You’ll notice that my last post on this website was my eligibility post for 2016. To be honest, I’m incredibly grateful to simply have any work out this year at all. The last two years were very challenging for me writing-wise, but I luckily had some time earlier this year to work on a few stories!
Short Story
Asphalt, River, Mother, Child
Strange Horizons, October 8, 2018 | 7,000 words
He falls asleep for the first time since the little girl died. In his dream the old woman passes him a cup of her granddaughter’s blood. She tells him to drink it, and calls him a sinner.
This story is about death in Manila. It’s also about family, and fear, and action. It was my own small struggle against helplessness. I’m not sure publishing it has made a difference, but if I can get even one more person to become more aware of what’s happening in my country, then I’m incredibly grateful. I owe inspiration to the Impunity Series on Rappler, by Patricia Evangelista, and to Dimas Ilaw’s amazing essay, “The Shape of Darkness As It Overtakes Us.”
Novelette
How to Swallow the Moon
Uncanny Magazine, Issue 25, November/December 2018 | 11,300 words
When your mother was a girl, there were still two moons. Like Bathala’s eyes, she would say, working a long blade over her fire. You always imagine Mother the same way: sweat shining on her brow, curls plastered against her neck and cheeks, sparks dancing at her elbows. At her throat glints the amulet you now wear. On her sturdy neck, it was more like a choker, the bright pendant reflecting forge fire.
This is my indulgent princess/knight/dragon story, except featuring female Filipino warriors in a fantasy world inspired by precolonial Philippines. I can’t explain why writing this was so difficult, except it was. I would be honored if you read it and gained something from it. It’s about resistance and rewriting your own story. It’s also about love and overcoming one’s fear of it. (The main character would absolutely blush if she saw me writing this.)
Thank you for reading my stories, and for the consideration! I’m in the middle of an intense grad school program at the moment and some days it’s really hard to remember that I’m a writer, so the support and encouragement means more than you know. I’m especially grateful to everyone who was there to read my work after my long hiatus. Thank you so, so much. <3