T: Tell us about yourself.
CS: I'm a Senior Interpreter working in the Judiciary. My hobbies are writing, reading, surfing the Internet and singing.
T: How long have you been a writer?
CS: I developed an interest in writing when I was in lower secondary. After passing my GCE "O" Level, I joined the Judiciary as an Interpreter. I took some correspondence courses to prepare for various exams, after which I began to write a novel in 1994. In 1996, I took an online screenwriting course. I was hooked. There was no turning back! I continued to dabble in screenwriting while writing short stories, articles, poems and novels. In 2004, many of my articles and short stories were published in Borneo Bulletin under the name of Christopher Sun.
T: Where do you find the inspiration to write?
CS: I took some online screenwriting courses, where I brainstormed ideas with my mentor, and developed into them novels and screenplays. Sometime, I had a dream, which contained dramatic events, and spurred me to write as a screenplay or novel, with plotting and modifications to streamline the storyline.
T: Please describe your latest book.
CS: My latest book is "The Sun Rises East"-- an action thriller in the vein of "The Firm" meets "Rising Sun." The logline:
A young and ambitious lawyer discovers his employer is the kingpin of a Japanese crime syndicate and has to find a way to protect his family from both the man he works for, as well as from the FBI.
T: What do you like to read?
CS: I like to read murder mystery and legal thriller from authors like Agatha Christie, John Grisham, Steve Martini, P.D. James, etc. I also read produced screenplays.
T: What is your favourite book?
CS: "The Judge" by Steve Martini.
T: When do you find the time to read?
CS: At night time and during the weekend.
T: Any book that you'd like to recommend our students to read?
CS: As the risk of sounding like tooting my own horn, I'd recommend "The Sun Rises East", which is available at Best Eastern, Booker, Meslia, Ziznaa Restaurant, Seri Kemayan Restaurant. Apart from that, I'd recommend "The Judge", though it was published quite some time ago.
T: Lastly, what is your advice to SM RIMBA students?
CS: To students who like to pursue writing as a hobby with a view to get published, my advice is to take some online writing courses, join online writing discussion groups, write and seek feedback from peers or mentors. If they have some money to spare, get a script consultant to give critique on their scripts or manuscripts. But do research the credentials of the consultant by doing a Google search on him or her before parting your money.
SMR READS thanks Mr. Christopher Sun for his support! Read this blog next week and find out who's going to be on SMR READS. (Hint: She is a successful singer!)
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