Five With Fisher - Victor Manibo
Victor Manibo is a Filipino speculative fiction writer living in New York. He is the author of THE SLEEPLESS, and his next novel, ESCAPE VELOCITY, is forthcoming from Erewhon Books in Spring 2024.
Tell me about a book you read that evoked strong emotion (ANY strong emotion!)
I just finished Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh, which has one of the most fascinating characters I’ve read all year. It’s the story of a disturbed and disturbing young woman whose life is upended by the arrival of a smart, glamorous new friend. The story is so unsettling and I still think about it a lot, months after reading it. It’s hard to place too—there’s a noirishness to it, but in some ways it is also a psychological thriller, and a modern gothic.
Give me an unexpected or strange piece of writing advice.
Reading comics made me—and still makes me—improve on writing dialogue. With comics, everything is in scene and everything is in dialogue with little to no narration. Visual media can be good for this too, but with comics, it’s all written words so it’s much closer to the experience of reading a novel.
Tell me about a comfort read and how it shaped you as an author.
Whenever I’m under the weather and must stay in bed, I listen to audiobooks; almost invariably, I listen to Agatha Christie. She has such an extensive catalog that I never run out of options. I get a lot of comfort from the familiarity of the kinds of stories she tells. Of course, it also helps that I write mysteries. Her books don’t necessarily give me ideas on what I write, but they’re a good periodic reminder of what makes a compelling plot.
Tell me about a research hole you fell into when writing one of your books.
The film Gravity (2013) inspired the more action-oriented scenes of Escape Velocity, but I don’t have a science background, so I needed to learn a lot about orbital mechanics and how bodies move in space. I wanted the scenes to be scientifically accurate (or at least plausible enough) without being dry and bogged down by numbers or jargon. I spent about a week learning space physics from a friend who actually teaches it, so I at least had a guide into this research hole.
Tell me what happens AFTER the end of your story. What kind of happily (or not!) ever after do your characters get!
It’s hard to answer this question without giving too much away, so I’ll just say this: When Escape Velocity closes, the state of the world might be considered bleak and uncertain, but it also does provide comfort and reason for optimism, at least to certain characters, and I hope that it evokes those same feelings in the reader.
Pre-order ESCAPE VELOCITY or get your copy of THE SLEEPLESS from your favorite retailers here!