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Laura Rikono
A naturalist of beings real and fictional

As a marine scientist, I studied the ocean and everything in it. But the deeper I went, the more I learned, and the more I realised science was only half the story. So I changed tack, came ashore in North Borneo and found humanity. Now I write what the deep left behind.

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Author Notice:
All we need here is three powerful words — words that immediately identify who you are and what readers can expect from you.
Science‑infused
Fantasy
Ecological
The question readers always ask me…
How did you make this stuff up? Did you dream it?
And I always reply…
Mhm.
What people get wrong about me…
That I am cosy all the way down. That no eldritch beings inhabit the depths of my oceanic soul.
One sentence I try to live by…
Others may not see things the same way I do.
A failure I’m grateful for…
Uploading a new chapter to a serialised novel and seeing the follower count drop in real-time. Ouch!
Soundtrack to my work…
A place that always recharges me...
A shallow coral sea
If I could time-travel for one day…
I would like to be there for the first dive into the ocean of another world.
The best message a reader could send me…
I understand you perfectly.
This month’s thought…
Secrets
I write the stories I overhear in my head.
I have a photographic memory for emotionally charged scenes.
I cook curries to de-stress.
When You’re Not Reading Me
Joseph Conrad
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Conrad
A master of character and evocative settings
Mary Gentle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Gentle
Arquebusses, Wild Machines, Carthage, Footnotes and Mercenary Captain Ash
Ted Chiang
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Chiang
For poignant contemplations of tech and us
What's On My Bedside Table
A Lokamade Notebook - Food Paradise
https://saltxpaper.com/products/lokamade-notebook-food-paradise-nb108
For jotting down 3 am ideas while drooling over Malaysian food illustrations
A Piece of Coral
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaf_plate_montipora
Probably leaf plate Montipora. A fragment from fish bombing.
A Pelita Amoi
https://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lampu_minyak
A vintage kerosene lamp from our off-grid days
Read Me Here!
The Alice Scripts
https://laurarikono.substack.com/
Have you ever wondered what lies between the research and the documentary voiceover? (Please pretend you have.)
Silly Linguistics
https://sillylinguistics.com/
When language gets playful
SPARKS
https://www.sparks.org.my/
Our local performing arts society lets me write scripts
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/laura.rikono/
Borneo, you're beautiful!

Bibliography

Fantasy
A Flash Fable
The Day of Four Feasts
The Gods Don't Want Gold

A very short story about gods who’d trade all the diamonds in the world for a handful of walnuts.

Published in The Sun Still Rises, an anthology of short, uplifting stories edited by A.K. Adler.

FNAC
The Back Story

This story began with a statue of a god who looked sad despite the baubles piled at his feet.

Laura Rikono
Science Fiction
Sooth
Flash Fiction on Being Predictable

If we know everything that has ever happened, can we also know what will happen? A flash fiction piece published by Daily Science Fiction in January 2018.

The Back Story

This was inspired by my experience with isolated and uncontrollable kindergartners who gradually become absorbed by the class. Written in 2017, before AI scraping vast data troves became trendy, it now seems rather prescient.

Laura Rikono
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