Science-Fiction & Fantasy Writer, among other things
Last year, I read Beth Cato’s BREATH OF EARTH, the first book in her Blood of Earth series. Though I have a policy of not reviewing any works of fiction or even commenting about them in public, I must say I loved the read. I was also thoroughly impressed with the level of detail Beth built into her world, as well as the huge, huge fast-paced action.
Now, CALL OF FIRE, book two in the series is out!… Read More »
For years I resisted updating Wordpress, for fear stuff would break down and I’d have a heap of work. I also strongly resisted revamping this site, because … heap of work. I wanted to write novels rather than sort through code. There was a reason I didn’t major in computer science. I HATE debugging!! However, one can only resist the tide for so long.… Read More »
In 2014, I spat some saliva into a plastic kit, and in a few weeks, my genes were spelled out to me. It was a long list of letters and numbers, consisting of rsid identifiers, genotypes (A, G, C, T combos), and their positions. Raw data I couldn’t read. Back then, 23andme mainly offered ancestry reports, which were never of interest to me. I took the test purely for medical (preventive) reasons, and relied entirely on my sister, a doctor specializing in integrative medicine, to get the data interpreted (only partially though). Anyhow, I’m not here to talk about my SNPs or mutations, but my hair!… Read More »
Sometimes I google myself to check what comes up. In case anyone out there tries hunting for me, I hope they realize not every Gwen Phua is me, even though it isn’t a common name. Most of the results do point to me, due to the large number of app reviews I’ve written in the past. Unfortunately, the top listing, the Gwen Phua on LinkedIn, is NOT me.… Read More »
On Friday, my entire site got deleted. Not by me. I’m sharing a hosting account with my dad’s company, and the web developer redoing the company website did something that got the folder containing my entire Wordpress site deleted. This was why I was very very reluctant to give them cPanel access.
It was a disaster to me. When I called the developer to complain, the guy said he’d check on it. He spent a good amount of time talking to his developer. In the meantime while I was waiting, I kept thinking, Why now? I don’t have the time to redo my entire site from scratch!… Read More »
After returning to Tokyo by train from Kyoto, I took a day trip to Kamakura, where I saw the Great Buddha (Kamakura Daibutsu) at Kotokuin Temple. Minutes away was also Hasedera Temple, which had its own cute statues. And again, there were cherry blossoms.… Read More »
On my first day in Kyoto–my second trip here–I took a train to Arashiyama, where I walked to the Togetsukyo bridge and nearby bamboo groves, followed by Tenryuji Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage site with gorgeous flowers and a moss garden. In Kyoto itself, I visited Ginkakuji (the Silver Pavilion) and walked down the Philosopher’s Path, a canal near Ginkakuji. Cherry blossoms, as well as peach blossoms were aplenty.… Read More »
I stayed one night at Osaka, though it was my second time here. On my previous trip, Osaka was my stopping point to visit Nara and Koyasan, but this round I was bound for the cherry blossoms. Kyoto was my main cherry blossom destination, however.… Read More »
Nagoya was just a stopover point in my trip, and wasn’t exactly part of my vacation. It was memorable, however, for the food, since I was taken to a fabulous restaurant I’d never have found otherwise. From Nagoya, I took a day trip to Tsumago and Magome, preserved post towns that hail from the Edo period. Hiking along the trail between the two towns felt incredibly refreshing.… Read More »
I love Japan. These photos are from my third trip–partly a cherry blossom trip–running from late March to early April. From Tokyo, I caught trains to Osaka and Kyoto, taking short trips to small places such as Tsumago. I took countless shots of flowers and so much delicious food!… Read More »
