BORNEO WRITERS MEET

Dining out instead of cooking has become the norm with my family, and why not? There is such a choice of “makan places” (eating out places) in Kuching and at such affordable prices too, that it would be almost unreasonable not to go out for a meal! Recently though, I went out solo to a very special dinner. Imagine a rustic tropical terrace on the Sarawak River’s Water Front, where patrons of Khatulistiwa Restaurant can enjoy Malay food and fresh fruit juices and, in my case, the company two very special men indeed: Borneo writers! Robert Raymer and TomMcLaughlin.                    

Robert Raymer

 It was Robert who had prompted what was to be a brain-storming meeting of expat writers: both Robert and Tom are American and both have married Borneo girls, while yours truly French enjoys life with a Borneo Teochew man. If you can read French, you can catch my story “Partie à Bornéo”  on my blog.    

Assuming you are a regular follower of this blog, as I’m sure you are (wink), you must be already familiar with Robert Raymer (check out my post “About Crocs”) who “[...] once held a live crocodile in his arms [...}”. When he does not cuddle crocs, Robert is a very productive and successful writer whose book “Lovers and Strangers Revisited*”, a collection of contemporary stories set in Malaysia, will now be available to French readers as “Trois Autres Malaisies” (Editions Gope).                                                                                                                                Robert is also the author of “Tropical Affairs: Episodes from an expat’s life in Malaysia” another collection of stories amongst which I truly enjoyed the whole series “ON BEING A MOVIE EXTRA” (alongside  no less than Catherine Deneuve (Indochine), Patricia Arquette and Frances McDormand (Beyond Rangoon) and Glen Close, Juliana Margulies and Cate Blanchett (Paradise Road). While recollecting his experiences in front of the camera, Robert simply treats the reader with contagious feel good humour!  

NB: Soon in stores, Robert Raymer’s new book   “Spirit of Malaysia”                                                        

Robert has his own blog: http://www.borneoexpatwriter.blogspot.com/ (you can see him with the croc in his arms.)                                                                              

Indeed we had much to celebrate since Tom McLaughlin aka Borneo Tom has recently publish his own story and sketch book “BORNEO TOM: Adventures of an Expat in Borneo” about love, travel and jungle family in tropical Asia. Tom, who is a retired teacher, is passionate about conservation and Orang Utans and chooses to use his pen to “raise hell” about certain subjects close to his heart. “BORNEO TOM” is now available at Amazon.com and Kindle. You can also follow and contact Tom through his website http://www.borneotom.com/.

*Lovers and Strangers Revisited, winner of 2009 Popular-The star Reader’s Choice Award