Bookshelf

Interzone 220 just dropped through the mail slot. I can't wait to read this issue. The TOC reads like a treat, and that cover is just stunning. has a story in this issue. I'm looking forward to reading that. A friend gave me my first year's subscription to Interzone and since then, I've been sort of hooked on the thing. There have been up and down moments, but each time I start to wonder whether it's worth keeping the subscription, they publish something awesome that makes me change my mind and decide to keep it after all.

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Reading shelf:

I've just finished reading Elizabeth Bear's "All the Windwracked Stars". I've only read the Jenny Casey novels, but this one was just begging to be read. I'm so glad I bought it. This novel just blew my breath away. I like how Bear doesn't shy away from the hurt her characters have to endure. I like that her endings aren't neat and happily ever after.

In this first month of the new year, I also read Nalo Hopkinson's "Brown Girl in the Ring". I plan to go and order more of Hopkinson's books. I love how her heritage shines through in this novel, and this is what I want to do in my own work too. I'm conscious of how I bring my cultural heritage with me, and I'll be very honest and say that for all the bad press my third-world home country gets, I am proud to be a Filipino.

Ahmed A. Khan's short story collection, "Sparks". I'm reading through this one bit at a time and will write down my thoughts on it soon. One reason I love the short form is how easy it is for the mom like me to get my shot of lit before heading on to the next mom job.

Brett Savory's short story collection, "No Further Messages". I like the energy in Savory's writing. So much so, I've ordered myself a copy of his first novel. I also like that he's offered to sign it too. Very cool. In case you haven't guessed yet, I am a sucker for signed stuff.

Eileen Tabios's latest poetry book, "The Blind Chatelaine's Keys". Anyone who knows me knows how much I love Eileen's work, and how much I treasure her for helping me find my way back to poetry. I am still conscious of my own shortcomings when it comes to writing poetry, but I also recognize how poetry is an essential part of my writing self. Eileen's approach to poetry as an engagement and as a way of life appeals to me a lot. I love how she sees poetry in everything. There is an intensity to her work that reaches out of the page and grabs the reader. It's hard for me to explain and while we may try to dissect what it is about a certain poem that works for us, the truth is...poetry that works just feels right somehow. Saying why may sometimes be necessary, but if you ask me, all that dissection is extraneous.

"Rice" is a book I'm reading which details the history of rice, includes legends/myths associated with rice, various practices during the harvest and planting seasons. I do know a lot about rice, but it's nice to read through this and discover how other provinces in the Philippines relate to rice.

"Mangyan Treasures" a compilation of the Ambahan of the Mangyan Tribe compiled and translated by Antoon Postma. This is one book I will always cherish. I met Antoon Postma in the Philippines and he seemed a lot more Filipino than Dutch. There's an intensity in his passion for the Filipino heritage that I wish all Filipinos would catch.

I've got a load of books in read, to read, and in order status. Can't remember them all right now. I realize how much I need to be educated in terms of the sf&f publications. So, I'm reading as much of the free online fiction as I can, and chasing down recommended readings. I really enjoyed writing this post. I am a true bookworm and the part I miss most about being at home is the talk that went on at the dinner table. This usually revolved around the books we'd read or were reading. Hopefully I'll be able to duplicate those booktalk moments with my kids as they grow older.

celebrating christmas

Took the boys over to Grandpa and Grandma's house where we cooked dinner for them. Slices of salmon with fried gambas and stir-fried veggies. Yum. Nice and light. None of that overstuffed feeling, which is a good sign.

Simple Christmas celebration. Under our borrowed tree, we parked Samuel's dream car. A Lightning McQueen thing that makes sounds when buttons are pressed. He loves the thing so much, it's gone everywhere with us today. A plus was getting this car at half-price because I went to the shop at the right day...the day when this car was on a day special. Cool, huh.

Yesterday, I bought a paper from a homeless person. I stood there thinking of how misfortune can happen no matter how hard we struggle and fight against it. Buying the paper from the homeless person may not provide a roof over his/her head, but it will at least help them in some little way. And, at least these people are trying.

Earlier this year, I bought a paper from a homeless guy in Utrecht. He was very honest about why he'd become homeless. But he was trying. And he was very proud of having written some poetry and that the poetry he'd written was published in the paper he was selling. It wasn't bad either. I know, I read the poem.

Anyway, all these homeless people, made me think of how lucky we are to have a roof over our heads and of how it's quite easy to be misled into thinking that christmas joy is all about presents. Truly, it's all about sharing time with those who are dear to us.

No Playstation 3's, no X-Boxes, no DS's, no Wii's were bought by this household this month. When I look at the generations of game consoles, I have to think of how society is so brainwashed into believing that the newest is the best...when the truth is...there will always be something else that is the best next year. So why waste your money on expendable crap when what makes kids really happy is time spent together.

updating the blog

It's been quite a while since I last updated this blog. I was on slow dialup for a while as we were in the process of moving servers.

Updates:

My review of Lone Star Stories #30 has been published on The Fix.

While I was offline, I made my first professional sale. I sold my Pink Elephant Story to Fantasy Magazine. I was tickled pink when I got this news. Needless to say, I'm really looking forward to seeing the story on there as this is my tribute to my fellow Villa Diodatians.

I've kept up the momentum of writing one story every other week, and worked on my Clarion Application stories. My story package is ready for submission. I'm hoping I qualify for some scholarship, as that will be a really huge help. I also think I've really got to work really hard at selling more stories. Ha, ha, ha.

I'm quite pleased with my application stories. One of them is a tribal fantasy mix. It combines the Ambahan of the Mangyan with the culture/language of the Ifugao. Pretty Philistine (I know), but that's why I'm a specfic writer.

One bummer was my laptop breaking down for no reason at all. We took it back to the shop as it's still under warranty. Hopefully they'll keep true to their word and have it done by this week. I miss the danged thing.

Gym stuff: I've been on this sports program for almost ten weeks, and I'm proud to say I've lost 4.5 kilos. I'm going for the slow and steady thing. Color me turtle. Someday, I will be at my preferred weight of 60 kilos.

I've been trying to resign-up for the Flips group (since our email addy is now changed), but keep getting fault messages. What am I doing wrong?

thinking of christmas

I've spent almost the entire day looking for a place to celebrate christmas. And by this I mean, somewhere that isn't The Netherlands. It's really funny how this celebrating christmas has turned into some sort of obsession...

Then, I found this article: http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Philippines/Manila/blog-340493.html

And I knew why it was so important... I miss home...

I miss the get-togethers, the christmas carolling, the jingles, the cheer that seems to infect everyone, the being with your family and loved ones...

I miss all of that...

And the thing is, no matter what I do...

All of that just isn't here.

what happened in our little town

Lynn Austin came to our little town yesterday. Who's Lynn Austin? She's an internationally bestselling christian author who I interviewed sometime ago for The Sword Review. I did a voice and mail interview with her and she was very warm, gracious and accommodating.

The last time we talked, she'd asked me what I was working on. I told her I was working on a poetic memoir. I said that I doubted it's marketability, but well it was what I had to write anyway and that was more important than marketting. To which, she said that when it got published I should send her a copy. A year after that conversation, OMF Lit, Philippines picked up Echoes from my New Home and included these pieces in Hope Away from Home.

Seeing as that interview was in 2006, I doubted that Lynn would remember me. Still, she was coming to my town and I knew I had to see her. I brought her my last copy of Hope Away from Home. (We had shipped over a good number of books for the launching in February, but all those books have sold and I had only one left.)

There was a very long line of people at the bookshop. Later, the bookshop owner told us that there had been about a hundred people that evening. They had sold more than a hundred books, and there were still a lot of books that they'd held back for people who'd phoned in and asked for a signature. (author appearances really make for sales, don't they?)

I think I irritated the woman behind me with my constant looking towards the entrance. I was waiting for my sister-in-law, but she'd been doubtful about whether she would be in time, so I thought, if she didn't make it I would get her a signed book and if she did make it, I'd just move to the back and keep her company. The moment my sis-in-law arrived (which was almost closing time) I jumped to the back which was really great because I could relax and not worry about holding up the line when it was my turn to get my books signed.

Anyway, it was great meeting Lynn Austin in person. She was just as warm and gracious as she'd been on the phone and she remembered me. Which was really, really cool of her.

Here's a pic of me with Lynn Austin:



And here's a pic of her opening my present which was a candle holder from the Philippines. It's one of those holders made out of capiz. I loved the spontaneity of her reaction when she opened the present. She liked it :)

Got this icon from Iconator where they have some really cool elephant avatars. I've been working on an Elephant story, and have posted it to the Online Writing Workshop.

You did it!

Yes, America. You did it!

Sometime around 5 a.m. (Dutch time) the radio came on with news of Barack Obama's victory. America's first Black President.

As a person of color, I couldn't help but cheer and feel a bit emotional, even if I am not a US citizen.

My Mom was so enthusiastic about Obama's victory, she called me up from The Philippines just to check if I'd seen it on CNN.

"Did you see it?" she asked. "Isn't it wonderful?"

Yes, Mom. It is wonderful :)