Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Kit Yan is Malaysian Chinese and, author of Deathrow High and God of the Game.
Born in the Pearl of the Orient, grew up in the ex mining capital of the world, I now spend most of my time in the city that houses the tallest twin towers in the world.
Writing is a love I developed over the years. Deathrow High is my first book.
Written in 2001, it’s a contemporary Malaysian tale (in English and Manglish – Malaysian English) revolving around the relationship between the narrator and his best friend on death row, Frank. Wrought in love and guilt, Deathrow High deals with a religious upbringing the narrator tries to shake off, a new love of his life and an old one he can’t forget, and his gradual but in-mollifiable loss of respect for Frank as the man deteriorates in his cell wanting nothing more than to be reconciled with his wife before the date of his demise. O’ yes, and the narrator discovers the joy and liberation of dance.
I was not happy with it for a long time; but I think I have improved as a writer over the decade. Deathrow High was published in 2007. But the deal was rushed and I was inexperienced and glaring grammatical errors came rushing out of the pages. In retrospect, it was premature to have the book out; I’d not matured as a writer. Ecstasy overtook rationality when the manuscript was wanted. I was given free rein, the publisher trusted me, and I did my best. But it wasn’t good enough. I wasn’t ready. Thankfully Deathrow High was only released in Malaysia, and soon it set sail into silent obscurity. Perhaps I can blame local reading habits or my risqué content or even bad marketing, but I’m glad it didn’t make a splash and instead, died a quiet death. However, I’m looking forward to its resurrection having recently reedited its body. I’m proud of it; don’t get me wrong, the prose needed tinkering, that’s all. The mistakes, unless intentional, have been obliterated. Story wise, it remains the same.
In tandem, God of the Game is an abstract continuation of Deathrow High set in the afterlife. To surmise the two, Deathrow High gives insight of the narrator as a man, and God of the Game after, when he is god – how would (everlasting) life be if anything and everything was possible?
They’re both part of the Dreamstate Series – a collection looped round life on Earth and slung-shot across infinity and eternity to return to the Third Rock once again, culminating, or rather coinciding, with the Second Coming (whatever that may be).
Currently, I am more than halfway through my third novel. Hope to see it out in 2014, or latest, I promise, by 2015.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
How would (everlasting) life be if anything and everything was possible?
That’s the premise for God of the Game
Set in the afterlife, past the second coming, beyond singularity, life now is a conglomerate of videogames. Join our nameless hero as he effortlessly traverses dimensions, jumping from multiverses to metaverses, pursuing a mindless selection of violent, sexual vocations. Existence here is a hedonistic pit. With unlimited choice and eternity at his disposal, life should be meaningful. But it is not. Poor fool is stuck in his human past, continuously digs up the grave of his mortal time on Earth. Unresolved desires, ex-girlfriends and aimless addictions, the makings of a flawed deity; one that pisses on everything he creates, screws everyone he makes. No rules, and purely anarchic, so meet a motley crew of divine characters ever ready to crush the fragile egg of sanity.
Dear reader, pray your faith saves, for your convictions of infinity, of heaven and hell, may never be the same after this.
The real challenge came after what I thought was the final draft. Looking for a literary agent had been a difficult and humbling affair, and after a possible 100 rejections – avoiding drowning and managing to come up for air after each paddle to the head – I realized destiny’s way was to dig with my own hands the path ahead.
I thank God however for the invaluable encouragements and advice the agents gave that’d led to countless hours of revisions and editing; and finally, I have something in my hands I’m proud of.
I was not literary trained. I just have a stupendous imagination. Grammar was based on what sounded nice, not right, and I often confused words that sounded alike, not to mention my atrocious spelling. Thank the heavens for spellcheck! I think I would not have started writing if I was left with the typewriter and my own handwriting. Too many changes and corrections. Technology brings out talents in us, but the rest is hard work and the determination to improve and see things through. Bringing a novel to your hands was the journey, my journey, a journey that went beyond just a story, or the right words, but into the night of little details, discovering my own lack, carelessness, at times ignorance, and fixing them. A good book to me has to tickle your feet, agitate your groin, grab at the gut, wrench the heart, open up the mind and liberate fantasy. I hope mine does yours.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I confess I’m not a natural writer. I can’t sit in front of my laptop and automatically pump out the words. The first hour I try to write I end up mulling around, picking at the internet doing unfruitful stuff. And then, all of a sudden, it comes and I write my page or two within the hour or less, usually averaging between 500-1000 words depending on mood and flow.
Oh ya, I write without a plot. I’m the first person to discover and read the story, and that’s one of the main reasons why I love writing. Often, I’d been surprised by the twisting and turning of the tale. For example, I never expected two characters to fall in love, or one to die, but the prose, somehow, led to that outcome quite naturally.
I do have a rough concept of the book when I start, but it’s fluid and the idea can change. When I reach a particular scene, the following one sometimes falls on me and i realize the fate of the character; yet at times, while pursuing his or her destiny, the marriage of words changes everything.
And I drink lots of thick black coffee. Sometimes I think it is the caffeine writing through me.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov, Picture of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wilde, To Kill a Mocking Bird – Harper Lee, Atonement – Ian McEwan to name a few
What are you working on now?
The second of the Dreamstate series following God of the Game. My third book (Deathrow High is the prelude to the series) involves killer transvestites, a fat mama, cybernetic consciousness, a leper, and rock band cloned from the spirit of Jimmy Hendrix sent from the future to save, or destroy – I don’t know – the universe.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m new and I’m still learning.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
I’m a new author myself, but an advice I would give is to listen to that little voice in your heart.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never give up!
What are you reading now?
I will be reading Margaret Atwood – Oryx & Crake, Year of the Flood & MaddAddam
What’s next for you as a writer?
Keep writing.
Writing is the equivalent to a striptease.
Agree?
You better be comfortable with your body if you’re gonna remove your clothes in public amid wolf whistles and cat calls; the harsh light casting shadows of your nudity on the lustful audience, and hopefully, bring easy, skanky money.
An author is a prostitute. You pay her for the solace of your soul.
I make music too, and hope to make movies someday
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I’m a narcissist, so they would all be mine! And a life’s supply of paper (one won’t know how long one would be marooned) so I can continue writing `cos I doubt I would be able to use my laptop.
Author Websites and Profiles
Kit Yan Amazon Profile
Kit Yan’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile