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Katz Tales:
Living Under The Velvet Paw
Logomania: Where Common Phrases Come From And
How To Use Them
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Instant Genius! Internet Research


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 Basic Guide To Internet Research
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Contact
ew AT lepak.com

 

Writing Credits

I work for various regional publications as a freelance writer using the by-lines Ellen Whyte, Maria O'Daniel, Maria Daniel, Angela Snow, Normanda, and Picky Eater.

Syndication and Features

Her World, Female, Malaysia Women's Weekly and Singapore Women's Weekly all commission health, relationship, and issues feature articles on a regular basis. More than half of these are listed on the cover page. Other regular clients include Malaysia Business, Loaded Magazine Malaysia & Singapore, Cleo, The Finder, Malaysia Health & Beauty, Malaysia Gourmet, and Japan Times.

Planet Syndication, an international syndication group based in the UK, has been selling my feature articles since January 2003. Clients include National Enquirer in the USA, Elle in China, Woman's Day in Australia/New Zealand, Goed Gevoel in Belgium, Mujer Nueva in Spain, as well as other magazines in the US, South Africa, East Africa, Sweden, United Arab Emerits, Ireland etc.

Regular Columns

Singapore: Straits Times

Little Red Dot, the education supplement of the Singapore Straits Times has been running Big Outside, a weekly education feature article discussing environmental issues since July 2005.  Each column consists of a short article and an activity designed for classroom use.  Activities take the form of quizzes, games, experiments, etc. 

Hong Kong: South China Morning Post

The South China Morning Post has commissioned a weekly centre spread feature for their youth supplement, Young Post since 2006.  Series include Armchair Travel, VIPs in History, Flora & Fauna, World Famous Icons, Inventions That Changed Lives and Extreme Creatures.

Malaysia: The Star

Katz Tales, the everyday tales of living with cats, has been published by the Malaysian national daily The Star Weekend section every fortnight since April 2006.  The column was initially scheduled as a series of 12 articles but feedback has been so positive that the run has been extended indefinitely.   In addition a fortnightly column Dog Talk has been commissioned.  It has been running since November 2007.  Marshall Cavendish Malaysia is publishing a compendium book in August 2009.

The language section runs Logomania, a column that discusses the meaning and uses of words and phrases, all linked by a central theme: lunacy, colours, ships, birds, women etc.  Light-hearted and easy to read, this column helps readers improve their word power easily.  Logomania has been published twice a month since September 2006.  Malaysia Publishing House is publishing a compendium book in November 2009.

The education section runs Did You Know? Designed to help students aged 10 to 14 improve their English and their general knowledge, this consists of a short article, list of Internet resources, and a vocabulary building activity.  It has run in Stuff@School an educational supplement of The Star, Malaysia every week since May 2005.

In addition, The Star runs a centrefold feature article in F1F4, a science and maths pullout for Form 1 and Form 4 students in Malaysia.  These articles cover general science topics, linking basic information covered in the curriculum for both age groups and adding a fun twist: for example, the science of fire and the ancient phlogiston theory.   This series of features has been published fortnightly since March 2006.  In January 2008 F1F4 expanded and became two supplements F123 and F4F5.  I write centrefold features for both.

The Star also commissions complete education supplements several times a year for Stuff@School.  Each supplement consists of 5 features on a single topic.  Subjects include: Martial Arts, Straight As, the Internet, Save The Earth, and Spooky Spooks.

Brunei Times

The Brunei Times has been running Logomania, Did You Know and various quizzes since January 2009. 

Malaysia: the New Straits Times

Web Watch, a weekly column featuring fun web sites on themes that appeal to readers aged 17 to 35 started in March 2008 and ran until December 2008.  Published in the Tech and U section, subject for this year include: rally racing, meditation, palmistry, boating and home repairs.

SmartEducation, a weekly kids study and education column focussing on research techniques and offering handy starting points for solving common homework problems was published in Tech and U (formerly the Computimes), the New Straits Times technology pullout from January 2006 to March 2008. 

Smart@School, a kids education column, ran once a week in the Computimes, the New Straits Times technology pullout from March 2000 until March 2004.  An international version of Smart@School called Web Chalk was published in the Jakarta Post in Indonesia from May 2002 until January 2005. 

Beginning With Basics, a weekly column focussing on disseminating basic Internet skills as well as introducing complex technical issues in a simple manner, was established in 1998 and ran until December 2005.  Written under the pen name Maria O'Daniel, Basics was published in the Computimes, the New Straits Times technology pullout. 

Smelling The Roses was established in December 2001 and ran until April 2005.  Written under the pen name Maria O'Daniel, this monthly column ran in the Computimes Shopper, a self standing magazine published by the New Straits Times group.  It took a lighter look at some of the social issues debated online such as weight control and cross-cultural communication. 

Books Published

Scriptwriting

  • Mystery SS13 A 26 part children's television series.

  • The Bright Side (with Ahmad Faiz) A 13-episode television situation comedy that touches on current social issues.

  • Zheng He and Princess of Pirates. (with Ahmad Faiz). A 100 minute feature film script.

Television (Research)

Money Tree (with Ahmad Faiz). Provide content for the series: research suitable topics, select suitable speakers and arrange for interview subjects to appear on the programme.

Seminars Presented

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