KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 17 — If "The Blasphemer" was a movie, I would be sitting at the edge of my seat the whole length of the screening. The fast-paced "faction" (as in when fact and fiction collide!) thriller begins with an assassination attempt on a Muslim man whose beliefs put his life and that of others at stake, spiralling into nationwide pandemonium.

Malaysian writer John Ling’s debut novel, it touches on religion and politics — typically perceived here as sensitive topics. Little wonder then that "The Blasphemer" is available as an e-book online on Amazon Kindle exclusively for three months and not accessible to Malaysians yet.

“At times, it seems as if Islam is synonymous with terror, and Muslims everywhere, regardless of background of origin, are treated as a single monolithic bloc. But nothing, of course, could be further from the truth,” said Ling in an email interview from New Zealand where he now lives.

"'The Blasphemer' is my attempt to provide a fair and balanced account of what’s really shaping the Islamic world today – the conflict between progressive Muslims and fundamentalist Muslims,” he added.

Ling encourages his readers to think more critically about the "War on Terror" with this book which is part of a trilogy. The West's perception of Islam changed post-9/11.

In "The Blasphemer" Ling shows us the less obvious war which is within Islam itself. In his words, “...those who want to bring Islam into the twenty-first century and those who want to bring it back to the seventh century.”

So what made him want to become a writer? When he was young, he said, he couldn’t dance, sing or draw so writing seemed like the next best thing and he’s been hooked on it ever since. 

Although Ling prefers to write in the thriller genre, he cites Enid Blyton and Charles Dickens alongside David Morell as his biggest influences.

"The Blasphemer" is Ling’s first novel but not his first published work. "Fourteen Bullets",  a collection of short stories about conflict in places such as Bosnia and Sierra Leone, was published by Silver Lake Publishing, an American company and the book was sold in Malaysian bookstores back in 2005. However, the book has gone out of print but Ling hopes to reissue it in digital format in the future.

The central character of "The Blasphemer" is Abraham Khan, a Sufi Muslim who faces a death threat after he publishes a provocative book. To create the character and story, Ling had to do quite extensive research.

“I wanted to capture Abraham Khan’s faith in a way that’s as authentic and respectful as possible. That meant reading the Koran, as well as the hadith and other Islamic writings. Sufi Islam, of course, is almost unknown to Malaysians. So I had to seek out non-Malaysian academics in order to get better insight into this unique strain of Islam,” said Ling who works for TVNZ (Television New Zealand).

Ling also contacted special forces personnel who work undercover on high-risk assignments to pave the groundwork for another character, Maya Raines. Raines is the close-protection operator who is tasked to protect Abraham Khan in the book.

Before "The Blasphemer" was published, it was previewed to selected readers. Ling received feedback from readers who felt that the ending was too abrupt. He originally wrote five chapters for the ending but he cut out three for pacing reasons. After receiving the response from the readers, he reinserted the deleted chapters.

“With the advent of the digital age, I think it’s never been more important for authors to listen to feedback. Gone are the days where authors could sit comfortably on their pedestal and make arbitrary decisions and expect readers to just swallow them.

“Writers don’t always get things right. Nor do editors. And, ultimately, I think it’s important to be respectful of readers. Their feedback should be taken seriously and implemented where possible.”

Speaking of writing, what is Ling’s advice to aspiring writers?

“I believe that writing is less about talent and more about craftsmanship. And by craftsmanship, I mean the ability to get from point A to point B in a narrative. And that’s something you acquire by reading and writing as much as you can.

"Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000-hour rule applies here. He claims that you can become an expert in anything just by engaging enthusiastically in it for at least 10,000 hours. And I agree with him totally. Knuckle down, start writing, and at the end of the 10,000 hours, the results are sure to be interesting.”

"The Blasphemer" will be available at http://www.smashwords.com/ in three month’s time.