Blog Tour ~ When the Future Comes too Soon by Selina Siak Chin Yoke

Jaffareadstoo is delighted to host today's stop on the 

When the Future Comes Too Soon Blog Tour

I'm really thrilled to introduce the author of When the Future Comes too Soon

Selina Siak Chin Yoke

Credit :AM London

Hi and welcome to Jaffareadstoo, Selina. Tell us a little about yourself as an author. 

My aims as an author are simple: first, to touch emotions; secondly, to entertain, and to do both intelligently. I’m an author who takes risks in my writing. The way I use dialogue to enhance the sense of place in my debut novel was a risk. Writing a second novel that is so different from the first was another risk. But I made these choices because I thought they would be the best way to immerse readers in the world I wanted them to be in. 

How long have you been writing and what got you started? 

I began writing out of desperation and a cherished dream. In 2009 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. After finishing chemo, when I thought I should be well, I felt truly awful. Post-chemo depression was worse than the chemo itself. Nothing improved until, on the advice of a counsellor at the cancer charity, MacMillan, I wrote my first short story. It soon became clear that I had a lifetime of stories inside me. With every word I wrote I could feel my energy returning. Writing saved my life. 

What inspired you to write When the Future Comes Too Soon, and what can you tell us about the story that won’t give too much away? 

When the Future Comes Too Soon is set during WWII in Malaya. It was a dramatic time, when the country was occupied by Japanese forces. Yet what happened during the war in Southeast Asia is often overlooked; people know about WWII mainly through what happened in Europe. I wanted to show readers what those years were like for an ordinary Malayan family – without sensationalising or trivialising the experience. 

Are you a plotter...or ...a start writing and see where it takes you sort of writer? 

It depends on what I’m writing. On short pieces, I take the ‘let’s see where this leads’ approach. But for a novel, I anchor the story on key events. While I don’t write every aspect of the plot out in detail, I do have the story outline and chronology written out. 

What were the challenges you faced whilst writing this novel? 

Society has strong feelings about what women, especially if they’re married with children, should or shouldn’t do. I knew that the ending of this novel is unexpected, and could alienate some readers. My challenge as an author was to make them sympathetic to my protagonist in spite of what happens. 

Whilst researching the novel, did you discover anything which surprised you? 

I learnt a huge amount about Malaysian history that I never knew before and yes, there were aspects which surprised me; in fact, they shocked me. If I disclose them, though, I’ll give too much of the plot away! Let’s just say that I think some of the historical events may shock readers too. 

What do you hope that readers will take away from When the Future Comes Too Soon? 

That the experience of war in Asia, though quite different from that in Europe, was no less brutal, and what happened to Malaya did not cover colonial Britain in glory; betrayal can take many forms; and diamonds are made under pressure. Sometimes, only in extreme circumstances do we discover what we’re really made of. 

How can readers discover more about you and your work? 

The best way would be by subscribing to my blog – www.siakchinyoke.com/blog. But if readers want only to receive news about new books or appearances, they can simply subscribe to my website, www.siakchinyoke.com or follow me on any of my Amazon, Facebook or Goodreads author pages, or on Twitter. The respective URLs below:

Amazon           www.amazon.com/author/SiakChinYoke

Facebook        www.facebook.com/SelinaSiakChinYoke

Goodreads      www.goodreads.com/SelinaSiak

Twitter @siakchinyoke

I’m also on Instagram, though not that active yet!

 My thoughts about When the Future Comes too Soon

Amazon Crossing
July 2017

I was profoundly moved emotionally by this novel which gives a real insight into the effects of the war in Asia, a subject about which I am woefully lacking and even though I frequently read novels set during WW2, this most vital chunk of war time history seems to have passed me by.

The story is complex and as such needs careful reading so as not to miss any of the finer points which are narrated by Mei Foong, a  young woman who goes to desperate lengths to ensure her family's survival, when everything around her has changed beyond recognition.

The author writes with an authoritative voice and whilst she allows the cultures and the clashes of the time to speak most eloquently, she never loses sight of the important issues, or of the effect on people as they try to go about their daily lives. The connection to the place and its people is written with remarkable insight and I felt immediately drawn to the characters  and to their situations.

Whilst When The future Comes Too Soon follows The Woman Who Breathed Two Worlds in the Malayan series, it can comfortably be read as a stand alone story and is no less powerful.

My thanks to the author for her insight into the writing of When The Future Comes Too Soon 


and also to Olivia at Midas pr for the invitation to be part of this blog tour.

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