ALUMNI PROFI LE The Writing Life W


and their parents always said no,” he said. “In the book, they end up with a pet f ly and it’s a magic f ly. They can make a wish and it will be any pet they like.” When David arrived at OES


from his native Singapore in 1985, a future as a writer did not seem likely. He had never heard of a run-on sentence or a dan- gling modifier, but his writing was full of them. Although English is the language used in schools in Singapore, the native language of most of the people is Mandarin or Malay, so the English instruction there had emphasized very basic language skills. Fortunately, he met Lynne Sadler and other OES teachers who not only taught him the basics, but also introduced him to creative writing. “Mrs. Sadler was able to help me, and all my


teachers were very supportive and encouraging,” he said. “In Singapore teachers tend to be negative, but at OES teachers had more of a friendship with the students. Without the instruction I received at OES, it would have been horrendous when I went to college.” David worked on the literary journal at OES,


and soon after graduation his interest in popular music led to the publishing of his first magazine article.


WWW.OES.EDU


hen David Seow ’87 was a child, he wrote


stories to entertain himself, and later he wrote stories to entertain his niece and nephews. Today he writes stories to share with the whole world.


The niece and nephews, who jokingly demand


royalties from the book sales, provided the ideas for many of the 26 children’s books that David has published. For example, his latest one, There’s Soup on My Fly, ref lects the children’s unfulfilled desire to have a pet. “My nephews wanted a pet


“I wanted to get free concert tickets and


backstage passes to the shows, so that’s why I went into writing,” he said. He enrolled at the University of Portland and studied communications there. He interned at newspapers, did public relations for Planet Hollywood, and after returning to Singapore became a scriptwriter for television sitcoms. Then he began freelancing for magazines, and when he was almost 30, he submitted one of the stories he had written for his niece and nephews to a publisher.


“My first story was


accepted on the spot, and they asked me to do a series of 12 books for them,” he said. It sounded like a writer’s dream, but problems lay ahead. The editor’s primary language was Chinese, which led to mistakes in the published work. David’s first book was supposed to be called Off to Dreamland, but when it arrived he was dismayed to see it titled Off the Dreamland. He also had problems because the publishers in Singapore tend to only distribute books within the country, and they do not offer authors a generous cut of the sales price. He tried other publishers but eventually


decided to start an independent press called Bonnie Books to publish and distribute his work. David has gotten Amazon to carry two of


his titles, and he is hoping to get the online bookseller to carry his newest book. But his quest for international distribution has been difficult. “The market for children’s storybooks is


really, really competitive,” he said, adding that he wouldn’t advise anyone to go into that field of writing unless they really enjoy it. “You do it because you love it or you are insane or both. Thankfully I have a very supportive family. They back what I do.”


“When you write, you have to let your mind go where it wants to go and not try to control it. Don’t try to tame the imagination.” —David Seow


David’s newest book is called There’s Soup on my Fly. Learn more about David and his books at www.bonniebooks.net.


Two of David Seow’s books, Monkey and The Littlest Emperor, are available on Amazon. com. Seven of his other books can be checked out from the Lower School Library at OES.


SUMMER 2010 OES MAGAZINE


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