Are you in the mood to be spooked in time for Halloween? Get spine-tingling chills with Thomas Maul's recent book offering "Manila Demon"
Visit the book's fan page here
Why did you write Manila Demon? Why did you choose Manila
These are good questions. I suppose I will just tell you that a few years ago, I was in a relationship with a girl from Caloocan Manila
Wow, your book is proof that writing can be therapeutic. What makes Manila
The people are friendly, they like to laugh, they're kind and they love to eat....plus they love music. I guess, to take away all of the material things about it, the malls, hotels and all that....it is truly the people who make Manila one of my favorite places.
How many times have you been to Manila Manila
I have been there a few times, and my goal right now is to be able to make enough money with writing so that I could move there and be able to have an income. I earn some money with writing, but it is not consistent or regular yet, so I just continue to work at it. It's strange because I feel more at home with Filipinos than I do with my own people. (laughs)
How many books have you written so far? What made the writing process of Manila Demon different from the other books you've published?
I have three books out now, two are humorous stories and Manila Demon is the most recent. It was originally the broken heart that kept wanting to write dark and scary things, but as I was writing, I realized that scaring people is much the same as making a reader laugh because in both cases, you must surprise your reader in order to get the reaction you are after. I'm at 59,000 words on the sequel to Manila Demon. It will probably be between 80,000 and 100,000 words when complete.
The lead character in your most recent book is Tim Randolph. What do you have in common with your 'paper child'?
Well, he isn't a very likeable guy and he does things for selfish reasons. I suppose I wanted him to suffer and lose his mind so that I, the writer, wouldn't have to suffer and lose my mind. Tim does lots of things I would never do, but he does get betrayed by a woman he loves, and that is where the commonality exists. Love and loss can really affect us in profound ways.
At the end part of the book Tim found love again. What new adventures/scary experiences will Tim have on the sequel?
Well, here's the strange part. The girl I had fallen out with began to talk with me again, and we agreed to travel together as just friends. So, we met in Manila and went to Bangkok , then to Phnom Penh , then to Ho Chi Minh City Palawan . The third book will be mainly set in Cebu . I have some great field notes and interviews. There will be less about 'aswang' in the next one and much more about 'agta', which I learned about last June from interviewing people in Cebu .
Thomas, could you please describe your creative writing process to me? Do you follow a routine to write novels?
I must confess sometimes the ideas just come and it is easy to be motivated. But other times, there are no ideas and writing becomes very burdensome. It mostly takes routine and discipline to write books. I try to get at least 1,000 words typed a day. Some days it's hard because I am busy, but I usually can get 1,000. For me, just getting the 1,000 a day helps to create the story. Because each day you are back into the story, so it stays real to you. I do not always get my 1,000 words in, and some nights I fall asleep while trying. Writing is not an easy career.
Although writing isn't easy, you keep at it. What do you love most about writing?
I suppose I love the communication and the way it's so intimate between the reader and writer. The most joy so far, for Manila Demon, was to read a review in Gothic Beauty Magazine and realize some people, the reviewer at least, really liked the book. I don't even know if the review will help sales much, but it gave me a nice dose of dignity as an author.
You also have thousands of people who liked your book's fan page. Where can we buy your book?
Yes, but I don't think many of them have bought the book yet (laughs). The book stores there can get it as special order, though I tried to get it sold with FULLYBOOKED, National Book Store, Powerbooks, and could never get it in the stores. It's difficult trying to work with people from so far away.
What were you most afraid of when you were a child?
I was always fascinated by witches. But the thing that truly scared me the most was seeing the movies "The Exorcist" and "The Omen" and then reading the Amityville Horror book. I mean, there are lots of things I was afraid of, but to learn that there was a possibility that evil spirits could be a threat, that was frightening on a deeper level.
How will you be celebrating Halloween this year?
I was considering going to Baltimore the weekend before Halloween to visit Edgar Allan Poe's old house, see his grave and also visit the bar he was last in before he died. It's still an option. I also have a Halloween party with teachers.
Aside from publishing books, what else is keeping you busy these days?
With school going on, my weekdays are busy with teaching high school during the day. Then in the evening, I teach two nights at the local community college. This means when essays are due, I have about 80 to grade. So, usually grading papers fills much time. I enjoy playing tennis and jogging. I try to get exercise every other day at least. Lately I have been playing a lot of guitar, too.
What do you find attractive in a woman?
Well, I am still learning about the qualities I want in a woman. I mean, I haven't always chosen girls very wisely. The girl who I was engaged to, she was very intelligent and pretty, but she drank lots of alcohol and that made things complicated. She was also an atheist, so she did not like that I believed in God. I'm looking for intelligence, a sense of humor and a nice butt were always my criteria, but now I am adding what I have learned to be the most important: honesty. I guess I would like a partner who will allow me the freedom to write my crazy books, but who will support me and be like my closest friend.
And for the last question, what do you want to say to aspiring writers?
Keep an open mind and do not let rejection lead to self-pity. Use rejection as motivation to persevere. The open mindedness is simply to be aware that writing is a tough career and very few can just support themselves by writing. They may want to be open to other ways to write and make money by editing, writing advertisements, speeches, etc.
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