Writing

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. […]

SFWA Blog: Character Development Lessons From Video Games Read More »

Filipino & Finnish mythology & folklore in my recent work

To celebrate crossing the midpoint in my science-fantasy novella, I’m sharing the Filipino & Finnish mythology & folklore I’ve incorporated in my work so far. This includes The Quiet is Loud, Twist the Branch (formerly known as Seeker of the Lost Song), TTB’s sequel, and the novella. Folklore/mythology from the Philippines:⁠ ✦ Nuno sa punso,

Filipino & Finnish mythology & folklore in my recent work Read More »

The inevitability of Peter Gabriel: creative inspiration

Today is Peter Gabriel’s 74th birthday, and it’s good timing. Lately I’ve been thinking about the way his Genesis years influenced my writing. Ed. note: This post was updated with more content in September 2025. It might not be obvious mainly because he’s a singer and I’m a writer. Of course, though, in Genesis he

The inevitability of Peter Gabriel: creative inspiration Read More »

pre-colonial-filipino-history-fantasy-novel-inspiration

Historical inspiration for my fantasy novel: Pre-colonial Philippines

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 »

why-i-left-substack

Why I left Substack

You may have heard that Substack recently came under scrutiny (to say the least) for its position on platforming/making money off Nazis – namely, they don’t see a problem with it. So I want to get out of the Nazi bar. I’ve spent the past few days trying out alternatives to Substack, and I’ve settled

Why I left Substack Read More »

Essay in All Lit Up about older protagonists in speculative fiction

Why do we need older protagonists in fantasy, sci-fi, and other forms of speculative fiction? I recently wrote an essay for All Lit Up about the value of north-of-25 protagonists in speculative fiction (and beyond). An excerpt: I do enjoy books where the protagonist saves the day at the age of 19, but it doesn’t

Essay in All Lit Up about older protagonists in speculative fiction Read More »

Scroll to Top