Of Life and Lies 💫 Ft. Conversation with Catherine Dellosa
She plays video games for a living, reads comics for inspiration, and writes fiction because she is in love with Words. She lives in Manila, Philippines, with her husband, whose ideas fuel the fire in her writing. Her young adult fantasy novel Of Myths and Men has been published by Penguin Random House Sea, and is her love letter to gamer, geeks, mythological creatures, aliens and epic quests to save the world
Good evening, everyone. This is Inika and I'm back again to kickstart this conversation with author Catherine Delosa on her book of life and lives. In the previous well, I talked about her life and journey, but let us hear it from the person herself. Dear Ma'am, please tell us a bit about your journey as a games journalist and how you ventured into writing
Hi, Inika. Thank you so much for having me and it's great to be here. Thank you so much. So about that question well, initially I've always been really into writing, so even just as a little kid I've loved reading and I've always been fascinated by words, so I guess that's why I really like to write. And at the same time, I've also been a really avid gamer since I was a kid
Thank you for sharing your journey with us, Catherine. It's great how you've made your hobby into your dream job, because that is something that most people aspire to do. Now, since you work in online gaming, you must be aware that this field has often been seen in a not so positive light, something that is just a hobby and isn't able to pay the bills. But again, it is garnering requisite respect
And when it comes to other things, there's just so many things you can do to make money playing video games and it's not just literally playing a game. So you can be, first of all, a developer, a designer, you can even be in PR or press, in public relations, so there are so many things you can do to make money
Thank you for this very insightful answer, Catherine. I'm sure this will be beneficial to those who are in gaming as well as those who aren't in gaming, like me, to form a more informed opinion about this subject. Coming to your work and your book of Life and Lies, please tell us a bit about the book. What can readers expect from it? And what do you think is the USP of the book and the story?
Thank you so much. Inika yeah, I do hope that I can somehow wave the flag of gaming for other people out there. So about my book, Of Life and Lies, it's the second book in the Of Myths and Men trilogy. And I do think that it's unique in the sense that the first book is structured like an RPG or a role playing game
Thank you for that, Catherine. I'm sure with the background of the characters and the setting that you provided, the readers will be more able to connect to the story and enjoy the whole experience. Now, my next question is about writing. It is difficult to write and publish a novel, and more so, in case of a trilogy, how do you constantly motivate yourself and foster ideas to keep the story going? And
So regardless if what inspires you is like perhaps a good movie or something that makes you cry or some form of soundtrack or music that you like to put on in the background, whatever inspires you, especially for writers, I believe it would be books. So you have to keep reading as well. If that inspires you, then you have to go ahead and look for it actively and not just wait around for it. And then the bottom line really, is that you just have to keep doing it
That's really good advice, Catherine. Even I believe that instead of just sitting and violing time, we should at least get something done. Because one never knows when the inspiration will strike. So it's better to get going rather than keep waiting. You have mostly written fantasy and fiction. So how do you think fantasy and fiction and fostering the imagination of the readers? How do you think it is different from nonfiction writing?
So I really do think that fantasy has such an important role when it comes to that. But at the same time, that's not really to dismiss contemporary fiction, which I also write. So actually my first love is contemporary fiction rather than fantasy fiction. So while I do write in both genres, I mostly began writing contemporary fiction. And I do also think that contemporary fiction plays an important role in reflecting the issues of the youth
Thank you so much for sharing your viewpoints. Catherine, I exceptionally liked how you mentioned that fiction is an escape, but it's also a mirror so that we can reflect into who we are, what we do, and other major aspects of human life. Now, I'm saddened to say that we are moving on towards the end of this conversation
So whether that's about editing your book or marketing it, or holding events or maybe promoting it to your fans or your fellow writers even, you really have to do the legwork as well. So you can't rely on anyone else to do all these things for you. Now, when it comes to indie publishing or self publishing, it's also something that I dabbled into first before I became traditionally published
You. So for the Win is coming out in November. It's a contemporary young adult story and it's again, once again, all about gaming. And it's told from the point of view of a teenage boy this time around. And it deals with themes of the right and wrong kinds of love, especially because the youth of today really struggle with these issues in real life, like I mentioned before. So it's all about video games as well
Thank you so much, Catherine, for all of that detailed advice. I'm sure it will benefit all those who listen today. Thank you so much for taking out time from your schedule and for gracing us with your presence here on Svel. You were indeed an amazing guest. Thank you so much for your warm wishes and congratulations on your new book, along with all the best wishes for the upcoming projects
Thank you inika Choudhary for this wonderful conversation, because through your questions and through the discussion, we have got a lot of insights and lot of points to understand and realize. So thank you so much for hosting this conversation, both of you. We really had a great time listening to this. Well, God answers to a lot of questions. Thank you so much for this wonderful swell. Have a great day