• Of Letting Go

    It had been awhile since I broke up with my ex. The thing is, we never actually separated on a sour note. Sure, there were some things that didn’t click between us, and we ended up having more differences than we could reconcile. But when we decided to break up and go on with our…


  • The Acrophobic Traveller

    “So tell me, are you travelling solo?” Inside a cheap, red-painted walls of a traveller’s hostel in Osaka, this man, who was most likely in his mid 30s, asked me once. It didn’t take me long to answer that. “No,” I replied. “Not yet, at least. But I will be in a few days.”


  • 5 Books That Got Me into Writing Fiction

    Looking back, I had always been the storyteller of the family. I remember talking to my grandmother on a rainy day, or during one of those unfortunate days when there was a blackout and we couldn’t do anything but gather by a candle in the living room and chat until the electricity’s back on again—I…


  • My (Super Late) 2018 Reading Goals

    I am a writer. Or, at least, I identify myself as one. And for writers, perhaps reading books is something inseparable to their lives. In fact, I can personally testify that I wouldn’t have known half the joy of my life were it not for reading and discovering great books. I know what people think of us:…


  • My Top 5 Anime Titles of All Time

    If you have read my debut novel, 3 (Tiga), you will know that I often draw inspiration from Japanese culture. After all, there are a lot to be loved from their culture, don’t you agree? From the scrumptious food, elegant buildings and traditions, and to the ever so popular anime and manga culture—I can comfortably…


  • My Writing Playlist: Unspoken Words

    Femme – Kajiura Yuki (梶浦 由記) Shizuka na Hibi (静かな日々) – S.E.N.S. Project Lost Memory – S.E.N.S. Project Itsuka Dokoka de (いつかどこかで) – Hama Takeshi (濱剛) Deja View – S.E.N.S. Project Since I completed the first draft of this project during Lebaran Holiday of 2017, I didn’t really need the music so much. But still, there were…


  • One Acknowledgements Page I Didn’t Write (Unspoken Words)

    There are a lot of parties involved in the writing process of my newest book, UNSPOKEN WORDS. The writing part—sure, it was pretty much solitary. But I owe the conception of this book to a lot of wonderful people, and I am here to convey my gratitude to each and every one of these individuals.…


  • How I Wrote a Novel in 9 Days (Unspoken Words)

    It is no secret that my productivity comes in waves, and an irregular one at that. Sometimes, it even bothered me enough that I had to organize a writing retreat in order to get back to writing. However, I have to say that my experience in writing Unspoken Words was quite peculiar. If you have…


  • My New Year’s Resolution for 2018

    Depending on when you are reading this post, it might be 2018 already. I had considered to post this right when the year changes, but decided against it since I would most likely be celebrating the coming year with family and close friends. And I never liked scheduled posts since it doesn’t feel personal. So…


  • Of How Unspoken Words Came into Existence

    When I ran a poll on Instagram the other day, a surprising amount of respondents requested for me to post more information about my upcoming book, Unspoken Words. Some requested for information regarding the characters, some about my outlining process, and the rest were an equal mix between my writing process and publication date. The…