Just had the worst nightmare: I was doing a live, in-person interview, and an audience member asked a question that led me perfectly into mentioning a friend’s book - except I FORGOT THE NAME OF THE BOOK. That is Wake Up In Cold Sweat horror, fuck.

I think my new favourite thing about being a writer is when I bumble into a Scrivener feature. Like just now when I accidentally left-clicked in this part of the toolbar, and discovered you can search there. (Yes that might be a "didn't read the instructions" type of skill issue but here we are.)

I feel weirdly connected to my mummu and even my great-grandmother, who I never knew, just by the smell and taste of cardamom. It makes me think of folkloric stories of magic in ordinary things. I wonder if they endure because of the small rituals carried across dramatically different generations.

Lately I've been thinking about stories that begin where the veil between the mundane and the magical is thinnest. Like Dad talking about the Filipino vampiric creature tiyanak: "I know it's not real, but it's real." Or Finnish witch's bags, full of scrap objects that're conduits for väki spirits.

A writer is a person who cares what words mean, what they say, how they say it. Writers know words are their way towards truth and freedom, and so they use them with care, with thought, with fear, with delight. By using words well they strengthen their souls.

The Quiet is Loud is five years old today! ⁠ My copy of TQIL shows signs of frequent use: wear on one corner, spine cracked in multiple places, scribbles and flags on its pages to help me stay on track during readings.

ANNOYING TEACHER: Hmmm... I don't know, *MAY* the fourth be with you? EXAPERATED STUDENT: Ugh—fine... will you please accept the force as a blessing of faith and goodwill? ANNOYING TEACHER: That's better. Thank you. And yes, I accept the force.

The other day I was telling someone about my debut novel but kept pronouncing it “de-BOO” like the Filipino 18th birthday celebration. I haven’t thought of those things in decades. Probably the most unexpected way my Filipinoness has ever slipped out! 🇵🇭🇵🇭🇵🇭

On Patreon this year I've been sharing Filipino & Finnish folklore, myth & stories of everyday people often overlooked in history. If you’ve been curious about joining, use code APRIL10 for 10% off one month of any tier (ends 05/05). www.patreon.com/cw/SamanthaK...

Is my novel's culture & language a mixture of Filipino & Finnish influences because that's what I know, or is it because I'm subconsciously trying to construct a homeland & mythology for my mixed-race self who feels deeply rooted in nowhere? 🤔

Back by popular demand and with a new way to get your fortune told! Celebrate indie bookstores and get a personalized tarot card with your fortune written on it!

A Small Light in the Darkness: * relationships & how we can be manipulated by them * what happens when we tamper with our brains * what makes us who we are * who we might be if circumstances are slightly changed * ambition without empathy christianeknight.com #BookSky

Sleepy light, a cool breeze, the whistle of a neighbour's kettle through an open window.

I keep thinking about how much of the work I care about depends on independent bookstores. Especially if they're books that reveal themselves a little slowly, when you linger. With The Quiet is Loud, for example, the indies felt the most enthusiastic, gave my story a soft place to land. 🖤

Bouncing around in my head for hours: “[When starting a creative project], the Fool is the proper posture.” www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZze...

Tomorrow in my newsletter: ☾ The liminal space of inhabiting two novels at the same time ☾ How I’m pacing myself in edits despite the spring urge to flip everything over ☾ Links to stories of transformation & a spring journalling workshop It goes out at 10am Eastern! samanthagarner.ca/newsletter/

I get the value of just writing without analyzing. But give me the minutes spent staring at the screen, pacing the neighbourhood, working loose the knots of a story that I feel might never give way. Stressful, but it makes me feel more connected to the fact of being a writer more than anything else.

Spring’s here and I feel like walking and walking until my body gives out, like turning everything upside-down to remind myself that I still can.⁠ ⁠ (I put together a Spring Almanac with seasonal mythology, folklore, rituals & reflection. Here's to harnessing that restless spring energy!)

I finished a first draft of a fantasy novel that I've been putting aside for years. It feels unreal, somehow. It's inspired by precolonial Filipino culture, and 19th-century Finland fighting against Russian rule. Now, I have to deal with all the placeholder text that Past Me used. Wish me luck!

If you're a curious person drawn to folklore, myth, and stories of everyday people often overlooked in history, I'd love for you to join me on Patreon. There’s also a 10% discount on the first month of any tier at the moment - use the code APRIL10 (ends in May). www.patreon.com/cw/SamanthaK...

Join me for a Launch Party on April 4th 2026! I'd love it if you joined me for a free event on Zoom, happening on April 4th 2026 at 2pm EDT. Sign up here! www.christianeknight.com/join-me-for-... #booksky #🪐📚💙

I’m excited about the books my grant funding allowed me to order. I’ve built Corrode the Song on some historical research already, but it’s been fun digging into these books to uncover more cultural and historical aspects for my worldbuilding 🖤

Lest it be believed that elder millennials/baby Gen Xers are immune to their own kind of brain rot, the other day I was depressed on the couch and when my husband asked me how I was doing, this came out of me 100% earnestly:

I gave myself a break from writing yesterday, but at 21.30, instead of mindfully winding down for bed, I got an idea and wrote the entire 'low point' chapter of my new novel. I slept like hot garbage after that but I'd say it was worth it!

I've been thinking about the psychology of the shitty novel first draft lately, and why it is that I'm so anxious about it. I wrote a bit about my reluctance to leave the safety of the clean first drafts I usually prefer - does any of it ring true to you? samanthakgarner.beehiiv.com/p/47-on-comf...

I'm honoured to receive an Artistic Creation grant from Canada Council for the Arts, and Ontario Arts Council Recommender Grants via @houseofanansi.bsky.social and @wolsakandwynn.bsky.social! ⁠

This is who writes my posts.

Lately: morning birds returning, a kettle burbling to life in a quiet room, taking a deep breath and feeling the strain of muscles confounded by the concept. The sun nudging away weeks of dark. Immediately distrusting it, sneering at it, like who the fuck do you think you are to accept this light?⁠

When I say the library is an easy way to support authors, this is one reason. The Public Lending Right program sends me yearly payments for having copies of The Quiet is Loud in Canadian libraries. Thank you for supporting libraries and authors at the same time!

As a mixed-race person I’ve always felt in the boundary between worlds. Maybe this is why I’m drawn to certain figures from Filipino & Finnish folklore: nuno sa punso, haltija, tikbalang, and Ajatar. Guiding us through the in-between, they reframe what belonging means. ⁠

I’ve never been lucky enough to see the Northern Lights, and maybe that’s why I’m so interested in aurora borealis stories from Finnish and Sámi culture. In my latest blog post I share my favourite bits of aurora borealis folklore – let me know which one is most intriguing to you!

For Canadians horrified by ICE's campaign of terror in the US, here's something to do: demand #Roshel not be permitted to export armoured vehicles to ICE. Contact your provincial & federal reps, including Minister Anita Anand. @anitaoakvilleeast.bsky.social www.ctvnews.ca/business/art...

Minnesota: Broad Mutual Aid & Resource Directories theminneapolisedit.beehiiv.com/p/minnesota-...

Ontario and Canada needs to think about this.

Here’s what a new year looks like in my writing and researching life: 1) Clear the surface 2) Name the question 3) Think big even when it feels ridiculous I remind myself that we’re only in the middle of winter. I still get time to dream. www.instagram.com/reel/DTYw7Bt...

Tarot card poetry zine - if there was ever a more perfect Venn diagram for me, I’ve never seen it. I'm honoured to have poem based on The Chariot in the Major Arcana issue of Tiny Wren Lit. The issue is gorgeous - and there’s a printable mini-zine to go along with it!⁠ www.tinywrenlit.com/issue-10

Christmastime is weird for me so I'm trying to embrace small festive pleasures, like my newfound love of After Eights.

As someone who loves experimenting creatively and despairs at what feels like the increasing homogeneity of society, Peter Hook's rant and Ian Curtis' "Oh no you fucking don't" mentality reaffirm my belief in creating what I want, even if it puts me a little out of sync with the world sometimes. 🖤

In January, my Patreon will shift. I'll share monthly Chronicles: reflections on folklore, history & ritual from Filipino & Finnish culture. They're paired with a Field Note of complementary personal history or ritual. It’s part cultural storytelling, part meditation on belonging in the in-between.

Columnist Samantha Garner (@samanthakgarner.bsky.social) talks about the best ways to create a space where you can write and flex all of your best artistic muscles. Check it out right here on Open Book! #AmReading #CanLit #WritingLife #WritingTips open-book.ca/Columnists/C...

I have a short story in Ginger & Smoke, a genre-blending publication reclaiming Filipino folklore & myth! “Learn the New Light” is a science-fantasy story about a nuno sa punso on a tidally-locked planet, grappling with guilt over his failure to protect his land. www.gingersmoke.ca/issue-one/le...

In Finland & Karelia, Kekri was a pre-Halloween harvest festival celebrated when the veil was thin. Ancestors moved freely. There were feasts w/the living & the dead. There was divination. Visitors dressed in masks and furs - the "kekripukki." If you didn't feed them they might break your stove.

In her latest column, acclaimed author @samanthakgarner.bsky.social discusses how to write unlikeable protagonists, and still make these characters jump off the page. Check it out right here on Open Book! #AmReading #Columns #AmWriting #WritingTips open-book.ca/Columnists/W...

The fall colours are slower this year, more subdued overall, but just as life-affirming as ever. I feel like I'm returning to myself. 🍁

Canadians: The federal government is seeking public input on how AI should be developed and used in business, research, and the military. If this scares the shit out of you, please let them know:

Being mixed-race, I often feel between worlds. Maybe this is why I'm drawn to nuno sa punso, haltija, tikbalang and Ajatar - guardians of liminality from Filipino & Finnish folklore. Meet them and more in Boundary Keepers & Path Shifters, my free folklore guide! samanthagarner.ca/newsletter/

In Finnish paganism, the bear’s name was too sacred to speak aloud lest you attract it. I wrote about the sacred status of the bear in Finno-Ugric pagan belief, its appearance in the Kalevala, and the ritual of peijaiset: samanthagarner.ca/sacred-bear-...

I wanted to set an alarm to "start dinner," but I guess my phone's autosuggest thinks that's boring?

Periplus, a mentorship collective serving US-based early-career writers of color, is now accepting applications for our 2026 class of fellows! Apply by 9/20: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... You can learn more about Periplus (including fellowship eligibility requirements) here: bit.ly/periplusfaq

MINERVA. www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...