Writing

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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Boundary keepers & path shifters: forest spirits in Filipino & Finnish folklore

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 po, nuno” in the forest to avoid a nuno’s curse, and I often wondered if my house’s tonttu would ever

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My first zine in over 20 years!

For my spring Undone Rituals Mixtape on Patreon, I made a zine! That sentence got an exclamation mark because I haven’t made a zine since I was 24. That’s over 20 years ago! Making a zine in 2025 was different in two main ways: 1) No longer having an office job where I could sneak photocopier time before everyone else arrived; and 2) Resisting the urge to lay everything out in InDesign and simply print

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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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historical inspiration for my fantasy novel: foreign rule in finland & the philippines

Historical inspiration for my fantasy novel: foreign rule in Finland & the Philippines

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 origin. ⁠ ⁠ 🇫🇮 Finland: Under Swedish rule for hundreds of years, then ceded to Russia until full & formal

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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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