Folklore, fiction, and the stories that stay with us.
Some stories linger long enough to shape how we see the world.
Boundary Keepers & Path Shifters is a free collection of notes on four folkloric figures from the Philippines and Finland, and the themes that shape my writing.
It shares reflections on identity, belonging, thresholds, and transformation as well as insight into the recurring tensions that inspire my fiction. There are also journalling prompts, seasonal rituals, and two additional mythical characters.
When you join my newsletter Deadmedia, you’ll also get monthly updates on writing, research, and the evolving creative threads behind my work (in fiction and beyond). I cut my teeth on the late ’90s internet and love Livejournal-era authenticity – without the oversharing, of course.
Here’s the selected public archive.
Get the collection and my monthly letters:
Who Am I?
Hi! I’m Samantha Garner, a mixed-race Canadian fantasy author. My work draws from Filipino and Finnish history, folklore, and culture to explore belonging in the in-between. My debut novel The Quiet is Loud was shortlisted for the 2022 Kobo Emerging Writer Prize.
I write about outsider characters finding self-definition through small rebellion. My work also features: Explorations of identity and character; nuanced relationships; Filipino and Finnish/Nordic culture; and lovingly-written food descriptions.
