Here are videos from the joint PGS Crime Issue and PSF6 launch. First up is the PGS Crime launch in its entirety, split into two parts.

Don’t let Kyu’s modesty fool you, PGS is a very important part of the local genre scene, and I’m personally thrilled to see it online and reaching a wider audience.

Next up we have the opening segment of the PSF6 launch, which consists of Dean telling the crowd what they’re in for, followed by an impersonation of Butch Dalisay which I am told was spot on. Enjoy!

The launch for the sixth volume of Philippine Speculative Fiction took place last Saturday, with the inimitable Dean Alfar once again serving as master of ceremonies and all-around entertainer–the PSF launches usually turn into roasts for the editors and contributors (and being absent is no defense) and a grand time was had by all. I’ll have videos from the launch and the earlier launch of the crime issue of Philippine Genre Stories later this week, but first here are some photographs from the event.

In spite of the rains, (and some *ahem* premature storm warnings), the UView Theater of Fully Booked was jam packed–this photo is from early in the proceedings, and by midway people were lining the walls, in spite of the addition of the monobloc cavalry. The downside to that is the volume sold out minutes after the launch was over–if you want another print run, make sure you make your voices heard!

Once you’ve been to a PSF launch, you’ll make it a point not to miss it–even if you live in Hong Kong, such as author Crystal Koo, who was also part of the PGS Crime Issue, who flew in just for the launches.

Of course, some residences are farther than others–Andrei Tupaz lives in New Zealand, so his mother graciously came to represent her son, and gamely helped Dean poke fun at him.

There were familiar faces from the spec fic blogosphere, such as Elyss Punsalan of Pakinggan Pilipinas.

And of course Charles Tan, whose name is practically synonymous with the spec fic blogosphere.

Some faces were familiar even if they were so young–sixteen fifteen year old Joseph Anthony Montecillo has a story in this volume as well.

There were a lot of new contributors this year, such as Francis Gabriel Concepcion.

John Philip Corpuz, an avid tabletop gamer who used to write for me at Pinoy Pop.

Another new author is Arlynn Despi, here being playfully scolded by Dean and the editors for applying an earlier “last print issue” remark to the PSF series (that had been a reference to PGS).

Also new to this volume was a friend (!) of Dean’s from way back, Maria Elena Paterno.

Here’s Maria Pia Benosa, who I found out is about to set out on a path familiar to me. Best of luck Pia (but don’t forget my advice!)

Asterio Enrico Guttierez missed his first cue but came in time to be teased about his story’s title, “The Big Man”.

Of course, there were also veterans of PSF on hand: Andrew Drilon, storyteller exemplar in prose and komiks, has been in every volume of PSF to date.

Eliza Victoria, who Dean rightly described as one of our most prolific (and consistently excellent) authors today.

Poet and lawyer (what a combination) Tin Lao was also in PSF volume 5.

Vincent Michael Simbulan was a contributor in prior volumes of PSF and co-edited the fifth volume.

Kenneth Yu, who also launched the crime issue of the Digest of Philippine Genre Stories on Saturday.

Dean Alfar of course, who edited and published the first volume but who has since relinquished the editorial reins.

And Alex Osias, who will be co-editing the next volume of PSF…

… with his wife and PSF6 co-editor Kate Aton-Osias. Considering the very different types of stories they gravitate toward, this pairing could prove to be very… interesting, in the Chinese sense of the word.

Last but not the least is Nikki Alfar, the second co-editor for PSF6, and one of the most exacting editors in the country, from what I hear. Makes me doubly pleased to have made the cut.

More photos on the Rocket Kapre Flickr page, Eliza Victoria’s page, and probably the PGS blog at some point. (EDIT: Charles uploaded Kyu’s photos here.)

One year ago, 9/9/09, Rocket Kapre officially launched. In celebration of our first year anniversary, here’s a new installment of one of our most popular features: the Rocket Round Table. For this batch, the question – to coincide with the anniversary – is: “What is your favorite first line in speculative fiction?” Prose and graphic novels/comics were fair game (movies and television were not), as were local and foreign works – I only asked that the respondents include any first lines from Filipino-made spec fic that stood out for them. Feel free to add your own in the comments!

Thanks to all those who took time to participate in the round table, and for all those who have supported Rocket Kapre in its first year. Here’s to many more to come!

[Warning: Some language may not be safe for work, or children, or adults who like to pretend they're as innocent as children.]

ELBERT OR – Comic book creator, university lecturer, graphic designer, freelance writer, entrepreneur (he’s part of Brain Food, which gives speech and writing workshops) Elbert is a jack of all trades and master of… well, lots. He currently runs Global Art and the Komiksabado Comics Workshop.

Happy first year, RK! How time flies!
I owe much of my interest in current Philippine SF to Dean Alfar’s “Kite of Stars,” and its first line/ paragraph which grabbed firm hold of me and has still not let me go:

The night when she thought she would finally be a star, Maria Isabella du’l Cielo struggled to calm the trembling of her hands, reached over to cut the tether that tied her to the ground, and thought of that morning many years before when she’d first caught a glimpse of Lorenzo du Vicenzio ei Salvadore: tall, thick-browed and handsome, his eyes closed, oblivious to the cacophony of the accident waiting to occur around him.

I wish I could say though that memory allowed me to remember each word, but I admit only to committing the first eleven words. But the blame lies solely on me and my poor memory.

Here’s to the next ten years for Rocket Kapre!

* * *

CATHERINE BATAC WALDER – Catherine is based in England and works as a research group administrator at the Department of Earth Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London. From 2005 to 2007, she moved across Norway, Finland and Portugal for a European MPhil. scholarship. Her fiction appears in Big Pulp, Demons of the New Year, Philippines Graphic, Ruin and Resolve Anthology, Expanded Horizons, and Philippines Free Press. She blogs at http://deckshoes.wordpress.com/

“Just when the idea occurred to her that she was being murdered she could not tell.” – The Small Assassin, comics adaptation of a tale by Ray Bradbury

“At some time near dawn, on March 25, 1913, there came a loud knocking at the front door of the Uyterhoevens’ home in the Dayton View section of Dayton, Ohio.” – The Chess Garden by Brooks Hansen

“At first glance, the picture looked like any other in a family album of that time, the sepia shade and tone, the formal poses, the men in solemn Sunday suits and the women, severely coiffed, in long skirts and billowing blouses.” – Fade by Robert Cormier

““I can do this,” I told my squirrel.” - Speed Dating and Spirit Guides by Rod M. Santos

“In the tiny lifeboat, she and the alien fuck endlessly, relentlessly.” – Spar by Kij Johnson

“My name is Kathy H. I’m thirty-one years old, and I’ve been a carer now for over eleven years.” – Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

* * *

G.M. CORONEL – A Marketing Management graduate of De La Salle University in 1985, he is a first-time author with no literary background to speak of other than a genuine love of reading and a passion for writing. Coming across back issues of Writer’s Digest a few years ago started his writing career. Some previous personal encounters with the paranormal convinced him to pursue the horror genre. He believes that stories to tell and experiences to share are best put in written words. He is the author of Tragic Theater.

“The night wind howls like a wounded dying animal.” (Trese Murder on Balete Drive) — This is a very compelling first line and it engages the reader’s interest in the story.

* * *

DON JAUCIAN - Don regularly reviews books for several publications, both print and on-line. He is the resident bitch of the film blog Pelikula Tumblr. His book dump is http://chinoisdead.livejournal.com

The Ascension of Our Lady Boy – Mia Tijam (PDF of Expanded Horizons #14, which includes the story.)

“Let us begin with my earliest memory as a lady: Daddy had complained to Iyay who was my yaya(and his yaya before and his mama’s yaya before that) that I was lacking something strong in my bones and in my hips.”

Tijam’s Lady Boy is hands down one of my favorite spec fic stories. It effectively combined Philippine culture, gay-isms and the whole ‘triumph of the heart’ thing. I like how the first line promises a wonderful story, equal parts whimsical and endearing, like Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros and it really delivers.

Visitors – Luis Katigbak

“When they first arrived, they transformed themselves into everything we ever secretly wanted to be.”

Stories of ‘encounters’ are never amusing. They mostly run as dubious paranoiac rants but in a few words, Katigbak manages to brush off the fluff usually associated with this tripe. ‘Visitors’ is beautiful, a different approach into the Wonderful World of Alien Mysteries; humanized and hopeful.

Brigada – Joey Nacino

“When the news came, Captain Fernando Tabora of the Philippine Navy was meeting with the two-man salvage team at the top of Manila Hotel.”

I’m a sucker for post-apocalyptic stories and Manila Hotel underwater is just too awesome to ignore. Just like the head of Statue of Liberty chopped off in Cloverfield!

Flicker – Ian Rosales Casocot

“Something had apparently come to live, or stir, in the house down the road, that old mansion on the corner before one turned left down Mango Street, which led toward the coconut groves that bordered the farthest end of the village.”

Suburban horror stories always fascinate me and Casocot’s ‘Flicker’ definitely sustains the tension from the first sentence to the last. It is eerie, ominous and it’s refreshing to see a horror story devoid of hysterics and cheap scare tactics.

[More after the cut]

* * *

MEANN ORTIZ -  The co-Editor in Chief of NewWorlds.ph, a website that caters to Filipino enthusiasts of science fiction, fantasy, and pop culture.  She believes books are like the sirens of Greek mythology, for she often cannot resist their enchanting call, and she finds herself virtually shipwrecked upon the shores of a bookstore.

My favorite first line from a foreign work is:  “There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife.” from Neil Gaiman’s award-winning The Graveyard Book.  I love it because it’s short but unforgettable, and it brilliantly sets up the rest of the story.  It’s the kind of opening that makes you stop to think about what may happen next, and then compels you to turn the page.

My favorite first line from an Filipino SF work is not so much a line as the work’s entire opening paragraph:  “The night when she thought she would finally be a star, Maria Isabella du’l Cielo struggled to calm the trembling of her hands, reached over to cut the tether that tied her to the ground, and thought of that morning many years before when she’d first caught a glimpse of Lorenzo du Vicenzio ei Salvadore: tall, thick-browed and handsome, his eyes closed, oblivious to the cacophony of the accident waiting to occur around him.”  This one’s from The Kite of Stars by Dean Francis Alfar.  I love this opening because it puts the reader right into the action.  It’s not as wonderfully vague as the one by Gaiman, but after that kind of glimpse into the heart of the story, how can you possibly stop reading?

* * *

TINA MATANGUIHAN – Tina is a web content developer by day (or night, depending on her shift) who would rather debug than write code and while dabbling on other projects with her spare time. She’s an avid reader who’s recently started to love reading spec fic. Every November since 2004, she turns into a manic novelist and cheerleader for the Filipino National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) community. She’s planning to write her first fantasy novel this year and she hopes to get hit by inspiration soon.

Our story opens where countless stories have ended in the last twenty-six years: with an idiot — in this case, my brother, Shaun — deciding it would be a good idea to go out and poke a zombie with a stick to see what happens. - Feed by Mira Grant

Rush Hour. So many armpits, so little deodorant. -  Tall Story by Candy Gourlay

* * *

ELIZA VICTORIA - Eliza has won a Palanca Award for her poetry, has been named as a finalist at the Philippines Free Press Literary Awards, and has had her works accepted in many publications, including Expanded Horizons,  the Farthest Shore, and Demons of the New Year. She also writes for the Philippine Online Chronicles.

It was a bright cold day in April and the clocks were striking thirteen. - 1984, George Orwell

No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. – The Haunting of Hill House, Shirley Jackson

* * *

ELAINE CUYEGKENG -  Librarian and writer. Alas, at present, she has no familiars, but lives with her partner in a little brick flat in Melbourne. “The Widow and the Princess of the Dwende” is her first short story under Usok (in the upcoming second issue).

“The night when she thought she would finally be a star, Maria Isabella du’l Cielo struggled to calm the trembling of her hands, reached over to cut the tether that tied her to the ground, and thought of that morning many years before when she’d first caught a glimpse of Lorenzo du Vicenzio ei Salvadore: tall, thick-browed and handsome, his eyes closed, oblivious to the cacophony of the accident waiting to occur around him.”- “The Kite of Stars,” Dean Francis Alfar.  Ok. So I cheated (or Dean cheated). It’s an opening line that’s also an opening paragraph. But it’s absolutely perfect, the way Dean uses it to frame and set up the story. He establishes both Maria and Lorenzo as characters, parallels their desires: Maria for Lorenzo, Lorenzo for the stars. It’s unapologetically romantic. And it neatly leads to the complicated chain of events that sets Maria on her journey. It’s a beautifully constructed opening line, and I would kill to one day have Dean’s skill.

“Lyra and her daemon moved through the darkening hall, taking care to keep to one side, out of sight in the kitchen.”-The Northern Lights, Philip Pullman.  Not only does Philip Pullman establish the key difference between our world and Lyra’s — the presence of daemons — but it draws you into the story, the narrative, and what Lyra and her daemon are doing. What are they up to? Who are they hiding from? It’s a succinct and clear first line — the way a YA story should be. But there’s so much going on and it just pulls you in.

* * *

PHIL CORPUZ – A full-time dataminer and part time game master, he wishes he could reverse that situation. When not chugging away at the data mines, he writes for the Philippine Online Chronicles, plays various tabletop games, and indulges in various bits of geekery.

For the longest time, my favorite was William Gibson’s opening to Neuromancer, “The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.” It just sets the scene of his technological crapsack world so effectively and efficiently. Two lines did roll in recently that stuck in my mind for sheer, jarring cheekiness, Dan Simmons’ Olympos (“Helen of Troy awakens at dawn to the sound of air raid sirens.“) and Neal Stephenson’s Anathem (“‘Do your neighbors burn one another alive?’ was how Fraa Orolo began his conversation with Artisan Flec.“).

* * *

SHARMAINE GALVE - Reads a lot.  Writes a lot.  Gets published sometimes.  A serious hypochondriac who spouts medical terms.  Slaughterhouse Five is one of the novels I have read a lot ever since I bought it in a bargain bin and wanted to see what the big deal was about Vonnegut.  It espouses my major views: the silliness of war and time.

* * *

KATYA OLIVA-LLEGO – A geek neophyte, her poetry and fiction pieces have been published on Expanded Horizons, Scifaikuest, Moon Drenched Fables, and Static Movement.

(1)”The night when she thought she would finally be a star, Maria Isabella du’l Cielo struggled to calm the trembling of her hands, reached over to cut the tether that tied her to the ground, and thought of that morning many years before when she’d first caught a glimpse of Lorenzo du Vicenzio ei Salvadore: tall, thick-browed and handsome, his eyes closed, oblivious to the cacophony of the accident waiting to occur around him.” – The Kite of Stars by Dean Francis Alfar.

It’s actually the entire first paragraph of the story, but I couldn’t really cut it anywhere before the period and call it a first line. I loved this because it promised a story of adventure and love, and it delivered.

(2)”Life is a stick with a death on each end.” – Messenger by Julia M. Sidorova (Clarkesworld Magazine)

When I read this line, I asked: What, how, and why. I’m thankful for the engaging first line because it made me read the story to the end. The story was beautiful and thought-provoking, and the emotions induced by it will probably stay with me for a long time.

* * *

KM REYNALDO – Tine is an English major in bardo. Prose pruner by day, brain soup cook and wannabe-yogini by night, she is often found spaced out in her imaginary apartment on the top floor: http://mirageode.wordpress.com/

• “My father lost me to the Beast at cards.” – “Tiger’s Bride” by Angela Carter
• “I do not know what manner of thing she is. None of us do. She killed her mother in the birthing, but that’s never enough to account for it.” – “Snow, Glass, Apples”by Neil Gaiman
• “MYTHICAL! Ha! I’m as real as the waves, as this sea you cannot even begin to know or imagine. What dumb silence echoes in those empty heads of yours that you are so quickly enticed? One song and you are asleep. Another and you are mine. And the sea’s. who, then, is the myth? Whose lives are so quick to end?” – “A Song in the Wind”by Maria Elena Paterno
• “If you wish to find the woman who sells dreams, go to the most run-down part of the city.” – “The Forgotten City” by Vincent C. Sales

These are just the stuff I found online as I currently have no access to my library

* * *

FIDELIS TAN – Fidelis’ work has been published in Heights, Philippine Speculative Fiction vol. 5, Love and Heartbreak, After the Storm: Stories on Ondoy, and various indie komiks. She is a regular contributor to the Philippine Online Chronicles (www.thepoc.net).

“The door to Dr. Hannibal Lecter’s memory palace is in the darkness at the center of his mind and it has a latch that can be found by touch alone.”
-From Hannibal Rising, Thomas Harris (a book which I didn’t really like compared to the other Hannibal books, but it has a nice first line )

[inverted] “Carl Conrad Coreander, Old Books” [Fidelis sent this to me properly inverted, but sadly WordPress won't register it.]

- From Neverending Story, Michael Ende.

“True! –nervous –very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?”

- Tell-Tale Heart, Edgar Allan Poe

* * *

TIN LAO – Tin is a lawyer who used to write for a newspaper, dabbles in poetry and prose (that wants to be poetry). Her fiction has been published in Philippine Speculative Fiction Volume V.

Here’s an opening line that hooked me immediately, from Kij Johnson’s Spar:

“In the tiny lifeboat, she and the alien fuck endlessly, relentlessly.”

* * *

MACOY TANG – Creator of excellent indie komiks such as Ang Maskot and School Run, and a writer for the Philippine Online Chronicles. Blogs at mababang langit.

You just can’t get any better than “Once upon a time.” sorry if everybody else says that too

* * *

CHILES SAMANIEGO - wrote things that were published in Story Philippines, the Digest of Philippine Genre Stories, Philippine Free Press, Parole (the UP Portia Society’s literary folio), Usok, Ruin and Resolve, and Weird Tales Magazine.

progris riport 1-martch 5, 1965

            Dr. Strauss says I shud rite down what I think and evrey thing
         that happins to me from now on, I dont know why but he says its
         importint so they will see if they will use me. I hope they use me.
         Miss Kinnian says maybe they can make me smart. I want to be
         smart. My name is Charlie Gordon. I am 37 years old. I have
         nuthing more to rite now so I will close for today.

Here’s the fourth Usok #1 author interview, this time with Crystal Koo, author of “The Startbox“, which now has an illustration by Kevin Lapeña.

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

Given the theme that was set as a guideline for the issue, I actually started writing a completely different story, a very science-fiction one with a lot to do with computers. But I was having really big trouble with it, so one midnight I just abandoned it and started writing this one, without any planning at all, and for the most part of the first draft, it wrote itself.

What aspect of the story gave you the most difficulty?
Making the main character’s transformation credible.

Do you remember the first short story you ever wrote? What was it about?
I started off scribbling bits and pieces of things on lined paper and stapling them together into a “book” when I was a little girl. I can’t remember any of those. The earliest that I can remember is the first story I ever typed on a computer – something about a Molly.

Does your cultural background influence how you write, or what you write?
What I write, yes (the how is mostly influenced by the books I read). It’s a bit complex writing as a Chinese-Filipino who’s moving around Asia at the moment, so all kinds of considerations crop up, but most of the time I just make sure that I don’t pigeonhole myself into writing about one particular culture all the time.

What was the best piece of writing advice you ever read or received?
“The whole business of writing is to live with doubt: to do what you don’t know how to do, to place yourself continually in a situation of ignorance and inelegance” – Peter Carey. Not exactly advice, but it’s very reassuring, especially from a big guy in the business.

The website is still a work in progress, but Charles Tan, of the Bibliophile Stalker blog and a few hundred (minor exaggeration) others,  has announced that the ebook version of his new reprint anthology, “The Best of Philippine Speculative Fiction 2009″ is now available for free download. You can choose from either the PDF edition or the EPUB edition. (If you have the Stanza desktop ebook reader you can export the EPUB file to different file formats–say, if you want a .mobi file for your Kindle/Kindle reader, although such conversions usually junk the formatting). The anthology has cover art Elbert Or, a cover design by Adam David, (who also did the PDF layout and design) qith the Web and EPUB layout handled by Dominique Gerald Cimafranca.

Sixteen stories from fifteen authors, selected by one of the most well-read and difficult-to-please critics in the country–all for free? What are you waiting for?

Charles is the co-editor (alongside Mia Tijam) of the Philippine Speculative Fiction Sampler, which was released in 2008.  I hope that this is the start of an annual compilation (and I hope that this isn’t the only yer a story of mine qualifies ^_^)

Here’s the full table of contents. Congratulations to Charles and all those involved:

• Summation 2009 by Charles Tan
• The Fires of the Sun in a Crystalline Sky by Francezca C. Kwe
• The Day the World Lost Its Gravity by Camsy Ocumen
• Strange Weather by Dean Francis Alfar
• The Sewing Project by Apol Lejano-Massebieau
• Lex Talionis by Paolo Chikiamco
• Isa by Marianne Villanueva
• Spelling Normal by Mia Tijam
• Daddy by Yvette Tan
• From Abecediarya by Adam David
• The Annotated Account of Tholomew Mestich by Elyss G. Punsalan
• Beats by Kenneth Yu
• Wildwater by Crystal Koo
• Moondown and Fugue by Alexander Drilon
• The Maiden’s Song by Kate Aton-Osias
• Capture by Gabriela Lee
• The Secret Origin of Spin-man by Andrew Drilon

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
  

Table of Contents:

* The Startbox by Crystal Koo

* The Saint of Elsewhere: A Mystery by chiles samaniego

* Mouths to Speak, Voices to Sing by Kenneth Yu

* The Coming of the Anak-Araw by Celestine Trinidad

* The Child Abandoned by Yvette Tan

~ Coverart by Kevin Lapeña

Psyched yet? I know I am.  See you all tomorrow at 11 for the launch! See issue #1 here!

• The deadline of the Pinoy Story Writing Contest has been extended to October 17;
• Pinoy Transgressive, a website devoted to the publication and promotion of “transgressive literature” has launched, with words by Carljoe Javier, Jonathan Jimena Siason, Karl de Mesa, Marguerite Alcazaren de Leon, and Norman Wilwayco;
• Spec (and all-things-experimental) Fic author Adam David has been nominated in the National Book Awards in the Best Book Design category;
• The Bookbabble podcast interviewed Filipina Spec Fic author Crystal Koo.
• Underpass, a new graphic novel anthology from industry heavyweights such as Gerry Alanguilan, David Hontiveros, Ian Sta. Maria, Budjette Tan, Kajo Baldisimo, and Oliver Pulumbarit will make its debut at the Komikon. You can also check out a list of other komiks launching at komikon at the Komikero blog;
• In other komiks news, Trese #3 has been printed and should be in the grubby hands of pre-ordering fanatics (like myself) some time this week;
• Wired points out some functions which will not be present in the International Kindle (if used outside of the US from what I gather);
• John Scalzi is running a quick writing contest on his AMC blog;
• Via technovelgy, we’ve got word that parts of The Periodic Table of Science Fiction (a collection of 118 rather short stories by Michael Swanwick) are now online.
• I’ve also received word via Yvette Tan’s Twitter that the special Horror Issue of Philippine Genre Stories (which she guest edits) is ready, although the Charles Tan informs us that the issue doesn’t appear to be out in the wild yet. Hopefully the news at least means that the release is imminent;
• Speaking of Yvette, her story “Seek Ye Whore,” which came out in Rogue magazine’s July 2008 issue was long listed in Ellen Datlow’s new annual horror anthology. She’s also guest-editor at UNO Magazine (a men’s magazine so searching it out may be NSFW) this month, has an interview at the FHM (also a men’s magazine) website and has a feature on “”Waking the Dead” in Garage magazine. She does get around doesn’t she? ^_^
• EDIT: Whoops almost forgot this–we can expect a new book on Philippine Folklore (can never have enough of those) soon, as the book proposal of Dianne de las Casas and Zarah Gagatiga was approved.

Tell us a bit about your story “Wildwater”:

As far as theme goes, it’s about an emigre who returns to his homeland with an misdirected sense of responsibility and an inferiority complex regarding his own people which goes too far.

How did you hear about the Farthest Shore anthology?

I check on Dean Alfar and Joey Nacino’s blogs and they had posted calls for submissions.

Prior to that, had you ever written a secondary world story before?

Plenty of them. The first serious one I had written was way back in high school, in sword-and-sorcery, Middle-Earth fashion complete with mythologies and family trees and kingdoms that rose and fell; that was the only kind of fantasy I knew how to write then and I wrote those kinds of stories in a series. Since then I’ve been focusing on other kinds of fantasy writing as well but I still regularly write secondary-world stories, though I’ve moved away from the sword-and-sorcery genre.

I think we read the same kinds of books/series when we were young then. Do you think you’ll ever revisit those earlier works, spruce them up with your knew writer-ly skills and send them out? I’d love to read a Filipino made sword and sorcery series myself.

Haha, if I ever do revisit them, I’d have to do a complete overhaul. They were all very derivative of Lord of the Rings and Greek mythology.

How long did it take you to write the story?

It took me around a week to write and edit the story into a first “final” draft. Then I left it alone for a few months and tinkered with it here and there afterward.

What aspect of the writing did you enjoy the most?

Lots, actually. One is that the story is structured as a letter addressed to members in a court of law and is clearly meant to be
persuasive, which made the story easier to write because of the clear direction. The other is that the protagonist comes from a race of “gilled” humans – like the sort that pops up once in a while in provincial gossip back home in the Philippines, along with babies born with webbed feet. I also enjoyed writing about the orinu, which I imagined to be scaly killer whales, and the orinu trade.

How in-depth do you develop a secondary world before you tell a story in it? Do you flesh out a history and a culture first before you start on characters and plot, or does the world grow from what you need to tell a particular story?

It grows from what I need to tell the story. Otherwise I get too caught up in inventing histories and cultures that the plot finds itself all of a sudden in the backseat, which I try to avoid.

What aspect did you find most difficult?

Cooking up a credible way [Ed. Note: spoiler deleted for your safety dear reader] without making it overly melodramatic.

Were there any particular sources of inspiration for your story?

I wrote the story in 2007, when I was still studying in Sydney, and the concept of studying abroad as a first step to immigration was a constant preoccupation for me because Australia is such a hotspot for Asians who are looking to do that sort of thing, particularly in my university, hence the theme. Stylistically, I’d say maybe Ursula K. Le Guin.

Are you working on any new stories or projects now?

Yes. I’m in the middle of revising a short story called “The Startbox” for the Usok e-zine [Ed. Note: Watch for it this October folks, here at Rocket Kapre], and also a short story called “The Likeness of God” which I’ll be sending out to the market soon in hopes of a possible publication. I’m also working on a collaboration for a second play to be performed onstage in Hong Kong.

If you could write in a secondary world created by another (literary, television etc.), which world would that be? What kind of story would you write? (‘cors if you’ve actually written secondary world fanfic, feel free to plug it here ^_^)

As a teenager, I wrote Lord of the Rings fanfics and a boatload of anime fanfics that included the secondary worlds of Vandread, Gensoumaden Saiyuki, and (I’m clearly not holding back here) Akazukin Chacha, as well as stories that were blatant rip-offs of Star Wars. I haven’t written fanfics for a while, but I’d probably enjoy writing in Neil Gaiman’s The Dreaming from the Sandman series, if that can count as secondary despite its connections with the primary world.

Vandread! OK, I totally need to search out your fanfics now. One final, very important question then: Dita, Meia or Jura (If you answer Misty I shall be forced to kill you)?*

So unfair, that’s not a very representative range of choices! Very well, Meia then, though I still think she broods more than necessary.

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Thanks for agreeing to do the interview Crystal! You can find a list of Crystal’s published works, including some that are available online, on her Author’s page here at Rocket Kapre.

*Ed. Note: These are the lead female characters of the Vandread anime. Sorry guys, I just had to ask.*