Here is some art I comissioned for the book by ColourAnomaly and Enid Din.
-
-
Will you be mine?
-
How long did it take to write this book? I wrote the first draft in 2016, and I sold it to a publisher in 2021. It went through more than 13 revisions in between – mainly because I didn’t have a good revision process in place. I drafted 2 new books between 2016 and 2021, but I kept coming back to The Moonlight Blade. There are a lot of books and free resources on writing, but not so many on editing. Through all the trial and error, I learned how to edit a complete manuscript, and what method works for…
-
Note: Mild spoilers ahead! A dozen harried candidates line up in the great hall. We are specks of faded color against white marble, just the crumbs of those who began the competition. I can no longer tell who was rich or who was poor. All of us are changed, our expressions raging from haggard, to wary, to haunted. My face is a mask I don’t recognized. My skin is flecked small cuts where leaves whipped past me in the demon storm, and what little softness there once was feels as if it’s been scoured away. “You may be aware of…
-
AKA We’re All Going to Die, So Let’s Eat Cake Note: No spoilers here, but I do recommend reading the book first so you know who everyone is. “You came!” Virian leaves a ring of flour all over my fine dress, and remains unapologetic about it. There’s flour in her hair, and on her nose, and Dayen is spooning pure sugar into his mouth. “Of course, its Dayen’s birthday and I promised.” I do not feel festive, but for them, I try on a tired smile. The kitchen staff glances at the trio of us now and again, and keep…
-
It’s writing craft time! Beginnings are critical, because if you don’t nail them, no one’s going to flip to the next page in your story. The goal of a good beginning: make the reader curious about what will happen next. Sound simple? But how do you do that? I think every opening should do at least one of these things (but usually more): When I set out to write this novel, I really didn’t know how to write a compelling opening scene so I decided to try writing all the beginnings I could possibly imagine (9), and I learned a lot…
-
A friend of mine created a playlist for The Moonlight Blade, and it is PERFECT. There’s a mix of traditional and modern music in multiple genres. Maybe you’ll find a new favorite in here. Some of it is in English, but some is not. The set list is in the photo, and links below!
-
Warning! These maps are not 100% accurate to the story, but should give you a general sense of where things go.
-
Main Characters Narra Jal 17 years old. Short and thin, with dark brown skin, dark brown eyes, and long straight black hair she usually wears in a low bun. She always wears a scarf to hide birthmarks that are flat black splotches that look like fingerprints on her neck. She also covers up her bare skin so that no one touches her. Kuran Jal 19 years old. Narra’s older sister. Tall, curvy, with dark brown eyes and skin. She smiles all the time and likes to wear wavy black hair loose. She usually wears an anklet with brass bells on…
-
Note: Because the Philippines is an archipelago with more than a hundred languages, the choice of words and spellings to use in this novel was not straightforward. I’ve included some variations here. Some words such as Datu are used in some regions, but different terms are used elsewhere. Some of these words don’t appear in the book, but are described (for example currency). Some words have Spanish origin (for example Reyna), but I have used them for ease of understanding or lack of an alternative. Anting-Anting – Charms made of wood, copper, bone, or brass, and worn for protection. May…
-
(Translation = It’s just a joke) For the non Tagalog speakers, here are some name puns and Easter eggs I snuck into the book: Arawan: Daily / Day by day / (araw = sun) Sunshine Bato ko: Bato (rock) + Ko (my) = My Rock Ina Ko: Ina (mother) + Ko (my) = My Mother Narra: A tree with yellow flowers. It is the national tree of the Philippines. This is important to know because [REDACTED]. Pulang Ilog: Red River Sundo: Fetch / Pick up / Follow up Tigang: Arid / Barren / Slang = “Thirsty“ Bonus Wordplay Astar =…
-
Here’s a visual reference for some of the fashion that is featured in The Moonlight Blade. Bahag – Loincloth worn by men, folded in a particular way to cover the genitals. The pattern and color can indicate tribe or status. It is worn without anything on top, to show off tattoos on the upper body. Photo: Gerhard Sisters 1904, Public Domain, Missouri History Museum Baro – A collarless long sleeved shirt or jacket, with an opening in the front. The figure to the left is wearing a baro and tapis. Illustration: Boxer Codex (16th Century Spanish manuscript), Public Domain Batik – A fabric print technique that developed in…
-
This book has a lot of comfort food in it, mainly because I am always hungry ;D Most of it is contemporary Filipino food rather than historical, but that means you can easily find recipes online. Click the images to go to the recipes!
-
THE MOONLIGHT BLADE is a book informed by pre-colonial Filipino culture, but it is a fantasy born from a What if? What if magic was real? What if the Spanish never came and disappeared kingdoms, social classes, customs, religions, and even our names? Who might we have become? So much of our pre-colonial culture was lost or intentionally destroyed. Today, there are historians doing reconstruction work from contradictory and fragmented sources, but is not always easily accessible. What is accessible is often colonial or created by outsider perspectives, which is problematic for different reasons. I love studying history, and though…
-
The purpose of a query is to get an agent or editor interested enough to request the full or partial manuscript. Not all books lend themselves well to being summarized this way, but it’s easier to sell a book if you can. There are 4 main sections in a query: 1) Metadata: This part includes word count, genre, title, why you’re querying this agent. Book comps go here too if you’re using them. For example, “This book would appeal to fans of [X].” or “This book is [X] meets [Y].” Some people prefer to add this section after the pitch,…