White Stone Chain
83,000 words
There is a single wish in all of us.
For wealth. Or love. Or immortality. Legend says there is a path to this one wish. If we’re willing to pay the price.
Childhood friends Edgar Godinez, a reserved but reckless dreamer, and Luciana Melendez, a devious con artist, steal a mythical stone from a rumored kapre: a giant tree-dweller akin to the North American Bigfoot. Fed up with risking her life in treacherous acts that bring little relief, Luciana makes her one wish, and as the wish is granted, it becomes apparent that nothing comes for free. From the sidelines, Edgar watches Luciana’s retribution.
Convinced that the stone is cursed, Edgar resists the temptation to make his one wish. That is, until five years later, when Elena Romero walks into his life. Faced with the choice between love and eventual reckoning, Edgar chooses the former, triggering events that will haunt not only him, but also the generations to come. When Edgar’s seven-year old granddaughter, Ula, accidentally stumbles upon the stone, Edgar finds a way to break the chain, and free his family from the curse.
WHITE STONE CHAIN is a dark literary novel inspired by oral traditions from the Philippines. Set in the beautiful mountains of Baguio City, it tells the story of a family bound by love, but torn apart by a moment's weakness to succumb to that one special wish.
Chasing Jackfruits
79,000 words
Two generations of Filipino immigrants. One dark myth that haunts them.
On a Philippine island stands Mount Esperanza, named for a manananggal--a mythical creature that preys upon pregnant women. Its legend forces three young best friends--Estella, Maddy, and Sabel--to flee witch-hunters. Two head to America; one faces a tragic death. In America, Estella and Maddy live separate lives, keeping safe the secrets from their past.
But over twenty years later, Estella and her pregnant daughter die, uniting Maddy and her son, Dakila, with Estella's surviving child, Celeste. Guilt drives Celeste to believe that she is turning into the terrifying beast, and as her obsession goes too far, Dakila searches for answers to prove her wrong. But Dakila's quest will unearth much more--shameful secrets buried for a generation.
As White As Milk
60,000 words
How far will you go to earn your mother's love?
Pachi Hipolito, abandoned at birth, is re-united with her mother, Cynthia. Cynthia is everything Pachi imagined--beautiful, rich, successful. She is perfect except for one thing: Cynthia had not wanted a child twelve years ago, she does not want a child now.
Pachi quickly learns the reason for her mother's rejection as she is thrown in the world of underground prostitution and drugs. Soon, she becomes the target of a man, Daga, who charms Cynthia into letting him in their home...
