Interview with the Author

Why the anonymity?

I cannot make my identity known because too many human beings have forgotten how to be tolerant, let alone kind.

Why publish your novel in this way?

Because I wanted people to read it but I was not convinced that it would ever be published any other way. I hope I am wrong.

What is this novel about and why should people read it?

This novel is about what happens when we set any human being up on a pedestal and assume they can do no wrong.

The novel is written to be fun and entertaining - until it isn’t. I hope people enjoy reading it and, at the same time, are challenged in their thinking and learn something.

Why did you write this novel?

There have been enormous scandals relating to people who have been given impunity and have abused it.

We also have had scandals where influencers have incredibly destructive opinions and their followers follow them without question.

The third strand is the obscene advertising of the sex industry, where participants are routinely objectified, racially profiled and exploited.

I thought it would be interesting to weave these three threads together and tell a story that delivered an indictment on the state of contemporary culture, which has permitted the growth of these three obscene evils, while progressively silencing what is good and right.

Who is this novel for?

People who think and are prepared to be provoked and challenged by someone else's ideas.

Why is a protagonist of this novel trans?

There is something distinctly fashionable about the trans lobby. That makes a trans person an ideal flag-bearer for contemporary culture.

Their identity becomes something of a plot strand.

Yes, because we have this very vocal minority demanding that their rights are respected, regardless of the cost to anyone else, and I don’t think we, as a society, have quite worked out how to do this. This novel portrays the inter-generational struggle around the issue, as well as the reality that, in the end, we are all human beings at the mercy of the waves and longing for rescue. Some of us accept salvation when it comes. Others do not. That is the real differentiator between us.

Why did you set it in and around Ormoc City?

I have connections there. I have been there many times.

Also - and it brings me much pain to say this - Filipinas are often a target for people trafficking in its ugliest and most evil form. I wanted to call this out, and have a part of the novel expose it for what it is.

As well as the cultural sterotype of being hard-working, hospitable to a fault, friendly, demure and polite, Filipinos I have met also have this wonderful playfulness, unfilteredness and sense of fun. Mix that with the Celtic temperament, dry humour and bluntness of the Scots and you really have a quite combustible mix on which to base a novel.

Are the locations and landmarks real?

Yes, they are - except for one hotel. I felt that the owners of the hotel would not want to be associated in any way with the crimes depicted as taking place there in the novel.

You are referring to the truly disturbing events in Episode Eleven - Nightlife, when a recruiting event for a people trafficker takes place. It's a very difficult read. Why did you write it?

It was much more difficult to write! If you write about a heinous crime, there is no point being cartoonish about it. That does no-one any good. You need to tell it like it is.

I wasn't aiming for hundred percent realism. I was instead aiming to write something that explained the disturbing realities of this crime, so that those who are tempted by the bright lights and big bank balance realise and turn back. I appreciate that not too many people will read this novel, but if even one person is turned away from it as a result then I will have succeeded.

So yes, this Episode involves rampant misogyny, stereotyping, objectifying, body-shaming and heartless exploitation, because that is what this industry is built on. And that is why I would urge people to steer clear of it.

Why use the local dialect (Bisaya)? Why not the national language (Tagalog)?

People in the Central Visayas mostly speak Bisaya. To use Tagalog would not have been realistic.

For a novel that largely features an Asian cast, you set one episode in and around Ukraine. Why?

As I said before, people trafficking - one of the most evil crimes of our modern age - features in this novel. At the time of writing, the invasion of Ukraine by Russia was top of the news agenda. As if the misery and suffering of war were not enough, there are heartless people who seek to profit from it by trafficking its victims. I wanted to show this to demonstrate how utterly unconscionable and reprehensible people trafficking truly is.

What is the message of this novel?

That evil exists. That violence is not the solution. That the best hope for society is realising the recklessness of where we are headed and returning to God. That evil will not prevail, so we need to make a choice and repent, while we still can.

What would you say to anyone involved in the industry portrayed in this novel?

Selling yourself as nothing more than a piece of meat or as a drug so some sad person forgets their misery for a few minutes is no way to make a living. Don't believe the heinous lie that this is the only way. You can be so much more than this. Get help and get out. I have included some resources on this website, under 'Important Information'.

But you won't tell us who you are?

I will give you a pseudonym.

Which is?

Fara Numé.