1)The novel was supposed to be set in a dystopian era.
2)The American ambassador, Michael Dexter, was initially a Caucasian. The African-American was another CIA agent named “Charlie Brown.” The characters were merged into one to simplify the plot.
3)The ambassador’s mansion was the actual property of the author’s grandfather.
4)An action scene in Manhattan, New York, was removed because it was deemed “redundant.”
5)The protagonist Jethro Westrope (Jet West) was initially known as James Gent, a brand for a toiletry company.
6)The protagonist initially drove a Pagani Zonda. It was changed to an MX-5 to accommodate his journalist salary.
7)The cat described in a Cairo scene is based on an actual character.
8)The secret underground base in Singapore is inspired by an actual location.
9)The mysterious island with the citadel is inspired by the old Dutch fortress, Fort Belgica, located in the Moluccas islands, Indonesia.
There is a bad habit in Singapore among employees to skip work by using the excuse that someone in their family died.
Usually when you attend a funeral here, you can collect a vouchsafe receipt to validate your claim.
However, some people have managed to bypass this official document, usually based on trust.
Anyway, here’s a real story about a man who told his boss he needed time off during the weekday to accompany his father for medical checkup. The employer didn’t think twice about relieving the man.
On one occasion the employee didn’t show up for a week straight. Everyone tried to contact him, but they couldn’t. He switched off his cell phone.
When someone finally got hold of him, he gave the excuse his father had died.
Unfortunately, the boss found out his employee had been telling a cock and bull story when the father turned out to be very much alive.
Apparently, the employee has been spending time at the race course. It got so exciting he decided what’s a few more days?
Met a young man here in Singapore, extremely cocky fellow, who claimed he has written 25 suspense novels.
I couldn’t selfie the shock on my face, but I told him he must be some kind of a prodigy or a super genius to have written 25 suspense novels by that age. I asked him for his website address, and he said it’s not ready yet.
He then asked me what I did for a living, so I said: “I’m a fisherman. I have my days, you know — tried to catch a Marlin near the Indonesian waters. Took me several days. I finally got the Marlin. But by the time I came back to shore, it was all bones. The sharks, you know.”
While waiting for my flight back to Singapore at the New Delhi airport a few years ago, the announcements were replaced by people singing in real time.
I walked up to a sales staff behind a counter to ask what was going on. Was there some kind of festival today?
Looking embarrassed, she explained the office where the announcements were being made had been hijacked by some passengers who were fed up with flight delays.
All I said was, “I see… well, that makes life more interesting.”
I had a male school teacher in primary school who was feared by everyone.
One day our class made so much noise he came in from the back entrance and kicked a few tables and chairs just to send a message.
Everyone stood still. He then made an example of one of the boys by ordering him to run around the class performing a butterfly dance.
Some years later, during Sports Day, he didn’t show up. We were told he was feeling under the weather. I remembered that day well. Sports Day. I was walking home with some boys. I was right at the back of the group. After crossing a traffic light, something I was holding fell. I paused, turned, and picked it up. When I stood up again, my eyes caught sight of a stationary car behind the line. There, with his family, was the mean teacher behind the steering wheel.
I pointed at him but just as I was about to alert the others, the teacher, with eyes wide open, tapped his finger to his lips. I got the message and nodded.
I never told those boys I was going home with. In fact, I never told anyone until now.
