A letter to the reading desk
Write to me. I read every note that reaches this desk.
If a plan needs changing, a story wants a reply, or you need permission to read something aloud, this is the shortest path to me. I answer from Telok Ayer during reading-desk hours, usually within two working days, and I do not keep a weekend correspondence.
The desk
Where to find me
Wondersandtales
27 Boon Tat Street, #04-02, Telok Ayer
Singapore 069623
Phone: +65 6396 7452
E-mail: hello@WondersAndTales.eu
Reading desk: Monday–Friday, 10:00–18:00 SGT. Replies usually within two working days. I do not answer correspondence on Saturday or Sunday; anything that arrives then waits for Monday morning.
The form on this page is the surest way to reach me. If you prefer a telephone call, leave a number and a window that suits you, and I will ring back during desk hours.
Send a note
Tell me as plainly as you can what you need. I keep the messages myself; they are not passed to a queue of strangers. If you are writing about a particular instalment, name the title and the Sunday it arrived so I can find it without hunting.
Telok Ayer
The street itself
The reading desk sits on Boon Tat Street, a short walk from the old shophouses and the working harbour edge. It is a writing room, not a shop, and I do not keep a public drop-in hour. If you are nearby and have a genuine reason to come in person, write first and I will say whether the desk is free that day.
The pin below is the building. The room is on the fourth storey. There is no reception bell and no Saturday opening. Couriers who arrive without a name on the parcel are turned away by the building, so please use the full address if you send paper.
Before you write
What I can help with, and what I cannot
Billing, delivery and permissions are the three subjects I can always take on. If a payment did not land, if an instalment never appeared, or if you need to change a plan, say so in the subject field and I will look at the list the same day I open the message. Sampler readers are never charged; if something on your statement looks otherwise, write at once and I will sort it.
If you want to read a story aloud to a private group, or to quote a short passage with attribution, ask. Personal reading and small closed gatherings are allowed; republication, staging for a paying public, and posting a full text online are not. I answer rights notes with care, which sometimes takes longer than two working days, and I will tell you if that is the case.
I cannot read manuscripts, join collaborations, or host guest posts. I write this subscription alone, and the week is already spoken for: Monday for notes, Wednesday for the draft, Friday for the plate and the endnote, Sunday morning for the send. A kind offer of a joint project still has to be a no. If you are looking for a workshop or a critique, I am the wrong address, and I would rather say that plainly than leave a message unanswered.
The week
How a reply travels
Monday–Friday, 10:00–18:00 SGT. That is when I sit at the desk with the post open. A note that arrives after six waits until the next working morning.
I do not answer on Saturday or Sunday. The Sunday send is already a full hour of checking links, alt text and the plain-text version; the rest of the weekend is for reading, not correspondence.
If your question is about a story that went out that morning, give the title. I keep the week’s file close and can usually find the line you mean.
I read the queue in the order it arrives, except where a delivery failure is stopping someone from receiving a story they have already paid for. Those notes jump the line. A long permissions request may sit a day longer because I want the wording to be usable, not merely friendly.
You will hear back from hello@WondersAndTales.eu. If you wrote about a plan, the reply may include a link to change it; cancellation is always one click from any instalment and does not need a separate letter, though I will still confirm if you ask. Replies to stories are part of the work. I treat them as letters, not as tickets, and I do not use a script.
Paper
If you send a letter by post
Reader post is welcome at 27 Boon Tat Street, #04-02, Telok Ayer, Singapore 069623. Write the name Wondersandtales on the envelope so the building knows where to leave it. I open the week’s paper on Monday with the rest of the desk. If you include an e-mail address, I will answer that way; a purely postal reply takes longer and is not something I can promise on a fixed day.
Stories are never sent on paper. The subscription is written for the inbox and the archive: web page, HTML e-mail, plain text, and EPUB for paid readers who keep the back catalogue. I do not print and post instalments, even as a kindness, because I cannot keep a second, slower channel honest. A card or a note about a story, though, is a pleasure to find on the mat.
Please do not send manuscripts, original artwork for me to keep, or parcels that need a signature when I am away from the desk. Unsolicited work is returned if I can, and otherwise recycled. If you need a rights answer in writing on letterhead, say so in the form first; I will tell you whether a posted letter is useful or whether an e-mail will do the same job more quickly.
If you would rather read first
The sampler still goes out once a month.
You do not need to write to me in order to begin. The free sampler is one complete story a month, and the weekly plans are set out in plain language, including how to cancel from a link in every e-mail.