Kampung Kreepy

I’m so happy to share with you the cover and title for the latest book in my Geomancer’s Apprentice urban fantasy series. Not only that—here’s a snippet from the forthcoming book.  And there’ll be more coming, so stay tuned! ********** Joe checked his watch. It was not quite 11:30 p.m. so they had a few minutes to go. Junie turned off her flashlight, plunging them into near-total darkness. S hapes took form around him as his eyes adjusted to the dark. He sat down and leaned against his bag to wait. H is eyelids were beginning to droop when a soft creak jarred him awake. A hand dropped onto his shoulder, startling him even more. It was Junie. He could just about see her. She held her right index finger to her lips. Her other hand pointed to the garbage can. Something was moving through the grass toward the garbage can. It was a black shadow weaving in and out of even blacker shadows. It was surely too big to be a rat. The shadow was now at the trap. Joe held his breath as the

Hey, today is National Joe Day! It’s a time to honor all those named Joe (or Josephine, or Joanne) by maybe sharing a cup of Joe with them … I thought I’d join in the celebrations by introducing Joe Tham, one of my protagonists from The Geomancer’s Apprentice series, to those of you who may not know him:  Meet Joe Tham, self-proclaimed feng shui master/geomancer. He’s likable enough, with some charm. Not much sense of style, but who has time for that? He’s felt like a fraud for most of his life because he knows he can’t live up to his father’s reputation. He can’t because he wasn’t born with superpowers. Fast forward to the present. After many years of struggle, Joe's about to give up on his father's feng shui business when Junie Soong comes to work for him as an apprentice. Their partnership triggers all kinds of events. First off, they learn she’s meant to be all that Joe isn’t. But she’ll need someone to guide her. They have to learn fast how to work together because somet

5 stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I was especially interested to read this book because Panong—a make-believe island where the series is set—appears to be somewhere in Southeast Asia. I’m originally from Singapore, and some of the mythical creatures in the book, including the pontianak, garuda and polong, are familiar to me. I thought author Celine Jeanjean did a good job building the fantastical setting. Panong has a mishmash of cultures, which is very true of many parts of Southeast Asia. Even her magical folk are diverse (I mean, there is a kitsune and a baku, a witch’s cat from London who’s a cockney, and the Nagaraja), which brings to mind the wonderful mix of cultures and influences in that part of the world. It’s the urban fantasy version of Asian fusion cooking—traditional ingredients used in an innovative way. Well done. The book’s premise is fun and interesting. Protagonist Apiya Chapman is a barber to the magical folk of Panong. She gets dragged into a situation that may have serious conseq