Samantha is one of the first few Speculative Fiction writers in Singapore I’ve had the pleasure to meet. When Val (the bestie) said her cousin had written and published a fantasy series, I was intrigued. Fast forward about almost a decade later, and here she is - a stalwart in the local self-publishing scene. Let’s see what she has to share about her works and our publishing scene, especially for speculative fiction. A few years after “Blood on the Moon” was released, you re-released another edition - how was each release like and what were the differences you were happy to make? The first edition was my virgin foray into self-publishing, and that was a significant milestone for me. The second edition was more of a return to my formative years spent with Gothic Lit with a contemporary take on it. So instead of letters and news articles à la Bram Stoker’s Dracula, I use instant message transcripts and emails to tell parts of the story. I would say that the incorporation of these different modes of narrative was the change I was most happy to make, because it added so much lovely texture to the story. Alegria does fight to keep many things together - non-human relations, her relationship, her job, her life - how does she do it and how similar do you think the both of you are? Hah, she does have a lot of moving elements in her life at the same time! I think in the first book, Alegria’s way of dealing with it was compartmentalizing, but it became apparent to Alegria, towards the end of Blood On The Moon, that this approach was not exactly the best. She definitely does a better job accepting the overlaps in all the (rapidly) moving elements in her life in Hunter’s Moon, and part of that is a result of her embracing the shadow sides of herself in Blood On The Moon. This is still going to be a big challenge for her moving forward, because there are always more moving parts. As to how similar we both are … I think in terms of keeping many moving parts together, I was more like her when I started writing Blood On The Moon, and now I’m markedly less so. Which one of your protagonists do you still want to have a barbecue with today and what would you talk about? Oh, for sure I would want to have a barbecue with Joao — like literally, co-host a BBQ with the Prince of Sleet City. Not just because the meat would be perfectly seasoned (and also sponsored by the Sleet City Clan, muahahaha), but because … as I and my characters evolve in tandem, I feel at this point I have much more in common with Joao than I did when I wrote Blood On The Moon. I think we would have a pretty riveting discussion about impostor syndrome and the corrupting nature of power, and how one deals with both. You have been to various countries and places for research and for some time to just write - Portugal, Indonesia, just to name a few - which have been your most fruitful and why? That’s a tough choice! I would say that my first hike up to (very) high ground in Taman Negara, my solo sojourn to Koh Lipe in Thailand, my first ride on the northbound Malayan railway up to KL, which — I later learned — my great grandfather helped to engineer (the railway, not my journey, though he did sort of indirectly engineer that journey if you want to get super technical about it). Happily getting lost in the streets of Tokyo, and also my forays into the mayhem of Jakarta and Saigon, cobbled streets and the crisp, gentle Mediterranean winter for the first time … these were all very fruitful for me. Why? Well, every place I go has something to teach me, and each place makes my stories richer. And these places stood out particularly in terms of the value of the gifts I received from my experiences there. The first railway ride on the northbound Malayan rail up to KL felt like I was time-travelling and there was a possible Narnia situation impending; Koh Lipe because every minute spent underwater hanging out with grumpy fish among the corals helped me to create the sense of the sublime in Hunter’s Moon, and Barcelona because it was there that I understood what it would be like to live in the Sleet City Clan, i.e., surrounded by really good-looking men all the time. So. Fun. (Non-facetious reason: it was there that I was inspired to start using ley lines in the plot.) If you had to rewrite Alegria such that she didn’t meet any Daywalkers, what other communities would you have her meet and why? I would really like her to spend more time with Southeast Asian Supes, like apsara, werecobras, and rainforest dryads. Because I think a lot of urban fantasy and paranormal fiction focuses way too much on mythological and supernatural creatures in Western folklore, while this rich (and often terrifying) tapestry of Southeast Asian myths and spooks is largely unknown to international fans of these genres. Possibly she could also meet zombies, but sort of advocate for them as they have very few legal rights (or rights of any kind, really). I’m not ruling either of these out as smaller plot threads! You have come to a point where you have to choose an animal partner for life - which one of your were-animals would you want by your side and why? I would like a wereotter by my side for life. Because they move really fast in the water, and they’re fantastic at catching fish — and I am at my happiest when in any body of water and while eating sashimi (both at the same time would be so frakkin awesome). As far as lycanthropes go, wereotters are freakishly strong, making them also very handy with gardening and heavy lifting. Romance, thy name is … not Samantha. :P So what’s next for you? There’s the next book in The Daywalker Chronicles to write, titled Dark Moon Rising. Before that, I also have a surreal and absurdist comedy + sci-fi(ish) fiction project that will be released by the end of the year, titled Molly and Manuel Find Earth-42. It features parallel universes and sentient plush creatures, including a mercenary plush lobster. I have 50 words for you to go and promote yourself - Go! Yippee! About me TLDR: author of The Daywalker Chronicles, developmental editor, Cylon, and accidental sociopolitical commentator. Always happy to talk shop with makers of stories and other cool things/ discuss world-building of many sorts. Ping me on Twitter here (@mysterybunny) or find out more about The Daywalker Chronicles here. # That being said, that’s all for July! Stay tuned in August for another conversation with another regional storyteller - until then!
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