I have a short story in the first edition of Ginger & Smoke! A Filipino-Canadian first, Ginger & Smoke is a genre-blending publication reclaiming Filipino folklore, mythology and fairy tales. It became my dream publication as soon as I saw the call for submissions, and I’m grateful to Nathalie De Los Santos for broadening the […]
Filipino folklore story in Ginger & Smoke Read More »
Imagine an autumnal fire-crackle, song and stillness after harvest, a pause between worlds when the veil is thinnest. This time of year seems right for that sort of thing, for divination and feasting and weaving the past and future together. In Finland & Karelia, it was called Kekri. Kekri was a liminal time of harvest
Before Halloween, there was Kekri Read More »
As a kid, I was taught that certain spirits lived just beyond the edges of the path. In Filipino folklore, the nuno sa punso might curse you for disturbing its mound. In Finnish folklore, a type of haltija called a tonttu could guard your house and required certain behaviour. I grew up saying “tabi tabi
Boundary keepers & path shifters: forest spirits in Filipino & Finnish folklore Read More »
In Finnish paganism, the bear was never just an animal. Its name was too sacred to speak aloud lest you attract it. It was replaced with euphemistic, respectful names instead. Finnish euphemisms for “bear” Because speaking the true name of the bear was taboo to ancient Finno-Ugric people, they used terms of endearment and euphemisms
The bear spirit in Finnish paganism Read More »
Why do I write historically-inspired SF/F set in societies that disregard personal autonomy? I admit, when I first noticed it I got a little concerned. Shouldn’t I be writing about dragons or something lighthearted and fun? Then I took a step back and looked at the broad strokes history of my parents’ countries of
Historical inspiration for my fantasy novel: foreign rule in Finland & the Philippines Read More »
Firstly: Happy Filipino Heritage Month! 🇵🇭 There’s an old-school style of Filipino restaurant called “turo-turo1.” The name is an example of classic Filipino word reduplicating, and stems from the word for pointing at something. They’re often located in strip malls, and the typical feature is their cafeteria-style presentation, all food laid out in warming trays
The Quiet is Loud & old Filipino restaurants Read More »
Twist the Branch (formerly Seeker of the Lost Song) is a historically-inspired fantasy novel merging medieval Finnish & pre-colonial Filipino elements, and I wanted to share two elements of Filipino history I included. Dulang, a low table One of my favourite tidbits from my research is that pre-colonial Filipinos ate at a low table, sitting
Historical inspiration for my fantasy novel: Pre-colonial Philippines Read More »
Say hi to the grossest historical recipe I’ve ever made! A little while ago, I was talking to a friend about the “Vegetarian Cookery” section of my c.1938 copy of Mrs Beeton’s Household Management. I told them that I was pleasantly surprised at some of these recipes. Then I saw the recipe for “Nut Sandwiches.”
A Mrs Beeton Recipe: Nut! Sandwiches! Read More »
Recently I thought it might be a fun quarantine project to revisit my copy of Mrs Beeton’s Household Management, c.1938, and make another historical recipe from the book. I narrowed it down to two that I thought would be fairly easy and interesting, and asked my Instagram followers to choose which one I should make
A Mrs Beeton Recipe: Celery Croquettes Read More »
Ruth Goodman is one of my favourite historians. I’ve watched several of her shows and have seen her as a guest on other history programs, and am always impressed by how she tries to live as period-authentic as she can during a project. I don’t have that much commitment to anything! I’ve recently finished her
Reading Ruth Goodman’s “How to Be a Victorian” Read More »
