Kampung Kreepy

    Bones and All is a gem of a movie that I recently caught on Netflix. I don’t remember any hype around it, so I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I suppose it can be called a horror movie. It certainly has horror elements.  More importantly for me, it has heart and soul, and great ensemble acting.  The movie, set in the late 1980s, centers around a teenager named Maren. She’s been sheltered all her life by her strict father. He closely monitors her activities and locks her in her bedroom at night.   One evening, Maren sneaks out to a sleepover hosted by one of her high school friends. There, we find out the reason for her dad’s behavior when she gives in to her cannibalistic urges. She runs home and tells him what happened, and the pair flee out of town.  It turns out that Maren has been hungry for human flesh all her life. Her father abandons her in a new town, telling her she has to fend for herself from now on. He leaves a tape explaining ...

Happy Groundhog Day!  Today, Feb. 2, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, predicting that there will be six more weeks of winter. Being an author of urban fantasy based on Asian folklore, I thought it would be fun to explore Chinese proverbs and folk beliefs to see which animals were traditionally relied upon to forecast the weather. Many of such proverbs concern rain, which isn’t surprising given the importance of farming in ancient China. Abundant rainfall was the key to survival.  Would you rely on these old sayings?    When dragonflies fly low, that means rains or high winds are on the way.       When ants move to a new home or snakes cross the road, it’s a sure bet that heavy rain is coming. When spiders repair their webs, that means the rain is ending and the sun will return.         The louder the frogs, the heavier the rain.       When cats wash their faces, the rain is soon to follow.   ...

  For one day only—Jan. 10—you can download more than 100 urban fantasy books for FREE, with no strings attached.   My novella Offerings for the Dead is part of the Urban Fantasy Free for All, hosted by urbanfantasyaddict.com. Also find books by L.A. McBride, Laura Greenwood, Krista Walsh, and other familiar names. Click here  to get your free books.    In conjunction with the event, the other novellas in my Pearl Dragon series are on sale Jan. 10 through Jan. 12 in the U.S. and U.K.  Offerings for the Dead is free worldwide through Jan. 12. Click here for the sale.  Blurb for Offerings for the Dead A tomb hidden in a remote mountain in China, filled with treasure. This should be an easy job for grave robber and art thief Pearl Tham. However, things go wrong from the start. A storm springs up, forcing Pearl and her team to seek shelter in an abandoned village. She discovers before long that the village isn’t abandoned after all. Its residents ...

  Peace, Love and Joy for the Holidays  And a Happy New Year!

Searching for a festive read?  This short story is for you if you’re a fan of my Geomancer’s Apprentice urban fantasy series, or if you like magic, madcap adventure, holiday vibes, and terrifying monsters. Read it for free now by subscribing to my newsletter!  If you’re already a subscriber, download it here . The holidays haven’t been merry for feng shui consultants Junie Soong and Joe Tham. Five days before Christmas, they run into a malevolent energy that turns inanimate objects into raging monsters hellbent on death and destruction. Even worse, the monsters are headed straight for a kids’ holiday party organized by Junie’s father. Can Junie and Joe save the day with the help of their resident tiger god? And as Christmas draws near, will Junie finally get the gift she wants with all her heart? This story takes place after the fifth book in The Geomancer's Apprentice series. You can still enjoy this holiday tale without having read any, or all, of the Geomancer books.

Are you a card-carrying member of a library?  If so, I have great news. My ebooks are available to libraries all over the world.  All you have to do is request that your library carry whichever book that you want. Some libraries have small budgets, while others have more money to spend. So no guarantees that your library will agree to your request. But it doesn’t hurt to ask.  And if your library does agree to pick up my ebooks, please let me know! You can email me at author@yinleong.com. I’m keeping a list of the libraries where my books are available.  When I was little, my dad and I used to go to our local library together. That was where I developed my love for reading and writing. It makes me happy that other readers can now access my books through their libraries.  On to Barnes & Noble. You can now buy my books in paperback format from Barnes & Noble, in addition to Amazon.  Thus far, only The Geomancer’s Apprentice series is available as pa...