Embedded Files
We aim high because we’ve been told that’s where the impact is. That if we want to matter, we have to be big.
But somewhere along the way, we can forget what that climb is for.
There are seasons when life doesn’t let us launch.
Plans stall. Doors close. The waters are too wild.
The Most Valuable Onigiri ever
The Most Valuable Onigiri ever
(because it became a novel)
I think people expect fantasy authors to say things like, "The story came to me while hiking through ancient ruins."
Mine?
It came to me while buying a tuna mayo onigiri at a FamilyMart in Japan. (inner note to self: An onigiri as the triggering eureka moment? Quiet weird!)
I was there for a one-week business trip, and as someone who rarely travels or even goes out much, I found myself noticing the little things (but I think I spent more time people-watching than sightseeing). The trains arrived when they were supposed to. People moved with quiet consideration for one another. Even the busiest streets somehow felt calm. Everything seemed to have its place, and everything simply... worked.
Somewhere between grabbing lunch and wandering the area, I ended up with two story ideas. One was a dystopian novel.The other was a historical-political-intrigueish fantasy.
When I got back to my room, I wrote both ideas down in my writing tablet.I decided to keep the dystopian story safely outlined—just in case I ever wanted to come back to it someday because it was the historical fantasy that kept pulling me back.
A year later, Kingmaker had become much more than the political fantasy I had originally envisioned. It became a character-driven story of a kingdom through the eyes of the man sworn to protect it. My character, Lucienn—he wasn't even supposed to become the heart of the story—but the more I wrote from his perspective, the more I realized that the story made more sense through his eyes than anyone else's. And somehow, that felt like the right story to tell.
Looking back now, it's strange to think that all of this began with an ordinary lunch in Japan.
A tuna mayo onigiri. A note in my writing tablet. And an idea I almost left there.
Writing Kingmaker has been one of the greatest privileges of my life. It has challenged me, surprised me, and reminded me why I fell in love with storytelling in the first place.
Stories have an odd way of finding us when we least expect them. I'm just grateful that this one found me (At a FamiyMart).
July 07, 2026
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