Isang gabi ng lagim, Tahimik ang paligid, Pero sandali bago kayo mag-isip ng kung ano- ano, Hindi ito Horror. Kwento ito ng landian. In a sossy way... .. .. Madalas ka bang gumimik? Magbar? Magdisco? Makiparty-party? PERO NAGAWA MO NA BANG MAKIPARTY-PARTY dahil broken hearted ka? Wala kang masandalan. Nahihiya kang magsabi sa mga kaibigan mo na HEART BROKEN ka. Pilit mong ipinapakita sa kanila na KAYA mo pero ang totoo hindi mo na kaya! Kamusta naman? Ano ang napala mo? tsssss... IKAW DIN BAKA MAWALA ANG VIRGINITY MO SA KAKAPARTY-PARTY NA IYAN! TAPOS PAG GISING MO KATABI MO ANG ISANG OH SO GORGEOUS GREEK GOD NA HINDI MO ALAM ANG PANGALAN. MASAKIT ANG KATAWAN MO... At higit sa lahat... HINDI KA NA VIRGIN! OH.MY.GOSH! At ang tanging nagawa mo lang ay iwan ang OH SO GORGEOUS GREEK GOD na iyon... At... At... DALHIN ANG BRANDED BRIEF NITO AS A REMEMBRANCE! ^0^ bwahahahahahaha!!

Often when I am asked about my new novel, ‘The Headmaster’s Wager’, I am asked about my memories of my late grandfather. This does not surprise me. After all, I have written a book in which the protagonist, Percival Chen, shares many characteristics with my grandfather. Percival is the headmaster of an English school in wartime Vietnam, as was my grandfather. Percival lives most of his adult life in Vietnam but is ethnically Chinese, and this is crucial to his sense of identity. In addition to being a successful educator and entrepreneur, he is a gambler, drinker, and womanizer. All of these qualities in Percival are inspired by my grandfather. I choose that word carefully – inspired. The book is a work of fiction, and is not ‘based upon’ my grandfather’s life. It does not memorialize him or recount his actions or memories. Instead, it picks up on a thread of his life, and an era he experienced.