It has become a matter of great concern among overseas Filipinos that the money they send to the Philippines has unwittingly been fostering a pensionado attitude among their beneficiaries. Even worse, a culture of mendicancy.

It is in this context that the programs and projects of the Foundation for Aid to the Philippines, Inc. (FAPI), a private non-profit organization based in Maryland, deserve recognition and emulation.



A Writer Worth Writing About
By Anthony E. Maddela

Bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz brings teenaged vampires and their immortal longings to life.

The many readers who were introduced to Melissa de la Cruz, age 38, by her profile in Entertainment Weekly’s vampire issue on July 31, 2009 have lots of reading to catch up on.

Published by Disney imprint Hyperion, the Blue Bloods series is the latest of several novels Melissa has authored since her first, Cat’s Meow, was released by Simon and Schuster in 2001. That book displayed her uniquely Filipina gift for the absurd in a work she describes as “P.G. Wodehouse meets Sex in the City.” Melissa’s eye for the inane soon went into investigative mode in 2003 with the nonfiction exposé on overexposure she co-wrote with Karen Rabinovitz, How to Become Famous in Two Weeks or Less (Random House), which originated from an eponymous article in Marie Claire.

There are stories all around us, though we may not always hear them. Author and playwright Merlinda Bobis considers it her job to listen. If stories are like music, Merlinda listens to even the quietest of murmurings, keeping her ear tuned to the small, human experiences that often go unrecognized. Everyday moments of tenderness, suffering, cruelty, and bravery inspire her most. “It’s the story that we stumble upon, or sometimes don’t see or don’t comprehend, that snags us into some conspiracy of feeling, of passion,” she says.

Journalist and Mistress of the Dark: The Enigma That Is Yvette Tan
By Alex G. Paman

The art of juggling is a skill seldom associated with writers. But for freelance scribe Yvette Tan, it best describes her life as a journalist. When not contributing to a seemingly endless stream of newspapers, magazines (including Filipinas), and even television shows, this self-described media mercenary and obsessive foodie even finds time to write a blog for the GMA network website.

Yvette Tan and fan favorite author Neil Gaiman

Journalist and Mistress of the Dark: The Enigma That Is Yvette Tan
By Alex G. Paman

The art of juggling is a skill seldom associated with writers. But for freelance scribe Yvette Tan, it best describes her life as a journalist. When not contributing to a seemingly endless stream of newspapers, magazines (including Filipinas), and even television shows, this self-described media mercenary and obsessive foodie even finds time to write a blog for the GMA network website.

Not known to many is the fact that Yvette is the Philippines' most celebrated horror fiction writer, soon to release her first anthology, "Waking the Dead and Other Stories," from Anvil Publishing.

"I have no routine," she says. "Generally, I make a list of things that I have to do the night before and cross them out as the day goes along. If I can do more than what's on the list, even better. I'm a freelancer, so the more projects I have ongoing, the better."

The eldest of three siblings, Yvette was born to parents from the Philippines, but three of her grandparents hailed from China's Fujian province. "My maternal grandmother comes from Bulacan," she adds.

She attended the University of the Philippines, Diliman, earning a business degree in Film and Audio Visual Communication, as well as an MA in Comparative Literature. Her stories, interviews, and short fiction have appeared in the Sunday Times, Free Press, Rogue Magazine, Sunday Inquirer, Sleepless in Manila, Kiddie Magazine , as well as the Philippine Genre Stories and Philippine Speculative Fiction anthologies.  

Yvette has won two prestigious Palanca Awards in 2003, one for "Sidhi" in the Future Fiction category, and for "Kulog," for Children's Fiction. She also took second place in the 2007 Philippine Graphic/Literature Awards.

Her freelance work has led her to interview some of the entertainment industry's most famous celebrities, including Kris Aquino, Ruffa Guttierrez, Sarah Geronimo, Christian Bautista, Dennis Trillo, Richard Gutierrez and most everyone in the GMA 7 network.

Yvette approaches each interview with a mixture of professionalism and fan curiosity. "Basically, I'm always in giddy schoolgirl mode when it comes to my work. I'm always excited to meet new people, discover what makes them tick. I'm also always excited to hear that people like my work enough to remember the name behind the story."

Despite her busy schedule as a journalist, she makes it a point to tend to the fine craft of fiction writing.

The Workaholic as Writer
"A lot of people think writing is easy, but it's not, at least if you want to write well. Writing is mentally draining, which is worse than physically draining because mentally draining [work] means you're tired, but haven't lost any calories. That said, the most difficult thing about what I do is scheduling. I have to fit all my projects in, plus (have a) life. I have a hard time going off work mode. If you ask me to take a work-free vacation, I'd be miserable.

"(But) I love it when everything just flows and all I have to do is type whatever comes to mind. I hate it when the words don't come. Stick to the rules: less is more; show, don't tell; write what you'd like to read and break the rules only if you're good enough. Of course, lots of people have ignored these and have wound up on the bestseller list. I don't like using big words, unless I'm doing it for fun."

Ironically, Yvette's dream job would not be very different from her current routine. "What I'm doing right now, but on a bigger scale. I would love to make more money off my fiction. But even if I had the chance to make all my money from fiction, I think I'd still be writing for magazines, newspapers and corporations, because it's so much fun."

Rejection from publishers is an integral part of a writer's career. How does she feel one should deal with it? "Very critically. You have to allow yourself to feel bad. Afterwards, you have to decide whether the criticism was warranted or not, and if you're going to use it to make yourself better or not. A lot of people will point out your weak spots because they want you to be better, but there are also a lot of people out there who will put you down because they want to see you fail. You just have to figure out which is which. Use the good advice and discard the rest."

Then Along Came The Darkness
Growing up in a haunted house and developing an early fascination for the supernatural may have set her on the path to writing horror fiction, but it wasn't something Yvette   consciously chose to pursue. "I have no clue what turned me to horror. I was and still am easily scared. I just wrote what I wanted to write. It's other people who said I wrote horror. (But) I like the language, and the fact that anything can happen."

Although she has never seen a ghost, she has always experienced them in retrospect. "I'm glad my third eye is so dense," she says with relief.

She's even lectured on the subject, particularly for the Powerbooks/Talecraft card game lecture series, the Writer's Club for the University of the Philippines, and Immaculate Concepcion Academy. "The attendees tend to be of high school or college age, some a bit older. They most seemed to be interested in what makes a horror story. I try to tell them that there is no formula to it. My mantra is 'horror is not a genre, it's an emotion.'"

Yvette is also excited that horror is thriving in the Filipino mainstream. "There are books, TV shows and movies about it. The popular books tend to be about real-life experiences. The TV shows tend to be derivations of old formulas and again, of real-life experiences, but that's to be expected, given the format and the way things are run here. Everyone wants TV horror to be 'safe,' so I don't understand why they bother with the 'horror' in the first place, since isn't the point of horror not to be safe? There's a bit more leeway in the movies, though. I think it's because the popularity of Asian horror cinema has given writers and directors more room to move in. In terms of horror fiction, the market is picking up somewhat, though we're still in the exploratory stage, figuring out what we can do in terms of frights, monsters, etc. It's pretty exciting."

 "But people should be willing to experiment," she adds. "The big fear in TV and cinema is that a project won't make money, that's why everything is patterned after something that's already been done. If people stopped treating horror like a quick way to make money, or if they remembered that horror doesn't necessarily rely on big effects, we might get somewhere. A lot of directors go for the shock factor instead of atmosphere. While shock will have you screaming and throwing popcorn up in the air, it's atmosphere that will have you sleeping with the lights on for the next two months. It's a lot harder to do and the effects are more subtle, and if you're looking for a quick buck, those are the first things to go. If more producers and stations are willing to shell out for something with the right cast, crew, staff and time slot, then we'll start going places."

What advice would Yvette give prospective writers who are interested in entering this field? "Read a lot, not just in horror, but on anything you can get your hands on. The beauty of horror is that you can write about anything and anyone. Also, this is cliché, but never stop looking at the work from the point of view of a child. For kids, everything is an unknown and there is always something to be scared of. Plus, thinking like a child will keep you younger, too."

Right now, she's quite enthusiastic about the release of Waking the Dead and Other Stories , a collection of her published works. "I hope to accomplish what any writer wants to accomplish: that people pick it up, read it, and like what they read." She even aspires to win a Nobel Prize for writing a horror novel. "Why not?" she smiles.

Yvette Tan feels equally at home interviewing high-profile celebrities as she is spinning yarns about the supernatural. When asked what the most horrifying book she'd ever read is, she replied, "Have you read the Bible? God makes Stephen King look like self-help."

And to the critics who have been vocal throughout her career, she is eternally grateful. "For those who criticize my work because they think I can do better, I want to say thank you for your support and for taking time out to help me grow."

Her personal blog is glossmania.blogspot.com, and her website is www.yvettetan.com. You can also read her GMA blog at http://blogs.gmanews.tv/yvette-tan/

Alex G. Paman is a freelance writer based in Sacramento, California.