Ruin & Resolve

On December 16-17, typhoon devastated the South, particularly Iligan and Cagayan de Oro. As a response, we are once again releasing our “Ruin and Resolve” anthology for free, to promote awareness of the urgent needs of our brethren, and to provide some small reward for those who do choose to donate. You can view information on how to help at this link: http://cdocity.com/ or http://www.redcross.org.ph/donatenow.
When calamities befall us, we react not only as individuals, but as distinct communities.When calamities devastate the country, as decent men and women, we give money, goods, and time to the relief effort–but we also engage our passions. Collectors hold auctions, artists offer commissions, and musicians stage concerts, all for the benefit of the typhoon victims. Our callings and vocations are part of who we are, and enable us to give in additional ways, unique ways. Artists draw, musicians perform…
Writers write.
“Ruin and Resolve” is a digital speculative fiction/poetry anthology that we first released in response to the devastation wrought by typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng in 2009. It contains speculative fiction (original tales, as well as reprints and excerpts from longer work) and poetry that deal with the two faces of every disaster, and the paradox inherent in the fact that, sometimes, it is in only the midst of the most crushing adversity that our brightest human qualities arise.
The nineteen stories, five poems and cover artwork included in the anthology were provided by their creators free of charge, in order to help raise funds for their fellow Filipinos in need. During times of crisis, we make the anthology freely available to remind people of the need to donate, and to provide some small reward for those who choose to do so.
Author/s
Mouse and I – Rochita Loenen-Ruiz
Strange Salvation – Celestine Trinidad
Earthquake – Kate Aton-Osias
Designations – Patria Rivera
Firestorm – Erica Gonzales
Excerpt from Neomuros – Paolo J. Cruz
After the Flood – Nikki Alfar
Stairway to heaven – Patria Rivera
Wishgranters – Rod M. Santos
The Sparrows of Climaco Avenue – Kenneth Yu
Dreams after the Storm – Eliza Victoria
We End Up with the Same Thing Anyway – Crystal Koo
Before the Perfect Season – Catherine Batac Walder
Wail of the Sun – Vincent Michael Simbulan
Haya and Me – Erica Gonzales
Snippets – Kate Aton-Osias
The way a plague transforms the land – Patria Rivera
The Marriage of Sun and Moon – Sharmaine Galve
The Death and Rebirth of Nathaniel Alan Sempio – Alexander Marcos Osias
Cutis Marmorata – Celestine Trinidad
The Return of the Sun – Rochita Loenen-Ruiz
Strangelove – by chiles samaniego
Excerpt from News of the Shaman – Karl R. De Mesa
You ate my city – Patria Rivera

Original press release can be found here.
Praise for Ruin & Resolve
“Borne out of tragedy but driven by a spirit of triumph, Ruin and Resolve takes us to different worlds, fantastic and magical, futuristic and the mundane every day. The collection, meant to help Ondoy victims with is proceeds, provides us all with reasons to keep striving, to never surrender, never quit. It may sound corny to say that one finds inspiration, and yes, the resolve needed, in these texts. But that’s the fact of the matter. More than a few times the reader will find not just beauty of image and power of prose, but genuine uplift and the feeling of elevation.” – Carljoe Javier, author of “And the Geek Shall Inherit the Earth“.
“But outside its being a charitable donation, this newest [Spec Fic] anthology isn’t a throwaway piece of literature; it’s worth buying for its own sake — lending credence to the publisher’s self-effacing introduction of “we hope our stories and poems make you feel all the happier to have helped those in need.” – Johanna Poblete, Business World.