A stylized portrait of IFT

Ink Forged Tales

My journey into the world of the self.

Greetings, I'm M. N. Shai, the voice behind InkForgedTales. From the fragmented longings of vices that crawl at my soul, all the way to the elusive dreams of apotheosis, this is my sanctuary to let my restless thoughts drip.

Currently

Crafting a third novel: A man who flies halfway across the world to the World Cup final with no intention of watching it.— updated Aug-2026.

Philosophy

Writing's like digging in your own backyard, hoping to unearth something shiny amid the dirt. Some half-forgotten dreams or that weird pang when you realize you're more alone in a crowd than you'd admit. It's all about those raw bits: a crush that fizzles, a grudge that lingers, the quiet fight to keep going.

Approach

The process is less orderly than the writing suggests. It usually starts with one image that won't leave — rain on a window blurring everything outside — or a question I can't put down:
What if I had kissed her that night?
Fuck!
Everything after that is revision.

Themes

They're the persistent ghosts that follow me:
who the hell am I when no one's watching? (But that's never really the case though, is it?)
The yearning to be empty when being full. The sharp sting of half-remembered regrets. Light and dark tangled like veins under skin.

Thanks for reading down to the bone. If any of it caught the light for you, stay close. There’s always more coming through the cracks.

Contact

For the argument you'd rather have in private or the confession you won't type in public. write to me.