From the outside, Realmscapes may look like a blog that fell through a portal into a storybook. But under the whimsy, there's a structure—and every Realm has a role.
This isn’t just a place to publish stories. It’s a map of a creative life in motion. Realmscapes is designed to hold all the strange, stubborn, delightful things I make: fiction, zines, illustrations, insights, rants, experiments, and the occasional talking bookmark.
Here’s a quick guide to what’s where:
📚 The Free Fictional Frontier
This is where the stories roam wild. It holds free-to-read fiction—short stories and downloadable zines, no paywall, no passwords, no plot police. Just stories waiting to be discovered.
🌍 Aliki’s World
The home of my main fiction project: Aliki Martin and the Chocolate Cartel. This Realm houses draft chapters, character sketches, side stories, and worldbuilding tidbits. It’s been a little quiet lately, but that’ll change in the fall. The chocolate never sleeps.
🧠 The Realm of Rants and Ramblings
Half insights, half complaints, all real. This is the blog zone for creative process reflections, writing philosophy, occasional rants, and general commentary from the depths of the creative life.
🎨 The Dominion of Doodles and Art
The creative laboratory. This Realm shares works-in-progress, sketchbook pages, and the stories behind the zines—how each piece came together, why it was made, what nearly went horribly wrong. Less about polish, more about process.
🏡 The Curious Realm of Studio Second Street
The physical-world extension of Realmscapes: home to journals, bookmarks, stickers, and story-themed goods. It’s a real (and soon online) shop, but also a Realm of its own—because storytelling can be tactile too.
Why the Realms Matter
I could’ve just made a “portfolio site.” Or a “blog.” But that never felt right. Realmscapes is built like a world because that’s how I experience creativity: not as a set of categories, but as a place to explore. The Realms help me separate ideas without shutting any doors—and invite you along for the adventure.
And maybe more honestly? I tried doing things the way you're supposed to. I followed the advice from successful bloggers and artists and vloggers: pick one thing, focus, build a niche. I even tried it. Multiple times. Since 2015, I’ve had websites for just art, just writing, just blogging, just knitting (yes, really).
I tried dividing myself into digestible internet niches. My neurodivergent brain responded by forgetting what it was doing to start new projects, instead.
But in 2024, something shifted. I stopped trying to choose. I asked, “Why can’t I put it all in one place—art and writing and blogging and, well, whatever?” And that’s when it clicked: all these creative “realms” were just different parts of me. Realmscapes is my way of showing the whole map.
It even sounds like a video game. Which is also me. But let’s not go there right now.
