My first payment as a writer/photographer was made into a calender that still hangs on my wall. I was so excited. Payment, $52.64, from The Society of International Railway Travelers for the article I wrote while living in Malaysia (1995-1996): "Jungle Train. A Window on True Malaysia." When I returned home in the USA, I wrote a novel and several short stories based on my experience and travels in Malaysia and also Thailand, all of which were never published. I went back to college, finished my degree in American Studies, took an editing position at Washington State University, and moved to Washington state. I continued to write, but it was mostly nonfiction. I left that position in 2010 and have been reworking the novel I wrote in 1997-1998 ever since. My journey that began in Kluang, Malaysia, where I lived with my husband for nine months, has been the journey that keeps on giving.
(Article was published under my middle name "Marie")
Copyright 2012 © Sharon Himsl
Sharon M. Himsl
Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011.
Published with Evernight Teen:
~~The Shells of Mersing
This is fun, Sharon! I'm like you: I want to be immersed in a culture, but I especially want to visit the countryside, where there is less of a tourist "show"! It helps me to get my bearings. I can just picture you looking for monkeys in the early morning hours! How wonderful!
ReplyDeleteHa-ha. Our vacationing 'friend' (a journalist from Singapore) had to caution me when I stuck my head out too far. He was afraid I would end up in the trees with the monkeys. Thanks for stopping by!
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