Moonlake’s Book Discoveries- March 2020

I’ve been slacking off in reading published books due partially to the ease of phone reading on the train but also due to some weird conflict between fantasy reading and writing that’s unique to me. Besides the completed reads, I also tried to read The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu but decided I wouldContinue reading “Moonlake’s Book Discoveries- March 2020”

The Chinese influence in my Writing

Aside from the about page, I don’t think I’ve properly introduced myself so let’s do this here up front. I’m a Chinese who migrated to Australia at the age of 12 after I completed primary school. Because I came from Hong Kong, I lean towards modern values (at least in gender roles and such) butContinue reading “The Chinese influence in my Writing”

Moonlake’s writing updates (9)

I felt like short and snappy today so let’s do this in Q&A format.  Where are you at overall?  I’ve finished draft 0.6.  What’s that- draft 0.6? It’s the second iteration of my decimal drafts, I started with draft 0.5.  What’s with the decimal drafts? It’s a thing to get rid of my perfectionism, tellingContinue reading “Moonlake’s writing updates (9)”

Remarkable Women in Ancient China (4)- Huang Yue Ying

Who is she: Daughter (only child) of Huang Chen Yin, an influential scholar in Jingzhou which was a big region encapsulating what are now the Hubei and Hunan provinces as well as surrounding areas (it was a rich and flourishing region where scholars thrive which was quite rare in ancient China). The Huang family wasContinue reading “Remarkable Women in Ancient China (4)- Huang Yue Ying”

Author interview with Scott Oden

Moonlake: Hi, Scott. I read all of the chapters of Twilight of the Gods (TOG) on your blog over the Christmas break and it’s funny. I started wondering about Njall from book 1 who I wasn’t really interested in throughout A Gathering of Ravens (GOR). And the epilogue of GOR also gave me an expectationContinue reading “Author interview with Scott Oden”

Gaming and writing

I am someone with selective taste and that extends to the number of genres I read as well as my hobbies. I’ve previously blogged about jigsaw puzzles, I constantly blog about reading and today I’m going to talk about my gaming hobby and how it figures into my writing.  Firstly, I do two different typesContinue reading “Gaming and writing”

Chinese Lore- A selection of Mythical Flora (2)

I usually run my Remarkable Women in ancient China (RWAC) series this month but I didn’t want a break in between the Mythical Flora series so I decided to move back the RWAC post to next month. Face Tree Physical Description: A tree with branches that sprout peach-like fruits with human faces  Lore: Another lifeformContinue reading “Chinese Lore- A selection of Mythical Flora (2)”

Tales of Inspiration (2)

Today I’m going to talk about the inspiration behind my novella A Thread of A Chance and how the external impetus+internal processing framework discussed in the first post of this series works in giving birth to this particular story.  The external impetus actually comes in two parts: the first is the anthology series I wasContinue reading “Tales of Inspiration (2)”

Moonlake’s Fascination with the Fantasy Genre

Fantasy is my main staple in terms of reading and I only write fantasy. Why this fascination with fantasy, you ask? And what’s so fascinating about fantasy?  My answer for the why is simple: this is just the genre that I’m most drawn to. Now, if I drill down to the underlying causes (as IContinue reading “Moonlake’s Fascination with the Fantasy Genre”

The Oriental Fantasy Reading Year- Infinitely Extended

So last year I said it was to be my Oriental Reading Year. But plans change. I don’t know why that is but fantasy reading and writing seems to be conflicting enterprises for me. Like, reading fantasy would have adverse influences on my writing. I didn’t notice that before but perhaps that is because beforeContinue reading “The Oriental Fantasy Reading Year- Infinitely Extended”