Category: writing

listening to ‘immersion’ + se7en + psf7 prototype + my very own copy of moc!

First off: I now have my copy of Moment of Change. Hooray!

And it is gorgeous! Thank you Rose! I have a poem here called “Prayer”. Glossy cover, thick paper, beautiful words and art. Go visit Aqueduct Press if you want to order a copy or download the ebook.

(Unfortunately, instead of receiving the copy at my own door, I had to trudge to the Makati Central Post Office because the parcel was held up by Customs. A book! And I had to pay P40. This is the second time.)

Listening to Aliette de Bodard’s “Immersion”

“Immersion” is a science fiction story by Aliette de Bodard published in Clarkesworld. I haven’t read the story in text form, but I was able to listen to the audio download while jogging yesterday. It was such a compelling story, and such a beautiful audio adaptation by Kate Baker, that I didn’t notice the time passing by.

In “Immersion”, locals use immersers to assume the appearance, language and body cues of Galactic, a former colonizer. At the end of the reading, Kate talked a bit about the story, and I found it strange that she would read it simply as a story about addiction, that she would identify with Quy as a young woman who wants to help a junkie break a habit. It is not just about addiction. It is about being ensnared by the power of a (former) colonial master even in the age of (supposed) freedom. It is about being jailed in a mindset that there is a superior race, and you do not belong to it because your language is wrong, your skin color is wrong, your faith is wrong, you are wrong. It is about giving up your identity to join the majority, to avoid the hate, and how there is a price, and sometimes the price is too high.

I live in a country with a colonial past: 300 years under Spain, 50 years under the US, and there was a time when the Japanese took over and raped our women. Aliette is of French-Vietnamese descent (and she dedicated this story to Rochita Loenen-Ruiz), and you can see her understanding of the horrible effects of being a colony in this story. A colonizer’s hold doesn’t end with the declaration of a colony’s independence.

I’m so glad you wrote this story, Aliette. I could have cried.

Se7en

Finally! I think I am a decade too late. I knew how the film would end (the Internet is rife with spoilers) but David Fincher’s masterpiece remains as powerful and as disturbing as ever. Watch it, if you haven’t already.

PSF7 Prototype

Adam David posted these on Facebook. Can’t wait for the launch!

‘a bottle of storm clouds’ cover, details – revealed!

Feast your eyes on this gorgeousness! The cover art is here and my first short story collection – A Bottle of Storm Clouds – is coming to bookstores real soon, courtesy of Visprint.

Cover art and design by Karen Francisco, author of Naermyth.

Award-winning author Eliza Victoria mixes magic with the mundane in this special concoction of 16 short stories. A girl meets a young man with the legs of a chicken. A boy is employed by a goddess running a pawnshop. A group of teenagers are trapped in an enchanted forest for 900 days. A man finds himself in an MRT station beyond Taft, a station that was not supposed to exist. A student claims to have seen the last few digits of pi. Someone’s sister gets abducted by mermaids.

Includes stories that have appeared in the critically acclaimed anthologies Philippine Speculative Fiction and Alternative Alamat, and stories that have won prizes in the Philippines Free Press Literary Awards and the Amelia Lapeña-Bonifacio Literary Contest.

Published by Visprint.

209 pages, 6″ x 9″

SRP PhP220

More details to follow. Stay tuned.

For now, feel free to spread the word. :)

philippine speculative fiction 7 cover revealed

Isn’t it a beauty?

Cover art by Les Banzuelo, color and art direction by Adam David. This volume contains my story, “username: tanglaw”.

Launch is on  28 July at the 2nd floor of Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Shangri-la Plaza Mall.

See you there!

‘the viewless dark’ now on amazon

The Viewless Dark is now on Amazon.

Do check it out and share the link. I’m quite proud of this novella and I hope you enjoy reading it.

Book Description

Publication Date: July 9, 2012

When Anthony found Flo dead, locked overnight in one of the reading rooms of the university library, he knew it must have something to do with Mary. Mary Prestosa, fourth year graduating Philosophy student, whom they had been investigating. Mary, who surprised her roommate one night by suddenly standing up from her bed, throwing the windows open, and jumping down, headfirst, to the dormitory grounds below. Mary, whose memory marked the trail of mysterious deaths and bizarre occurrences that followed her own fateful fall: the fifth-year Computer Engineering student who prowled the campus on all fours, thirsty for blood, believing he was a wolf; the revelation of an all-girls’ satanic cult; the demonic possession of a fourth-year student from the Department of Psychology; and now—Flo, dead.

The students traced it all to Mary. They believed Mary didn’t commit suicide. They believed Mary tapped into something dark, and released it, and was consumed.

And Anthony was determined to pry out the truth.

Product Details

  • File Size: 186 KB
  • Print Length: 56 pages
  • Publisher: Flipside Publishing (July 9, 2012)
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B008JF8JLU
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled 
  • X-Ray: Not Enabled 

Cover, excerpt, and book description.

Please like the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TheViewlessDark

Check out these other titles:

Alternative Alamat

Lower Myths

and the Philippine Speculative Fiction series

‘the viewless dark’ cover revealed

Are you ready, ready, ready?

The Viewless Dark

When Anthony found Flo dead, locked overnight in one of the reading rooms of the university library, he knew it must have had something to do with Mary. Mary Prestosa, fourth year graduating Philosophy student, whom they had been investigating. Mary, who surprised her roommate one night by suddenly standing up from her bed, throwing the windows open, and jumping down, headfirst, to the dormitory grounds below. Mary, whose memory marked the trail of mysterious deaths and bizarre occurrences that followed her own fateful fall: the fifth-year Computer Engineering student who prowled the campus on all fours, thirsty for blood, believing he was a wolf; the discovery of an all-girls’ satanic cult; the demonic possession of a fourth-year student from the Department of Psychology; and now—Flo, dead.

The students traced it all to Mary. They believed Mary didn’t commit suicide. They believed Mary tapped into something dark, and released it, and was consumed.

And Anthony was determined to pry out the truth.

Excerpt.

Cover art by Les Banzuelo, color and design by Adam David.

room magazine + kaleidotrope

Ugh. Monday. But some good news:

  • Room Magazine has accepted my poem, “Hospital Work”, for their Labour issue (Issue 35.4). Room is “Canada’s oldest literary journal by, for, and about women. Published quarterly by a group of volunteers based in Vancouver, Room showcases fiction, poetry, reviews, art work, interviews and profiles about the female experience.” A good place to be.
  • My sci-fi story, “The Mechanic“, is in the Summer 2012 issue of Kaleidotrope. Feel free to share the link. Hope you enjoy reading.
  • I’ve seen a partial proof of A Bottle of Storm Clouds and it LOOKS GOOD.

party people + flipside news

Blog backlog!

On June 25, my mother celebrated her birthday.

We had to cajole her to have this picture taken.

She thought it was really silly, blowing candles at her age.

Happy birthday Nanay!

Before that, Jaykie and I tried the The Burger Project in Maginhawa:

Check out this link for the menu and more photos.

Here, you can customize your burger. Choose the patty, choose the toppings, choose the bread.

I had beef patty in an oatmeal bun, with mozzarella cheese, sliced onions, and pickles smothered in special BRGR sauce (which I think is just mayo and ketchup – I’ll just skip it next time). Simple and boring haha.

This is Jaykie’s burger. He added mushrooms and jalapenos, and chose gruyere for his cheese.

Fries:

On June 30, we went to the party of my boss’s children at the Rockwell Club.

Photo of a photo:

Flipside giveaway/Philippine Speculative Fiction 7 launch details/The Viewless Dark blurb

Giveaway!

…we’ve an impromptu giveaway for three (3) lucky commenters! In the comments section of this post, tell us which is your favorite cover (from PSF 1-5) and why. Take note, you can’t just identify a specific cover; you’ll have to explain what you like most about it. Feel free to wax poetic.

Cut-off date for leaving the comments is on July 9, 12NN, Philippine time.The three winners will be selected based on how much we loved the comment. And since we all have different standards for the word “love,” this means that your comment can be praising, funny, witty or even snarky (as long as it’s funny snark).

Winners will be announced on July 10, 2012. And what do they win? An ebook edition of any volume (winners’ choice) of Philippine Speculative Fiction! If you’re one of the winners, we’ll be contacting you to get your email address and the file format that you prefer.

So, let us know which PSF cover rocks your boat! But just in case you can’t wait for the announcement of the winners, then go ahead and grab a copy at Amazon, Flipreads, Kobo, iTunes.

We’re also on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FlipsidePublishing

PSF 7, edited by Kate and Alex Osias and to be digitally published by Flipside, will be launched on the last Saturday of the month.

Also, the latest volume of Philippine Speculative Fiction, Vol. 7, edited by Alex and Kate Osias will be launched on 28 July 2012, Saturday, 2PM at The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Ortigas Park (along F. Ortigas Jr. [formally known as Emerald Avenue]) Shangri-La Plaza, EDSA. We hope to see you there, too!

My short novel, The Viewless Dark, will be available on June 11. Will post the cover once it’s available. But for now, here’s the book description.

The Viewless Dark
AUTHOR: Eliza Victoria

DESCRIPTION:
When Anthony found Flo dead, locked overnight in one of the reading rooms of the university library, he knew it must have had something to do with Mary. Mary Prestosa, fourth year graduating Philosophy student, whom they had been investigating. Mary, who surprised her roommate one night by suddenly standing up from her bed, throwing the windows open, and jumping down, headfirst, to the dormitory grounds below. Mary, whose memory marked the trail of mysterious deaths and bizarre occurrences that followed her own fateful fall: the fifth-year Computer Engineering student who prowled the campus on all fours, thirsty for blood, believing he was a wolf; the discovery of an all-girls’ satanic cult; the demonic possession of a fourth-year student from the Department of Psychology; and now—Flo, dead.

The students traced it all to Mary. They believed Mary didn’t commit suicide. They believed Mary tapped into something dark, and released it, and was consumed.

And Anthony was determined to pry out the truth.