Hi there,

Thanks for stopping by! As evening creeps closer, the afternoon Malaysian sun had withdrawn behind hedge-like clouds, just enough to break the merciless heat. At least it’s not so blinding and searing anymore. Some band’s gearing up for a concert in the distance, judging by the sound of drums and a voice over a mic. But it’s been nice hearing virtually no noise from the road outside my house all day, thanks to Labor Day here. Most people have taken advantage and stayed indoors to relax, I guess. I hope wherever you are reading this, the day is relaxing and if it’s not, maybe it can wind its way there in time. Maybe a book or warm drink is in order. Welcome to my researcher’s rest journal.

For this week’s rest, I did a hefty amount of reading.

That’s right. I took a break from researching… let’s see… the Japanese kaiju known in pop culture as Godzilla, goldfish, jewish folklore, and rock-themed creatures

If you are wondering why I’m interested in the golem—first of all, well-caught bit of general knowledge, and second of all, I’m just storing away this information like a chipmunk stashing nuts in its cheeks

And I just opened up this Christmas buy and, well, the rest is history. Finished it too.

It was fun, really a breath of fresh air to try reading for leisure in a long while. I’m not saying I don’t enjoy reading for work, like in this internship, but it has just been weeks since I relaxed without watching lots of Youtube or TV.

By the way, if you are curious what Legends & Lattes is about, the story is set in a Dungeons and Dragons world, following Viv, an orc warrior who grows tired of adventures, bounty hunting, and life on the road. She decides to start a coffee place in Thune, a city that has never heard of coffee, and there we have a story.

How related to history is this book? Not very; it’s cozy fantasy, not much realism there.

But hey, if you are a historical fiction writer, I urge you to sample books from other genres as well as historical fiction. Because at the end of the day, you are writing a story that needs to feel real, human, inviting. And if you have been following the journey of this press, its authors, its publisher, you would know that capturing historical accuracy is only half the secret.

Seeing how other genres work their tricks could teach you a thing or two about craft.

Ian, you say. Why have you reverted back to reading for this week’s blog? Run out of rest methods?

That’s the thing about rest. It doesn’t have to be varied. It can simply revolve around the same few methods over and over again. Read. Watch TV. Follow Youtubers and podcasters. Commune with other writers. Introvert. Read again. Have nothing to do with writing for a day, maybe even two. Edit your work. Read even more books. Rinse and repeat.

My time in this internship is slowly coming to a close, dear friends. I don’t know how many people follow this blog series that I’ve been writing, but if you have been, know that I’m very grateful for your time and attention.

I think I will have one final post next week, but for this one, I want to end on a journal question as usual.

Journal question: When was the last time you read for leisure? What haven’t you tried that you would like to?

See you again next week,
Ian Tan, intern
History Through Fiction