Happy Asian & Pacific Islander Heritage Month!
To celebrate this month we wanted to put together a feature on Asian and Pacific Islander authors. This month, you’ll see interviews from these authors about their inspiration for their projects, what they’re most excited about for readers, and how their identities influence their work.
If you yourself are of Asian or Pacific Islander heritage and would like your story featured, let us know! We will be putting together a separate rec list post including these stories and any new ones we get!
This Month’s Featured Authors
Parkerlyn, author of The Nameless
Legend goes when the world was formed, the mortal races, mortalis, were created with the gift of magic. But as time passed their hubris grew, and the sheevra were created to curb their pride.
When it comes to these chaotic and malevolent beings, the lands are full of cautionary tales. Though some would tell you that the stories are just that. To them, names have no power. There are no mysterious deals to fear, and the figure who seduces you into an alley at midnight is certainly no malicious spirit.
Which luckily for you means easy prey.
Read more about The Nameless [here]
Demo | Author’s Ko-fi | Discord
Tags: 16+, Fey-inspired, Fantasy
There is something wrong beyond the trees. A curse infects these lands. They call it the Rot, a curse that distorts the lands and creatures around it. For years, its tide has been stemmed by magical barriers, dutifully enforced by hunters. For years, the strategy has worked… until now. Today is not your lucky day.
The barrier has cracked. Something slithers through.
Read more about Snakeroot [here]
The demo is currently going through processing from CScript to Twine!
CScript Demo | Author’s Ko-fi | Discord
Tags: Modern Fantasy, Horror
Bubs, author of To The Whistling Winds
You’re a pretty normal young adult living in the 21st century: you have exceeding amounts of student loan debt, a housemate, and a job that pays just above minimum wage. You didn’t exactly dream of being a tour guide for the historical Chester Theme Park, but you’ve grown used to your every day life.
You thought you knew the park better than anyone, but as the friendly surface begins to crack and unexplainable events begin happening, you’ll need help dealing with the vengeful Fae, who seem to have a bone to pick with you in particular. Fortunately—or maybe unfortunately—there seem to be a Covey of fae seekers that might be inclined to help you…
Read more about To The Whistling Winds [here]
Demo | Author’s Ko-fi | Discord
Tags: Modern Fantasy, Magical Realism, Supernatural Elements
You’re just a regular joe-schmoe who works at a diner in Hawaii trying to rub two cents together trying to make ends meet. When a mysterious pearl falls into your hands one rainy night, your life is changed forever.
Read more about Roots [here]
Tags: Mythology, Supernatural
Jess, author of A Bard’s Tale
It takes place on the fictional continent of Amaran, a high fantasy setting based on Asian and Pacific Islander cultures as opposed to traditional Eurocentric high fantasy.
In the wake of a terrible war, you are a young bard just starting your journey. Will you answer the call to adventure and embark to rouse the sleeping gods?
Read more about A Bard’s Tale [here]
Tags: High Fantasy, Adventure
Nines, author of Orthall Bay
[…]The name always stuck, regardless of how many foster families you fell under. It should be comforting that at least one aspect of you will always stay the same, but it’s a stark reminder of how isolated you are. A name with nothing to belong to, nothing to trace back to. Then again, you’ve managed to get this far just on your own.
In Orthall Bay, an in-development interactive fiction, you play as a young adult who grew up as an orphan. You have no knowledge about your parents, or any form of family. That is, until you get a phone call about a recently-passed man claiming to be your grandfather. Two things are certain when you arrive in the maritime town. One, Orthall Bay is seemingly idyllic. And two, there’s no such thing as perfect towns.
The question is, how deep does its roots go?
Read more about Orthall Bay [here]
The demo is currently under development!
Tags: Supernatural, Horror
Mei, author of God of the Red Mountain
You are a spirit born of the Red Mountain–though you’ve run away from it long ago. You’d be content to stay away, too, if not for the mountain god who suddenly comes looking for you. But what purpose do they have? And what exactly is your end goal?
Based on East Asian myths and folklore, you play as a powerful, nameless spirit in a shifting world. As a being caught between death and life, you are connected to a stream of limitless power, and the more you are known, the more powerful you become.
However, your journey will not be so smooth. You have been cursed by powerful, malignant beings known as Foxes, and it’s only a matter of time before you fall from sanity yourself.
Read more about God of the Red Mountain [here]
Demo | Author’s Ko-fi | Discord
Tags: Mythology, Folklore
Salty, author of Love & Friendship
Do contracted nuptial arrangements fire up your loins? Have you ever wanted to experience the high-highs and low-lows of a lady in the prime of her marriage market days? Have you ever lain awake at night lamenting your birth in a time where divorce is readily available and women no longer need to marry as their only economic means of survival?
Why not come find your happiness in the Regency world of balls, debauchery, and a surprising amount of paperwork. Become an accomplished lady of many talents and impress gentle society or use your feminine wiles and wicked wit to flirt your way into scandal and, perhaps even, ruin. Play matchmaker and decide the fate of the ladies in your acquaintance. Pursue your choice of suitor; a dear childhood friend, a lord of dubious reputation, a wealthy widow with a heart of stone, or even, the coveted gentleman with 15,000 pound a year. After all, if you can’t find love, you may as well marry rich.
Read more about Love & Friendship [here]
Tags: Historical, Comedy, Romance
Aster, author of Nevermoore
They say that curiosity killed the cat, but it won’t be satisfaction that’ll be bringing you back. Again. And again. And again.
The simple act of visiting your parents turns into something much more than what you were expecting when your car suddenly breaks down in the middle of nowhere, and you find yourself right beside a small town that’s engulfed by the trees.
Some of the residents you met right away were welcoming enough, happy to try and lend a helping hand when they can. But their smiles seemed more apologetic than happy, and their eyes looked at you with regret.
You never really did understand why that was…
So now, you are an unwilling participant in an endless cycle of death and resurrection. And the more you learn about the bloodstained history of the town and the past of its people, the more you’ll get tangled up in a web of secrets that threatens to keep you there forever.
So welcome, newcomer… to Nevermoore.
Read more about Nevermoore [here]
Tags: Mystery, Supernatural
Additional featured authors!
@bouncyballcitadel, author of Citadel - A Medical Romantic Drama
Play as a first-year surgery intern at Citadel Health. Will you become the star intern and curry the favor of the chief? Or will you uncover Citadel Health’s secrets and break a story or two? This will be the best and worst year of your life. Don’t forget to save lives and break some hearts along the way.“
@shai-manahan, author of Hollowed Minds
“You will play as a disgraced detective, entangled in webs of conspiracies and betrayal as your character engages in a suspicious probation - with a whole lot of enigmatic hallucinations and explosions to deal with. It will be up to you to shape your detective’s (or Ripper’s, if you prefer to call them that) perception and motivations. After all, Gaile City is a place full of secrets - some of them belonging to your own character’s family - and you’ll have the freedom how to act accordingly.”
@prettyboyhowl, author of Venatici House
Two years ago your world fell apart. These days you’re… a bit of a mess. And, as it turns out, a soon-to-be criminal too- er, hang on let’s try that again.
In a 21st century world where abilities exist, attend university (for the 2nd time), fall in love (if you can), make new friends, and go on cute (potentially life-threatening), fun adventures with them (aww)!
@galengames, author of Dual Chroma
A thousand years ago dark magic destroyed half the world. Now the Ashen Lord rises again to destroy the rest.
As Prince Keldran’s adviser, your council will be indispensable in saving the world from ashen creatures that once again threaten his empire. But the Galens’s family’s past is more entwined with the Ashen than historians admit – and Keldran’s destiny is darker still. Will you help him save the world or allow it to be destroyed so that a new one can be reborn upon its ashes?
@herotome, author of Herotome
Your home base is Rhineway, a merciless metropolis where gentrification spreads like cold sores. Its wear and tear has been pushed to its outskirts, and the crime rate is higher than ever.
Meanwhile, the government-enforced superhero program draws mixed reactions among the populace.
While job-hunting, you’re unexpectedly recruited by a superhero. You accept the offer in hopes of an improved quality of life for you and your cat.
@mage-parivir, author of A Mage Reborn
They speak in low whispers of the mage, of night terrors or a hero returned, a demon and a saint in the same breath. Heresy, said the priests; hearsay, said the lords. But the crown is silent even as the grapevines unfurl, and so the rumors swell and spread all the same.
Like wind passing through the trembling trees, certain as the coming of the dawn, the word travels through farmsteads and castles alike:
