not easy

Philsprint Publishing, publisher of my soon-to-be-out novella called L (the editors may give it a new title, but for me it's L), has expressed intention on commissioning me for another story. "How's that, dude?" the editor-in-chief said. "Easy money." "Why not?" I retorted. "Sounds cool." Indeed... except for that "easy money" crack. Since when writing has become easy? As journalist/biographer Gene Fowler said, "Writing is easy. All you do is stare at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead." That speaks volumes, man. By the way, I got that from a Bob Ong book.

So next Friday I'll meet with this editor-in-chief in Market! Market! where he and his crew hold office. And then I'll see from there.

good news

Now I really owe Jack Kerouac a bottle of wine, if only that gloomy bastard is still around...

My review on his book, Desolation Angels ("Solitude Becomes Beautiful in Kerouac's 'Desolation Angels'"), which became a weekly winner in Philippine Star-National Bookstore's "My Favorite Book" writing contest, has been picked as one of the five Honorable Mention awards for 2006. Which means GCs, man, among other prizes. Garland's The Beach, come to Butt-head, nya-ha! Also an Irvine Welsh, yes. Maybe a Pynchon or a Coupland or a Burke. Borges? Hmm... A Bret Easton Ellis, why not? Kinky Friedman! Kurt Vonnegut! More Carl Hiaasen! Stephen King's Cell, finally. And, of course, the soon-to-be-released Harry Potter book for my ever-supportive wife. (I'm still undecided on Kerouac's Beat Generation. I'm not really heavy into plays.)

Anyway, the awarding ceremony will be on Feb. 27, 2pm, at the NB branch in Shangri-la Plaza Mall. See me wearing tux - Not!

erotica

Just for the heck of it, and because somebody promised to pay me for an output, I'm trying my hand on some erotic writing - in tagalog! Where one writes "ari/titi/puke" instead of "genitalia/penis/pussy," and hopes his friends will not label him a pervert. If things pan out my first novelette, L na L, will hit selected stores this March. (The original title was L until the publisher - the power that be in the wonderful world of book publishing - insisted on L na L, presumably for marketing purposes.) It's a good story, if I am to beat my chest a little here. At least it's better than many tagalog novelettes currently out there, including those that do not fall under the erotica banner. I urge folks - especially the intellectuals, morallists and Bible-thumpers, as well as the snobs who consider literature written in the vernacular corny - to give my work a whirl before coming up with a comment. Otherwise, just shut up, man. Don't be like Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, who huffed and puffed against The Da Vinci Code last year even though, by his own admission, he hasn't read a word from the book. Better horny than dumb, right?