Whether Memphis, Manila, or Mindanao, setting has its special place in my stories. I try to feature landmarks and places of meaning to me. The backdrop to the action gives me opportunity for poetic descriptions, whether remembering the soft music and brown tones of the now-closed Figaro’s Cafe in Riverbanks Mall, Marikina, or the haunted chill from the ghosts who pepper Ylanan Street in UP Diliman – formerly scene to various crimes including murder, back when the grasses were still tall and the way unlit.
Even in my script for SCRAMBLE, though there is less opportunity in a script to highlight the surroundings, the antagonist of the story finds time to note on the variety of cultural cuisines in the area around VGM – the only Filipino grocery in Memphis when I was growing up.
Figaro’s is no longer in Riverbanks, but I hope my novel will preserve the memory of it there. I wrote so much at their tables.
Memphis is no longer my personal backdrop, but SCRAMBLE preserves the teenage antics and banter of my high school barkada – or gang of friends – echoes imprinted against that setting for me.
Fiction can be a fun, entertaining way to preserve fond memories.
I do enjoy writing it.