fairy tale fail

Slowly but surely working my way through my All-Filipino to-be-read list.

Have you heard about the Hummingbird? Emily Nussbaum wrote about this new television archetype in the New Yorker. The Hummingbird is described as possessing “a primal optimism that amounts to a superpower; she’s generous and idealistic despite plentiful evidence that the world is cruel”. They are “idealistic feminine dreamers whose personalities are irritants. They are not merely spunky, but downright obsessive.” They are an “alienating-yet-sympathetic” bunch. (Seriously, read the article.)

While listening to Ellie in Fairy Tale Fail (the book is narrated in a conversational manner; think you and Ellie during a coffee break/tsismisan marathon) I kept wondering who she reminded me of. Because she is very familiar. I’m sure you’ve met your share of Ellies. The so-called hopeless romantics who don’t see logic or reason. They are Annoying (with a capital A), and yet you are drawn to their belief that the universe will eventually find its balance. I am reminded of Nussbaum’s Hummingbird theory when Ellie mentions the monomyth several times, as if it were the only guide a person can have. Who clings to the monomyth? Who does that? Ellie is insane, but I enjoyed her story.

A good, light read. Bring it with you during a weekend.

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the all-filipino writers reading list

It’s been a while since I last made a list of books to read and stuck to it. I do have a list somewhere, but I keep straying from it, abandoning books and picking up random titles and buying more ebooks on the Amazon Kindle store when I already have a ton of paperbacks nearby. Amazon, man. Amazon is bad.

The last book I finished is Stephen King’s 11/22/63.

11/22/63 by Stephen King

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a fine novel about time travel and its joys and troubles. I was hesitant to pick up this book when it first came out, because 1) it was crazy hefty, and 2) it deals with changing real-life events, like the “Kill Hitler” trope, and I’ve read those before and those kinds of stories never end well, do they?

But then we’re given Jake Epping, a high school teacher who wants to stop the Kennedy assassination, but it’s not the only reason he agrees to go back in time. He also wants to help a janitor at his school who has suffered an unimaginable tragedy as a child. The assassination is a national tragedy, for sure, but I am more interested in the tragedies that never appear in the news, the “little” ones, the ones that stay hidden behind curtains and doors. I have never met Kennedy, but I feel like I have met that janitor, once in my life.

So I am hooked, and I read this book on my phone even inside a moving vehicle. And I never read inside moving vehicles unless there’s an urgent reason. I read it so quickly I did not even notice its length.

It is an excellent, moving novel. Do read this one.

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* * *

I already have Under the Dome, so of course I dove into that, but I looked at my stack of books and realized that I have a lot of local titles I haven’t even started yet. Yeech.

So here’s my new All-Filipino Writers Reading List (in no particular order):

Waking the Dead by Yvette Tan

Twisted 9 by Jessica Zafra

Mythspace by Paolo Chikiamco and Koi Carreon

fled their faces turned by Christian Tablazon

Now, Then, and Elsewhen by Nikki Alfar

Fairy Tale Fail by Mina V. Esguerra

Interim Goddess of Love by Mina V. Esguerra

Naermyth by Karen Francisco

Philippine Speculative Fiction Vol. 8 by various authors

The Best of PSF (2005-2010) by various authors

Philippine Speculative Fiction Vol. 1 by various authors

Philippine Speculative Fiction Vol. 3 by various authors

How to Traverse Terra Incognita by Dean Francis Alfar

Si Amapola sa 65 na Kabanata by Ricky Lee

JUST ADDED: #romanceclass bundle from Mina V. Esguerra

Get all 5 for only PhP 200!

All’s Fair in Blog and War by Chrissie Peria

Cover (Story) Girl by Chris Mariano

Save the Cake by Stella Torres

The Real Score by Kesh Tanglao

Vintage Love by Agay Lllanera

Basically I just listed the local titles I have on my phone (ebooks) and at home (paperbacks). I have dipped into most of these, particularly the PSF titles, but I take a long time finishing short story anthologies because you can easily start and stop reading (both a pro and a con for anthos). I’ll add more titles if I missed anything (like, if a paperback slid off my stack and got stuck in a corner and I forgot about it and it’s all moldy now get a grip), or if I acquire new ones.

This should keep me occupied until the end of the year. Wish me luck.

project 17, a novel – coming soon

So I’m coming out with a science fiction novel this year. I finished the manuscript late last year, continued editing until early this year, approved the cover, approved the interior illustrations, and now I’m just waiting for the page spreads. With the help of Visprint (publisher), Project 17 should be hitting the bookshelves soon. Watch out for it!

For now, feel free to share this post far and wide. Are you ready ready ready?

UPDATE: The book will be launched in this Saturday’s Aklatan! See you there.

Project 17

Author: Eliza Victoria

Publisher: Visprint

Science Fiction, Suspense, Crime

PhP 175

Lillian is merely looking for a babysitting job for the summer, but a desperate man named Paul Dolores hires her to look after his 28-year-old brother, Caleb. Caleb is suffering from schizoaffective disorder, and Paul, who is about to start on his first office job in a long while, wants to make sure his brother takes his medication on time. Lillian, at first hesitant, accepts the job for the pay and the perks, but soon starts to wonder about the brothers she is working for. How come she can’t find any information online about the drugs Caleb is taking? And how come the national central database lists them as dead?

launch of estranghero press books + Aklatan!

A couple of announcements!

Several UP Press books are going to be launched next Friday, August 23, including two books by Estranghero Press, The Farthest Shore (which includes my story, “The Just World of Helena Jimenez”, a story that also appears in A Bottle of Storm Clouds) and Diaspora Ad Astra (which includes “Rizal”). Do drop by and buy some books!

On Sept. 7, Visprint, Inc. (publisher of my story collection) and co-presenter National Book Development Board will present the first annual Aklatan: The All-Filipino Book Festival. Read the official press release for the details.

Alphaland Southgate, Magallanes will host this year’s Aklatan on September 7, 2013, Saturday. Although doors open as early as 8 a.m., the formal program will begin at 9 a.m. Artists include Lourd de Veyra, Eros Atalia, and other writers.

Break-out rooms Boracay and Balesin will host talks or seminars and an “unwritten book audition” during which writers will have an opportunity to pitch book ideas to eager publishers, “The Voice of the Philippines” style.

Due to the nature of its inception, the event boasts of a wide and inclusive line-up of Filipino writers and book publishers from critically acclaimed National Artists to their contemporaries preeminent popular culture. Bigger publishers will stand shoulder to shoulder with independent presses.

The complete program is scheduled for release by mid-August. The entrance fee for non-students is P20 while students will receive a 50 percent discount.

NOS4A2

NOS4A2 by Joe Hill

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

While reading this, I can’t help but be reminded of Joe Hill’s father, Stephen King. It has elements from a quintessential King story – the rhyming crazy goon, the precocious child, the ugly evil antagonist, the eager dialogues and internal monologues complete with words in ALL CAPS and boldface. But this Joe Hill book (all three Joe Hill novels I’ve read so far, really) has something most Stephen King novels don’t – a three-dimensional villain, an understanding of the monster. And hope for a happy ending. All of the elements fit in this novel. It’s a well-thought-out puzzle that Hill built and unpacked for our enjoyment. It presents a theory that ties together his father’s novels and his own, and even those of Lovecraft and possibly all horror tales that put their characters in a part of the world that does not appear on any map. Why do these eerie dimensions exist, and how do we access them? Joe Hill tells us. I like the nods to David Mitchell (one of the characters listens to the Cloud Atlas Sextet) and to his own father. In the Acknowledgments, Joe Hill says, “I guess I have been cruising [my father’s] back roads my whole life. I don’t regret it.” I say he is driving down his own path now, and as his fan ever since the brilliant 20th Century Ghosts, I am enjoying the journey, and I can’t wait for more.

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spec fic triple book launch + wildflour

First of all, that Friday downpour was a bitch, wasn’t it. I left the office at 6 pm, carrying a big bag of clothes (I was supposed to stay with J at his parents’ house), but couldn’t get a cab or a bus or a tricycle. It’s alarming how easily this city gets paralyzed by rain. I ended up waiting at The Columns until 7:30 before I could line up for a tricycle. Suffice it to say that the city didn’t let me leave that night.

Anyway. I crawled out of my dungeon the next day to attend the Amazing Tripartite Book Launch with J at the EDSA Shangri-La Mall, where I ended up dancing with Dean Alfar. There was, amazingly, no alcohol involved.

A fun afternoon! It was great catching up with Katz Navarro (I exclaimed, “You’re so cute!” when I saw her, and I am not embarrassed by this outburst, I am not), Kate Osias, Elyss Punsalan, and all the other gorgeous writers. Thanks for having us, Dean and Nikki!

I love the packaging by Flipside. Look at that creepy eye.

Dean Alfar with authors Ichi Batacan and Peep Warren:

Dragons!

My copy of Nikki Alfar’s first collection of stories. Congratulations!

Do buy the books!

Here’s a soberer account by Gabriela Lee on Rappler: “3 books, one community, countless stories“.

And of course the rain went on and on. I love the rain, I really do, but not when I have to get out of the house.

We were in Ortigas again on Sunday and finally got to try eating at Wildflour Cafe + Bakery. Just their coffee and desserts. Highly recommended, though drop by during payday because their prices are…wild.

I had the Vietnamese latte.

J got honey soy latte. Recommended!

Bread pudding with yummy chocolate sauce.

Coconut cake.

we bury the landscape

We Bury the Landscape by Kristine Ong Muslim

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What can you do with a couple hundred words? Create worlds, present dreams, crush a heart – a lot, in short, and you need only look at Kristine Ong Muslim’s remarkable collection of ekphrastic micro pieces. Each short fiction/prose poem/dream element is based on a work of art, and this makes for a great reading experience. Read the words first and view the art in a different light; see the art first and realize how rich the words become. Some pieces are complete narratives, others have no plot but evoke atmosphere and emotion. My favorite is “What Better Lure” based on a De Chirico painting, which begins, “A man in a gray suit watches his future unroll”, and ends in hope or regret, depending on how you see it.

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Project 17

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