I’ve been a fan of Eliza Victoria for the longest time. At the risk of sounding like a total hipster, I’ll confess something: I actually met Ate Eliza through Plurk. That little ancient thing where you had to keep posting to gain karma with that dancing banana gif to cheer you on. Another confession: I can’t recall much, but I think I randomly followed her when I was scrolling through my friend’s feed and thought it would be nice to have a few extra followers.
Don’t judge. I was 16 and had lived on the internet for grand total of 4 years. Strangers weren’t scary!
Moving on.
Through the years I’ve hopped onto Twitter, and eventually adding her on Facebook, I have seen nothing but beauty in her words.
A third confession: I haven’t read as much as I have wanted since starting college and transitioning to medical school. It was and is hard to juggle time. But almost always I ended up making time for writing. Her prose pulls you in and once you’re done you’re left there with your thoughts repeating the details in her story. It’s been rare for me to encounter fiction like that these days. Her themes usually revolve around the supernatural of the Philippines, comparable to Budjette Tan and Mervin Malonzo’s take on our myths. The difference is her utilization of the fantastical or horrific in a modern setting, spun sentences so well-crafted the terror creeps into your spine and leaves you cold. Her poetry is food for thought. I think the best thing I can about her is that there is grace in her writing that so few have the gift of. I eagerly await for her each new work.
And I was happy when I saw on my dash when she posted about new upcoming work!
With permission, this is the synopsis of her new book, Wounded Little Gods:
Regina was born and raised in the small town of Heridos, where gods and spirits walked the earth.
Until they didn’t.
Ten years ago, the whole town produced a bad harvest—rice grains as black as soot—and the people of the town moved on, away from the soil and the farms, believing the gods and spirits have abandoned them.
It is ten years later, on a Friday before a long weekend, and Regina ends her shift at an office in Makati. She walks home with a new colleague named Diana. Diana, following a strange and disturbing conversation with Regina, does not appear at the office on Monday, and the day after that.
And the day after that.
On Thursday, Regina opens her bag and finds a folded piece of paper filled with Diana’s handwriting.
On the page are two names and a strange map that will send Regina home.
If you’re familiar with her work Unseen Moon and A Bottle of Storm Clouds this something you should definitely look forward to.
Wounded Little Gods comes out sometime this year under the banner of Visprint Inc.
Bonus: Click here for her short fiction an poetry bibliography.
Cover Art and Design by Jap Mikel
http://japmikel.tumblr.com/
japmikel@gmail.com
Source: elizavictoria.com
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Nice. Another fellow medical student here. You should also check out After Lambana when it comes out. It's a comic book. The story was made by Eliza Victoria while the illustrations were made by Mervin Malonzo. :)