li.
What would you like readers to take away from your book?
My intention is that the book can be enjoyed by children and parents alike – particularly cat lovers. I hope that readers will be able to recognise and associate with the people and places of Singapore.
What’s your day job?
I work in the investment funds industry.
The Adventures of Mittens & Midnight is available at Kinokuniya, Tango Mango (Tanglin Mall), The Moon (Mosque Street) and at epigram.com.sg
Stand a chance to win a copy of The Adventures of Mittens & Midnight by clicking here
Olga Iserlis | Little Black Book
What inspired you to write Little Black Book?
It came from my captions on social media. I’m not a pro on social media nor did I want to become one. But, during the Circuit Breaker, I started to be more active on it and made a conscious decision to share my musings, thoughts, emotions and observations with the photos.
With this came an idea to express feelings in an open conversation that I have with myself. When I started to arrange my thoughts and observations in chapters, I decided to build on these by researching facts, analysing etymology and studying trivia expressions.
What’s your book about?
LBB is really a conversation starter. It has three chapters: Style and Fashion, Etiquette and Manners, and History and Traditions; I envision for my readers to pick their own curiosity to engage and connect with their own selves through remembering and learning, and with one another through discussion and sharing as this creates deeper relationships. At the same time, this gives them an incentive to learn and even change some of their beliefs, behaviour and attitude
What would you like readers to take away from your book?
I’m hoping that it will open readers to curiosity and this might lead to more questions that in turn will lead to developing more interests. It means we will carry ourselves anywhere we go with more elegance, inner strength, finesse and style in an authentic and unique way.
I hope that LBB will become a chic and special companion for readers. Through this, I will feel that I’m having a conversation with them. I truly believe that we rise by lifting others.
What’s your day job?
I’m the Founder and Director of Adagio Events; the company has specialised in the conceptualisation, production, management and marketing of high-profile lifestyle events in Singapore and other countries around the world for 23 years. I create events and experiences that are renowned for their originality, meticulous planning and elegant and unusual settings.
Available at Bynd Artisan stores, online at byndartisan.com, and at Kinokuniya and Amazon USA.
Andrea T Edwards | Uncommon Courage
How did you get the idea for your book?
A big part of the passion for writing this book was in response to what we were all experiencing because of the pandemic. Everywhere I turned, I could see my community languishing, in despair, and overwhelmed by misinformation. So I felt this incredible urgency to contribute a message of hope, of peace, of global unity. I also knew the time was right for this message.
To the depths of my soul, I really believe we all need to muster up some Uncommon Courage – that is, if we’re going to get through this time with our sanity intact, and get ready for the deep societal changes we need to make if we want to build a healthier, more equal and fairer world, in balance with all life on earth.
What are you hoping readers take away from your book?
The essential message is, if you want to create great change, it starts within each of us. That is the starting point to getting our world back on track, and it’s something all of us can commit to. By illustrating my lessons, learnings and observations, I’m hoping to show everyone that it is possible. Not easy, but very possible.
Who doesn’t want to be more contented and peaceful within themselves?
By inviting readers on my personal journey, I’m inviting them to reflect on their own. I hope they dig deep and step back to look at their current life with fresh eyes and come away with a new perspective on how they can achieve more peace and contentment in their lives.
What was one highlight and lowlight during your writing process?
I think the highlight and lowlight is the same thing. In the book, there is a chapter about a very personal experience we had with our son Lex called, “Don’t Lose Yourself in Challenging Times”. I knew I needed to include this chapter, because in order for me to write a book like this, readers need to know I haven’t experienced a life of bliss. Hardship is what defines us, and how we respond to hardship is a critical part of life’s journey – when you go through hard times and you end up at a fork in the road, which path do you take? The one where your life is less? Or the other, where you take on the lesson and become a better version of yourself? It is one of those stories, and none of us know how we’ll respond until we face our darkest times.
The other side is that I’ve been completely vulnerable in this book, which is something I am absolutely fine with, but you never know how others will take it, or how they will use it. Opening my family to the world this way wasn’t easy, but I’m glad I did it and I’m glad they supported it too. The world needs more vulnerability and it starts with each of us.
What’s your day job?
Professionally, I’m known as The Digital Conversationalist, where I speak, train, coach and mentor clients on social leadership, with a focus on integrity, a mindset of service and deep authenticity. I work with global businesses in the B2B space.
Uncommon Courage is available at Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble and Book Depository.
Andrea McKenna Brankin | Bipolar Phoenix
When did your book come out?
On World Mental Health Day (10 October) in 2020; it’s a very special day for me to launch the book and every anniversary will be meaningful to my mission of spreading hope for mental health recovery and wellness.
What inspired you to write it?
I’ve struggled with bipolar disorder since before my diagnosis 20 years ago. I knew I had a journey ahead of me and I decided when I moved to Singapore that it was the right place to tell my story and share my success and tips for living with the illness. I’ve been a writer and journalist for over 30 years, so it was time to write the book.
What research did you do for the book?
I looked at mental health statistics – numbers of cases, suicide and crime stats, recovery information and general facts on the techniques I used with my own recovery. Most of the research, however, was mining my own mind for poignant experiences that readers could connect with.
What are you hoping readers will take away from your book?
I want people to believe and know that there is hope to get well and live with bipolar disorder. You don’t have to end it all or give up your life. What’s your day job? I’m a journalist; right now I’m working with the American Association of Singapore’s Career Resource Centre for Excellence.
Find Andrea’s book at Amazon.com.
Daniel Lee & Avi Liran | First Time Leadership
What’s your book about?
Daniel: It’s about real-life experiences of 220 leaders interviewed from around the world and condensed into 30 leadership lessons.
Avi: The book helps aspiring and first-time leaders to step forward to leadership, stand out to be chosen to lead and become successful at their role.
What inspired you to write this book?
Daniel: A manager once told me to “show more leadership”. I didn’t know what that meant – and reading 30 leadership books over three years didn’t help. I decided to do my own research and eventually wrote this book.
Avi: We wanted to prepare people for their first leadership role, and also help female leaders rise faster to leadership positions.
Give us a top tip from your book.
Daniel: Leadership starts with awareness. When you’re aware of what it takes to be a leader, then you can take steps to be one.
Avi: Leadership is about the intention to make other people successful. Most of our interviewees started their leadership in childhood as volunteers in their communities.
What are you hoping readers will take away from your book?
Daniel: If you want to, you can be a leader. This book shows you how.
Avi: It’s not about you, it’s about who you are. Learn and apply as many of the book’s lessons so you can faster develop your leadership brand and make your team successful.
What’s your day job?
Daniel: I’m an author, coach and trainer. I educate people on how leadership works.
Avi: I help organisations worldwide create delightful experiences for their employees and customers with educational programmes and keynote speeches.
Find out more at firsttimeleadership.com.
Brenda Bence | The Forgotten Choice
What’s your book about?
In this unprecedented time of uncertainty, with the world in a constant state of disruption, we must disrupt the one thing inside of us that can create real, positive and sustainable change: the way we think.
At every moment, we all have available to us one simple yet powerful choice that can shift you from where you are to where you want to be. We’ve always had this choice, but most of us have forgotten it. This book walks you through not only what this powerful choice is, but how to keep it front of your mind, to achieve success in your career, relationships, finances, health and beyond.
I’ve taught this forgotten choice to thousands around the world. As a result, in the book, I share dozens of fascinating real-life examples of the impact of putting this forgotten choice into action. You really can create the life you want – and it’s easier than you might imagine.
What sparked the idea for your book?
I coach people every week who are senior level leaders working for large, multinational corporations. These individuals are all incredibly smart, driven and extremely successful. Yet, despite their tremendous achievements, it’s not unusual for them to share that they don’t feel they are living up to their full potential and are not as satisfied or happy as they would like to be.
For years, in the pursuit of my own personal growth, I studied the power of thoughts and beliefs and the impact they have on the outcomes of our lives. I put this learning into practice and, as I share in the book, the results I experienced were nothing short of miraculous.
Given the incredible outcomes that I and others were seeing and experiencing from regularly remembering the forgotten choice, I was inspired to broaden its reach even further. That’s how the book came to be.
What are you hoping readers take away from your book?
Through the concepts and methods shared in The Forgotten Choice, you will learn to:
- shift easily out of a negative mindset;
- face the unknown with a sense of excitement and adventure;
- get over self-limiting beliefs, reframe your mindset and feel more in charge of your future.
All that stems from mastering a simple mindset shift to get what you want in relationships, work, finances, health and beyond.
What’s your day job?
As a Certified Executive Leadership Coach, I coach leaders across the globe. I’m fortunate to be ranked as a Top 10 Global Coach by GlobalGurus and by Thinkers50 as a World Leader in Coaching. As a motivational keynote speaker, I speak both virtually and in person to audiences around the world at conferences, corporations and conventions – these days, with a simple push of a button! I’m also an author; The Forgotten Choice is my 11th book.
Available at Kinokuniya and Times bookstores, and on Amazon and Audible.
Sam Rice | The Midlife Method
How did you get the idea for your book?
My new book was actually eight years in the making! I had my own health wake-up call back in 2012 when my brother Ben died aged 27 from complications arising from Type 1 Diabetes. I was 42 at the time, about 10 kg overweight, and not really looking after myself. I decided that I wanted to find a healthy and sustainable way to lose weight; The Midlife Method is the culmination of that process.
What research did you have to do for the book?
My first book, The Midlife Kitchen, was published in 2017 and it was really the first cookbook out there that focused on midlife health and nutrition. My co-author Mimi Spencer and I did a ton of research for that book looking at how diet can help support midlife health, from hormones to heart health, and brain function to immunity.
After it came out, I spoke to so many midlife women who felt that they were eating quite well, but weight was still creeping on around the middle. That’s when I decided to research in detail why there is this tendency to put on weight in our 40s and 50s, and I came up with an effective approach to deal with it.
What are you hoping readers will take away from your book?
Above all, The Midlife Method is about developing a positive relationship with food. While traditional diets focus on restriction and what you can’t, shouldn’t or mustn’t eat, my approach is the opposite. If you focus on eating a varied diet that’s naturally lower in calories and macro-balanced, there is absolutely no reason to restrict food groups or deny yourself the things you love to eat. By giving people the tools to manage their weight effectively, and creating recipes that are filling, delicious and nutritious, The Midlife Method can help people lose weight but, more importantly, keep it off in the future.
What’s your favourite recipe in the book and why?
Ah, that’s a difficult question but probably the one I get asked the most often. It really depends on the day. Right now, I would choose the “Quickest Ever Spinach & Chickpea Curry”, because I feel like something warm, spicy and nourishing! What’s your day job? I’m actually a full-time writer these days! It has grown from a hobby when my children were younger, to my main occupation. Apart from my books, I write freelance for several print and online publications, including the Daily Telegraph in the UK, and I’m a columnist for Top Santé magazine. I’m also starting to formulate ideas for my next book, so watch this space. Available on Book Depository.
Find out more at midlifemethod.co.uk and Instagram @midlifekitchen.
Neil Dibb | Arete-Ver. 2250 – All Men Are Created Equal
Tell us about your book.
The story is set in the year 2250. An Artificial Intelligence system is running the legal and enforcement requirements of countries, freeing up their leaders to lead and not have to legislate. The AI system is based on five principles interpreted by a set of software specialists and then applied by the AI system as laws to the countries. The system interprets the laws and enforces them with the aid of police robots.
Wow – a futuristic peek into how the world might operate in time to come! Tell us about the hero in your story.
The protagonist is a programmer on the system; he runs afoul of behind-the-scenes power brokers who are manipulating the AI system to their ends. Even though there is an ideal of equality, the system could still be controlled by unscrupulous players.
Where did you get your inspiration for this book?
I’ve had the idea in my head for a while, and the COVID shutdown gave me a perfect window to get it done. My motivation was to paint a picture of an ideal legal system in the future to contrast today’s legislative process – specifically in the US but also related to other countries.
Why did you want to put out a book with this theme?
The desire to apply laws universally without discrimination based on race, gender or wealth is the underlying basis for my writing. What do you want readers to take away from your book? I want to get them thinking and at the same time entertain them with a good storyline.
What’s your day job?
I run a dive boat charter business in Phuket, Thailand, which is currently very quiet. I was in software sales for most of my life, working for large multinational companies. This allowed me to travel extensively and see many parts of the world.
Signed copies are available at neildibb.com, and you can also buy the book at Amazon and Book Depository.
Kenneth Kwan | Small Steps to Big Changes
What made you write this book? The book counters certain common beliefs that may not be useful and shares principles and processes on how to win more in life and at work. Many of us have heard of motivational speakers encouraging you to dream big and take big steps. The problem with this thought process is that it’s unsustainable.
Big dreams and big steps work well for the highly motivated (perhaps only two percent of the population). The rest of us need to dream and win small consistently. Some people are struggling to take steps forward or even develop consistent wins.
Who should read this book?
People who want to get ahead and create more personal wins. Those that want to deliver better business results and create supporting conversations may also enjoy this book.
What are you hoping readers take away from it?
This book helps readers to turn negative or problem-focused conversations into optimistic and solution-focused ones. It shares how to develop possibilities in your conversations with others, identify what’s working and move others quickly towards that new reality.
Readers will also learn the exact words to say to overcome difficult conversations and create positive outcomes. This makes the book highly useful and practical if you need to create useful change.
What’s your day job?
I take care of three hyperactive boys, and I’m a speaker. I also run leadership training programmes and strategic planning retreats for clients. They bring in real business issues and I love working with them to deliver business results.
Learn more at smallstepstobigchanges.com.
Chrissy Tasker | Garden of Love
Eighteen different writers contribute to Garden of Love, a collection of messages with the common thread of love, and healing emotional hurt. These writers were brought together by Singaporean Chrissy Tasker.
What was your aim in compiling Garden of Love?
I really wanted to create a quality book that people would remember as an uplifting read. I felt we could all do with a little more love, hope and joy during these uncertain times. So I invited a group of authors to join me to create a book with a theme to inspire hope. Ultimately this book was created to help someone during their dark days.
What is the book about?
Garden of Love is a beautiful amalgamation of 18 authors’ life journeys and their transformations. It encompasses many traditions and voices, and offers insight on pain, struggles and love. Each voice is accompanied with passion for life and passion to inspire and bring hope. It’s my hope that there is a story amongst the collection that will resonate with all types of readers and uplift them through their hardships.
Why do you feel this book important?
A Reverend Dr Christopher Chern puts it in his foreword, “This book is written for ordinary people like you and me – tired, emotionally exhausted, overstretched, and spiritually drained from doing too many good things. Life can take any number of turns without warning. The reality is that life can be hard and difficult. Meeting the need of those who are struggling with inner pain requires a heart of love and acts of compassion and comfort”. This is the essence of the book.
Available from Amazon.com.
Evelyn Bookless | Captain Green And The Tree Machine
Evelyn Bookless was shortlisted for the Singapore Book Awards for Best Picture Book for Captain Green and the Plastic Scene. Here she discusses her newly released follow-up.
What inspired you to write this book?
Captain Green was thirsty for another eco-adventure following his first mission in Captain Green and the Plastic Scene. As deforestation is a growing concern for the health of our planet, and I had witnessed the destruction of ancient rainforests in my travels to Borneo, it was a topic I was desperate to write about, and one that I felt needed the help of a superhero.
How did you come up with the characters?
Captain Green helps three animals who are in danger due to deforestation. I chose animals who are native to Borneo: Hornbill, Elephant (a pygmy elephant) and Orangutan. Danny Deeptown, the illustrator of the Captain Green series, did a magnificent job of bringing these animals to life with his incredible and emotive art.
What message are you hoping young readers take away?
Firstly, I want children to enjoy the story. It’s a superhero adventure that happens to be about a very real issue. There are fun and lighthearted moments throughout the book, and all sorts of things to find in Danny’s detailed illustrations.
Captain Green shares six ways that we all can make a difference. Children always impress me by their willingness to help, and their genuine empathy with environmental issues affecting animals. Let’s all “Keep It Green” together!
Find out more at evelynbookless.com.
This article first appeared in Expat Living magazine. You can purchase the latest issue or subscribe, so you never miss a copy!
