The Genesis of Change follows two alchemists on missions that test the foundations of their craft and humanity who begin to unravel secrets that have the power to change the direction of their world. What was the inspiration that created the fantastic journey these characters go on?

My main inspiration was the ability of speculative fiction to, redundant as it sounds, speculate over specific themes. Let me elaborate.

I’m quite attracted to using fantasy to tell stories from the point-of-views of non-human characters—and, in particular, characters whose ethics, morals, and mindset vastly differ from a human-like perspective. This ties up with the concept behind alchemists’ origins, which is what gave me the idea for a training montage of sorts. I won’t spoil anything from Genesis here, but alchemists are not born; they are “thoughts embodied” and held together by the core set of beliefs, thought patterns, and feelings of the being that became the “source” for the alchemist. Therefore, their training (to call it somehow) implies finding that core set, fostering a thorough and in-depth understanding, and stripping everything else… which is why alchemists are timeless. They are not “alive” they “exist”… which is something discussed very lightly in Genesis. Because the alchemists are divided into four Orders, each with affinity to different elements, I chose to focus on the Soul Transmuters—which are the alchemists that manipulate thought patterns, emotions, and consciousness.

Since The Genesis of Change is a prequel novella, I wanted to use the storyline to introduce the magic system—that philosophy-based alchemy, the three elements (alive, half-alive, and non-alive), and the four Orders. I also wanted to showcase some of the other concepts, such as The Towers, where the alchemists live, and their extreme grey morality caused by that non-human mindset, and that incredible power some hold. Verve has quite a scene towards the end, and if I must be honest, that’s just a shard of their true power. Likewise, another goal was to showcase how alchemists perceive humans and tease at how humans see alchemists.

I find the world you created in this novel brimming with possibilities. Where did the inspiration for the setting come from and how did it change as you were writing?

Philosophy is definitely one of my main inspirations. In particular, the alchemy of The Orders is loosely based on Kant’s transcendental idealism, but also on some elements of psychology. For example, transcendental idealism argues that space and time are features of our perception, and there is an entire scene in which Elan argues emotions are atemporal. Likewise, some of the Soul Transmuters abilities (this is a magic system after all), are loosely based on the interpretation that objects exist because we exist–hence, why through will and knowledge, some alchemists can create specific elements. Other ideas are based on Stoic philosophy; in particular, the dichotomy of control—which is why some characters argue that “to live is to struggle”.

There are also many other inspirations, but I can’t share some of them so as not to spoil elements of the wider universe. However, something I can share is that The Towers structure is partly inspired by two drawings from M.C. Escher: Relativity and Waterfall; trying to describe that in words was both baffling and curious. Likewise, Borges’ famous short story “The Library of Babel” did influence one particular room within The Towers, though—the Library!

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

In The Genesis of Change, one of the main themes I wanted to explore was bias, and the fact that no matter how old, intelligent (factually or emotionally), or keen we are… we are still biased. Bias is not something we can control; it is more of a constant through someone’s life. We may have different biases at different stages, but there is always going to be some degree of it.

Likewise, another important theme to touch on was the fact that all knowledge is, by definition, incomplete; knowledge is never static because it changes and evolves as a society does, effectively expanding or reducing. Related to this, and perhaps more related to the broader universe, was to enable a discussion on the consequences of an unrestricted pursuit of knowledge; doing anything for knowledge—which is what the alchemists do–may outright cause more damage than intended. After all, humanity has incurred (and continues to incur) in quite a few calamities just for the sake of knowledge (medical history can be quite enlightening in this regard).

Is this the first book in the series? If so, when is the next book coming out, and what can your fans expect in the next story?

Records of the Orders is actually a universe and will be composed of standalones and series. An interesting bit is that this universe is composed of books and books-with-choices—also known as interactive fiction. The books-with-choices will always be standalones and optional, but they’ll be part of the universe as well.

In particular, The Genesis of Change is a prequel novella, so book 0.5, and it focuses on introducing the magic system (alchemy and The Orders), as well as key characters—The Rector, Verve, and Elan. You can get the ebook for free by subscribing to my newsletter!

A standalone book-with-choices titled Mien is also available! It is free to read through the app Unearthed Stories (available for Android and iPhone/iPads); this is a full-sized standalone which happens 5 years after the events in The Genesis of Change. Several of the characters in Genesis make an appearance here, but the protagonist (as the title indicates) is Mien. Although it’s still quite philosophical, this one leans more towards a political fantasy (not ideological, though; it leans more towards political philosophy).

Now, the first trilogy (I won’t reveal the name yet) within Records of the Orders is estimated to arrive in September-October of 2025. Why the delay? Oh well, I’m plotting all three books to write them back to back; my goal is to release each book quite close to each other. There may be a surprise release before that, and the best way to get news before everyone else is my newsletter 👀

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Élan; the chaos-tamer, the record-breaker. Verve; the one behind the rise and fall of thousands of civilisations. Two alchemists, each sent on a mission by the leader of The Orders—The Rector.

Élan must shatter their mentee’s humanity to train her as an alchemist, while Verve must define the unexplainable existing within a respected healer. When their missions reveal clues that could reformulate alchemy, they’ll edge closer to fathom The Rector’s goal while facing an endless conundrum—to remain as is, or to learn and adapt.

The genesis of change is near.