Recle Etino Vibal

Biography

Recle E. Vibal, a son of a Bicolano and an Ilonga, is proudly Filipino. He finished a degree in BS Chemical Engineering at the University of the Philippines Los Baños but found his passion in writing and learning. He reads books of every genre but devours more fantasy, history, and mythology than what is good for the body.

Learn more at www.ibongtikling.wordpress.com

Birthday? 6 July, 1987

When did you start writing? I started writing in the second half of 2011. Yes, I'm a late blooming writer.

When and what and where did you first get published? My first published works were "Target: Heart" and "White Hairs" in Amok: An Anthology of Asia-Pacific Speculative Fiction and Allusions of Innocence, respectively, both by Solarwyrm Press.

What themes do you like to write about? I like stories of unrequited and enduring love that keeps fighting for what is right despite all the challenges. In all my stories, I try to add something Filipino or Filipino-like in the characters and settings.

What books and/or stories have most resonated with you as an author? Why? How do these stories and their characters find expression in your work? Neil Gaiman is my favorite author, and he has influenced much of my writing. Gaiman's The Graveyard Book, Coraline, and The Ocean at the End of the Lane taught me how children faced with what they fear the most can be the best of heroes. I often find myslef trying to immitate Gaiman's prose. J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and Richard Adam's Watership Down showed me what a fun adventure really looks like. Jose Rizal's Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo made me realize the power of stories to induce change. Philippine folk literature gives me the characters and settings that add the Filipino flavor in my fantasy stories.