MICHELLE KAN – INDEPENDENT AUTHOR
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NO MORE HEROES 2, Aromantic Fairytales, and Other Updates

6/10/2019

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Kia ora, all – hope you've all been well! I know it's been a while, so here's a little update on the status of things with NO MORE HEROES 2, aka HELL OR HIGH WATER.

You probably don't need me to tell you that the life of a freelance creative can be a thoroughly unpredictable one. As much as I'd hoped (and I did hope!) that I'd be well on the publishing process for HELL OR HIGH WATER by now, my progress has been delayed some by work life and personal life.

As such, the new release date for NO MORE HEROES: HELL OR HIGH WATER will now be 2020.

Believe me, no one is more disappointed about this than I! But to have the book be as good as it can possibly be, I really just need more time. I'm hoping this will be the only time I have to delay the release date, so fingers crossed that next time I have a blog update on the book it will be happier news.
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Add it on Goodreads!
It's not all bad news though! One of the reasons that HELL OR HIGH WATER is delayed is because I published two brand new short stories this year – COME DRINK WITH ME and GOLD AND JASPER!

These two shorts are part of a new series I'm creating, called TALES OF THE THREAD. TALES is a collection of short aromantic Chinese fairytale-likes – that is to say, a series of tales all rooted in Chinese mythology and each telling a non-romantic love story. Written very much from an aromantic lens, TALES OF THE THREAD is dedicated to the loves that we can't always put into words, but which are powerful all the same. 

COME DRINK WITH ME, published on Lunar New Year of this year, can be found on Goodreads, Amazon, Gumroad and Kobo, and tells the story of a Dragon and a Phoenix making their living on earth in a Cantonese Opera House.

GOLD AND JASPER, published on Mid-Autumn Festival last month, can likewise be found on Goodreads, Amazon, Gumroad and Kobo, and tells the story of an Imperial Guardian of a Heavenly Peach Grove, and their encounters with a particularly troublesome Spirit.
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Named after the red thread of fate of Chinese myth, the stories of TALES OF THE THREAD are intensely personal to me, not just as a aroace-spec writer, but also as a 1.5 generation diasporic Chinese. It's a way for me to connect to my heritage in the way I know and love best – through the legends and mythology I adore.

There are many Chinese myths and fairytales that focus strongly on familial (and especially filial) love, but as with many cultures, there are even more that focus on romantic love, be it tragic or fated. In an amanormative world, romantic love is all too often touted as being the ultimate kind, but when there are so many facets of love available to us, we know this isn't the case,

As such, we need to see this in the stories media that we both create and consume. 

COME DRINK WITH ME, the first installation of TALES, explores the love that comes from a millennia-long companionship, as well as the love one can have for one's passions. It came about very unexpectedly, originally written as a submission for an anthology – but once I had finished it, I felt such a sense of intense gratification that I knew I had to write another.


If you've picked up either of these already and liked what you read, I'd love if you'd leave a review. or spread the word – as an independent author, word of mouth is one of the most valuable ways for my work to get out there, and I would love to be able to share this work with other diasporic Chinese as well as other aromantic and aromantic-spectrum folk.

But just as one last update, I'm gearing up for massive website overhaul soon. With this recent expansion in my creative landscape, it makes more sense to have one place for all my writing content to be in once place – hence, I'll be making this website a more general central hub for both NO MORE HEROES, TALES OF THE THREAD and any other writing ventures I may embark on. 

You can expect: new sections, a shuffle in navigation, and a rebrand of the site for "Michelle Kan – Independent Writer". I've delved back into my art this year and it's possible that I'll be refreshing the character art for NO MORE HEROES as well, but that can be a surprise for the both of us.

That's all I have for now, so I'll leave you folks to your evenings. In the meantime, as always, if you'd like more frequent updates from me, you can follow me on Twitter or Instagram. Mā te wā, and I'll be in touch again soon!
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The Ace Vigilantes of No More Heroes [Asexual Awareness Week Wrap-Up]

28/10/2017

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Many of the characters I write tend to be ace/aro by unconscious default. This was true even before asexual and aromantic were words in my vocabulary! Although not yet explicitly stated in-text, No More Heroes follows in this same vein, with many of the cast being somewhere on the ace/aro spectrums – so for #AsexualAwarenessWeek I released a tweet+graphic each day specifying some of the orientations of the Ace VIgilantes amongst the crew. Check it out! 

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Clare, aka AURAE. Asexual/aromantic.
​Quick wits & fast feet. bright & bubbly, Has a lot of love in her heart.

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Linus, aka EIDOLON. Grey ace maybe/bi???romantic (a questioning boy).
​Proud Samoan. Compassionate, sweet & intuitive.

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​Fang, aka RESONANCE. Asexual/greyromantic.
​Cool & confident. Small but strong, a capable & adaptable Vigilante.

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​Joshua, aka REHUA. Grey ace/grey+panromantic.
​Has a heart of gold. Gentle & warm, a strong & dependable guardian.

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Shaan, aka ARTIFICE. Asexual/demi+homoromantic.
​Calm & collected. Charismatic & intelligent, but difficult to read.

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Faye, aka FARADAY. Demisexual/biromantic.
​Sharp tongue & sweet laughter. Quick wit & charm, but deadly to oppose.

Find out more about the Vigilante universe
​Get your copy of No More Heroes today!
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Te Wīki o Te Reo Māori [Māori Language Week Wrap-Up]

17/9/2017

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For Māori Language Week this year, I decided to do something a little different and translate some of the key aspects of No More Heroes into Te Reo Māori. I shared one for every day of the week, focusing on some of the unique concepts, characters and locales of my little universe.

Big thanks to Kia and Indya for looking over my translations for me and generally being awesome human beings. Koia kei a kātoa!

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Ngā Kaitieki-Maruāpō – The Keepers (Kaitieki) of the Night (Maruāpō)

The Vigilantes. Rulers of the night and watchers of their cities, they use their unique Abilities to fight for the things they believe in.

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Kaha-Maruāpō – Energy (Kaha) of the Night (Maruāpo)

Abilities. The unique, paranormal powers that a Vigilante possesses, which are strongest and most apparent at night.

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Pauku-Maruāpō – War Cloak (Pauku) of the Night (Maruāpō)

Alias. The name that a Vigilante adopts to protect their true identity and compartmentalise their dual lives.

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Te-Moenga-o-Hine-Au – The Sleeping Place (Moenga) of the Mist Maiden (Hine-Au)

The City. A sprawling concrete labyrinth. Unique and well-known for the wispy, low=lying fog that shrouds its streets at night.

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Te Kaitiaki Rehua – The Guardian (Kaitiaki), Rehua

Joshua Te Waiariki. Alias Rehua, a Vigilante with the Ability of healing. Named for the Māori God said to reside amongst the stars.

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Ngā Kaitieki-Kōhuru – The Killers (Kohuru) of the Keepers (Kaitieki)

The Vigilante Killers. Responsible for the deaths of many Vigilante prior to No More Heroes, their identities are a mystery.

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Kua Kore He Toa – No More (Kua Kore) Champions (Toa)

No More Heroes. Vigilante action, rad fights, and a mystery to be solved. Care to join the fray?

Find out more about the Vigilante universe
​Get your copy of No More Heroes today!
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    Michelle Kan is an independent filmmaker/videographer, writer and artist based in Wellington, New Zealand.

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  • Home
  • Works
    • No More Heroes >
      • The Vigilantes >
        • The City
        • The Wen
    • Tales of The Thread
    • MASTERPIECE (An RPG)
  • Extras
    • Media
    • Short Stories
  • Review
  • Blog