Last June 25 was the launch of #HeistClub which features crime fiction novellas available in Buqo and Amazon for the story bundles and standalones respectively. Being part of the vibrant indie author community means supporting author friends who release their books into the world, and I couldn’t be more proud and happy for my friends who are trailblazing in this fiction category. We don’t have that much Filipino-authored crime fiction stories, but thanks to Mina V. Esguerra, the people behind Bronze Age Media, and Buqo, Filipinos can now read more stories in this genre.
The event celebrated the launch of three e-book bundles composed of the following stories:
- *Bayawak’s Trail by Justine Camacho-Tajonera
- *The Fraud Hunter Book 1: Chasing an ATM Schemer by Racquel Sarah A. Castro
- The Retreat by Yeyet Soriano
- Come With Me by Michael Recto
- Inertia by Sette Luis
- Till Death Do Us Part by Irene Nicolas-Recio
- Soul Makers by Jee Ann Guibone
- *Classified by Georgette S. Gonzales
- *High Stakes by Chris Nava
- Dressed to Kill by Cassandra Javier
- Snakehead by Bianca Mori
- *Sampaguita by Mark Manalang
- Let’s Play Murder by Farrah F. Polestico
- Corpus Delicti by Porcupine Strongwill
- The Flame Squad: Sly Prince by Jessica E. Larsen
- The Gung Ho Lady by Arlene Manocot
*Available in Amazon
The launch was completely fun and engaging (despite it being an event celebrating crime fiction…meaning lots of mystery, blood, and gore) with a really nifty photo booth that was fashioned like a mug shot, confidential “case files” were given to attendees which included the program for the event, a film sneak peek, and of course, author features and story highlights. F.H. Batacan, author of Smaller and Smaller Circles, also had a message to tell everyone, which was read by Mina. As a fan of Batacan’s work, I couldn’t be happier to receive such encouragement and support as any aspiring author would want to have.
So here I am telling you: Just keep writing. And even more important — keep reading, not just IN the genre, but ABOUT the genre.
I am truly excited to buckle down and start reading these stories—and I hope you would as well. A lot of people often lament about the dearth of Filipino-authored books in a certain genre, but that’s not the case anymore. There’s a lot of stories to read out there, if you only know where to look. Now that we have more Pinoy crime fiction stories out in the wild, there are no excuses—read, read, READ! 🙂
Congratulations to all authors and here’s to more page-turning stories in the coming months!
