Short Stories

The Past Life Reconstruction Service

Published: May 2022, 
Someone in Time, ed. Jonathan Strahan, Rebellion Publishing
6,600 words

A disenchanted filmmaker visits his past lives seeking inspiration, but keeps running into destiny instead.

Paying a mysterious company an inordinate sum to help him uncover his past lives was the kind of weird rich people shit he’d never envisaged himself going in for. Even after he’d got to the point that he could afford anything he wanted, his indulgences had remained the same – work, maintaining an enfant terrible pose well past the age of enfant-cy … and Yiu Leung.

La mujer de terracota

Published: October 2021, 
Duermevela Ediciones

Spanish edition of The Terracotta Bride, translated by Rebeca Cardeñoso and illustrated by Qu Lan.

Hikayat Sri Bujang, or, The Tale of the Naga Sage

Published: Jul 2020, 
The Book of Dragons, ed. Jonathan Strahan, Harper Voyager
7,400 words

A naga sage is drawn out of his mountain fastness by family obligations, with disastrous results for the humans in the vicinity.

Illustrated by Rovina Cai.

A sage must be self-disciplined if they are to acquire sufficient merit to achieve liberation.

Odette

Published: Jun 2020, 
Shoreline of Infinity. Reprinted in Spirits Abroad, Small Beer Press.
4,900 words

A young woman in an old house seeks liberation from her oppressive family, but her plan goes awry.

Odette realised her life had not changed after all. She would have to live with Uncle Andrew for the rest of her life. He had only died the day before.

Head of a Snake, Tail of a Dragon

Published: Jan 2019, 
Self-published
2,300 words

A wicked imugi is perplexed when a strange dragon appears in her life, offering to help her become a dragon. Sequel to If at First You Don't Succeed, Try, Try Again.

Available to Patreon supporters.

“He’s a teenager?” said the dragon. “You can’t eat a teenager! That’ll delay your ascension by centuries!”

If at First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again

Published: Nov 2018, 
B&N SFF Blog. Reprinted in Spirits Abroad, Small Beer Press.
8,500 words

A hapless imugi is determined to attain the form of a full-fledged dragon and gain entry to the gates of heaven. For a long time, things don’t go well. Then, it meets a girl.

Illustrated by Shirley Jackson.

If you drop a stone, it will fall to the ground—it will not fly up to the sky. If you try to become a dragon before your thousandth birthday, you will fall flat on your face, and all the other spirits of the five elements will laugh at you. These are the laws of heaven.