Margaret’s family has created a new website for her. Most of the content is from her blog, just re-organized, but there are also a few previously unpublished stories by Margaret.

Visit www.margaretlim.webs.com

23 June 1947 - 8 May 2011

On May 8, 2011, Margaret Lim has passed away peacefully in the arms of her loving husband and children. She had lost the fight against cancer and ended her journey on earth, leaving behind lovely memories in our hearts.

Margaret’s work of passion will live on at this blog and, soon, some of her unpublished work will be posted, as well.

We would like to share the following dedication by Margaret’s sister Aileen:

“Maggie passed away on Sunday, 8 May 2011, in Germany.  It is a very significant day that is so representative of her life.  God could not have granted her a better gift as it was Mother’s Day, and as a creative writer, she would have appreciated the symbol very much.  She also only left towards the end of the day, a mother to the last.

Looking back, I realise that she had that special touch of a mother in the way she played her roles in life: as a friend or as a family member – aunt, cousin, niece, sister, wife, and of course mother.  

She was always generous, considerate and well-intentioned.  She was full of mirth, amidst her seriousness.  She never spoke ill of anyone.  When an appropriate occasion arose, she always spoke proudly of her immediate family – Wolfhart, SuJen, Einhard, Ken.

I  am certain that where she is now, she is shining among the angels, and is so very happy.  And why not?  In her relatively short life, she has done a lot, achieved a lot, and in no small way as a children’s writer.  In this world of children, she was always in touch with God.  

Although she and I were supposed to make several small journeys together, and she was supposed to travel to see her relatives and friends, she has gone on a greater Journey, after fulfilling her life’s purpose.  

If we celebrate the fulfilled life of this wonderful soul, and be happy with her, our hearts will be healed.  And we will remember her in our thoughts as if she has not left us.

Like her paternal grandmother and father who went before, whom she deeply loved, and to whom she dedicated two of her books, she was full of a Mother’s Love.”

- Aileen Lim

Bon appetit!

To welcome the New Year I always bake a Cherry Cheese Pie, which is eaten on New Year’s Eve. It is a firmly established tradition in my family to eat it accompanied by a glass of Proseco to the sounds on TV of ringing bells and fireworks after the last stroke of midnight.

Click here for the recipe.

I have never been to the Frankfurter Buchmesse although I live in Germany, for the town where I live in the far north of Germany, is about 5 hours by train. This is a long way to go for an East Frisian who has seen nothing more than the famous white and black milk cows most of his life.

So when Linda Tan Lingard, director of Yusof Gajah Lingard Literary Agency in Kuala Lumpur invited me to keep her company, I jumped at her offer. Linda had her snug little corner at the Malaysian stand which displayed the books of her clients. My PAYAH rain forest adventure series were among the books on her shelf.

The Fair ground is huge. The Fair building with its many stories and wings spread and sprawled over a wide area. It was exciting, and also extremely tiring.

The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) honoured my daughter and me by placing NONAH (the last of my PAYAH rainforest adventure series) on its 2010 Honour List.

I met old friends and made new ones, and all in all, had a marvellous time exploring the OLD CITY and its Cathedral. And I have not stopped enthusing to acquaintances over the fantastic almond macaroons, a specialty of Santiago de Compostela, and the exquisite Spanish cuisine at the hotel restaurant – especially the filet of cod on a delicate sauce of chopped tomatoes and deep-fried parsley, accompanied by grilled green asparagus spears (in September!) Seventh Heaven!

One of the memorable events organized by the City of Leer Marketing Group on 4th September 2010 to attract shoppers was an American Car Day. It drew quite a crowd into the cobble-stone paved historic part of the City with an impressive display of sleek fin-tailed cars that took up most of the parking spaces meant for tiny Fiat Pandas or trusty VW Golfs and Polos.

Young children accompanied by their grandparents gazed, round-eyed, at the out-sized automobiles which they have only seen in films. Enthusiasts shook their heads unbelievably at the virgin state of the engines, kept impeccably clean by their proud owners some of whom were still wiping off invisible specks of dust or lovingly polishing chrome fittings that had already been given a triple spit and shine.

And the Journal is aptly named for it evokes in the best Asian tradition the image of literary personages sitting around sagely and sedately discussing the fine arts over a cup of tea.

And I am proud to have contributed a piece to this Journal and to have my article used as the leitmotif for its editorial.

Click here for the 12th Issue of CHA and read my article and the many fine works published – poetry, fiction, non-fiction, reviews, art . . .

This year finds Persephone, the goddess of the seasons, in a very capricious mood. A week after the summer solstice, June 21st or Midsummer, the chill of Hades’ underworld still clung to her. But that had a distinct advantage, for the flowers of Spring still bloomed for her.

To celebrate Midsummer, I made a pound cake delicately spiced with the specially mixed spice for Indonesian Layer Cake (Spekoek).

Click here to read more…

It turned out to be a message from Regina Kuan from the National Book Development Council (NBDCS) of Singapore inviting me to take part in the AFCC which was being organized by the NBDCS. I would be showcased in an interview together with Jessie Wee of Singapore as pioneers of children’s literature. I would be representing Malaysia.

I lost no time in replying YES!

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Venue: The Arts House, formerly the old Parliament

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