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
