Humanborn, book 1 of Shadows of Eireland, released this May. Since we’re already in the September part of 2023, I thought it was time to offer a peek into what’s going on with the series behind the scenes as I veered off my usual process. (more…)
When the main character in a story clearly reflects at least some of the author’s background, and on top of that, the book is written in the first person perspective, the question about the so-called “self-insert” seems inevitable. Did the author just write a better, more idealized version of herself? Is the main character a reflection of her imaginary self or a way to deal with some insecurities?
So how is it this time? How much of Joanna is in Kaja—or how much does Kaja resemble Joanna? (more…)
With Shadows Over Kaighal, the third book in my epic fantasy adventure out, I thought it would be interesting to share the process of how the story and the setting came to be. I tried to keep it as spoiler-free as possible, but it does explain aspects of the world, so if you haven’t read By the Pact yet, and you’d like to dive into book 1 knowing as little as possible, you might save this text for later. But if you’re already a fan of the series, you don’t mind knowing more about the setting before you start, and if you’re curious on how my novel came to be and what an orc and a dark mage have to do with a book that has neither, keep reading! (more…)
Last year, I posted quarterly updates to my invisible writer’s progress, but 2021 brought so much about, I barely blinked and it was already the end of June. So here’s a quick roundup of the first half of my year.
Back in February, JD Estrada—writer, poet, and Youtuber—invited me to take part in his online event, March of the Writers. With many interesting prompts, I was hoping to join in the fun, but unfortunately, reality decided otherwise. The beginning of March wasn’t too kind to me, and as weeks passed, things didn’t improve enough for me to take on another commitment. But I still didn’t want to miss the opportunity, so in a way of a compromise, I’m writing this post. I won’t cover all the 31 prompts, but I chose the ones that seemed the most interesting. (more…)
It’s been 5 years since I moved over to the USA, and it feels like I should write a short summary. I’ve already mentioned a lot of what happened in the last year’s post, and due to the circumstances around the world, there wasn’t much exploring or activity outside of my apartment. So this year, let’s focus on adjusting to life in a new country and achievements, which I had quite a few. (more…)
Oh what a year it’s been, don’t you agree?
On one hand, I had some of my plans derailed, and things had not gone the way I thought they would. On the other, I was one of the lucky few who hadn’t been much affected by the unexpected situation that changed the way we live our lives. Yet, even for me, it was not a year of major achievements or hitting important milestones. Rather, it was a year of trying to move forward and succeed despite the odds. (more…)
If you’re on social media, you’ve probably seen memes about how 2020 delivers countless plot twists without being bothered with logic and structure of a story. In that vein, it delivered one to me, and though it wasn’t one of the curve balls it seems to have in an endless supply, my third quarter of the year still ended up under its heavy influence. (more…)
I have been interviewed by wonderful JD Estrada, so if you'd like to know a few random bits about my art, writing, and how to pronounce my name, or you simply would like to read something with your morning coffee, head over to his blog!
When I’m writing these words, it’s been only a few days after I had finished the first draft of my standalone fantasy, Memories of Sorcery and Sand. There’s still a lot of work ahead of me, but the most important bit is done: I have laid what I hope is a solid structure to probably the most challenging story I attempted to write up to date.
And to be honest, part of me still can’t believe I pulled it off.