Rin Chupeco
Rin Chupeco | |
---|---|
Born | Manila, Philippines |
Occupation | novelist |
Language | English |
Genre | young adult fiction |
Years active | 2012-now |
Notable works | The Bone Witch, The Girl from the Well |
Children | 2 |
Website | |
rinchupeco |
Erin "Rin" Chupeco[1] is a Chinese Filipino writer of young adult fiction, best known for her The Bone Witch and The Girl from the Well series.
Personal life
Chupeco is Chinese[2] and was born and raised in Manila, Philippines.[3] She is of Chinese, Malay, Thai, and Filipino descent.[4]
As a child, Chupeco was fascinated with ghost stories, saying that she was drawn in by absolute injustice of Japanese tales that tend to favor male aggressors and never end positively for women.[5] She collected the works of Peter Straub, Stephen King, Shirley Jackson, Edgar Allan Poe, and Christopher Pike.[6] Her favorite story is that of the kuchisake-onna.[5]
She describes herself as a pansexual, liberal atheist.[5] Chupeco is also nonbinary and uses she/they pronouns.[7]
Prior to becoming an author, Chupeco worked as a graphic designer.[8]
She is married and lives with her husband and two children in Manila.[5][9]
Selected works
Chupeco's works often draw inspiration from Asian cultures.
The Girl from the Well Series
Her debut novel The Girl from The Well tells the story of Okiku, a vengeful spirit who hunts for abusers and eats their souls, who finds herself in a battle with another evil spirit when she falls for Tark, the boy that the spirit is tethered to.[10] It was published by Sourcebooks Fire in August 2014 and received a starred review from Publishers Weekly.[10] Chupeco says that it was inspired by Japanese horror, particularly the works of Bancho Sarayashi, whose movies she rewatched multiple times prior to writing the book.[5] With the novel Chupeco aimed to try a spin on the topic that had not been done before by making the ghost character the sympathetic anti-heroine.[5]
A companion novel, The Suffering, continues the story of Okiku and Tark as they travel the country to search for more people Okiku can kill.[11]
The Bone Witch Series
The first novel in the series, The Bone Witch, follows Tea, a teen with the ability to raise the dead, who finds herself caught in a struggle for power as she explores her newfound abilities after she accidentally resurrects her late brother.[12]
Chupeco says that her writing often is very experimental, mixing different styles and themes, which led to her writing The Bone Witch in order to tell the story of characters in two different time periods.[5] The Bone Witch series was inspired by Filipino witch doctors, mangkukulam, who are revered by the general public yet approached when in need of help, similar to the dark asha in her series.[5] She also drew on Middle Eastern folklore and influences, like the Ayyubid dynasty and Wahhabism.[13] The witch aspect was inspired by real-life geisha.[5] The Bone Witch was published by Sourcebooks Fire in February 2017 and received starred reviews from Shelf Awareness[14] and Publishers Weekly.[12]
In the sequel, The Heart Forger, published in February 2019, Tea finds herself bound to a mythical dragon-like creature and embarks on a quest to find a cure.[15] It received starred reviews from Booklist[16] and Foreword Reviews.[17]
In the last novel in the series, The Shadowglass, protagonist Tea faces off with her resurrected brother while searching for a way to make him immortal for good. It was published in March 2019.[18]
Bibliography
Series
The Girl from the Well
- The Girl from the Well (Sourcebooks Fire, 2014)
- The Suffering (Sourcebooks Fire, 2015)
The Bone Witch
- The Bone Witch (Sourcebooks Fire, 2017)
- The Heart Forger (Sourcebooks Fire, 2018)
- The Shadowglass (Sourcebooks Fire, 2019)
The Never Tilting World
- The Never Tilting World (HarperTeen, 2019)
A Hundred Names for Magic
- Wicked as You Wish (Sourcebooks Fire, 2020)
Short stories
- in Lauriat: A Filipino-Chinese Speculative Fiction Anthology (Lethe Press, 2012)
- in Hungry Hearts: 13 Tales of Food & Love (Simon Pulse, 2019)
- in His Hideous Heart (Flatiron, 2019)
References
- ^ "Filipino YA horror author Rin Chupeco on life and 'The Girl from the Well'". GMA News Online. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
- ^ "Hi! I really look forward to reading your... — Rin Chupeco Q&A". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
- ^ Gallagher, Diana (2014-08-05). "ALL FOUR KIDS: INTERVIEW WITH RIN CHUPECO, AUTHOR OF THE GIRL FROM THE WELL". 2015 YA & MG Debut Authors. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
- ^ "589: Confidence Starts In Little Ways With Rin Chupeco". The Tao Of Self Confidence. 2019-01-17. Retrieved 2019-05-30.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i northernplunder (2018-10-05). "Spooky Q+A: Rin Chupeco". Northern Plunder. Retrieved 2019-05-30.
- ^ "Author Interview - Rin Chupeco (Author of The Girl from the Well)". Retrieved 2019-04-03.
- ^ "Rin Chupeco on Instagram: "Happy #IAmNonBinary day!! I still need a good pic of me in a suit 😶"". Instagram. Retrieved 2020-01-23.
- ^ Brown, Jaye Robin (2014-05-29). "Hanging On To Wonder: A Conversation with Rin Chupeco, Author of THE GIRL FROM THE WELL". Hanging On To Wonder. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
- ^ "WHO STOKES THE FIRE: TALKING ABOUT THE BONE WITCH AND WORLD-BUILDING WITH RIN CHUPECO". bookdragonism. 2019-03-16. Retrieved 2019-05-30.
- ^ a b www.publishersweekly.com https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-4022-9218-7. Retrieved 2019-05-30.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ Spisak, April (2015-11-12). "The Suffering by Rin Chupeco (review)". Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books. 69 (4): 188. doi:10.1353/bcc.2015.0907. ISSN 1558-6766.
- ^ a b "Children's Book Review: The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco. Sourcebooks Fire, $17.99 (432p) ISBN 978-1-4926-3582-6". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2019-05-30.
- ^ "Hi! I really look forward to reading your... — Rin Chupeco Q&A". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
- ^ "Junior Library Guild : The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco". www.juniorlibraryguild.com. Retrieved 2019-05-30.
- ^ "'The Heart Forger' Continues the Complexities of 'The Bone Witch'". FangirlNation Magazine. 2018-03-10. Retrieved 2019-05-30.
- ^ than 200, Booklist Online: More; Librarians, 000 Book Reviews for; Groups, Book; Association, book lovers-from the trusted experts at the American Library. Heart Forger, by Rin Chupeco | Booklist Online.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Review of The Heart Forger". www.forewordreviews.com. Retrieved 2019-05-30.
- ^ THE SHADOWGLASS by Rin Chupeco | Kirkus Reviews.