by Pam Pastor
I leaned over to show the message to the Vietnamese woman and she nodded. She had been seated a couple of rows behind me. And because there were people between us and rows and rows and rows of people behind us all waiting to get off the plane, I had no choice but to walk out.
We tried to wait for her to come out of the plane but we never saw her again. And we had to leave because we had to catch our own flight to Manila.
I really, really hope she’s now where she’s supposed to be, surrounded by people who speak her language.
October 12, 2014
ANVIL Plus
Pam Pastor answers some burning questions.
1) When’s the best time of day for you to write?
I used to be nocturnal but this life of constant deadlines has robbed me of a preference. When needed, I can write anytime and anywhere. I write day and night, at home, in the office, in hotel rooms, while walking in the mall, in cars, trains and planes. I’ve written in notebooks, on napkins and Post-Its, on typewriters and computers, my iPad, an old Nokia, a BlackBerry. A number of the stories in this book were written using my iPhone’s Notes app, the same one I’m using to answer this.
2) In a parallel universe somewhere, what is your superpower?
The ability to drive a car. I don’t think this universe will survive me behind a wheel. Let the parallel people deal with it.
3) What books have you read more than three times?
Bridget Jones’s Diary. The Harry Potter series. Everything written by Ruth Reichl. Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Judy Blume’s Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret and a lot of her other books. Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Most of David Sedaris’s books. Some of Chuck Palahniuk’s books. I read Mindy Kaling’s Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? once and listened to the audio book twice. Does that count?
4) The film you believe is inspired by your life.
13 going on 30. But let’s change the Razzles to Bar None (the original one, not the crappy caramel monstrosity). God, I miss Bar None.
5) What song do you lip-sync to often?
The cast recordings of Wicked and Chicago.
6) You are the reincarnation of which literary character?
Gretel. And I’m pretty sure Powie is Hansel. Put us in front of a gingerbread house and we will see. I’m just hoping the witch has been reincarnated somewhere far from Manila.
7) Do you have an unusual writing habit?
When I feel stuck, I take a shower. When I need to drown out my surroundings, I grab my earphones and play A Charlie Brown Christmas. It’s a surprisingly effective force field that works all year round.
8) What is your ultimate favorite word?
Yes. It leads to so many possibilities.
9) What did you do when your first book got published?
I celebrated by buying a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey. Then I kept going to the bookstores to look for Paper Cuts just to make sure it really happened. I still do that sometimes.
10) The best advice you received about writing.
“Anak, bakit mo laging pinapatay ’yung characters sa stories mo? May problema ka ba?”
And read. Read, read, read.
Got a question for Pam?
Write to us at [email protected].
About the Author
PAM PASTOR grew up in the newsroom of the Philippine Daily Inquirer where she started writing when she was 17. (Her first assignment was a survey on virginity.) She is the editor of the newspaper’s Super section. Her first book, Paper Cuts, was published by Anvil in 2011. She procrastinates by painting her nails, cuddling with her French bulldog, and watching criminal trials on YouTube. You can find her on Instagram as @pajammy and Twitter as @turbochicken.