“Alternative Alamat” is now available from Amazon.com, Flipreads.com, and iTunes. I’ll continue to speak with the contributors to gain some insight into the stories found in the book. Celestine  Trinidad  is  a  newly  licensed  physician  who  still  tries  to  read  and  write  as  much  as she  can  in  her  (now  unfortunately  very  little)  free  time.  Her stories have appeared in other publications such as Philippine Genre Stories, Philippine Speculative Fiction IV,  Philippines Free Press,  and  Usok.  Much  to  her  own  surprise,  she  won  the  Don  Carlos  Palanca  Memorial  Award for Literature in 2008 for her short story for children “The Storyteller and the Giant”.

Without spoiling anything essential, could you tell me a bit about your story?

Maria Sinukuan, guardian deity of Arayat, is called upon to solve the murder of a young woman from one of the towns under her care. One of her suitors, Juan, insists on tagging along, much to her annoyance. But nothing is as it seems in this mystery—not even her suitor.

I know that you’re a fan of Maria Sinukuan. What is it about Maria Sinukuan (as portrayed in the legends) that makes her so appealing to you?

I like that she is such a strong character—she is called “Sinukuan”, after all, as proof of the strength of her power. According to Damiana L. Eugenio’s Philippine Folk Literature Series (“The Legends”), she was able to defeat everyone who put her power to the test, even those who were said to possess an anting-anting. The young men who came to woo her never stood a chance with her. I love the kind of attitude that I think she would have, based on these legends. She seemed like the kind of character who wouldn’t take crap from anyone, and who can be ruthless, but only if she felt you deserved it. (And yes, it was said that she did turn people into pigs!) I would greatly respect such a person even in real life, though I would probably be very careful not to make her angry.

What part of the story–or the writing process–was the most fun for you?

The banter! Mixing someone like Maria with someone as irritatingly persistent and as enigmatic as Juan seems like a recipe for disaster, and that, of course, is fun to write.

What part of the story–or the writing process–was the most difficult for you?

As with every story I write, I always struggle with the middle of the story, since I already knew how to write the beginning and also the ending, but it’s always such a difficult journey writing what goes on in between. I wouldn’t want to give away too much so the mystery is already predictable, but I also wouldn’t want to give away too little that the reader would feel cheated. It’s a struggle, yes, but a challenge I actually enjoy.

How were you first exposed to Philippine mythology?

When I was still very young I liked watching this series on TV, “Ora Engkatada”, which my grandmother appeared in (she played Lola Torya, the grandmother who read from the big book of magical stories, hehe). And then later on, since my parents saw that I liked the fantasy genre so much, they bought me this book entitled, “Mga 55 Piling Alamat ng Pilipinas”, by Pablo M. Cuasay, a collection of various origin legends, which I loved reading even back then.

Is there any myth, epic or legend that you wish would be adapted into a novel, or comic, or movie?

It’d be great if Juan and Maria could be made into a movie, haha! Since I do plan on making this into a series.

Seriously though, there’s this a lesser-known legend about a woman named Tonina, who due to trickery on the part of the other wives of Rajah Solaiman, was raised away from the palace, not knowing she was a princess. But in the end, she managed to save two kingdoms from the invading Spaniards, and reclaim her birthright. (There is also a part there where she cross-dresses and almost defeats her future husband in a duel.) I think having a movie on that would be pretty epic!

Who is your favorite character from Philippine mythology, and why?

Maria Sinukuan is my favorite out of all the goddesses, but you probably expected that, didn’t you?  I like female characters that defy conventions, or even redefine them.

The day has come!

“Alternative Alamat“, our digital anthology of stories inspired by Philippine mythology, is now available for US$4.99 at the following fine establishments:

• Amazon.com – US$4.99 (note there’s an extra US$2.00 charge for certain non-US territories/accounts, including, unfortunately, the Philippines)
• Flipreads.com (epub file) – PHP235.00
• [iTunes and Barnes & Noble/Nook editions to follow]

I hope that by now you’re all excited to get your hands on the book (or, rather, the hardware holding the file), and if so, thank you and what are you waiting for? If you’re still on the fence even after the preview of our contributor and story introductions, and our author interviews (Raissa, Mo, Eliza), then read on (or download the press release here)!

As a celebration of today’s launch, I’d like to give you a glimpse of some of the non-fiction segments of the book, as well as the wonderful artwork of Mervin Malonzo, creator of “Tabi Po“. You’ve already seen the beautiful cover Mervin made for us, but you may not have realized he’s also doing internal artwork as well. Each book is graced with eleven original illustrations by Mervin, where he gives his spin on eleven of the most interesting gods and goddesses of Philippine mythology. I don’t want to give too much away, so here’s a montage-teaser using elements from all eleven pieces:

After the cut: one full sample of Mervin’s interior artwork, the full text of the book’s introduction, and excerpts from my interviews with Professor Herminia Meñez Coben and Fernando N. Zialcita.

This is Mervin’s rendition of Balitok. Balitok comes from Ifugao mythology, and he is the son of Bugan of the Skyworld and Kinggauan, a mortal man. Due to the separation of his parents, he was eventually split in half: the upper half became a celestial being, and the lower half was converted into the animals that populate the Earth.

Introduction

“For the educated [Filipino] minority, Greek and Roman mythology is more familiar than their own. They can summon Apollo and Aphrodite or mentally wander around Olympus; but they are puzzled by Bugan and the seven levels of the Bukidnon sky-world. A vast area of our collective self, a self that is the product of generations of reflection upon life’s meaning, is thus submerged in darkness. In fact the ridges and valleys of this unexplored self continue to underlie our own view of the world, ‘modern’ though we are. A rediscovery of our myths unlocks this hidden continent.”

- “The Soul Book” by Francisco Demetrio, Gilda Cordero – Fernando, and Fernando Zialcita

In one sense, to speak of Philippine mythology is to use a term of convenience. We are a nation of many indigenous cultures–numbering anywhere from sixty to over a hundred, depending on who you ask–with distinct oral traditions.  This makes learning about our mythology somewhat more difficult than would be the case for other nations, but it also gives us a cumulative heritage that is rich and diverse.

There is a dual beauty to Philippine mythology: the stories that we know, and the stories that we don’t. From the former we gain gods of calamity and baldness, of cosmic time and lost things; we gain the bloodthirsty Banna, the lustful Labaw Donggon, the immortal Mungan; we gain the many-layered Skyworld, and weapons that fight their own battles; we gain a ship that is pulled to paradise by a chain, and a giant crab that controls the tides. These are ideas and images which inspire.

And yet, the stories we don’t know are just as fascinating. Philippine mythology is rife with those unfilled spaces that kindle the imagination, “those marginal regions named and labeled”, as Michael Chabon once put it. In some cases, all we have are fragments of a longer tale (as in the case of the Ibalon). In others, all that remains are the names of the gods and their divine functions, beautiful names and evocative duties, leaving us to wonder about the tales they once populated.

But here’s the thing: when writers are inspired, when writers wonder, they write.  This anthology is a product of that wonder and inspiration.

Within these pages, you won’t find straight retellings of old tales–”alamat” is the Filipino word for “legend”, and I’ve deliberately asked for stories that provide for “alternative” takes. Some stories build on what we know, or reexamine underlying assumptions. Others use names as catalysts, or play within the spaces where the myths are silent. What you will find in all these eleven stories, however, is a love for the myths, epics, and legends that reflect us, contain us, call to us.

In case the stories in this anthology whet your appetite for information about Philippine mythology, I’ve also included supplementary material in the form of interviews with experts in folklore and anthropology, as well as a rundown of notable Philippine gods and goddesses not featured in the anthology (interpreted visually by Mervin Malonzo in between the stories). This barely scratches the surface, of course, so you’ll also find a brief survey of other resources at the end of the book.

“The gods,” says Roberto Calasso in Literature and the Gods, “are fugitive guests of literature. They cross it with the trail of their names and are soon gone. Every time the writer sets down a word, he must fight to win them back.” I hope that the stories in this volume will help to make them more frequent visitors.

Excerpt from my interview with Professor Herminia Meñez Coben

Professor Herminia Meñez Coben has a Ph.D. in Folklore and Folklife from the University of Pennsylvania, was Professor of American Multicultural Studies at California State University, Sonoma, and taught “Philippine Folklore and Society” at the University of California, Los Angeles. She is the author of “Folklore Communication Among Filipinos in California” (1980), “Explorations in Philippine Folklore” (1996) and “Verbal Arts in Philippine Indigenous Communities: Poetics, Society, and History” (2009).

Do you have any favorites from the stories you’ve encountered in your studies of the various indigenous oral traditions?

My favorite stories and characters come from the epics. [The epics featured] women warriors, certainly, but also characters such as Mungan, the shaman from the Bukidnon and Ilianen Manobo. Leper and healer both, she gives her people the betelnut of immortality, which enables them to ascend to the Skyworld, while she remains on earth forever to guide future inhabitants on the path toward a life without death. I think that one of the short stories I’ll write will be about her.

Excerpt from my interview with Professor Fernando N. Zialcita

Fernando N. Zialcita is a Professor at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology of the Ateneo de Manila University, and is the head of its Cultural Heritage Studies Program. He is active in the battle to preserve our cultural identity, particularly our intangible heritage. He is also one of the co-authors of the “Soul Book”, one of the few attempts made in recent history at a popular introduction to Philippine mythology. He helped organize the Ateneo’s “Songs of Memory: International Conference on Epics and Ballads”, and he graciously allowed me to interview him after the events of the conference.

In one of your other books, “Authentic but Not Exotic”, you wrote about certain misconceptions Filipinos and non-Filipinos alike have about Filipino culture. What are some of those misconceptions about Philippine mythology and pre-history?

There’s a tendency to project monotheism into the past. I doubt many of our ancestors were monotheistic. Let me go back again to the material base of culture. You would expect monotheism to appear in a place where there is centralized authority, since religion is often related to social and political structures. But the pre-Hispanic was very decentralized, many different polities and many different leaders. So monotheism of the Judaic kind would be doubtful, although it is to be expected that some gods would be considered more powerful than others.

But that wouldn’t mean that this god could somehow give orders to the other gods.

Right. Of course, there was monotheism with those communities that adhered to Islam, but Islam was only in the Philippines around a century or so earlier than Catholicism, so it’s still a “new” religion.

——–

If I’ve piqued your interest with any of these content previews, I assure you that you won’t regret buying a copy of Alternative Alamat. I don’t think that it’s an exaggeration for me to say that this book is one of a kind (at the moment)–that’s one of the reasons I put it together. If you have any interest in Philippine mythology (or in mythology in general), in Philippine speculative fiction (or just in good stories), I think we’ve managed to put together a book well worth your time and money.

EDIT: Alternative Alamat is out now on Amazon and Flipreads!

On December 14, 2011, “Alternative Alamat“–our anthology of stories inspired by Philippine mythology–will be released on Amazon.com, Flipreads.com, and the iTunes store. This anthology has been more than a year in the making, and it is near and dear to my heart, so any help spreading the word would be greatly appreciated. I’m excited, not the least of which because of the excellent cover art provided by Mervin Malonzo (creator of “Tabi Po“, who also provides the interior illustrations), and because I believe we’re attempting something that hasn’t been done before, in the context of Philippine mythology.

Philippine mythology is full of images that ignite the imagination: gods of calamity and baldness, of cosmic time and lost things; the many-layered Skyworld, and weapons that fight their own battles; a ship that is pulled to paradise by a chain, and a giant crab that controls the tides… yet too few of these tales are known and read today. “Alternative Alamat” gathers stories, by contemporary authors of Philippine fantasy, which make innovative use of elements of Philippine mythology. None of these stories are straight re-tellings of the old tales: they build on those stories, or question underlying assumptions; use ancient names as catalysts, or play within the spaces where the myths are silent. What you will find in common in these eleven stories is a love for the myths, epics, and legends which reflect us, contain us, call to us–and it is our hope that, in reading our stories, you may catch a glimpse, and develop a hunger, for those venerable tales.

“Alternative Alamat” also features a cover and interior illustrations by Mervin Malonzo, a short list of notable Philippine deities, and in-depth interviews with Professors Herminia Meñez Coben and Fernando N. Zialcita.

If you are a book blogger or book reviewer and would like to review/feature Alternative Alamat, please do contact me at rocketkapre[at]g mail. To give you a sneak peek of what to expect from the anthology, after the cut I’ve included the introductions for each of the eleven stories, which also serve as the bios for each of the contributors.

Ana’s Little Pawnshop on Makiling St.

Eliza Victoria

Eliza Victoria was born in 1986. Her fiction and poetry have received prizes in the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature and the Philippines Free Press Literary Awards. For additional information, visit her at http://sungazer.wordpress.com.

Maria Makiling is one of the most popular figures in Philippine mythology, and she’ll make more than one appearance in this anthology. However, in this story, she takes a back seat to one of the most obscure of our goddesses, who also happens to have one of the most intriguing dominions.

Harinuo’s Love Song

Rochita Loenen-Ruiz

Rochita  Loenen-Ruiz attended the Clarion West Writer’s Workshop in 2009 as the Octavia Butler Scholar. Her work has been published in print and online both abroad as well  as  in  The  Philippines.  Some  of  the  publications  she  has  appeared  in  are:  Weird Tales  Magazine,  Fantasy  Magazine,  Apex  Magazine,  and  Philippine  Speculative  Fiction Anthology (second and fourth volumes). She has stories coming out in the Second Apex Book of World SF and Realms of Fantasy.  She is currently working on a tribal sf novel.

The myth of the Sky Maiden appears, in one form or another, in many cultures around the world. However, like many myths, when one peels back the surface of the story, strips it of the distancing devices of archetype and tradition, there are horrors to be found within. This story explores that horror, while mixing Mangyan poetry with Ifugao culture.

The Last Full Show

Budjette Tan

Budjette Tan is the writer and co-creator of the graphic novel “Trese”. By day, he writes advertising copy for McCann Worldgroup. By night (or when his boss isn’t looking), he writes comic book stories.  He is one of the founding members of Alamat Comics.

Initially an independently published series of photocopied comics, the Trese series has gone on to win the Philippines’ National Book Award. Its heroine, Alexandra Trese,  has become one of the most popular Philippine comic book characters in recent memory, a no-nonsense heroine who stands apart from many of her peers in the urban fantasy genre. This story is a rare glimpse at the softer side of Trese.

The Alipin’s Tale

Raymond G. Falgui

Raymond G. Falgui teaches at the University of the Philippines. His short stories have appeared in the Philippines Free Press, Philippines Graphic, and Playboy Philippines magazines, as well as the  Likhaan,  Philippine  Speculative  Fiction,  and  Digest  of  Philippine  Genre  Stories  anthologies. His articles on gaming have appeared in Azagar’s Book of Rituals and The Kobold Quarterly. He is also a self-proclaimed Luddite who last owned a cell phone some time in 2004.

Lapu-Lapu is the first “historical” Philippine hero, a chieftain who rejected and repelled a European force led by Ferdinand Magellan. While textual accounts of the “Battle of Mactan” survive, many of the details–including Lapu-Lapu’s actual participation in the battle–have been lost to history, and the battle itself has been elevated to the level of myth. What would happen if we took things one step further?

Keeper of My Sky

Timothy James Dimacali

Timothy James M. Dimacali has always been fascinated by the intersection of science and mythology. He is currently the Technology Editor of GMA News Online, but loves to play his violin every now and then. He has been a fellow for fiction at the annual Iligan National Writers Workshop and graduated with a degree in Creative Writing from the University of the Philippines.

The people of Panay tell the story of the god Tungkung Langit’s eternal search for his wife, the goddess Alunsina. They speak of how Tungkung Langit scattered Alunsina’s jewels in the sky in an effort to call her back to him; how her necklace became the stars; her comb, the moon; her crown, the sun. According to the old story, she never returned. Perhaps she had a good reason.

Conquering Makiling

Mo Francisco

Mo Francisco climbs and writes as much as she can. Her stories have come out in the Philippines Free Press, Philippines Graphic, Speculative Fiction IV and other publications. Her story “Jimmie” won 2nd place in the Philippines Free Press Literary Awards in 2009. She has climbed with both the Loyola and the UP Mountaineers.   They have taught her that going days without a shower, sleeping on rocks and suffering limatik bites are worth the trouble when you stand on top of the world with a blanket of clouds below you, music blasting from an iPod and good friends beside you, their glasses raised. She has yet to encounter Maria on her climbs.

In myths, Maria Makiling is almost the prototypical nature goddess: caring, benevolent, always generous to men of humble origins. That generosity of spirit at times becomes an offering of her own heart, as Maria is often portrayed as taking human lovers. Yet perhaps in constructing such a romantic image of the goddess, we’ve left something out. This story uses a modern context to explore a more primal aspect of our most popular diwata.

The Sorceress Queen

Raissa Rivera Falgui

Raissa Rivera Falgui is a writer of fiction for both children and adults. She has won several awards, including first place for Futuristic Fiction in the 2002 Palanca Awards and second place for short story for children in the 2002 and 2006 Palancas. A member of Kuwentista ng Mga Tsikiting (Kuting), her most recent published stories are for young people, in Tahanan Books’ The Night Monkeys and UP Press’s Bagets Anthology. She graduated from UP with a degree in Art Studies and is currently working towards an MA in Creative Writing. Over the years, she has worked in various institutions, as English teacher, writer, or editor. Among the most recent jobs she has had was one that required her to write about places she has never visited, including Mt. Malindig in Marinduque. Currently her main job, which she does not plan to give up, is looking after her daughter. She is married to an Ateneo English teacher, Joel Falgui.

The Marinduque myth of Maria Malindig is the type of story which leaves us with more questions than answers. In part, that’s because of the almost casual mention of the great “Empire of Mu”, a name which calls to mind James Churchward’s lost continent in the Pacific. Yet primarily, it’s because of the somewhat inconsistent characterization of Maria Malindig herself. How might a powerful queen truly react when confronted with an encroaching patriarchy? Let’s find out.

Beneath The Acacia

Celestine Trinidad

Celestine  Trinidad  is  a  newly  licensed  physician  who  still  tries  to  read  and  write  as  much  as she  can  in  her  (now  unfortunately  very  little)  free  time.  Her  stories  have  appeared  in  other publications such as Philippine Genre Stories, Philippine Speculative Fiction IV,  Philippines Free Press,  and  Usok.  Much  to  her  own  surprise,  she  won  the  Don  Carlos  Palanca  Memorial  Award for Literature in2008 for her short story for children “The Storyteller and the Giant”.

Maria Sinukuan, guardian of Arayat, is one of the mountain goddesses, like the more famous Maria Makiling. Unlike her counterpart from Makiling, however, Maria Sinukuan is much less generous with her affections–”Sinukuan” means “Unconquerable”, and she frequently uses her wits to extricate herself from unwanted suitors. In this young adult tale, Maria–along with a particularly persistent suitor–gets to apply her wit in another way, in order to solve a mystery.

Offerings to Aman Sinaya

Andrei Tupaz

Andrei Tupaz is working on two other short stories based on Philippine myths.  He believes he’ll finish both before the end of 2011 as long as, fingers crossed, he doesn’t fall into a  perpetual redraft hole, or allow himself to be consumed by his interests: cooking, programming, and the Internet. He and his wife are based in New Zealand.

Since the Philippines is an archipelago, it’s easy to understand why the deities of the sea would be so important. Aman Sinaya was the Tagalog goddess of the sea, and protector of fishermen… protector, that is, if the fishermen would make an offering to her of their first catch. But as times change, so too does the nature of what is offered…

Balat, Buwan, Ngalan

(A Myth for the 21^st Century)

David Hontiveros

David Hontiveros was a National Book Award Finalist for Best Comic Book in 1997 for Dhampyr (drawn by Oliver Pulumbarit), and a 2002 Palanca Award Winner (2nd Place in Future Fiction- English Category) for his short story, “Kaming Mga Seroks.” He has three horror/dark fantasy novellas out under the Penumbra imprint, published by Visprint, as well as a digital novel, Pelicula, from Bronze Age Media. His on-going comic book series, Bathala: Apokalypsis, is also available digitally from Flipside. He has had his short fiction, film reviews, articles, and comics appear in several Philippine publications.  He has recently adapted Bret Harte (no, not the wrestler) and Edgar Allan Poe (twice!) into comic book form for Graphic Classics. He may be observed online at fiveleggediguana.blogspot.com (where he blathers on about film) and davidhontiveros.com (where assorted bits of his work are housed). He would like to humbly dedicate the story to his four current grandspawn, in chronological order: Gray, Mischa, Chloe, and Sophia, who will keep the flames of his family history burning on, down through the years.

While the Philippines is home to distinct cultural groups, a certain amount of cultural cross-pollination did take place. The results are myths which are variations of the same themes, and characters which appear in more than one culture, or who bear the same name but with an altered form. But, as David says of this story, there is power in words and there is truth in myth. If these characters did exist… which version would be true? Would it matter?

“A Door Opens:  The Beginning of the Fall of the Ispancialo-in-Hinirang (Emprensa Press: 2007)”

Dean Francis Alfar

Dean Francis Alfar is a leading advocate of speculative fiction in the Philippines, and the publisher of the annual “Philippine Speculative Fiction” anthology. His novel “Salamanca” won both the Book Development Association of the Philippines’ Gintong Aklat award, as well as the Grand Prize in the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature. He has nine more Palancas to his name, two Manila Critics’ Circle National Book Awards, the Philippine Free Press Literary Award, and the Philippine Graphic/Fiction Award. His short fiction has been collected in “The Kite of the Stars and Other Stories”, and been published in venues both national and international, including “The Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror”, “Rabid Transit: Menagerie”, “Latitude”, and “The Apex Book of World SF”.

It seemed fitting to end the anthology with this story. Sometimes, I feel like there’s a tendency–even amongst Filipinos–to view the Philippines as a footnote on the world stage. Yet there’s so much that is unique and beautiful in Philippine culture, if only we would take the time to learn it. Philippine mythology has much to offer the world. This anthology, we hope, has opened a doorway. We invite you to step through it.

“Alternative Alamat” also features a cover and interior illustrations by Mervin Malonzo, a short list of notable Philippine deities, and in-depth interviews with Professors Herminia Meñez Coben and Fernando N. Zialcita.

[Page still under construction - some details/links to be added later.]

“Ana’s Little Pawnshop on Makiling St.” by Eliza Victoria

“Harinuo’s Love Song” by Rochita Loenen-Ruiz

“The Last Full Show” by Budjette Tan

“The Alipin’s Tale” by Raymond G. Falgui

“Keeper of My Sky” by Timothy James Dimacali

“Conquering Makiling” by Mo Francisco

“The Sorceress Queen” by Raissa Rivera Falgui

“Beneath The Acacia” by Celestine Trinidad

“Offerings to Aman Sinaya” by Andrei Tupaz

“Balat, Buwan, Ngalan” by David Hontiveros

“A Door Opens:  The Beginning of the Fall of the Ispancialo-in-Hinirang” by Dean Alfar

Appendix A: A Few Notable Philippine Deities

Appendix B: Interview with Professor Herminia Meñez Coben

Appendix C: Interview with Professor Fernando N. Zialcita

Appendix D: On Researching Philippine Mythology

Cover and interior artwork by Mervin Malonzo

Estranghero Press has revealed the table of contents and cover art (by Oscar Alvarez) for its Science Fiction anthology “Diaspora Ad Astra”. The digital anthology is scheduled to be released this month. Here’s what you can look forward to reading:

1. War Zone Angel, by Professor Emil Flores
2. The Day the Sexbomb Dancers Invaded Our Brains, by Carljoe Javier
3. The Malaya, by Dean Francis Alfar
4. The Cost of Living, by Vince Torres
5. Ina Dolor’s Last Stand, by Raymond P. Reyes
6. Oplan Sanction, by Alex Osias
7. The Keeper, by Audrey Villacorta
8. Ashes Ember, by Dannah Ruth S. Ballesteros
9. Rizal, Eliza Victoria
10. Gene Rx, Katya Oliva-Llego
11. Robots and a Slice of Pizza, Raydon Reyes
12. Lucky, Raven Guerrero
13. A List of Things We Know, Isabel Yap
14. Taking Gaia, Celestine Trinidad
15. Space Enough and Time, Anne Lagamayo

I’d like to thank everyone who participated, especially Dominique Cimafranca who was impressively prolific during the RP612fic period. We generated over one hundred and fifteen stories over the Independence Day weekend–here are a few of my favorite stories:

I’d also be remiss if I didn’t point to Adam David’s essay on freedom, over at the Philippine Online Chronicles.

The rest of the stories run the gamut from science fiction, to horror, to fantasy (from the fantasy that means “magic” to the fantasy that means “how I wish this were true). Some are meant to be read alone, others in sequence (although there was a limit to how I could arrange them in anything but the reverse chronological order of a Twitter search.) Some aren’t stories in so much as hopes, dreams, or ideas and that’s fine too.The usual disclaimer applies: these stories are meant as fiction, and are not to be taken as allegations of actual facts, nor as statements of actual intent.

And now, beneath the cut, are the rest of the stories. (2009′s stories are here.) Enjoy, and see you all next year!

Here’s the fourth, and final, Usok #1 interview, featuring our youngest author in this issue, Celestine Trinidad. Celestine is the author of “The Coming of the Anak-Araw” which now has an illustration by Benjo Camay.

Tell us a bit about how you came up with the idea for your story.

I had originally written a story about a storyteller (the same character in my story, “The Storyteller and the Giant”) and his apprentice, and that was the story I was supposed to be writing for the Palancas, but it ended up too long that I eventually decided to just turn into a novel—which, as with most ideas, had a life of its own, I swear—morphed into a series in my head. In that series, the storyteller and his apprentice will eventually face the same anak-araw that appeared in “The Coming of the Anak-Araw”, and they will be helped by other characters found in this story. I guess this is sort of a prequel to that, of sorts.

That is, if I ever get around to writing that series.

What aspect of the story gave you the most difficulty?

As Pao can probably attest, this story was very different originally, before he did some wonderfully extensive editing, hehe. Mostly I struggled with the pacing of the story, since in my head it was already part of that series of books I wanted to write, but this is a short story, and hence should be written differently.

Do you remember the first short story you ever wrote? What was it about?

I think I wrote a short story (complete with really horrible illustrations, hehe) about an alien woman whose planet was destroyed, so she sought refuge on our planet, and became a teacher. I…think she battled the aliens who destroyed her planet? And fell in love with this human co-teacher who guessed her secret, probably—I always was a sucker for romances like that. I lost the original version of that story, alas.

Does your cultural background influence how you write, or what you write?

Of course, as mostly I like writing about Philippine mythology, and those stories are the ones I am most comfortable with writing. I find our myths on the whole really fascinating, and love how you can play around with them, reinterpret them in so many ways. Being a doctor also influences my writing, because I always tend to include medical-related things in my stories (Sari is a healer in this one, after all, and works with herbs I once studied), I guess these are things I can’t help either.

What was the best piece of writing advice you ever read or received?

From my former Creative Writing 10 teacher in UP: “Keep reading and writing. Don’t let what other people say stop you from doing so.” It’s really simple advice, I know, but whenever I face rejections and feel like I can never be any good at this, I remember all those workshops we had with him, when he always found something nice to say about what we wrote, while still offering advice on how we could make those stories better. He was never harsh, and I’m immensely grateful for it. I’ve kept on writing, because of those first lessons I learned from him.

Last October, I sent out a limited call for submissions for Ruin and Resolve, an ebook anthology which Rocket Kapre would put up for sale, donating any profits received to the Philippine National Red Cross.  Seventeen heeded that call, and in the span of less than three months, we’ve managed to compile nineteen stories and five poems, to offer as an incentive for those who want to share their blessings, especially during the Christmas season. On December 28 (fingers crossed) the anthology will go on sale at Smashwords.com, and I’ll need everyone’s help to get the word out. But for now, I’ve set up a book page for Ruin and Resolve (ignore the sample and mediakit portions for now) with the table of contents and the cover image (artwork provided free of charge by the awesome Artspice! Studios) of which I’ve provided a larger version below.

The list of stories/poems and authors is on the book page, but I’m also putting it in this post, after the cut.

Once again guys – December 28, don’t forget!

RUIN AND RESOLVE:

Mouse and I – Rochita Loenen-Ruiz

Strange Salvation – Celestine Trinidad

Earthquake – Kate Aton-Osias

Designations – Patria Rivera

Firestorm – Erica Gonzales

Excerpt from Neomuros – Paolo J. Cruz

After the Flood – Nikki Alfar

Stairway to heaven – Patria Rivera

Wishgranters – Rod M. Santos

The Sparrows of Climaco Avenue – Kenneth Yu

Dreams after the Storm – Eliza Victoria

We End Up with the Same Thing Anyway – Crystal Koo

Before the Perfect Season – Catherine Batac Walder

Wail of the Sun – Vincent Michael Simbulan

Haya and Me – Erica Gonzales

Snippets – Kate Aton-Osias

The way a plague transforms the land – Patria Rivera

The Marriage of Sun and Moon – Sharmaine Galve

The Death and Rebirth of Nathaniel Alan Sempio – Alexander Marcos Osias

Cutis Marmorata – Celestine Trinidad

The Return of the Sun – Rochita Loenen-Ruiz

Strangelove – by chiles samaniego

Excerpt from News of the Shaman – Karl R. De Mesa

Johanna Poblete of Business World has a feature on Rocket Kapre and excerpts from an interview with me, as well as her review of Usok 1. For those of you who can’t snag a copy of the paper, you can catch the article and the review at Business World’s site here. The review comes after the feature article. As with any print interview, there was more to the conversation than what made it into the final version, so when Johanna puts the full Q and A up on her site, I’ll let you all know.

While most of the sites/publications mentioned in the article should be familiar to you guys, for any newcomers to the site drawn here by the article (welcome lords and ladies!) here’s a quick rundown:

• The Digest of Philippine Genre Stories edited (usually) by Kenneth Yu
• The Philippine Daily Inquirer (and my Youngblood article)
• SF Signal
• Bibliophile Stalker run by Charles Tan
• The World SF News Blog
• Locus Online
• Angry Robot Books
• Io9
• Clockpunk Studios
• Fantasy Magazine
• Beneath Ceaseless Skies