Once a psychic spy, James Morgan wants nothing more than to explore Osaka in peace. But when a chance encounter with a gang of yakuza ends in bloodshed, he is cast out into the cold. Can a psychic find a place in a world of machines? — ONCE A PSI is the prequel of my […]
Pulp on Pulp is Available for Preorder!
Last year, Misha Burnett and I put together a call for submissions for an anthology of essays on pulp fiction. Titled Pulp on Pulp, it collects tips, tricks and advice on the art of writing pulp fiction from some of the up and coming names in the growing PulpRev movement. Pulp on Pulp was meant […]
Hunters of the Void Chapter 6
The flight back to the hotel was long and circuitous. Sirens echoed in discordant choruses through the empty streets, the first responders finally confident that the wrath of the New Gods had passed. The Angel at the controls pulled a series of high-speed high-precision maneuvers, staying far from police vehicles and away from the city’s […]
Stopping Minors from Hormone Therapy is Not Discrimination
Update: the Ministry of Education has denied stopping the student from getting hormone therapy. Two days ago, a transgender student at a Singaporean junior college shared his experience of the Ministry of Education blocking his efforts at undergoing hormone therapy on Reddit. The story spread across Singaporean social media, eventually being picked up by The Online Citizen. […]
Hunters of the Void Chapter 5
Ring of Steel Nightfall. People said Babylon never slept. Here, it came closest to slumber. As the sun set, the district wound down operations. Lights extinguished by the scores. Cars and buses flowed out of the neighborhood, southwards to the suburbs, north to the town of North Valley. People abandoned the streets. By midnight, only […]
Hunters of the Void Chapter 4
Division of Labor A hybrid biocomputer was one of the most sophisticated pieces of technology in all existence. Putting one together required equally sophisticated tech. An industrial-grade 3D bioprinter capable of ultra-high precision. Bioink. A multi-material 3D printer. Feedstock. Uninterruptible power supply. Most importantly, a cleanroom. Securing everything was no small feat for the private […]
Hunters of the Void Chapter 3
The Weakest Link Precision. Control. Calmness. The watchwords that kept Kayla grounded in the field. She was not in the field any more. “Shit, shit, shit, shit, SHIT!” She punctuated every word with a step, burning a circle into the living room carpet. Seated at his workstation, Zen folded his hands over his belly, his […]
Hunters of the Void Chapter 2
To the End For a corporation linked to the New Gods, Zenith Biotech was remarkably transparent about its operations. Its corporate website betrayed critical information about the company. Address, contact form, areas of specialty, mug shots of executives and critical staff. More photographs showed the interior of the labs, the conference rooms, the reception area. […]
Hunters of the Void Chapter 1
By the Waters of Babylon Babylon was beautiful tonight. Crowns and necklaces of light adorned the skyscrapers flanking the Babylon River, edifices of concrete and steel wreathed in multicolored flame. Soft red and yellows illuminated the waterfront, the sturdy towers and swooping cables of Founders Bridge, the ferries and lesser boats that plied the waters. […]
Yakuza 0 and the Art of Writing the Anti-Criminal
Kiryu Kazuma is a bad guy. Kiryu Kazuma isn’t a bad guy. The main protagonist of most of the games in the long-running Yakuza franchise, Kiryu Kazuma is the heart and soul of the series. Yakuza 0 explores his origins as a low-level member of the Dojima-gumi and his involvement in an underworld struggle to […]
Looking Back on 2020, Looking Forward to 2021
2020 shook up the entire world. Yet somehow, my writing, and my blog, saw modest growth. For years, on days when I didn’t post anything, my blog saw a daily visitor count in the single digits. Now it has broken into the double digits on silent days. Visitor counts on days where I do post […]