00:00 A new Filipino children's book takes readers to a magical journey through the fantasy world.
00:07 Lulusinagtala and the City of Noble Warriors was released January 9th and it's the brainchild of award-winning and best-selling children's book author Gail Villanueva.
00:17 Gail is with us right now in the studio to tell us more about it. Hi, Gail. Good morning and thanks for being here.
00:22 Thank you for having me.
00:24 And congratulations. What an exciting new chapter, literally, in your career.
00:31 Well, let's talk about this. You started publishing novels just a few years ago, which is quite interesting.
00:35 Your debut novel, My Fate According to the Butterfly, was launched in 2019, just in 2019.
00:41 And then you have your Sugar and Spite and Writing in Color. Now, Lulusinagtala and the City of Noble Warriors. Wow, you've been busy.
00:49 Well, there's nothing much you can do when there's a pandemic going on.
00:54 That's the interesting part. I mean, you, well, I assume you have been writing, you know, all your life.
01:00 But you've not been a published author in that sense until this period.
01:06 You know what? I've actually been a web designer for many years.
01:11 Right, right. But you've been blogging and writing online.
01:14 But still, having a printed book with pages that you turn, that must be something special.
01:21 Yeah. Tell us about that.
01:23 It was a dream. It's always been my dream to have a book out.
01:27 Like, I'm not exactly the fastest learner when I was younger, when it came to reading.
01:35 But somehow my grandmother taught me and my mom were able to help me, like, associate words with pictures.
01:43 So, once I started, like, you know, it opened up a whole world of so many, so much magic, everything.
01:53 So, since then, I just decided, you know what? I want to write a book of my own.
01:58 Right. And it obviously was the right decision to make. I mean, it's been so well received.
02:02 You've created the legions of fans. And we'll talk about some of their letters to you.
02:09 But let's talk about this latest book. I understand it's rooted in Tagalog or Filipino mythology.
02:14 Particularly Tagalog mythology.
02:16 Tagalog mythology. Okay. Help us understand that distinction and why did you sort of focus on that?
02:20 Well, for one thing, my mom is from Nueva Ecija. My dad, Bulaceno.
02:26 So, I'm like a combination of the two, Tagalog.
02:30 And I've been living all my life in Metro Manila. So, it just felt natural for me to focus on this region.
02:41 And honestly, I feel like I should give respect to other regions as well.
02:50 Because I don't believe that there's just a single representation of Filipino myth.
03:00 Absolutely. Seven thousand plus islands. There's got to be seven thousand plus different stories.
03:04 Is there anything about children's books, kid-lit, that attracted you to want to sort of operate in that sphere, in that world?
03:16 I love reading children's books. Okay, I'll admit. I mean, I don't know.
03:21 I get scared when it's like too thick. And there's like two tiny letters.
03:26 And I'm like, "Oh, I'm probably not going to read that."
03:29 But, I don't know. It's just something about the hope that it brings.
03:36 Because I haven't read a children's book that didn't end, at least with hope.
03:41 Sometimes, it's a sad ending, but it's still hopeful.
03:46 So, I think that's the thing that I really love about it. It ends hopefully.
03:50 Okay. You know, this book and many of your other books have strong female characters as the lead, which is great.
03:58 I think it's really nice that you're modeling these characters that kids can look up to.
04:04 Tell us a little about your main character here and the trials and adventures that she will have.
04:10 Lulu is literally super strong, like Bernardo Carpio strong.
04:17 So, I felt like most of the time, you know, like the typical Maria Clara image of a – you have to be like polite, kind, proper.
04:31 But Lulu is like –
04:32 A young soul that needs rescuing.
04:34 Yeah.
04:35 Lulu is definitely not like that.
04:38 One side of the female psyche. The other, of course, is, yeah, strong, strength.
04:42 Yeah.
04:43 And somebody who gets out there and goes through the adventures herself.
04:46 What kind of adventures does she go through? What's the backbone story here?
04:50 Essentially, her mom gets kidnapped by a Wakwak.
04:54 Okay.
04:55 Yeah, and then –
04:56 It was last week, funnily enough. Yeah, go on.
04:58 Yeah, she gets kidnapped by a Wakwak, and then she discovers secrets about her family, her loved ones, about herself.
05:07 And in the process, she realizes that she's actually somebody who needs to save the world from this vengeful, evil spirit, maligno, who is like – who is set on his revenge.
05:24 He's like – he has this like huge grudge against the gods, against people.
05:30 It's so huge that he essentially could cause chaos in the universe, so Lulu has to face that.
05:37 And save the day.
05:38 Yeah, and save the day.
05:39 Okay. You create these fantastic, magical worlds, and it really does – you seem to inject magic in your stories so much.
05:47 What's the fascination with magic, fantasy, reaching sort of far back into our culture, into our history?
05:55 Why do you enjoy operating in that world?
05:58 Well, I don't know. As you know, a lot of us Filipinos are into – I mean, we're very superstitious.
06:08 Sure.
06:09 I mean, I personally believe that if you see a black butterfly, which is essentially the main plot point of my first book, is that if you see some –
06:19 That means something.
06:20 Something.
06:21 Something, someone.
06:22 Someone is going to die.
06:23 Someone is going to die. So like, I believe in myself, and there's magical in this world. Like, real magic.
06:30 And like, simple things. Like, some people would probably say it's coincidence, like, but I remember one time, there was this moment I was commuting,
06:39 and I couldn't just – it was like Christmas Eve, so I couldn't get a ride going home, but then out of the blue, I was like –
06:49 I was walking literally on the side of the road, and I was just so tired. And then just out of the blue, a taxi stopped in front of me and said,
06:58 "I'll bring you wherever you want." And then when he took me home, and he didn't even ask for money, he didn't charge me.
07:07 Look at that.
07:08 And he just said, "Merry Christmas."
07:09 That's a great story.
07:10 Yeah, I mean, it's miracles. Little miracles. I mean, those kinds – that's real magic.
07:15 Right.
07:16 And I feel like, you know, I want to bring to life real magic, and the magic that we read in stories.
07:22 Fantastic stuff. It seems like – you know, I looked at – I took a look at your site and looked at your bio, and how you live your day-to-day.
07:30 It looks really – it looks like such a fun place. I mean, there's a lot of –
07:34 We have a lot of animals.
07:35 You've got a lot of animals. There's a lot of whimsical characters in your life. And it's obviously the base for so many of the – so much of the writing that you do.
07:47 You've got a plushie shaped like a cockroach. You've got a fish-shaped pencil box. You've got bread-shaped pillows. You've got a bazillion ducks.
07:56 And you've got this fantastic, magical world that you live in on an everyday basis. How do you then create your stories? Or it must not be too hard because you live in such a magical place.
08:09 It's definitely not.
08:10 What's your process?
08:11 Just for an example, here in Lulusin, Nectala, there's a talking duck. Like, I think that was one of the selling points of this book is there's a talking duck.
08:19 It was actually based on my own duck.
08:22 On your own talking duck.
08:23 Yeah. His name is Sunday. He's in heaven now. But he used to be like – he was supposed to be Balut. But we kind of like, you know, miscalculated.
08:33 The Balut that got away.
08:34 The Balut that got away. Literally, he hatched out of the blue. And then he's a miracle duck, basically. So, we like, you know, we grew him from egg.
08:44 And then he felt like his family is the humans. So, he was like, so close to me that I even took him to like, school visits via Zoom. So, there were kids who were like, were able to see him.
08:57 I know. And you've got some fantastic fan letters here that you shared with us. And there's so much fun. You know, they've got little drawings there.
09:06 See, there's your magical duck right over there. So, it must be nice to receive letters like this from true fans. People who actually read your book and will take these stories on, you know, later on in life and inspire them to do their own.
09:23 Yeah. They're kids from all over the world. And I actually got myself a PO box so they can just, you know, send whatever.
09:29 And it's amazing because like, these are like, some of them are from China, Japan, US. Some of them, sometimes I get one from Philippines. And it's just amazing when you see the return address, like the stamps.
09:45 Yeah, where they came from, how far the work has come and has gone. And yeah, and sort of the lives that they've touched.
09:55 Let's talk about some of your other works. Obviously, you've done something right. 2019, you were noticed right away, straight away. And what do you think it is about the characters that you've written into your books, the situations, the storylines?
10:08 I think it just resonates with kids. And I think that's the thing. They're able to relate to it.
10:16 Yeah. Well, what's the secret to writing for kids? I mean…
10:20 Well, there's no secret. You just need to respect them. You just need to understand that you shouldn't look down on them. You should know that these are smart human beings who has like the whole world in front of them. And you should appreciate that.
10:38 And I feel through that appreciation, through that respect, you get to see the world through their eyes. And they share it with you through like school visits. The most amazing parts of the school visits are the ones after the sessions, after the official session. Because that's when kids feel like they're no longer…
11:01 Okay. I can ask the questions I really want to ask. Yeah. I can help you with that.
11:06 Yeah. I don't have to… My teacher doesn't have to listen to it. I can really ask her what I really want to ask.
11:10 What's the most interesting thing that you've been asked by a child?
11:12 Oh, there's one thing that really stuck to me. He came up to me and said, "I write books, but I'm black. Do you think people will like black books, too?"
11:23 Yeah. What did you have to say to that?
11:24 Definitely. You got to write that. Because like you got to share your story. That's your story. You should be proud of it. And he was just so afraid to… And after you can see his face just lit up.
11:36 Wow. You have inspired so many kids that just enjoy… go back and enjoy reading to pursue their own story telling and story writing dreams.
11:46 What's next for you, Gail? You've just released obviously this latest book, but I know you're gearing up for two more. The Beasts Beneath the Winds and part two of your…
11:55 That's another anthology.
11:56 Lulu Sinagpala. So, let's take one at a time. Part two of this is due when and what's…
12:02 Next year. Early next year, I believe. Around the same time. January, probably. And the Beasts Beneath the Winds, we still haven't officially set a date yet, but it's going to come out later in 2025.
12:15 What else do you want to do, Gail? You want to write more stories? You want to write your own movie? Write your own series?
12:21 I want to write… Actually, I'm working on a story based on my ducks.
12:27 Okay. Okay. This sounds interesting. I know your fans are excited. You're going to be receiving more of these duck letters, duck mail over here.
12:35 Before you go, though, do you want to let anybody know or your fans know about any book signings or anything?
12:41 I'm going to do a signing on February 3 at the National Bookstore, South Ridge New Year Book Fair. It's at 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Level 1 main atrium of Robinson's Galleria in Ortigas.
12:59 Well, you can start right here with that copy over there. I'm going to let you go. I hope I get my hands on that one. Thank you so much, Gail, for joining us this morning and best of luck.
13:08 Thank you for having me.
13:09 - Thank you for having me.
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