Oops. I know the long weekend is over, but happy to find this on AVA (“Genre Reads for the Long Weekend”, written by author and book blogger/reviewer Chris Mariano):
“…imagined worlds become springboards to explore universal themes of loss and regret in award-winning writer Eliza Victoria’s A Bottle of Storm Clouds (Visprint, Inc). From fantasy (‘Ana’s Little Pawnshop on Makiling St.’) to science fiction (‘Night Out’), Victoria explores parallel dimensions, myths come to life, and everything else in between in this short story collection. Her lyrical stories have previously appeared in print and online, earning her fans here and abroad. There’s something here for quiet afternoon during your Boracay getaway (try ‘An Abduction by Mermaids’) or a late-night bedtime read (her ‘Sand, Crushed Shells, Chicken Feathers’ will give you appropriate chills). It’s a heady dose of myth and magic that will make you wonder why you haven’t explored more Filipino speculative fiction before.”
Also mentioned are Chinggay Labrador’s Popped 3 and AS Santos’s Voices in the Theater.
My book, A Bottle of Storm Clouds, is available in all major bookstores. :)
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And while you’re here, a couple of podcast recommendations for your nightly jog (or whatever else you wish to do while listening):
October 17th, our third anniversary. Saw this at Powerbooks (Greenbelt branch). My book at a window display! And displayed along with horror books. This made me happy.
While waiting for Looper (which you should watch) to start, I saw this cell phone-encrusted robot by Nokia on display.
Robot looks so sad. I’ll sit beside you, robot.
Looper is set in the year 2044. In 2074, time travel has been invented but is outlawed, which pushes its use into the black market and the hands of organized crime. The mob uses time travel to send back anyone they want killed to 2044, and in 2044, in a field in Kansas, a Looper named Joe waits with a blunderbuss, and shoots anyone who is sent back from the future. In this way, no body appears in 2074 that can be connected to the mob, and Joe kills someone who, in effect, does not exist, and gets a good sum for it. But what happens when the mob wants to end your contract, and sends back your own future self? Will Joe be able to pull the trigger?
Don’t read any of the reviews. The fun of the film lies in discovering the secrets along with the characters.
We ended the night with wine. Cheers.
I have two stories that will be appearing in two fine publications:
My story “Maybe Another Song at Dusk” will appear in the Literary Section of Monday’s issue of Philippines Graphic. Grab a copy!
My story “A Fire That Cannot Be Touched” will be appearing in the 8th volume of the Philippine Speculative Fiction series! This will be edited by Dean Francis Alfar and Nikki Alfar, and will be available via Flipside Publishing in 2013.
Hello all. I don’t know what it was that got me, but for two and a half days, everything I ate I just threw back up. Horrible. I hope I lost some weight from that ordeal because then what’s the point?
My thanks to J of course for buying me bananas and Gatorade and nursing me back to health.
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I was able to check my mail/Twitter/Facebook yesterday (and we were able to livestream the Obama-Romney debate), but not my blog, so I was pleasantly surprised to receive a message from blogger Nancy Cudis, who wrote a bit about A Bottle of Storm Cloudshere.
Have you experienced buying a book for what you thought it is but it pleasantly turned into something else? A Bottle of Storm Clouds by Eliza Victoria is like that with me. I thought it is a short story collection about, given the cover, Philippine folklore flawlessly interspersed in a contemporary setting. It turns out to be what its title says—16 stories about individuals with bottled-up storms that change them in so many ways.
The storms come in different disturbing forms but oftentimes, the ending is the same: death. I have already read eight of these stories and so far, I have gotten the drift of Victoria’s admirable writing style—simple yet powerful words, short yet intense sentences, suspenseful flashbacks, and lots of dramatic dialogue. Each story evokes similar yet different emotions—do you understand? All stories I have encountered so far are sad ones subtly, others directly, covering a multitude of personal issues—abandonment, death of a loved one, fear of being left, fear of the future, and inability to move one. But the degree of sadness of the story can only be determined by how relevant it is in the life of the reader.
In my case, my heart was very heavy—still is—when I finished reading Earthset, the eighth story I have read (and mostly accounts for the reason that I could not move on to the ninth story yet).
Read more here. She says the collection is “highly recommended”. Thank you very much, Nancy!
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Cloud Atlas also accompanied me during my illness. And lookie, another book!
Rappler contributor Jerald Uy reviews A Bottle of Storm Clouds:
If there is one thing [Eliza Victoria’s] first collection of short stories, A Bottle of Storm Clouds, has shown, it’s that her sensibility as a news-oriented person can be a factor in weaving stories that feel so relevant and Filipino — characters and settings beyond the American lovestruck vampires and British lightning-scarred wizards Filipino bookworms know.
Don’t expect the usual tales starring your friendly neighborhood aswang and that snake-man who lives under women’s fitting rooms in this book.
Victoria’s characters — though plucked from the stories of our lolo and lola — are refreshing.
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A news-savvy reader can spot the various references in the short stories that make the reading experience more enjoyable: the Guinsaugon landslide, the Oakwood mutiny, the Rizal Day bombing and even the time the President extended the operating hours of the MRT to appease call center agents.
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If you haven’t been introduced to Filipino speculative fiction, I ask you to do yourself a favor and get yourself a copy of “A Bottle of Storm Clouds.”
For those who were not able to attend Visprint Inc.’s WIT 2 event (I will get your excuse letters later – loljk), Flipside Publishing has generously uploaded a recording of my talk (a mix of English and Filipino). Follow @Flipsidepub on Twitter for updates.
Click here for the recording! Might contain nuts and awkwardness.
If you enjoyed the podcast (or have suggestions who you’d like to hear from in the future), feel free to send us comments below, or via our other social networks like Facebook or Twitter (@flipsidepub).
We’ll have more recordings from Visprint’s WIT 2012 event in the next few days. Stay tuned!
The short version: I was floored by the love and support shown by Visprint, and the fans and readers of Visprint’s books. Who says the Philippines does not have a reading public? This event just proved that notion wrong. Maraming salamat po!
The long, chronological version (with pictures):
J and I didn’t wake up early enough to catch the opening of WIT (Writers in Talks) 2, but we hurried to catch the Comics panel. Donned this flowery dress as a departure from my usual blues and blacks.
We just took a cab because we had no idea about the parking situation in Alphaland, and woe is you who gets stuck with Makati’s notorious traffic police. We got to the venue, said hi to Ms Nida, and I wrote in J as my plus-one.
I heard that attendees lined up as early as 6! (!!!) Kaloka!
Said hi to Andrea, who said the staff had gotten new stock of my book because it was selling well. Yehey!
Mortal Kombat!
This was the Comics Panel with Manix Abrera, Budjette Tan, and Paolo Fabregas. Look at the size of that crowd.
We checked the other room and saw Karen Francisco (author of Naermyth and the artist who designed my gorgeous book cover) giving a talk in the Fiction panel.
The Fiction panel was composed of Karen, Eros Atalia, and Siege Malvar.
Here was Ms Nida talking about story rejection, from the point of view of the publisher. She said: “Parang-awa niyo na, huwag niyo kaming aawayin.”
The morning sessions went on overtime, so Visprint decided on an early lunch, and moved the Creative Non-Fiction Panel to 12:30.
Forgot to take a picture! CNF panelists were Karl de Mesa, Bebang Siy, and Alan Navarra.
A Bottle of Storm Clouds onstage.
Enjoyed the performances of Eros Atalia, Siege Malvar, and special guest G.P. Abrajano. Seige Malvar, during the Fiction panel, asked attendees to drop their deepest, darkest secrets in a box, which he used in his Sotto performance. Hilarious.
Siege and G.P. performing a balagtasan on books and reading, men and women, and love.
G.M. Coronel also came onstage to deliver a talk about suspense and his new book, Tomb Keeper.
Then it’s my turn! Karl de Mesa introduced me and gave me a cookie.
Cookie from Karl, with the symbol for calling the voodoo goddess of love. J and I ate it. :3
I hope the attendees learned something from my blather! I got pretty nervous and forgot to look at my notes to guide me hahaha!
Grabbed from Visprint’s album on Facebook.Thank you to Elyss Punsalan for her amazing reading of an excerpt of “The Storyteller’s Curse”. Visit Pakinggan Pilipinas!
Photo-op for the Visprint writers who stayed behind.
Photo by Fernando Hernandez, posted on Facebook.
After the event, I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of people who approached me to have Storm Clouds signed, have my picture taken, chat, ask questions, etc. I was like, Really? You want a photo with me? Haha. You are all dears.
Happy to finally meet Karen Francisco!
Bb. Bebang Siy!
We had dinner with Charles, who actually ate something. (No photographic evidence.)
My Visprint loot!
Thank you Ms Nida and Visprint and Visprint fans and friends! Thank you for buying our books! Hope you had a great time! Exclamation points!
We took a cab again but we would’ve carried this into the MRT. LIKE A BOSS.Till next WIT!
Tomorrow, I will be giving a short talk about A Bottle of Storm Clouds and storytelling (that all sounds really scholarly-fancy but I’m sure I’m going to be a blathering mess onstage), and Elyss Punsalan of Pakinggan Pilipinas will be reading one of my stories. Should be a treat! Just listen to her beautiful narration of Kate Osias‘s “Ghost Between Moments“.
Karl R. De Mesa will be introducing me (he asked a bunch of crazy questions – I have no idea what he’s going to do with my answers haha), and a brief Q & A will follow the talk.
Visprint books will also be available for sale at the venue, at discounted prices (10 to 20 percent off).
See you all!
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If you are still on the fence about buying the collection, I hope these sample stories will help you decide.
Protip: The book may not be on display in some branches. Ask Customer Service or whoever’s at the counter if they are carrying copies. Thank you! And thanks to all who have already bought copies. My endless gratitude. Hope you enjoy the stories.
Eliza Victoria 