#Authors Myles Garcia, Wesley St. Jo & Reme Grefalda in HOT OFF THE PRESS LITERARY READINGS Oct. 7 & 8, 2017 #FilAm Book Fest

FEATURED AUTHORS:

Here are three more authors who'll be participating  in the HOT OFF THE PRESS Literary Readings in San Francisco on October 7 and 8, 2017.  These readings are part of the Filipino American International Book Festival. They will be held at the San Francisco Main Library at 100 Larkin Street, Civic Center, San Francisco, CA 94102.

I'll be featuring more participants of the HOT OFF THE PRESS Literary Readings, so stay tuned,

To view the complete schedule of the three HOT OFF THE PRESS Literary Readings, click here : http://cbrainard.blogspot.com/2017/09/schedule-hot-off-press-literary.html

Wesley St. Jo & Reme Grefalda will be reading from Blue, published by Paloma Press, 2017

WESLEY ST. JO is the pen name of artist and writer CECILIA IBARDALOZA. Her work has been featured in various online and print media including the anthologies, Finding God (Anvil, 2009) and A Taste of Home (Anvil, 2008). Cecilia recently conceptualized the Mi-Go Zine project, a DIY periodical devoted to exploring the connections between popular culture and politics.

REMÉ GREFALDA is the author of baring more than soul and The Other Blue Book: On The High Seas of Discovery. She co-authored a Ford Foundation report, Towards A Cultural Community: Identity, Education and Stewardship in Filipino American Performing Arts. She is the recipient of the Philippines Palanca Award for her full length play, In the Matter of Willie Grayson, produced and staged at Howard University in Washington D.C.

#Authors Veronica Montes & Linda Ty-Casper in HOT OFF THE PRESS LITERARY READINGS Oct. 7 & 8, 2017 #FilAm

FEATURED AUTHORS:

Here are two more authors who'll be participating  in the HOT OFF THE PRESS Literary Readings in San Francisco on October 7 and 8, 2017.  These readings are part of the Filipino American International Book Festival. They will be held at the San Francisco Main Library at 100 Larkin Street, Civic Center, San Francisco, CA 94102.

I'll be featuring more participants of the HOT OFF THE PRESS Literary Readings, so stay tuned.

To view the complete schedule of the three HOT OFF THE PRESS Literary Readings, click here : http://cbrainard.blogspot.com/2017/09/schedule-hot-off-press-literary.html

Veronica Montes will be reading from Benedicta Takes Wing and Other Stories, PALH 2018

#Cats #Catpics Yearning for the "Forbidden" Outdoors

Che and Tesla yearning to get out but holding themselves back because they know this is forbidden.

Tags: pets, animals, kittens, feline, family
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My "Boys" - Che and Tesla
My Non-Ninja Cats and this Southern California Heat Wave
My Literary Cat Reading "For Whom the Bells Toll"
Cats Reading "To Kill a Mockingbird"

#Authors Barbara Jane Reyes & Aileen Cassinetto in HOT OFF THE PRESS LITERARY READINGS Oct. 7 & 8, 2017 #FilipinoAmerican

FEATURED AUTHORS:

Here are two more authors who'll be participating  in the HOT OFF THE PRESS Literary Readings in San Francisco on October 7 and 8, 2017.  These readings are part of the Filipino American International Book Festival. They will be held at the San Francisco Main Library at 100 Larkin Street, Civic Center, San Francisco, CA 94102.

I'll be featuring more participants of the HOT OFF THE PRESS Literary Readings, so stay tuned.

To view the complete schedule of the three HOT OFF THE PRESS Literary Readings, click here : http://cbrainard.blogspot.com/2017/09/schedule-hot-off-press-literary.html

Barbara Jane Reyes will be reading from Invocation to Daughters (City Lights Publishers, 2017)

Philippine American Writer Linda Ty-Casper's Book Featured Nota Bene/World Literature Today #WorldLitToday

Philippine American writer Linda Ty-Casper's A RIVER, ONE-WOMAN DEEP: STORIES, is featured in the Nota Bene section of the September/October 2017 issue of World Literature Today Magazine. 

Linda Ty-Casper

A River, One-Woman Deep: Stories

Philippine American Literary House

In this collection of stories, Filipina American Linda Ty-Casper runs her fingers along the scars left behind in the wake of historical events in the Philippines, parsing out what it means to live through and after the trauma of dictatorships and war. Her sobering descriptions of the intersection of the global and personal create a moving narrative, brimming with strength and humanity.

Tags: literature, fiction, novella, short stories, Philippines, Filipino, Filipina, writer, author, World Literature Today #worldlittoday

 Read also:

In Honor of Filipino writer, Linda Ty-Casper

Linda Ty-Casper's novels in E-book format in Kindle and Nook

Linda Ty-Casper's "A Small Party in a Garden" Available in Kindle and Nook

In Honor of Filipino Writer, Linda Ty-Casper

Fiction by Guest Blogger, Linda Ty-Capser, "In Place of Trees"
Leonard Casper's Possibilities of Humaness in an Age of Slaughter  (critique of When the Rainbow Goddess Wept)

#Authors Eillen Tabios & Brian Roley in HOT OFF THE PRESS Literary Readings Oct 7 & 8, 2017 #FilAmbookFest

FEATURED AUTHORS: 

Here are two authors who'll be participating  in the HOT OFF THE PRESS Literary Readings in San Francisco on October 7 and 8, 2017.  These readings are part of the Filipino American International Book Festival. They will be held at the San Francisco Main Library at 100 Larkin Street, Civic Center, San Francisco, CA 94102.

I'll be featuring more participants of the HOT OFF THE PRESS Literary Readings, so stay tuned.


To view the complete schedule of the three HOT OFF THE PRESS Literary Readings, click here : http://cbrainard.blogspot.com/2017/09/schedule-hot-off-press-literary.html

Eileen Tabios will be reading from Manhattan: An Archaeology, published by Paloma Press, 2017.

#CebuLitFest Chappy Piramide Interview of Writer Cecilia Brainard now on YouTube

Last February 2017, my novel, Magdalena (University of Santo Tomas Publishing House 2016) was launched at the #CebuLitFest, courtesy of Hendri Go.

Atty. Chappy Piramide did a comprehensive interview of me. While she focused on my novel, Magdalena, she asked about the influences on my writings, including Cebu and its history and culture.

Here is the video of that interview. It is over thirty minutes long.

https://youtu.be/hhMgxuphaN0

Read also

Book Launch of Cecilia Manguerra Brainard's Magdalena

#BookTrailer of MAGDALENA novel by Cecilia Brainard on YouTube

Cecilia Brainard's novel, MAGDALENA, has a book trailer on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/dtE8VmqJf7k

Magdalena, by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard (University of Santo Tomas Publishing House 2016, Manila, Distributed by PALH, 146 pages), palhbooks@gmail.com
ISBN 9789715068017 (sc) $15.95

This second novel of Cecilia Manguerra Brainard blends a series of multiple perspectives to create a polyphony of voices that enacts Philippine society during periods of war that affected the Philippines: Philippine-American War at the turn of the century, World War Two, and the Vietnam War. The fragmented narrative is a nuanced vision of the workings of culture, social class, obligation and the Filipino personality. 

First published in 2003 in the US, the book has received favorable books reviews and academic attention and was reissued by the University of Santo Tomas Publishing House in 2016. 


Read also:

• YouTube - Chappy Piramide Interview of Cecilia Brainard #CebuLitFest
• YouTube - Bobit Avila Interviews Novelist Cecilia Brainard Part 3 (2017)
• YouTube - Bobit Avila Interviews Novelist Cecilia Brainard Part 2 (2017)
• YouTube - Bobit Avila Interviews Novelist Cecilia Brainard Part 1 (2017)
• YouTube - Cecilia Manguerra Brainard Reads at UCLA Extension's Publication Party 2015
• YouTube - Cecilia Manguerra Brainard Reads at UCLA Extension's Publication Party 2014
• YouTube - Cecilia Manguerra Brainard Reads at UCLA Extension's Publication Party 2011
• YouTube - Cecilia Manguerra Brainard Reads at UCLA Extension's Publication Party 2010

TV Interview of Cecilia Brainard by Bobit Avila in YouTube #Cebu #Philippines

Last July 2017, Bobit (Valeriano) Avila interviewed me in his hour-long program, Straight from the Sky, in Cebu, Philippines. He asked me about my life and my work. We also shared stories about our lives in Cebu since Bobit and I grew up in post-World War Two Cebu.

I was unable to watch the show, but Bobit kindly sent me the DVD.

The interview can be viewed on YouTube in three parts. We are conversing in Cebuano and English because Straight from the Sky is a Cebu program for a Visayan audience.

Solution Quality Problem: PowerPoint Converted Video to YouTube

Solution to Poor Quality Problem: PowerPoint Converted Video to YouTube


I was working on a book trailer using PowerPoint, which I converted into a video and uploaded to YouTube.  The video, which was fine on my computer, was flickering and jumpy when viewed on YouTube. The images seemed to overlap and stutter.

THE NEWSPAPER WIDOW, Novel by Cecilia Brainard / BOOK TRAILER on YouTube

THE NEWSPAPER WIDOW novel by Cecilia Brainard / Book Trailer on YouTube


https://youtu.be/cNe8rS3dAXU


Cecilia Manguerra Brainard's poetic new novel, The Newspaper Widow, is set in the Philippines in 1909 during the early years of the United State's colonial empire in Asia. Brainard combines compelling characters with an intriguing mystery and page-turning literary suspense. What begins as a murder mystery transforms into something greater along the way as love, loyalty, and friendship are tested and refined.

Tags; literature, fiction, novel, mystery, murder, Philippines, Asian, book, story, history, Philippine-American, Spanish-American

Read also:

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard Novels Available in Amazon

Writings by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard Available in Amazon

Guest Blogger: Carol Ojeda-Kimbrough "The Many Uses of Malunggay" #health

Carol Ojeda-Kimbrough shares with us with an article about Malunggay or Moringa. 

Extending Malunggay Shelf Life by Dehydrating/Drying

In the US, Filipinos have access to fresh malunggay leaves from their backyards, Filipino/Asian groceries, or farmers markets.  But in the winter, malunggay is not readily available or if you can find it in at Seafood City, it is prohibitively expensive.   Often we have to wait until the following spring or use substitutes such as spinach when cooking tinola or ginisang munggo.   Here is one way to extend the shelf life of malunggay – by drying the leaves and storing them for future use.   I do this with the bounty of summer and in the winter months, I have a steady supply of malunggay when I need them, especially to make hot Tinola soup. 

HOT OFF THE PRESS Literary Readings in San Francisco, CA On October 7, 8, 2017

I'll be moderating the HOT OFF THE PRESS literary readings on Saturday October 7 and Sunday October 8, 2017 as part of the Fourth Filipino American International Book Festival in San Francisco, California.

These literary readings showcase new publications by Filipino and Filipino American authors. Past Readings have included authors such as Aimee Suzara, Barbara Jane Reyes, Lisa Suguitan Melnich, Luis Francia, Eileen Tabios, Tony Robles, Rafe Bartholomew, Karen Llagas, and many others. Here are pictures of the authors in the 2015 HOT OFF THE PRESS literary Reading.

I'll be posting the lineup of this year's readers in another post.

If you are Filipino or Filipino American and have a recently published book and wish to participate in the Readings, please contact me directly at palh@aol.com.

Read also:
The First Filipino American International Book Festival
HOT OFF THE PRESS 2011
Fiction by Filipinos in America
Tags: literature, books, Philippines, Philippine American, Filipino American, literary reading, FilAm, festival, FilAm Book Festival



#FilAmbookfest
#literature

#Grandchildren Opening a Package with Sparkly, Gaudy Shoes and Sandals!

Here's a short video of my grandkids opening up a package with shoes and sandals. I got these from the Philippines -- sparkly, gaudy, with a lot of bling! If I were a kid, I'd like these. Unfortunately, the older one's sandals are too small, and the little one's shoes are too big. I have to get their sizes before I start buying stuff.

Read also

• #Publishing Short Books and Articles Are Popular
• Literature: Cecilia Manguerra Brainard Novels Avai...
• Literature: Cecilia Manguerra Brainard Books in Ki...

#Publishing Short Books and Articles Are Popular

Image courtesy of St. Louise Public Library

Short Books and Articles Are Popular

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

            For several years now I’ve noticed that writers have been having a more difficult time getting their works published.  Published friends and I have shopped our work around and discovered that publishing houses, even small presses, strongly favor commercial works.  (It’s always been this way, but it’s worse now.)

Literature: Cecilia Manguerra Brainard Novels Available in Amazon

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard's three novels are available from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/9715068014/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1500930604&sr=8-2&keywords=Cecilia+Brainard+Magdalena


In this novel, Brainard blends a series of multiple perspectives to create a polyphony of voices that enacts Philippine society before and during the Second World War. The narrative is a nuanced vision of the workings of culture, social class, obligation and the Filipino personality.
Rocio G. Davis, author of Transcultural Reinventions: Asian American and Asian Canadian Short Story Cycles

https://www.amazon.com/Newspaper-Widow-Cecilia-Manguerra-Brainard/dp/9715068111/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1501703972&sr=1-1&keywords=Cecilia+The+Newspaper+Widow


Cecilia Manguerra Brainard's poetic new novel, The Newspaper Widow, is set in the Philippines in 1909 during the early years of the United State's colonial empire in Asia. Brainard combines compelling characters with an intriguing mystery and page-turning literary suspense. What begins as a murder mystery transforms into something greater along the way as love, loyalty, and friendship are tested and refined.








https://www.amazon.com/Rainbow-Goddess-Cecilia-Manguerra-Brainard-ebook/dp/B007NE0NZS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1501703669&sr=8-1&keywords=Cecilia+Brainard+When+the+Rainbow+Goddess+Wept



This highly-acclaimed novel, set in mythical Ubec, Philippines during World War II, is a lyrical portrayal of a girl's blossoming into young womanhood. Publishers Weekly notes that "the strengthening of the national spirit; the loss of innocence in two generations -- these themes are explored by the author... with persuasive conviction and stark realism. 







Tags: literature, Philippines, Cebu, novels, book, writer, fiction, story, war, historical


Read also
These writings by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard are available in Amazon's Kindle

Literature: Cecilia Manguerra Brainard Books in Kindle Amazon

These writings of Cecilia Manguerra Brainard are available in Amazon's Kindle:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074JTGBFD



The story "Winning Hearts and Minds (1967)" is set during the height of the Vietnam War. An American Colonel stationed in Ubec, Philippines, reflects on US involvement in Asia and Asia's poverty despite its great potential. His encounter with a Filipina bar-girl who years for a better life for her son allows him to see Asia and Asians in a deeper way.

 "Winning Hearts and Minds (1967)" is part of the novel, Magdalena (UST Publishing House), also available in Kindle form.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074JJPD1S




The short story "Woman with Horns" by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard is about a broken American doctor and a wild woman, the widow Agustina, and how the former learns to live life to the fullest once again. It is set in mythical Ubec, Philippines in 1903 during the American occupation of the Philippines. This beloved story is used in many classrooms in the Philippines. This story is part of the collection, Woman with Horns and Other Stories, by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard.










https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074FQ4R92


The short story "Flip Gothic" by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard is about an incorrigible Philippine American Goth in New York who is sent to the Philippines to spend time with her grandmother and her parents' culture. In Ubec, Philippines, she develops an understanding of her roots and identity and a love not only for her own self but of animals and others.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004EPYZ4Y



Woman With Horns and Other Stories is the first short story collection by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard. Called "a welcome addition to Filipiniana" by the Manila Times, the stories draw from historical and contemporary sources. Many of these stories set in mythical Ubec, Philippines, explore the clash of Philippine culture with foreign influences that reached the archipelago during different historical periods.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004RK0EM8




Magdalena is a powerful novel about the lasting effects war has on people’s lives. Playing with time and point of view, multi-award author, Cecilia Manguerra Brainard, explores the loves and secrets of three generations of women in the Philippines from the time of the Philippine American War, World War II, and Vietnam War. 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008OWGAEQ



Magnificat: Mama Mary's Pilgrim Sites collects 24 Marian devotees' accounts of their experiences in Marian pilgrim sites. The sites are found in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Eritrea, Ethiopia, France, India, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, the United States, and there are eight pilgrim sites in the Philippines. The book includes short writeups of other international pilgrim sites and some Catholic prayers. Archbishop Tagle of Manila has issued an Imprimatur for the book, Magnificat: Mama Mary's Pilgrim Sites.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004FGMT5Y



Fundamentals of Creative Writing is a powerful resource to encourage students and/or aspiring writers to strive for excellence in their writing skills. Not only does it guide readers through the basics of setting, scene, character, conflict, dialogue, plot, point of view, voice, style, theme and tone but it also provides useful activities that challenges the writer to get their creative juices flowing.
Brainard's treatments of writerly voice and left brain/right brain theory as it connects to writing are among the best available in today's writing textbooks. Her story examples cover a variety of story types, techniques, points of view, and historical as well as contemporary topics and themes. This book will indeed help writing students write strong stories and improve their craft.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A7JPXWY


Cecilia’s Diary: 1962-1969, is a faithful record of Brainard’s days as a young colegiala in the Philippines. It is refreshing and funny, replete with references to a religious upbringing and a privileged lifestyle. The diary is a look back at a special decade, the 60s. That was a time when young girls wore party dresses made of breathless organdy that went with “flowers, ribbons, pearls, diamonds”. Jack Kennedy was assassinated, Chubby Checker came, interesting Peace Corps Volunteers arrived in town, Birdman of Alcatraz was shown, guileless children played jackstones, the Vietnam War was stepped up.”

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004DUMZL0


Growing Up Filipino II: More Stories for Young Adults is the second volume of the Growing Up Filipino series by PALH. In this collection of 27 short stories, Filipino and Filipino American writers explore the universal challenges and experiences of Filipino teens after the historic events of 9/11. The modern demands do not hinder Filipino youth from dealing with the universal concerns of growing up: family, friends, love, home, budding sexuality, leaving home. The delightful stories are written by well known as well as emerging writers. While the target audience of this fine anthology is young adults, the stories can be enjoyed by adult readers as well. 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007BGU3TY



Out of Cebu collects 28 essays by award-winning author, Cecilia Manguerra Brainard. Many of the essays are about Cebu, Philippines: its history, the places to see in this southern Philippine city, her experiences growing there, and colorful accounts about her mother's family, the Cuencos, a powerful political family in Cebu and the Philippines. There are also travel and food essays, all told from Brainard's unique point of view of a Cebu-born writer now living in the United States.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007NE0NZS


This highly-acclaimed novel, set in mythical Ubec, Philippines during World War II, is a lyrical portrayal of a girl's blossoming into young womanhood. Publishers Weekly notes that "the strengthening of the national spirit; the loss of innocence in two generations -- these themes are explored by the author... with persuasive conviction and stark realism. 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004EYT1H6


Acapulco at Sunset and Other Stories is Cecilia Manguerra Brainard's second short story collection. The seventeen enchanting Filipino short stories are grouped into four categories: Long Ago Tales, Stories from the '60s and '70s, Stories from the '90s, and American Tales.The author, a Cebuana residing in Southern California, hopes readers will "learn something...about Filipinos or about mankind in general." Adding to her cast of Filipino characters in Philippine settings during the twentieth century, Brainard includes other nationals, Mexican and American settings, and the eighteenth century to communicate universal and timeless truths…Brainard's treatment of Filipinos and cultural assumptions and social practices regarding men and women, marriage, and social roles and relationships across the life cycle is insightful.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007HEXPDQ

Growing Up Filipino: Stories for Young Adults is the highly-acclaimed collection of stories about the experience of growing up Filipino. Emerging and established award-winning writers are the authors of this fine collection of 29 stories about what it means to be young and Filipino in the Philippines and in the United States. Filipinos in America are now the second largest in the umbrella group of Asian Americans, yet there is a scarcity of books by and for Filipinos. This impressive array captures the complexities of both the Filipino culture and history and the realities of the lives of young adults no matter what their ethnic affiliation. Each story is assigned to one of five universal themes: family, angst, friendship, love, and home. Each story is introduced by a thumbnail sketch of the author and a paragraph or two about some element of Filipino culture or history that is relevant to the story. Authors include those born and continuing to live in the Philippine, emigres, and American-born Filipinos. 

BOOKLIST says, "The stories are delightful!" while SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL says, "These 29 short stories offer a highly textured portrait of Filipino youth and an excellent sampling of creative writing."

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004EEOIVK


In this, her third collection of short stories, Cecilia Manguerra Brainard shows an uncanny talent for speaking in varied voices that bridge time and place: she is at home in Vigan, the mythical Ubec (Cebu), Sagada, Manila, Cusco, Peru, Calcutta, Chartres, California, bringing each location alive with loving detail. She speaks as a school girl, an older woman, a love-struck boy, a stolen child, an underground revolutionary. She writes of her own family and childhood with love and sadness and a deep sense of humanity. The book collects 20 stories by the award-winning author.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B013R8CKGI

Fiction by Filipinos in America is a highly acclaimed collection of stories by established and emerging Filipino and Filipino American writers. World Literature Today says, "(Editor) Manguerra Brainard's selection is a delight. Some of the stories are masterly, especially those written by such reliables as Carlos Bulosan, Linda Ty-Casper, N.V.M. Gonzalez, and Alberto S. Florentino. None is less than highly competent, and all are worth reading. Manguerra Brainard has done an excellent job of mixing critical judgement and personal taste."










Tags: Philippine, Philippines, literature, Cebu, Visayan, fiction, book, writer, stories, short stories