new fiction: the malaya

I have a new story out in the November 29 issue of the Philippines Free Press: "Report HC-IK017785A-0097B-006 de Ocampo: Survey of artifacts found in the derelict vessel 'The Malaya'".
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Notes on a fMRIS scan, attributed to Dr. Jocelyn Montemayor (vessel’s physician); extracted from Montemayor’s audio logs

MONTEMAYOR: …suggest subject’s ventral tegmental areas unusually inactive. Begin note: test for quantities of dopamine in brain’s lower regions. May be answer for subject’s intense craving and audial hallucination. End note. Scan suggests subject’s nucleus accumbens, higher and forward than the ventral tegmental, is producing extraordinary amounts of oxytocin. Begin note. Oxytocin is the body’s most powerful bonding element, test others as well. End note. Scan suggests pronounced activity in subject’s caudate nucleus as well. Begin note: What’s going on? The caudate nucleus is associated with maladaptation and obsessive behavior. Are the sounds various subjects reported hearing be linked? Can something heard affect us like this? Can sound be a vector of sorts? This does not look good. End note.

litcritter readings for december 6, 2008

The last LitCritter Session for the year is on December 6, 2008 at the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Robinsons Galleria at 2PM.

Here are the stories we'll talk about (clicking on the title takes you straight to the story source):

Gift of the Kites by Jim C. Hines (Clarkesworld Magazine)
Mermaid Baby by Sara Orton (The Summerset Review)
Just Like the Singing Cod by Mark Bastable (Bewildering Stories)
The Fiery Dragon by Edith Nesbit (Serendipity)

Visit the sites, read the stories, then join us for an afternoon of thoughtful (and often fun) discussion.

psf 4 publication and launch moved to feb 09

Due to timing, scheduling and production issues, Philippine Speculative Fiction IV's publication is moved to February 2009.

For the past three years, we've managed to get the annual out in December, but this year we simply aren't able to. I'd rather we delay a bit to ensure a quality publication than put out something subpar.

I'm unhappy with this, of course (the structured/scheduling especially so), but them's da breaks.

And now, back to the grind.

litcritters session

The next LitCritters is scheduled for 2PM on November 22, 2008 at the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Robinsons Galleria.

We'll be discussing:

Lostronaut by Jonathan Lethem
The Only Known Jump Across Time by Eugene Mirabelli
The Water-Poet and the Four Seasons by David J. Schwartz
A Spell for Twelve Brothers by Erzebet Yellowboy


If you aren't a LitCritter, just sign up here. You're more than welcome to join us.

tan & tijam's philippine speculative fiction sampler

Editors Charles Tan and Mia Tijam's Philippine Speculative Fiction Sampler is live! Charles and Mia read through the published output of the last 4 years and now present their selections to a broader audience via this virtual anthology (with a kickass cover by award-winning artist Andrew Drilon).

I'm delighted that a number of stories come from the first three volumes of the annual that Nikki and I co-edit.

Go check it out.

kid lit

My first children's book has been picked up a publisher and is due to come out around the first half of next year.

I'm grateful to the editor for selecting my story and am quite excited to see it illustrated (the standard layout is 14 spreads, which means something like 14 color illustrations).

This is quite encouraging - I'm thinking of shopping around my other story, to see what happens. And I hope to write a new one or two in near future (maybe the Christmas break?).

More details soon.

litcritters session

Our next session is this Saturday, November 8, 2PM at the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Robinsons Galleria.

Here's the reading list:

Phosphorescence by Tessa Hadley
Death Comes But Twice by Mary Robinette Kowal
Immortal Snake by Rachel Pollack
Annabelle's Alphabet by Tim Pratt

So read up and see you there (if you aren't a LitCritter, just sign up here).