Inspector Singh Investigates: by Shamini Flint (Paperback Piatkus, UK)

by Suzan Abrams

Singapore/Malaysia Fiction: May 2009 sees the London launch of Malaysian born and now Singapore resident, Shamini-Mahadevan Flint's first thriller narrated in the true vein of the long-suffering classic British sleuth, mainly a one Inspector Singh. The paperback, called "A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder" (£8.00), will be published in the UK by Paperback Piatkus, an imprint of Little Brown UK, with whom Flint bagged a 3-book deal comprising her exclusive Inspector Singh Detective Series, last year. After a long wait, the cover image was recently released.

Flint who is married to a Westerner, worked as a corporate lawyer before resigning to become a stay-at-home mum and writer.

Her story stays inspiring to every writer who commands a mastery of the English Language and decides to go it alone with self-publishing.

Shamini who also writes and publishes several children's books in Singapore, self-published her own Inspector Singh series in the Lion City until publishers Little Brown swooped the lot.

First Paperback & Plot

The plot that makes up the first paperback, talks about a beautiful Singaporean model, Chelsea Liew who is on death row for the murder of her ex-husband., Alan Lee, a Malaysian heir to a timber fortune.

When Inspector Singh is sent from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur to investigate the crime, he knocks badly against a wall of religious and cultural conflicts within Liew's family that will test his judgement to the limits, even if his instincts tell him that the model is innocent. Plus, with the Malaysian police glad to see the back of Singh, how will he find out who the real murder is?

Suggested Avenues for the Perfect Read

The plot holds the kind of light-heartedness that would be perfect for bedtime, a rainy afternoon, a fireside moment on a winter's evening or as a companion for the beach, come summer.

Personal Note:

I first had the pleasure to meet Flint in Singapore at the Singapore Writer's Festival in December 2008. She is a wonderful person: friendly, warm and constantly witty. Her high popularity asserts itself to pure zest. Flint is just as prolific in her publications, as you will later be able to observe from her website which I shall post below this article. Her energy is breathtaking.
The festival also saw the launch of this Inspector Singh Paperback under a different title.

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The second plot description is titled Inspector Singh Investigates... A Bali Conspiracy Most Foul. It is to be published in October 2009.

Second Paperback & Plot:

Inspector Singh is back, but this time on secondment to Bali. A bomb had been let off in the most touristy part of the island and Singh has been sent to help with security and anti-terrorist measures. But very soon the Bali police realise Singh has little to offer them in terms of experience in this field. He?s much better suited to doing what he?s good at - solving murder. Simple! So when a body is discovered in the wreckage, killed by a bullet before the bomb went off, Singh should be the one to find the answers. But simple murders are never as simple as they seem ? and this one has far-reaching political consequences?

Further Reading: Shamini Flint's Website.

Shamini Flint and Jaishree Misra - thrillers all

November 11, 2008

by Suzan Abrams

*the first to blog the news of Jaishree Misra's 3-book deal with HarperCollins besides the media, Outlook Magazine a day ago & Asian Age.

Note: As an aside, Shamini Flint is currently promoting her new book The Seeds of Time which talks about how to save our planet Earth at a round of expatriate christmas charity bazaar events, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. You may catch up with events from tomorrow if you pop in to check out her schedule here. Royalties from the sale of this book will be donated to the WWF.

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Writing about Singapore's Shamini Mahadevan-Flint just a day ago of how next year, she will be all fired up - not that she isn't already as Flint is the most vibrant and prolific Asian writer I know todate - to produce three thrillers, previously published in Singapore and this courtesy of publishers Little Brown UK in a book deal that features the Inspector Singh Investigates series; I am reminded of yet another exciting news clip from the newest edition of India's literary-influenced Outlook magazine.

What I am to tell you will eventually be Flint's closest competition, especially among readers of multicultural fiction - I won't say thrillers at this stage - in the UK, Commonwealth countries and the US.

HarperCollins has successfully lured Malayalee writer (Kerala, South India), Jaishree Misra away from Penguin UK for the price of a 3-book-for-the-price-of-one-deal. And yes...like Flint's offerings, they're whodunits!

Insert: Jaishree Misra - picture taken from SAWNET

The first manuscript which Misra has already delivered, to her new publisher, talks about six schoolfriends wrapped up reluctantly in the turmoils of a schoolmate's murder.

Misra lives in England. Her debut and partly autobiographical novel Ancient Promises which was published by Penguin UK and sold worldwide, rose to India's bestseller lists. With other novels that have sold equally well in the UK and India, Misra has already secured her buying and reading audiences where it matters.

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Note:

I did predict some months earlier on the Guardian Books Blog that Indian women writers were steadily moving away from the usual emigration-identity stories. They've become bolder and are no longer afraid to take risks with their writings on the international platform.

I had also written a little about Misra the other day, courtesy of my new friend, Suneetha B who is currently translating, one of Misra's novels into Malayalam, the official language of the Keralite population in South India.

Singapore writer, Shamini Flint's sleuth in Inspector Singh Investigates... plot descriptions for 2 out of 3 thrillers (2009)

November 10, 2008

by Suzan Abrams

Short Introduction

Here are the short plots for Singapore writer, Shamini-Mahadevan Flint's 2 thrillers (2 out of 3) due out by the Piatkus Imprint from Little Brown UK, next year in 2009. The first one you may have read already but the second one, is just out on the web.

I had announced her publishing story in earlier months from Publishing News, but the plots have only just been released after the Franfkurt Book Fair. Flint is also on the US rights list.

35-year old Flint, a former lawyer born in Malaysia now turned writer, is a Singapore National and officially, a Singapore writer. She was introduced at the Singapore Writer's festival last year as a writer from their country. Both the National Library Board and National Heritage Board in Singapore describe her as a local writer, which means as one pertaining to their own.

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The three thrillers to be published by Little Brown UK from next year were originally published in Singapore. The third plot description has its setting in Singapore.

Anyway, the first thriller by Shamini Flint due out by Piatkus, UK in May 2009, and part of a Sikh Inspector sleuth series in different cities. The first is called A Peculiar Malaysian Mystery... Inspector Singh investigates.

The plot talks about a beautiful Singaporean model, Chelsea Liew who is on death row for the murder of her ex-husband., Alan Lee, a Malaysian heir to a timber fortune.

When Inspector Singh is sent from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur to investigate the crime, he knocks badly against a wall of religious and cultural conflicts within Liew's family that will test his judgement to the limits, even if his instincts tell him that the model is innocent. Plus, with the Malaysian police glad to see the back of Singh, how will he find out who the real murder is?

**********

The second plot description has just been released on the Web and the book is titled Inspector Singh Investigates... A Bali Conspiracy Most Foul. It is to be published in October 2009.

I'll just replay the standard plot description for you here.

Inspector Singh is back, but this time on secondment to Bali. A bomb had been let off in the most touristy part of the island and Singh has been sent to help with security and anti-terrorist measures. But very soon the Bali police realise Singh has little to offer them in terms of experience in this field. He?s much better suited to doing what he?s good at - solving murder. Simple! So when a body is discovered in the wreckage, killed by a bullet before the bomb went off, Singh should be the one to find the answers. But simple murders are never as simple as they seem ? and this one has far-reaching political consequences?

Shamini Flint to publish thrillers with Little Brown UK

Just read in Publishing News that Emma Dunford of Piatkus Books, an independent imprint within the British publishing house Little Brown has bought 3 crime fiction titles by 35-year old Malaysian-Indian lawyer turned writer, Shamini Mahadevan-Flint. The thrillers will be released next year, starting with the first one in April. The publishing contract awarded to this Singapore-based mother of two is worth a five-figure sum.

Met Shamini in Singapore last year at the Writer's Festival and also made many good Singaporean acquaintances especially at the Symposium. Shamini is a stout believer in self-publishing and already has a number of children's books under her belt.

Congratulations, Shamini if you catch this. You deserve it. You're gorgeous!

Credit: Image courtesy of Sunbear Publishing.

A touch of colour with self-publishing

Singapore Writers' Festival 2007: I discovered that Singaporeans are a sophisticated people when it comes to the art of self-publishing. They excel at a job, painstakingly cut out for them.

Their books whether a children's picture one or an adult novel, are professionally produced and tinkled with a fine polish, that you'd be forgiven for thinking, they were snapped up from the window display of a European bookshop. It's no exaggeration to say that one gets the impression of a tight classy finish.

"Don't get into it," warned my lovely new friend, the author, Shamini Mahadevan-Flint, "...not unless you can afford the time for marketing and publicity. There's a lot of work involved. Like, a lot..."

Flint, 36, a former law lecturer and barrister-at-law with an international legal firm, gave up her career to write and produce books and also act as a stay-at-home mum to her 2 children, aged 5 and 3. She is married to an expatriate.

The recent Singapore Writer's Festival saw the launch of Flint's first paperback thriller (for which she has planned an Asian crime series) called Partners in Crime. It borders on a murder mystery conducted in the vein of a British sleuth's sly questioning and is reminiscent of Flint's own passion for wit and subtle comedy.

Several fans/friends from Singapore's expatriate community turned up for the evening at the Earshot Restaurant in the Arts House on Old Parliament Lane last Saturday. It was a pleasant few hours with Flint being very much in demand for signings and conversations and aside from the entertainment produced by a well-humoured speech, the books were quickly sold out.

In the coming days, I'll be featuring a question-and-answer interview with Shamini Flint on the pro's and con's of self-publishing. At the moment, she appears to delight in her new venture, promising to start her second thriller on New Year's day as a resolution.

Flint formed Sunbear Publishing to publish her own children's books. One of the newest hardbacks talks about a cheeky dinosaur called T-Rex who eats up a little boy's homework. Beautifully illustrated by Sally Heinrich, it appears to be suitable for toddlers and children up to 5.

Another delightful hardback title is Ben's Friends from the Rainforest, written by wildlife lover Adeline Foo. Foo who loves rambles in parks and rainforests with her 2 children, aims her funny sunny story on the educational aspects of a monkey, at older children. The tale is accompanied by a series of comic pictures, illustrated by Miel.

All books are available on Amazon Books UK.