M. A. Del Rosario is a Filipino artist and storyteller. He is a published author of graphic novels and short stories. He lies and makes up stories about monsters and gods. He is also an advocate of reading. He tells people to go to libraries, comic retailers, and bookshops. He lives with his family in a quiet subdivision where fireflies still exist and where cats question the existence of men. Sometimes, he talks to gods lost at sea. He still believes that magic is real. You can visit him at www.paperdrawing.com. His story, Cañao, was published in Philippine Genre Stories in January 2023.
Welcome back to Philippine Genre Stories, M.A.! What have you been up to since Cañao ?
Hello, PGS. After Cañao, I became busy with my graphic novel Gods of Manila (released in partnership with Paperkat Books), and finished a fantasy novel that I’m shopping around. Also selling my graphic novels in different conventions like Komikon, PICOF and Philippine Book Fair kept me busy.
Congratulations on Gods of Manila! What made you answer the call for submission this time?
Well, I have this story, and I fully support PGS. I was supposed to submit something last year (2024), but I didn’t have a story to contribute and was deep into finishing Gods of Manila.
And we are happy to have this story in the roster for this year. 🙂 Which among the published stories in Philippine Genre Stories have you found the most memorable so far (and why)?
I would say, The Ocean Above Her by Victor Fernando R. Ocampo, because I like a good scifi using mythic elements, and I get that ol’ pulpy vibe (FSF Mag, Astounding SciFi). I think I read his story Apex Mag before.
Another is The Shyest of All Flowers by Raissa, because of its wit and humor.
And the most recent No More CATS! by Naomi S. Inting, because reading it made me a kid again—something that I lost since the pandemic.
Fine choices, and yes, Naomi and her story were such timely reminders to all of us. So how did you indeed start exploring writing genre stories anyways? Were there genre books or writers that have inspired you?
It started long ago after several sessions of Dungeons and Dragons with high school friends. That was 1991. I tried writing a short story, and it sucked. So I practiced writing fantasy stories, both prose and comics. I wanted to be a Michael Moorcock, or a Fritz Leiber, Ursula K Le Guin, or even a Robert E. Howard, because they were my heroes. Their books, along with the graphic novels of Conan, Elric, Fahrd and the Grey Mouser, pushed me to embrace fantasy and horror all the more.
I tried to be them, but it was Ray Bradbury who told me (in a video of one of his talks) to be who I am, and so I did. His books fell into the mix, and thus Fahrenheit 451, The Illustrated Man, and Martian Chronicles were added, along with A Wizard of Earthsea, Elric of Melniboné, and the Fafhrd and Grey Mouser books. In the past decade, Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities and Cloven Viscount became a source of inspiration as well.
What about Filipino-authored works, which ones that you’ve recently read have influenced you the most and why?
Nick Joaquin’s illustrated Pop Stories, his collected shorts, and Hilda Cordero Fernando’s Magic Circle are inspirations. The late Gerry Alnguilan also inspired me.
In 2007, my short story Manila was published in Philippines Graphic. It was then that I turned my attention to local folklore, integrating them into my stories.
Recently, a friend of mine gifted me with a set of Maximo Ramos books that explores Philippine Myths and Folkore. I would say, Mr. Ramos, and Jordan Clark of the Aswang Project, are also sources of inspiration in writing fantasy and horror stories.
And what specifically inspired you to write GODS OF THE STAGE?
It’s really about growing old. The time that I came up with the story, I just finished watching the film adaptation of Nick Jaoquin’s A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino by Lamberto Avellana. In the 3rd act, Don Lorenzo emerges from his room during the La Naval procession and reconciles with his daughters.
This scene moved me. It made me look at the past and all the things that are gone in this day and age, like the old buildings in Manila, traditions that we don’t do anymore, and yes—vaudeville. It made me remember Dolphy, Deli Atayatayan, Panchito, the LVN films and stars of that era.
I have always been enamored by the past, during a time where life was simple and people were more respectful. It had that sense of class, a finesse that we lack these days. It is glory that is lost. Of course, I had to put a touch of mysticism to the story, as such things have also somewhat faded in this modern world.
We sure feel the ageing, too.
So which came easy and hard in writing this story?
Coming up with the concept was easy. I knew I wanted to write about what it was like losing the things you love as time goes by. You grow old. Things change. I wanted to explore that feeling because I’m going through that.
I also knew I wanted it to be about the lost art of vaudeville. That was the hard part. I had to do research. But it was fun.
As someone who’s already had books out, what were the highlights and lowlights of putting a book together to get it published both independently and with a publishing house?
The highlight is seeing your work go out there and getting good feedback. Add to that the people who message and say the books have moved them in a certain way. The lowlight are the spams and comments of a few who havenʻt read the books yet criticize it.
Oh, man, there are those…So how do you deal with the latter?
What can you do? People think what they want to think. There’s a sense of entitlement attached to that. And also a few who’re really in it for lols. I shrug it off and go on with my life. These things are pervasive only in social media, and social media for me is just an instrument for marketing, nothing more. If they’re getting triggered, then that means the book is seen, so I take that as a positive at the end of the day.
Is there a next project that you’re already working on?
Right now there are three. One is a graphic novel called Introspection, composed of six stories that are connected in a specific way through non-linear presentation. Another is a collection of short stories that will include Cañao and Gods of the Stage, aptly titled: Gods and Other Things. And somewhere in between is Gods of Manila Vol. 2.
In addition to the tips you shared in 2023, what other guidance can you share with the new and aspiring storytellers out there?
Find your own voice. Thatʻs one of the hardest things to do if you want to become a storyteller.
Agree! So, last time you shared that you love trees and that you suck in Math. (Laughing) Anything else that you’d like your current and future readers to know about you?
Hmm. I still believe in magic!
Hear, hear! Thank you so much again, M.A., and we’re really happy to have you back in 2025!
Thank you and cheers to more stories! Best regards.