I’m back in Doha, having had an amazing time in Singapore for the book launch of Sushi and Tapas: Bite-Size Personal Stories from Women Around the World. (Prior to that, I went to Sumatra on my own for five days of jungle-trekking, white-water rafting, and climbing volcanoes.  A bit too intense, but I survived.)

The launch took place at The Arts House (a venue in Singapore with a great program of literature, film, and music)  and we had a capacity crowd, mainly women, both ex-pat and local, with a range of ages.  There was an enthusiastic response overall, I met some wonderful people, and I had to sign about 60 or books or something… yikes.  Ooh, Singaporean Ambassador-at-Large Professor Chan Heng Chee graced our event with her insightful introduction.

Here are some photos from the evening:

Me with contributing authors Jing Huang, Zipho Sikhakhane, and our fearless editor Neo Gim Huay on the right

I should be smiling. Probably Book #44 that I had to sign…

Stay tuned for interviews with me in The Business Times and Cosmopolitan magazine in Singapore.  (Yes, opposite ends of the media spectrum, but hey, I got mass appeal…)

I’ve been perfecting the dual-moded  vacation – half of it rugged outdoors stuff, the other half cultured urban stuff.  The only problem is you then have to bring two wardrobes – and often in my last-minute packing, I end up neglecting one of those two.  So, the night before the book launch, with my legs still in pain from a tough descent down a 8,000-ft volcano (Gunung Sinabung on Sumatra), I realized I’d packed mainly trekking clothes.  i.e. Nothing Really Suitable for an Interview with Cosmo.   Cut to the next afternoon, when I found myself running around the malls on Orchard Road, Singapore, trying to find a suitable dress mere hours before the book launch.   “Just find me a Zara, and I’ll figure something out!” I said.

Anyway, yes, Zara saved the day with a classy dark green dress, and I got a compliment from the Features Editor of Cosmo.  That’s gotta count for something, right?

A big shout-out to everyone at Epigram Books for their brilliant launch of Sushi and Tapas  – in particular, Edmund Wee, Felicity Low, and Michelle Chua.  They’re a great local publisher with a strong emphasis on Singaporean culture and literature.   If you’re in Singapore, I spotted a nice stack of our books at the front of Kinokuniya Books at the Takashimaya Mall on Orchard Road.  (There’s a Zara one floor below if anyone’s in need of a last-minute dress.)