☾ Fantasy author exploring identity & belonging at the margins 🜃 Inspired by Filipino & Finnish folklore, myth & memory ✎ Author of The Quiet is Loud. She/her. Neutral good 🇨🇦🇵🇭🇫🇮 https://msha.ke/samanthakgarnerhttps://bsky.app/profile/samanthakgarner.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/samanthakgarner.bsky.social/post/3ml2eu7xp4k2wThe 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.04 May 2026 19:11 +0000at://did:plc:ocipainckrrl6yw23tzjgrri/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml2eu7xp4k2whttps://bsky.app/profile/samanthakgarner.bsky.social/post/3mkppkh5sp22vThe 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! 🇵🇭🇵🇭🇵🇭30 Apr 2026 13:24 +0000at://did:plc:ocipainckrrl6yw23tzjgrri/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkppkh5sp22vhttps://bsky.app/profile/samanthakgarner.bsky.social/post/3mklc7enffc2fOn 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). https://www.patreon.com/cw/SamanthaKGarner28 Apr 2026 19:14 +0000at://did:plc:ocipainckrrl6yw23tzjgrri/app.bsky.feed.post/3mklc7enffc2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/samanthakgarner.bsky.social/post/3mkbhjf4ss226Is 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? 🤔 https://media.tenor.com/emmKbo3KSY4AAAAC/woah-neo.gif?hh=311&ww=49824 Apr 2026 21:23 +0000at://did:plc:ocipainckrrl6yw23tzjgrri/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkbhjf4ss226https://bsky.app/profile/samanthakgarner.bsky.social/post/3mjwvpidazs2qSleepy light, a cool breeze, the whistle of a neighbour's kettle through an open window.20 Apr 2026 16:37 +0000at://did:plc:ocipainckrrl6yw23tzjgrri/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjwvpidazs2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/samanthakgarner.bsky.social/post/3mjrgbqoh3c2lI 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. 🖤18 Apr 2026 12:18 +0000at://did:plc:ocipainckrrl6yw23tzjgrri/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjrgbqoh3c2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/samanthakgarner.bsky.social/post/3mjju3myjnc2kBouncing around in my head for hours: “[When starting a creative project], the Fool is the proper posture.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZzeu__QRu815 Apr 2026 12:04 +0000at://did:plc:ocipainckrrl6yw23tzjgrri/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjju3myjnc2khttps://bsky.app/profile/samanthakgarner.bsky.social/post/3mjimynkxvs2bTomorrow 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/ https://samanthagarner.ca/newsletter/15 Apr 2026 00:24 +0000at://did:plc:ocipainckrrl6yw23tzjgrri/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjimynkxvs2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/samanthakgarner.bsky.social/post/3mj5qgjs4b22rI 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.10 Apr 2026 16:26 +0000at://did:plc:ocipainckrrl6yw23tzjgrri/app.bsky.feed.post/3mj5qgjs4b22rhttps://bsky.app/profile/samanthakgarner.bsky.social/post/3mj3nbdojtc2mSpring’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!) https://www.patreon.com/posts/seasonal-almanac-145069217?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_fan&utm_content=web_share09 Apr 2026 20:24 +0000at://did:plc:ocipainckrrl6yw23tzjgrri/app.bsky.feed.post/3mj3nbdojtc2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/samanthakgarner.bsky.social/post/3mitm57hrss26I 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!06 Apr 2026 15:43 +0000at://did:plc:ocipainckrrl6yw23tzjgrri/app.bsky.feed.post/3mitm57hrss26https://bsky.app/profile/samanthakgarner.bsky.social/post/3mikmceo3as2tIf 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). https://www.patreon.com/cw/SamanthaKGarner03 Apr 2026 01:52 +0000at://did:plc:ocipainckrrl6yw23tzjgrri/app.bsky.feed.post/3mikmceo3as2thttps://bsky.app/profile/samanthakgarner.bsky.social/post/3mictiz7unk2lI’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 🖤30 Mar 2026 23:39 +0000at://did:plc:ocipainckrrl6yw23tzjgrri/app.bsky.feed.post/3mictiz7unk2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/samanthakgarner.bsky.social/post/3mhgl77jqt22gLest 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:19 Mar 2026 17:56 +0000at://did:plc:ocipainckrrl6yw23tzjgrri/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhgl77jqt22ghttps://bsky.app/profile/samanthakgarner.bsky.social/post/3mhdplvw5b227I 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!18 Mar 2026 14:37 +0000at://did:plc:ocipainckrrl6yw23tzjgrri/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhdplvw5b227https://bsky.app/profile/samanthakgarner.bsky.social/post/3mh4uhvjcck2vI'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? https://samanthakgarner.beehiiv.com/p/47-on-comfort-zones-in-writing15 Mar 2026 21:15 +0000at://did:plc:ocipainckrrl6yw23tzjgrri/app.bsky.feed.post/3mh4uhvjcck2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/samanthakgarner.bsky.social/post/3mgugrulxyc2kI'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! ⁠12 Mar 2026 12:49 +0000at://did:plc:ocipainckrrl6yw23tzjgrri/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgugrulxyc2khttps://bsky.app/profile/samanthakgarner.bsky.social/post/3mfv5bcuy6c2zThis is who writes my posts.28 Feb 2026 02:06 +0000at://did:plc:ocipainckrrl6yw23tzjgrri/app.bsky.feed.post/3mfv5bcuy6c2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/samanthakgarner.bsky.social/post/3mfpfdps5mc2mLately: 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?⁠25 Feb 2026 19:15 +0000at://did:plc:ocipainckrrl6yw23tzjgrri/app.bsky.feed.post/3mfpfdps5mc2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/samanthakgarner.bsky.social/post/3mfmi2tjw5k25When 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!24 Feb 2026 15:26 +0000at://did:plc:ocipainckrrl6yw23tzjgrri/app.bsky.feed.post/3mfmi2tjw5k25https://bsky.app/profile/samanthakgarner.bsky.social/post/3metds2kj2c2eAs 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. ⁠14 Feb 2026 15:33 +0000at://did:plc:ocipainckrrl6yw23tzjgrri/app.bsky.feed.post/3metds2kj2c2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/samanthakgarner.bsky.social/post/3mdzx7oqvvs2sI’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! https://samanthagarner.ca/sparks-from-a-fox-tail-aurora-borealis-folklore-in-finland/04 Feb 2026 13:11 +0000at://did:plc:ocipainckrrl6yw23tzjgrri/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdzx7oqvvs2shttps://bsky.app/profile/samanthakgarner.bsky.social/post/3mdbvcq3ld22yMinnesota: Broad Mutual Aid & Resource Directories https://theminneapolisedit.beehiiv.com/p/minnesota-community-courage-how-to-help25 Jan 2026 23:33 +0000at://did:plc:ocipainckrrl6yw23tzjgrri/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdbvcq3ld22y