Anna Tan's Blog, page 56

#guestpost: Steampunk, Fantasy, and Cultures by @TheQuietPen

Today on the blog we welcome Janeen Ippolito from Uncommon Universes Press to talk about her new release Lawless and why on earth her steampunk has dragons!

Steampunk, Fantasy, and Cultures: Creating the World of The Ironfire LegacySome people write fantasy. Some people write steampunk.

And then some people, like me, say “why not both? Plus, you can have DRAGONS!”

When I began to write in Sekastra, the continent featured in The Ironfire Legacy, I actually started with what is now slated to...

Saturday #worship setlist

I struggle. I don't want to do this. It's tiring, exhausting, I don't get anything out of it.

Yet, the reminder again is that this isn't for me.

It is, yes. But not alone.

In the end, it is for the church.

Shadows

Walau sekalipun ku berjalan

She's standing between light and dark life and death truth and lies--Yet she's pushing forward, striving, always striving, remembering that the enemy's gate is down 

Dalam lembah yang kelam

It's harder than it seems wavering between progress and regress entrance and egressand sometimes--most times--both look the same. It's inertiaparalysisa stutteringa stoppinga void

Ku tak takut kar’na Kau besertaku

But depression...

#bookreview: The Worthiest Kiss by Birsilah Bakar

The Worthiest Kiss by Birsilah Bakar


In terms of imagination, The Worthiest Kiss makes for an enticing read. Despite promises on the back blurb, not all the stories were retellings of beloved fairy tales (or maybe some were not recognisable enough?) and not all of them had science fiction twists, but all fairy tale-ish, so yeah.

It starts off well with De-Cinderellalized, a sci-fi retelling of Cinderella where our titular character has been duped into working as a prostitute on the moon and nee...

#musicmonday: One Time | SafetySuit

I went into my library on Spotify for the first time since forever and discovered I'd saved this song. I have no idea why.

At any rate, it's pretty catchy and kind of fits my emo-ish mood.

I should really get round to compiling Nan's playlist.

#fridayflash: Snapshots

It's his favourite photograph: Daniella laughing in the rain and him splashing towards her with a yellow slicker. His sister Livvy had caught it from the front porch, whilst yelling that he'd catch his death of cold and shouldn't he have another so they'd be a matching pair? He'd snorted and told her to shut up as he approached the love of his life cautiously, as if she were a wild horse ready to shy away at any moment. Daniella hadn't shied. She'd dropped her button nose from its skyward dir...

#bookreview: Alara's Call by @KristenStieffel

Alara's Call by Kristen Stieffel


I honestly don't know how to put a star on this. Maybe I won't. There are too many factors that I can't reconcile which swing the bar anywhere from a two- to a four-star. A three would be a logical compromise, but, well.

At its core, Alara's Call is a romance. Yes, it positions itself as adventure/fantasy, there is politicking and battle and a strong core of faith that runs through the whole novel, but in the end, it's really about Alara and Dorrell and their fi...

#musicmonday: Write Your Story | Sara Masterson

One of the random things that came up on my playlist during write-in.
Apt?

Saturday #Worship Setlist

Where I am surprisingly safe this week.

No new songs!

Also, fantastically spread across a wide selection.

#Fridayflash: Come Home

Extracts of Nan's diary, as pertains to Walker. 

1994
October
He's gone. I don't know where he is. No one knows where he is. Milly asked about him at the funeral: Where's Uncle Walker?
He's late. He's coming. 
He never showed. I lied. Only Walker would pull a stunt like this in the middle of a funeral. I'm so angry I could kill him.

November
It's been a month. The detectives can't find him. No clues. No bloody clues. He's just vanished. Poof.
Magic.
I don't believe in magic.
He...