Probably the strongest PSF volume to date. The quality of stories this time around is just staggering, with several stories worthy of treasured re-reading.
My favorites: “All the Best of Dark and Bright” by Isabel Yap, “East of the Sun” by Dean Francis Alfar, “Pet” by Kristine Ong Muslim, “The Changes” by Benito Vergara, “The Likeness of God” by Crystal Koo, “The Little Things the Datu Did” by Andrew Drilon, “What You See” by Ian Rosales Casocot, and “The Love Spell” by Julian dela Cerna.
Huh, that seems like 80 percent of the book.
These three stories I also liked, but I had problems with. (Spoiler warning.) “Chasers” by Chris Mariano is beautifully written, but I think I’m missing something here. I’m trying to look for the speculative element in the story (since this is a spec fic anthology) but couldn’t find it. I loved the haunting ending of “Sarsarita Time” by Melissa Sipin but I was bothered by the plot error in Alamat ng Pinya (the girl was turned into a pineapple because she kept saying that she couldn’t find things, so she was given many eyes) and how the name “Archangel” was introduced but not used. She was named Archangel and turned into a mirror? Loved the details and the language of “The Nature of Apocalypse” by Joseph Anthony Montecillo, but I wished it pumped up its oddness, its magical realism.
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!
*
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.
This volume contains such a varied collection of stories, and as what happens in an anthology that tries to cover all bases, not all of the stories appealed to me. But this is still a worthy read. The stand-outs, in my opinion: “Ashland” by Elyss Punsalan, “From the Book of Names My Mother Did Not Give Me” by Tin Lao, “Carpaccio (or, Repentance as a Meat Recipe)” by Arlynn Despi, and “Simon’s Replica” by Dean Alfar.
From Flipside VP and General Manager Honey de Peralta, posted 12 hours ago:
Launching a weekly Flipreads contest on Twitter with the question, “What’s your favorite Filipino book?”. Use the hashtag #flipreads with your answer. Answers will be accepted till tomorrow noon. Winner will be chosen at random and will win Eliza Victoria’s Lower Myths!
You have till noon today peeps!
Just tweet us your favorite novel using the #Flipreads hashtag (and if your account is private, make sure you mention @flipreads and we follow you so we can monitor it) and get a chance to win Lower Myths by Eliza Victoria.
Lower Myths features two compelling novelettes of contemporary fantasy. In “Trust Fund Babies,” children of two warring witch and fairy families face off in the final round to a centuries-old vendetta.
In “The Very Last Case of Messrs. Aristotel and Arkimedes Magtanggol,” an aristocrat and his daughter consult a famous lawyer-sibling pair about a mysterious crime. But in the lawyers’ hilltop mansion by the sea, they uncover sinister hints that their reality may not be what it seems.
I Do Bidoo Bidoo is a film musical written and directed by Chris Martinez and stars our favorite, Eugene Domingo. It features a plot that we are all familiar with: Rock (Sam Concepcion), a registered nurse from a colorful, middle-class family, has been dating Tracy (Tippy Dos Santos), a beautiful girl from an uber-rich brood, complete with a stern, ex-general lolo, an almost-absentee businessman father, an unhappy mother, and acres and acres of farmland (“Please proceed to Gate 3” “Please proceed to the main mansion”). Tracy gets pregnant, and the film opens with Rock’s mother (Domingo) bewailing his future. What about your plans to go abroad? she screams at him while preparing the food to bring to his pamamanhikan.
It is an endearing film that does not falter when switching from hilarious to heartbreaking scenes. It has a hard time, however, in tying up its loose ends – the film ends with a montage and an out-of-place VO. But that doesn’t take away the fact that here is a Pinoy musical that is well-acted (seriously, what a great ensemble), that does not feel or look or sound awkward, and features truly good music.
At the screening we saw last night, the audience applauded.
Eliza Victoria 