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Ahasae Tharu (Ah-ha-say th-ah-roo, 'th' as in feather) means "In the sky, stars" in Sinhalese. It's the name of my imprint. Myths & Samsara is the name of my podcast, where I decolonize South Asian mythology, history, culture, and beliefs.
Mythological Fantasy
The Pawn of Samsara Duology
Originating in an immortal realm where gods and asuras rule, A Lion’s Head follows Isha, a water buffalo god, and Sinha, a man-lion hybrid tasked by the gods to overthrow a despot. Their intertwined fates lead one to become a hero and the other toward darkness.
A thousand years later in A Lion’s Pride, Sinha, a shapeshifter, endures life in the mortal realm. As the boundary between realms weakens, and the hungry ghosts rise, Sinha stumbles into reincarnated companions from his historic past. In the growing chaos, an ancient enemy returns hell bent on revenge.
The Pawn of Samsara Duology
Inspired by the origin story of the Hindu god Narasimha.
Early Feedback
"Also, you should know that your book turned me into a fantasy reader. I’ve been reading a lot of fantasy lately but I would have never been open to it if I hadn’t loved your lion god book so much :) I tell other fantasy readers about it all the time!" - Jessica Leslie, Author from Firefly Workshop
"About the sensitivity check, there’s nothing that seemed problematic to me. I remember you wrote that you had humanised ‘Narasimha’ to ‘Sinha’ … however, the parallels between the two are very easy to draw. But that is not something to worry about, I’d say. My opinion so far is that it is clear that your story is a creative reimagining of stories from the subcontinent’s mythologies, or takes its seed from them. But there’s nothing here that should offend anyone. I mean even our epics have lots of different versions so there’s no reason why someone shouldn’t use them as inspiration in our time." - Aarushi Nigam, Sensitivity Reader
"There's a lot about this that grabbed me. It's doing something different, and I love when writers take swings. But ultimately, I didn't feel confident I was the right person to champion it. Sometimes it's just gut, and I trust mine.
If you're working on something else in the future, I'd love to see it.
Will be cheering for you from here." - Jessica Berg, Rosecliff Literary
Archeology and Mythology that Inspired Pawn of Samsara...
D.M. De Alwis
Children's Books
Published in collaboration with my illustrator son, Rohan Corlosquet.
Everything Else . . .
About D.M. De Alwis
Diliny M. De Alwis is a Canadian-born Sri Lankan author who lives in Canada with her large family of three kids and three pets, who often serve as inspiration for her books. Her passion for researching and writing prehistoric fantasy grew while playing pachinko through several careers. When not writing, she can be found volunteering for the cadet corps and teaching.
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