All My Life is Circles....

Posted by Athena Scalzi

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2026/01/28/the-big-idea-salinee-goldenberg/

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When you have two great ideas, why not have them work together to get the best of both worlds in one story? Author Salinee Goldenberg decided to do just that for her new novel, Way of the Walker. Enjoy hearing about her process of combining these ideas in her Big Idea.

SALINEE GOLDENBERG:

‘In its bare reality, decolonization reeks of red-hot cannonballs and bloody knives. For the last can be the first only after a murderous and decisive confrontation between the two protagonists. This determination to have the last move up to the front, to have them clamber up (too quickly, say some) the famous echelons of an organized society, can only succeed by resorting to every means, including, of course, violence.’

-Franz Fanon, The Wretched of The Earth 1961

There were two ravenous wolves of ideas within me when I sat down to write Way of the Walker. In one corner, we have an anti-colonialist war epic inspired by the late Rattanakosin era of Siam and the surrounding conquest of Southeast Asia by western powers. In the other, a character study, an anti-hero saga starring our headstrong protagonist Isaree, an estranged phi hunter on a journey of self discovery, defined by her uncompromising morals and a mission to administer the justice she sees absent in the world.

These two Big Ideas circled the story, which at times, frantically evaded capture, a juicy, nimble deer that refused to be devoured completely by one or the other. I needed to force my two hungry wolves to politely share this meal — to collaborate on its consumption in a viably publishable amount of words. Even though Way of the Walker is a stand alone, the real life inspiration behind the world of Suyoram began with my first novel, The Last Phi Hunter, a dark fantasy adventure inspired by Thai culture, folklore, Buddhism, and mythology. I didn’t want just a snapshot into a fantastical world, I wanted it to feel alive. A living world breathes, grows, dies, evolves… so I explored the effects of modernization in rural lands, the nostalgia of fading traditions, the death of mysticism, the yearning for a life that never was. I dipped my toe into the historical inspirations behind the world of Suyoram, but for the heavy themes in Way of the Walker, there was no shallow end to wade into. I had to dive in headfirst. 

Something that deeply interested me has always been how Thailand avoided colonization throughout the centuries as competing European powers descended upon the resource rich region and violently established control. Fortuitously, Siam’s geographical location served as a buffer between the British Empire and French Indochina, but Monkut and his heir Chulalongkorn (King Rama IV and V, respectively) realized that subjugation would be inevitable without drastic action.  

They educated their nobility overseas, adapted western fashions and architecture, and passed democratic legal and social practices, to the extent that some historians contend that Siam “colonized itself” in order to be perceived as culturally equal by the encroaching imperialists. Through territorial concessions, policy reforms, and diplomatic ingenuity, Siam remained independent, and the name of the country was eventually changed to Thailand in 1939 — “Thai” literally translating to “free.”

However inspiring this was, I wasn’t interested in writing a court intrigue dense with complicated political discussions. I wanted action, magic, murder, romance, mayhem! So the historical set up was only a jumping off point for the second wolf to come in. The “Grisland” antagonists in Way of the Walker are a conglomeration of western-coded oppressors, and I pulled more inspiration from struggles for sovereignty not only from other Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam and Malaysia, but from all around the world —  Algeria, Cuba, Bolivia, Kenya, Palestine, and more — no colonized peoples are ever alone.

Revolutions arise from the oppressed, the working class, the people, which the protagonists from both books are — but Ex from The Last Phi Hunter wasn’t the right lead for this story. His daughter Isaree, however, has grown up in the shadow of atmospheric violence, and was the natural evolution for this point of history. The injustices she witnesses and a crisis of faith drive her to seek answers, to seek power, and ultimately, to strike back at the oppressors, despite the personal cost. She’s heroic, but flawed, and not without limitations. 

The worst of these limitations was a narratively practical one. Isaree is a viciously fun character to write, but she’s all predator, instinct and raw power, with one foot into the world of devas and spirits, but can’t tell a treaty from a roll of toilet paper. How do I dig into the meat of a decolonialist narrative if the protagonist has no framework for geopolitics, or international trade wars, or, well… that’s where the Big Idea splits into a secondary POV — the renegade prince sent to kill her, as a favor to appease the king’s allies. With this insider view, we see what Frantz Fanon calls the “colonist bourgeoisie” perspective, which was the mediator bridge I needed, and made for great drama.

I had big ideas for this novel, but it’s something I’ve wanted to explore for years, and I was hungry for it. When I made the last edits, and the pass pages went to print, I can honestly say my appetite was satiated, and I settled in for a two-day victory nap. So if you’re itching for an action-packed fantasy war epic with an angry yet hopeful bichaotic protagonist, and big contemplations of what it means to punch up with a fist full of magic and a heart full of rage, go check it out.

Way of the Walker: Amazon|Barnes & Noble|Books-A-Million|Bookshop|Powell’s

Author socials: Website|Instagram

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Posted by Athena Scalzi

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2026/01/27/the-big-idea-a-c-wise-3/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=59233

We’re all just trying to be good people, and sometimes in that journey we make mistakes. Perhaps the same goes for ghosts, as author A. C. Wise suggests in the Big Idea for her newest novel, Ballad of the Bone Road. Fae queens, paranormal detectives, and famous Hollywood ghosts, oh my!

A. C. WISE:

The big idea behind The Ballad of the Bone Road started out as several small ideas. The names Brix and Bellefeather made their way into my head and struck me as the perfect names for a pair of supernatural investigators. Around the same time, the line “When I was twelve years old, I met the Devil in an oak tree,” popped into my head. Finally, misheard song lyrics put the image in my mind of two young lovers in a hotel room summoning a ghost and becoming a throuple. 

Those three bits of inspiration may not have happened in that exact order, but they happened close enough to each other that it seemed reasonable to me that they would all be part of the same story. The big idea then became a question – how do these pieces fit together? How do I get all these people in the same place and how best to complicate their lives?

While the original line about meeting the Devil in an oak tree didn’t survive fully intact, I realized it was a fundamental part of Bellefeather’s backstory and why she makes the choices she does throughout the novel. Brix, then, would obviously meet the lovers and get caught up in their haunting, which turns out to be far more complicated than any of them could have anticipated.

My previous two novels, Wendy, Darling and Hooked, are a duology of sorts, inspired by Peter Pan. I wanted Ballad of the Bone Road to be something different, but there are certain themes that carry across all three works, namely characters making bad choices in response to trauma. At their core, the characters in all three novels (with the possible exception of James aka Captain Hook) are mostly trying to be good people and do the right thing, but they make a fair number of missteps along the way. They hurt those around them by holding on too tight or by pushing them away; they let fear drive them until it forces their hands and they discover they know how to be brave.

Ballad of the Bone Road is inspired, to a certain degree, by the glamor of the silver screen, an art deco aesthetic, and stories of the fae that depict them as inhumanly lovely and dangerous in equal measures. There are also ghosts, of course there are ghosts, but what happens when a haunting is accidental and more melancholy than malicious? Instead of driving out their ghosts, what if those experiencing the haunting were doing everything they could to hold on?

Even if the initial ideas may have been small and disparate ones, they all came together in the end, and I’m pleased with the questions the book poses and the ways the characters respond to the situations they find themselves facing. They are flawed and imperfect and human – even when they’re not exactly human – and most of them are just trying to do the best they can.

Ballad of the Bone Road: Amazon|Barnes & Noble|Bookshop|Forbidden Planet|Waterstones

Author socials: Website

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Posted by Athena Scalzi

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2026/01/26/the-best-lunch-deal-around-amar-india-north-restaurant/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=59216

So often I write about extravagant, expensive dinners and specialty dining events, but today I’m here to tell you of an absolutely banging bargain lunch.

I love Indian food, but it’s scarce to come by in my area. The closest establishment to me is Amar India Restaurant, and it’s actually its north location in Vandalia rather than its original location in Centerville, which is considerably further south from me.

Amar India North has a lunch menu that starts out at a mere ten dollars, and only goes up to about fifteen dollars if you get one of the more expensive dishes like the lamb curry. There’s also chicken curry, chicken tikka masala, I think a fish curry, and the one I always get, saag paneer.

Once you pick your main, it comes with rice, naan, their vegetable of the day, and a small dessert. This is what the saag paneer platter looks like:

Two pieces of plain naan, rice, a big ol’ portion of saag paneer, pointed gourd as the vegetable of the day, and two jalebi for the dessert. I have had this platter three times and each time the vegetable has been different, but never the dessert, which is a shame because I’d love to try some of their other desserts, especially the kulfi and Gulab jamun.

It may not look like much saag paneer but I can assure you it’s a generous portion size for the price. I’m pretty sure the saag paneer platter in particular is thirteen dollars, plus I always get a mango lassi, which is $4.50, so in total I’m spending less than twenty dollars for a very filling and very delicious lunch! I truly think this is such a good deal and you get to support a local business.

I know the Centerville location used to have a lunch buffet. I don’t know if they still do but I’d like to make it down there sometime soon to see for myself. There’s also a Beavercreek location under the name Jeet India Restaurant, so I’ll have to check that out next time I’m in the area.

I just had this meal on Friday but now I’m already craving it again after telling y’all about it. Especially the mango lassi, I really could drink a gallon of that stuff.

Oh, and while you’re at Amar North, they just opened an Indian grocery store right next to the restaurant called Anand Indian Grocery. I popped in there on my latest visit to the restaurant and they have a huge selection of items, including specialty produce and cooking ingredients like ghee and tons of spices, plus the biggest bags of rice you’ve ever seen.

They also have tons of fun and unique snacks and sweets, and even ice cream flavors I’ve never heard of.

If you’re in the Dayton area, I highly recommend making it out to Amar North for their lunch special sometime this week. It’s between the hours of 11am and 2pm. I think I’ll go again tomorrow for a nice solo lunch.

Do you recommend any lunch specials in the Dayton area? Are you also a big saag paneer fan? Let me know in the comments, and have a great day!

-AMS

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