Blog
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Autopsy at the Junction Hotel Sound of hooves and iron‑shod wheels on gravel reached the Junction Hotel door, a rare interruption in the sleepy settlement. Huish‑Huish brushed back her hair before going to answer the knock. A detective stood at the doorstep, one finger tapping lightly against his thigh. He was waiting for Mow Fung to… Read more
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Mushanokoji Saneatsu’s novella The Innocent (1911) incorporates an anecdote that, at first glance, might seem eccentric. Chapter 7 offers a poignant portrait of Jibun’s uncle, prompted by the uncle’s cancer diagnosis and Jibun’s complex emotional response, including reflections on their relationship. Among a few stories expressing the uncle’s colorful character and past, Jibun tells how… Read more
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Though railway convention would designate a train travelling from Horsham toward Melbourne as an up train, I have titled this chapter Down Train from Horsham intentionally. The descent invoked here is not geographical but tonal: a movement into rougher country, uncertain fortunes, and subterranean narrative currents. It is, in spirit, a passage downward. Down Train… Read more
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I’d like to share the draft of a novel I’ve been writing — a work in progress that’s now nearing completion. I’ll be posting chapters every few weeks as I continue to refine and shape the manuscript. The idea began while I was researching the life of my great-great-grandfather, a Chinese immigrant to Australia during… Read more
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Content warning: This piece discusses domestic violence, mental illness, and historical accounts of murder. I first came across the horrifying case of Jane Gray’s murder by her husband, John Gray, in the Sydney Morning Herald of 1870 . A story of homicidal paranoia rooted in delusions of jealousy, it occurred in the village of Calderwood,… Read more
