This Just Out Yesterday: Abi Malonzo's "How Moookie Got A LIfe"

My good friend Abu (we call her by that name), a Palanca awardee (with her approval (i may share the copy of her Palanca-winning play), is now a published novelist!

The book: How Moookie Got A Life

Sensible and strait-laced Maria Anastacia Katerina Maximiliana Sandoval, or Mookie, is contented but restless with her boring but stable job as a sitcom writer, her nice, though smothering family, her nice flat, and the “nice” fiancé she’s been promised to ever since she was born. Struck with a quarter-life crisis, she decides it's time to get a life. But does it involve dumping her fiancé? Dating a male model who’s way prettier than she is? Pretending to be an activist to pick up guys? Going mountain hiking with hardcore environmentalists where there are no toilets?! It seems like there's nothing she wouldn't do to get some excitement in her life, with disastrous and hilarious consequences.

EXCERPTS:

Why I Must End it with Miggy:

1. He has no ambition. He just wants to inherit “tons of money” (his exact words) from his grandfather.

2. He’s always late. He makes me wait! Unforgivable.

3. He’s immature. He still collects sentai (TV shows of Bioman and the like), toys, and comic books.

4. His favorite film ever is “Dawn of the Dead.” Ewwww! What a philistine.

5. He’s always getting pissed drunk at parties and making a nuisance of himself.

6. He doesn’t watch any of my shows.

7. He misspells the word “definitely” and spells it “definately.”

8. He falls asleep after sex!

9. He’s vainer than I am! He checks his reflection everywhere.

10. He cheated on me with some half-Japanese groupie of the Purplechickens who’s only 16 for Chrissakes!

The Author: Abi Malonzo

Abi Malonzo is a graduate of BA Journalism and an MA Creative Writing student from UP Diliman. She has worked as a copywriter, a college lecturer, and has also written a one-act play which was performed at the Sta. Ana Arts Center in January 2005, and a screenplay which won 2^nd Place at the Palanca Awards 2004. She has attended the 12^th Iligan National Writers Workshop 2005 and the 6^th Iyas National Writers Workshop 2006. (Incidentally, she has also written a poem which appeared in the John Lloyd-Bea film One More Chance, although she plays this down.) She lives in Mandaluyong, is obsessed with shoes and vintage clothes, and is now working as a producer/writer for a local TV station. She is also currently working on two new novels, one about a Russian tennis player, and another about a bitter and sardonic advice columnist.

How Moookie Got A Life is her first book.

Available at all National Book Stores nationwide.

Check out other Abu's writings:

1) Abu's novel in progress - Puerto del Cielo

2) Her poems - The Screwdriver Chronicles

3) Her dearest personal blog - Abu

She also got a Mutliply account. I'm sure she'll pop a comment anytime soon.:)

4) Her stories - Under the Pink

POSTSCRIPT:

According to the Chinese calendar, it's the first day of the Year of the Rat today. Living in Korea, we celebrate it as Seollal Day, a very important national holiday, granting me free time to do this publicity stunt for Abu.

Waiting for me in Seoul is Bern, an orgmate from the University who is happily married to a Korean. I must also visit my troubled in law in Osan.

Also waiting are my RATatouille friends nearby who cooked a very sumptous lunch: escabeche, munggo beans, and steamed shrimp and crabs. Gotta go take a shower.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! Don't forget to get Mookie. :)