The Literature Quest

You know how I've always been carping about how nobody seems to be publishing local speculative fiction?

Well (barring comic book writers and Eric Gamalinda), more fool am I since the stories are there for all to see. Blind me.

Let me explain: I discovered this website by local writer Dean Alfar, which I had discovered via bloghopping thanks to another Joey. In his journal, Alfar mentioned that he had a story printed in the latest Year's Best Fantasy & Horror (17th annual edition).

This aroused my curiousity, which led me to his story at the speculative fiction website Strange Horizons:

In the vicinity of the Plaza Emperyal, she saw a young man dressed in a coat embroidered with stars walk almost surely to his death. In that instant, Maria Isabella knew two things with the conviction reserved only for the very young: first, that she almost certainly loved this reckless man; and second, that if she simply stepped on a dog's tail -- the very dog watching the same scene unfold right next to her -- she could avert the man's seemingly senseless death.

By all that's holy.....

What's even outstanding is that Alfar uses local names, tales and legends in coming up with the story, if you look in the right direction. I wonder though if this story was the one published in the aforementioned anthology.

And the search goes on...