Alon

I always had these made-up characters in my head for the longest time. I can't remember all of them, but they are buried deep in my thoughts. At some times in a day, faces, and details of the characters I imagined would pop in my head, only for them to vanish again in the next few minutes.

There were a lot of them, some I named after songs, some I named after my favorite Apex Legend, some of them are named after poems that I have read...some have blue eyes.. some have red hair.. some can pull big-ass swords out of their sweater holes.. and some can turn invisible but only when someone's not looking (trust me, I come up with such random characters with silly powers)

Now, I'm writing this short novel, hoping that I could give justice to these characters. To give them life.. to give them a voice.. a passion.. a lover.. and a reason for being created. I don't want them caged in my head.

I always took inspiration from Quentin Tarantino's works, and I am hoping to navigate in the same direction as him, though I am in a completely different vessel, far smaller than his. But it's always good to start with something.

If you guys have read The Copper Gauntlet and The Magician, you can tell that I took inspiration from those two books as well. I always fancied teenage people having magical powers in a modern setting (like David Stutler in the Sorcerer's Apprentice film back in 2010).

Now, I take you to the story of Aloy, a normal teenage boy, who finds himself snared between factions with roots in Philippine folkore.. This story is still a work in progress, and it's not perfect. And yes, the cover image needs some re-work, I bought it online, from one of those Facebook groups for writers.. I'm hoping to get a digital artist soon and to use this platform as a way to eventually publish this book.

Again, what you're reading now, and what you're about to read next isn't perfect. But I hope you'll still enjoy it nevertheless.