Thursday, June 30, 2005

Unfamiliar Territory

Preparations are still underway for the upcoming Cambridge Seminar. I'm supposed to finalize my trip details on Sunday and if all goes well, I should fly to London Wednesday night.

I've been reading about the contributors who will be taking part and attending this event. These are obviously people who have worked very hard and have significant achievements under their wings, published, award-winning, critically-acclaimed authors…. This is somewhat intimidating to be honest and I am now thinking "Do I deserve to be amongst those people?!" it may sound silly, but it’s true that people like me, self-published/POD authors, are looked still looked down on, to some extent.

Thankfully so far, I've not had many negative attitudes towards me or my book because I am self-published or because my book is a POD title. And from what I sense generally, this sort of attitude is fading away and people are opening their eyes, minds and arms to print on demand. But, not really wanting to get carried away over nothing, I'll just cross my fingers and hope this seminar will be an eye-opener for myself and that I can get the most out of it.

If you're still wondering about the website, well, uploading the pages/files is proving more difficult than I first thought. It's a struggle, time-consuming affair. Plus, I am using freewebs web-hosting instead of bravenet this time around, and I'm not very familiar with it yet.

Patience my dear boys and girls, patience.

Saturday, June 25, 2005

My Three Little Angels

A new review of QuixotiQ has appeared on Fallen Angel Reviews. And it’s not that bad a review I suppose… It got three “angels” out of five (phew)!

The reviewer described QuixotiQ as a “surreal, dreamy and edgy piece” and that she found it to be a “spooky and otherworldly story.” It's under suspense/mystery. To read the full review please click here.

Still working on the new website. Don’t hold your breath just yet!

Thursday, June 23, 2005

New Website in the Making

I've spent most of today building up a new website for myself.

I figure it's about time. This one will actually carry my name and will be more generic than QuixotiQ.tk, which basically focuses on the novel and any related news.

I'm using Microsoft Publisher! While I realized this must not be the most sophistocated and uptodate website builder available, it's easy and simple enough for me. I'm a novice after all. My design work on the QuixotiQ website was limited to ideas and concepts and my brother Mohammed did most of the technical work.

This one is my baby!

Monday, June 20, 2005

Lost Treasures

Masked Faces

What if I had another face to put on?
Not a mask, I hate masks
Masks are made of rubber and they suffocate
I would like another face please
No, not a new soul
Souls are overrated and boring
I could live without one
But I couldn’t live without a face
Perhaps you can lend me yours
Your face is nice and fine
But then you would have to put on a mask


This was something that I cam across the other day. I don’t remember when I wrote it or why. I was rummaging through bits of paper and old notepads. I do that from time to time. And I usually end up finding some lost written treasure.

I don’t know what you can call these. It can’t be poetry. Far from it. It’s not a story. Thoughts? Reflections? Whatever they are, you are pound to find a piece like that if you go through any of my stuff. (no, this is NOT an open invitation to do so!)

It’s a nice feeling nonetheless. When you find those words, those lines, that you’ve forgotten you’ve written. And you try to remember when you wrote them and why. And then you realize it doesn’t really matter. Because you’ve found it now, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

Funny, how those lost treasures I find almost always can be related to the events, mood or situation I am on the day.

I’m sure there are many people out there like that. Having their own lost treasures. They don’t have to be writings. Perhaps photographs, or tiny ornaments, or even old mixed music tapes.

Have you found one of yours lately?

Friday, June 17, 2005

Another Bahraini Author is Born

This time it's a girl!!

Almost one year following the release of my novel - the first by a Bahraini written in English - another young Bahraini author breaks into the literature scene with her debut novel Yummah. This one, however, is set in Bahrain.

I failed to make it to her book launch last night but I'm hoping to get a chance to meet her soon, and to read her book. Which, by the way, you can now purchase through amazon and the likes. You can read more about Sarah Al Shafei and her novel in today's Gulf Daily News.

Big congratulations to Sarah on her achivement. It's good to see more Bahrainis venturing into the world of writing and publishing, specifically English literature.

Well done Sarah.

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Cambridge Seminar Invite

Almost two weeks ago I received an official invitation from the British Council (Bahrain) to attend the 29th Cambridge Seminar on Contemporary Literature next month.

So that’s what I’ve been working on these past few days. I’ll post on the details once they are finalized within the next few days. But this is something that I am excited about and looking forward to.

It’s an eight-day affair at the Downing College. I really don’t know what to expect, but I’ve got a feeling its going to be some experience. And I’m hoping to be able to build contacts and learn more about the craft.

Other than that, there really isn’t much else to report. I’ve not touched any of those short stories I’ve started, nor have I written more on Buried.

I’ve been noticing that more and more people are talking about POD (Print on Demand) these days and as with just about everything else in life, there is always going to be pro and anti.

Perhaps it’s time that I did the inevitable writers blog POD-post! Hmm, maybe not. Yet.

Sunday, June 05, 2005

Summer Brew

Sorry for the lack of updates... but I've been busy making jugs of Iced-tea in prepration for the summer!

Serioulsy though, not a lot of news to report. Although I sense that there's something abrewing! I'll most certainly keep you posted. And yes, you've guessed it. The reading was actually postponed till further notice. Eventually. There was a lot of going forwards and backwards and now it's not likely that anything will materialize before the end of summer.

I have been, however, doing my fair share of writing. I'll try and speak about my various short-story projects in-progress in the next entery, but for now you can visit the Bahrain This Month magazine website where you will find two of my latest features in the June issue.