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Grants awarded for my new novel-in-progress

I’m honoured to receive an Artistic Creation grant from Canada Council for the Arts, and Ontario Arts Council Recommender Grants via House of Anansi Press and Wolsak and Wynn Publishers! ⁠⁠This funding will allow me to devote time to completing Corrode the Song, a literary fantasy novel inspired by precolonial Filipino culture, and 19th-century Finland fighting against Russian rule. It’s a celebration of Filipino and Finnish culture, featuring things like precolonial Tagalog riddles, traditional Filipino […]

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What’s changing with my Patreon in 2026

Things have been evolving in my life and creativity. I’ve been regularly researching stories from Filipino & Finnish culture and having a blast. So starting in January 2026, I’ll be shifting to monthly reflections on folklore, cultural discoveries, and fragments that don’t always make it into my fiction. It’ll be part cultural storytelling and part personal meditation on belonging in the in-between. In January I’ll be retiring my current Patreon tiers and introducing new ones:

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Filipino folklore story in Ginger & Smoke

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 scope of Filipino expression. “Learn the New Light” is a science-fantasy story about a nuno sa punso living on a

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Patreon giveaway w/author Katie Li

This month I had the honour of guest-editing the March edition of Katie Li’s incredible zine The Beautiful Worst, which shares thoughts on a different aspect of creativity along with prompts and ideas for readers to use in their own creative practice. My theme was “Creativity + Convergence,” and it was fun to examine the different forms my creativity takes and the way they all weave together.⁠ ⁠ As part of that issue, Katie and

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Introducing: the Undone Rituals Mixtape project on Patreon

I came of age on the late ‘90s internet, a very small world of DIY creativity and un-algorithmed self-expression. I’ve always loved exploring ideas and putting them out there, rough edges and all. So in 2025 I’m creating the Undone Rituals Mixtape project, a year-long creative experiment outside of my traditionally-published work, outside of algorithms and what’s expected of me (don’t get me wrong–I love creating the things that are expected of me, but I’ve

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Honoured to be the inaugural Captured Phantoms “Pay It Forward” Scholarship Award recipient

I’m honoured to be the inaugural Captured Phantoms “Pay It Forward” Scholarship Award Recipient. The fund was established by the wonderful book coach and editor Karen A. Parker, and I’m excited to work with Karen on developing Seeker of the Lost Song! The fund helps subsidize the cost of coaching, consultation, critique, and editorial services for systemically oppressed storytellers, and I encourage everyone to learn more about it. Learn more about the Captured Phantoms “Pay

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Event alert! “Creating Time and Space to Write” workshop at the Word on the Street

Join Farah Heron, Rebecca Mardon, and me at the Word on the Street’s “Creating Time and Space to Write” free (!) virtual workshop. We’ll share how we manage creative projects alongside children, households, day jobs, and more. You’ll learn tips, tricks, rituals, and mindsets to help you make time and space for your very own writing career. Bring a notepad! The Word on the Street Festival, presented with The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing

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How I wrote my first short story in years

I’m excited to talk about this: I wrote a short story for the first time in years! ⁠Stone Grown is set in the greater world of a couple of works in progress. It’s historically-inspired, character-driven, and draws on Finnish and Filipino folklore and customs.⁠ Note: A slightly more detailed version of this post first appeared in my monthly newsletter, Deadmedia. Join us here if you want earlier access to posts like this one! It feels

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Event alert! Filipino-Canadian Book Festival on July 13

I’m excited to be appearing (virtually!) on a panel at the first Filipino-Canadian Book Festival next month. My event is on Saturday, July 13 at 10.15 am PT. Here are the details: World-building and Cultural Research for Storytelling Join us for this insightful author panel on creating immersive worlds, grounding them in reality, and ensuring cultural sensitivity while introducing innovative elements. Key topics of discussion will include: the process of building intricate and believable worlds;

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SFWA Blog: Character Development Lessons From Video Games

I’m excited to have the chance to geek out about both character development and video games at the SFWA Blog! In my article “Character Development Lessons From Video Games,” I talk about some of my favourite character-driven fantasy and role-playing video games, and the lessons they taught me in developing characters in my sci-fi/fantasy books. Video games discussed: the Dragon Age series, Skyrim, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (I miss Odyssey SO MUCH).

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