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Passport to Passion

I wasn't sure what to blog about for my first time so I thought I'd start at the beginning. A little bit of info on me and you'll see where the inspiration for my collection of short stories came from. I'm an Aussie living in Singapore. I followed my own personal hero of 21 years, dragging our 4 children behind me, when he was promoted to a regional roll. We live in a condo that has 5 pools, 3 tennis courts, a gym, hairdresser, mini-mart, spa (yes the pamper yourself kind and the one with bubbles), an alcohol serving poolside cafe and a beautiful view that stretches all the way to Indonesia. Right about now is when my friends tune out or turn green with envy, and I haven't even mentioned the maid! LOL

Singapore is a tropical climate, never drops below 22C/72F but has humidity off the scale. Coming from Oz we're used to the heat but 24/7 can get a bit much unless you're me. I LOVE the heat. (Probably why the heat level in my stories is always scorching.) We're also lucky to be just a short trip from some of the most exotic locations in the world and in the over 2 years we've been here we've taken advantage of that and visited many. Which leads into my little collection of short stories.

One Night In Bangkok was inspired by a trip I took with Hubby. He had to work and I got to tag along. From the minute I hit the airport I couldn't get the song out of my head, you know the one I mean, so I guess it was only a matter of time before Mr. Muse got involved. Parking myself somewhere that gives me the ability to people watch is a pastime I love and being in a foreign country makes it more enjoyable. Sitting back in the bar of a luxury hotel sipping on an ice cold cocktail just adds to the pleasure. Watching a rather rumpled, sweaty businesswoman stagger through the front door and flop into a chair I had one of those light bulb moments. There was no businessman coming to her rescue in real life but once Mr. Muse and I were done with her she had a hunky Thai/American savior.

Singapore Fling was similarly inspired by an afternoon of relaxing in the famous Long Bar in the Raffles hotel here in Singapore. The birthplace of the cocktail Singapore Sling proved to be a good source of inspiration for Mr. Muse. It wasn't anyone in particular that inspired Carly or Saxon but after an afternoon of watching the many changing faces it's not surprising that they found their way into my head.

I love playing the 'who are they?' game. It makes a boring wait go quicker, in the check-out line in the supermarket is a great place to try. Is the tired woman with the 3 kids in tow a single mother or has she just found out her husband is sleeping with her best friend? Is the immaculately dress woman in the next line a mistress to multimillionaire? Is the baby-face boy behind you a serial killer stalking the city? The possibilities are endless and only limited by your imagination. I just happen to have an imagination that knows no bounds. I guess you could say the world is my oyster.


Rhian Cahill

12 comments:

  1. And does that make you the pearl? :D Great blog!

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  2. Hey Rhian,

    Girl I am sooo envious!!! :P 5 Pools??? What on earth do you do...play musical pools on days that you're bored ??? LOL :P
    I went to Singapore about 7 years ago and although I was born in Asia...I've been raised in the States & have lived in Canada for the last 18 years...so I'm definitely not used to the heat...I remember stepping out of the airport in Singapore and having a giant whoosh of a heat wave hit me...HOLY CRAP!!! It literally sucked out all the available oxygen...!!! As you can tell, I don't enjoy the heat at all...My fave season is Autumn..I somehow suffer through summer every year...holing up indoors where there's plenty of air conditioning!!!
    Singapore was beautiful...and Clean!!! It was amazing to see how much care the people of the city took to keep their city organized and clean!!! I guess I was surprised because my experiences with other Asian countries was far from similar....so it was wonderful surprise!!! The taxi driver even mentioned that you could get fined for spitting gum out on the road...Not that I would do that but it's hard to believe that they would actually impose and follow through on such a a rule...
    How long have you lived in Singapore??? What part of Australia are you originally from???

    Thanks for writing such an awesome blog...!!!

    Happy Reading!!!
    Anna Shah Hoque
    s7anna@yahoo.ca

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  3. I just finished reading Singapore Sling. Well, not just then, I needed an hour to cool off, then hit the internet to recover my equilibrium but fate had its way and I found your blog.

    OMG R.C. that was a fantastic read. Could not put my PDA down and think that if a man like Saxon came my way, I might consider being unfaithful. Only for a brief moment, mind you. :)

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  4. Yep...I'm pea green with envy. lol

    Your imagination is a wonderful thing!

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  5. Wow Rhian, I get your inspiration now, what a fabulous place to be! Can I borrow your maid??? Can't wait to meet up with you at RT with all the other girls we're going to have wayyy too much fun. And keep the hot international inspired stories coming!

    Caprice

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  6. If I double post..sorry, but the first one doesn't seem to be showing up! I love the vision of where you live Rhian, and can I have your maid?? Keep those international inspired stories coming, they are HOT! We need to talk about our Muses at RT, I thought I was the only one who had a guy Muse ;)

    Caprice

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  7. Rhian, love your post! It does sound like you live at a vacation resort.

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  8. GREAT blog post, Rhian. Your honesty is refreshing, and I can definitely see where you get your ideas now. :-)

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  9. Hey Rhian,

    Since I've traveled the world, I'm not quite pea green because I've been fortunate enough to enjoy some of those luxuries you've mentioned. Right now as I type this post and prepare to interview our good friend Lexxie, I'm thinking Good Times!

    I loved Singapore Fling and I'll have to pick up One Night in Bangkok today. I'm laughing right now because I'm remembering my time in Bangkok, which was more than one night. I celebrated one of my birthdays there, don't ask me which one because I can't remember. But I do remember several bars, a Thai gentleman, and helluva lot of fun. LOL!

    Great blog!

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  10. Joy I'm a diamond. I might be a bit rough but I'm still a diamond. *grin*
    Hey Anna! We've been here 2.5 years but Sydney is still home. That's where the family is.
    Heather I'm glad you liked Singapore Fling. I loved playing with Saxon. He was a pain but more than worth it.
    Waves at Jambrea! Hey girl. I like my imagination too.
    Caprice we will definitely have to catch up and chat about our muses. I'm looking forward to meeting you in person.
    Rhona this life is definitely one big holiday, well except for the home schooled kids and the university stress. LOL
    Hey Jill. Thanks. It's kind of hard not to be inspired here.
    Hi Blackraven! I'm glad you liked Singapore Fling. And I'm totally jealous you got to have 'one' night in Bangkok! LOL

    Thanks everyone for coming out and leaving a comment.

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  11. Hi Rhian, I live in New Zealand, so my setting is as picturesque as yours, but I only have an inflatable plastic paddle pool, and I'm the maid around here! Not a very good one either. I am so going to try that 'who they are' game at the supermarket though. Great blog, Erika.

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  12. Hey Rhian, I love hearing about how these stories came about! I've been to the Raffles Bar so I could picture the Carly and Saxon scene unfolding. With the description above, I can see I have GOT to get One Night in Bangkok! ;-)

    Enjoy the hear!
    ~bella

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