‘Water Moon’: Filipino author’s ‘last hurrah’ novel takes world by storm
Launched this January and already on its third print run, the romantic fantasy “Water Moon” (Del Rey, 374 pages) is one of the most successful novels by a Filipino writer.
A ramen restaurant in Kyoto fronts a pawnshop where one can dispose of life’s regrets; here, Keishin meets the proprietress Hana and journeys with her to magical worlds in search of her missing father.
A heady blend of fantasy and philosophy, “Water Moon” has been praised by critics for being “endlessly inventive,” “thought-provoking,” and “wildly adventurous.”
Inquirer Lifestyle sat down with author Samantha Sotto Yambao to talk about the surprising, inspiring success of her fifth novel.
First of all, congratulations on all the accolades for “Water Moon”: Instant Sunday Times Bestseller, USA Today Bestseller, Barnes & Noble Bestseller, Amazon Bestseller, Library Journal SFF pick of the month, and Amazon Editor’s Pick, with starred reviews from Bookpage, Booklist, and Library Journal. Which one thrilled you the most?
I truly can’t choose between them because I’m just so, so grateful for everything. It feels like I’m dreaming.
Is all this a dream come true?
Actually, no. I didn’t dream of becoming an author–it just kind of happened. After college, I just wanted to make money like everyone else and joined the corporate world. I felt there was dignity and honor in providing for your family because that’s what my dad did.
But you did publish your first novel, “Before Ever After,” after you quit marketing 15 years ago.
I did. But I really struggled afterward and considered changing course. Since I’d dedicated “Before Ever After” to my kids with the words, “This is to show you that you can hold your dreams in your hands,” my stubborn side said, “I can’t give up on this.” So when the books I wrote after didn’t sell as well as my debut novel, it pushed me to keep going.
How were you inspired to write “Water Moon”?
In 2019, I visited Ninenzaka Street in the historical district of Kyoto. It really felt like I had stepped back in time. I walked into one of the old houses and–surprise–it was a very modern coffee shop. So I wanted to capture that feeling of expecting one thing then finding yourself someplace else. And then 2020 happened; I was locked down in the Philippines. I started to think about how pawnshops were lifelines during that difficult period and how the items people pawned were not really just objects–they were all the stories and circumstances that led their owners to that point in their lives inside this pawnshop. Those items were like symbols of the choices they made.
So I put those two thoughts together—the surprise I experienced at Ninenzaka and the thoughts I had about pawnshops–by putting a pawnshop unexpectedly behind a ramen restaurant’s door.
Where did the title “Water Moon” come from?
Water moon is a symbol of what’s desirable yet unreachable–things that are close enough to touch but can’t actually get. Hana is the water moon to Keishin, and vice versa. They’re each other’s unattainable thing.
Water Moon asks, Are our lives bound by fate? Hana believes that her life is all mapped out; she thinks an ending that’s yet to be written is the ultimate luxury.
Yes. I wanted to explore the role of choice in our life. Pandemic thoughts, I guess, because we were stripped of so many freedoms. In the absence of freedom, what would the world look like?
Your publishers did a preempt in the United States and had multiple internal auctions around the world. How does that work?
When a book goes on submission–submitted to multiple editors at the same time–they can bid for your book at an auction. But if somebody really, really likes it, they’ll make a preemptive offer to buy the book outright before an auction takes place. That’s what happened to “Water Moon” one day after we submitted it.
There are 24 international editions including Estonian, Hebrew, and Ukrainian… Did the preempt happen in other countries, too?
More auctions, rather than preempts, took place. In the United Kingdom, for example, there was this book scout–not my foreign rights agent—who zoomed off to Europe and started offering the book to publishers. And so before we even signed a contract with my US publisher, a UK publisher came and said, “We’d like to buy ‘Water Moon’.” For synergy between the UK and the US, my US publisher (Del Rey, an imprint of Penguin Random House) said, “Can we try keeping the book within the family?” There were several imprints in Penguin Random House UK who wanted it so the book was auctioned internally. I had never, ever experienced that before.
What did Del Rey do that made you choose them?
The question is what did they NOT do? I felt their love right from the design of the book, which has a reversible book jacket where the other side’s an immersive origami experience. But I really felt it at our kickoff publicity meeting where my Zoom screen was just filled with this huge team, even the big bosses. They started out with the vision for me as an author—not just the vision for the book–like this is where you want to take your career, this is the trajectory we want for you, and this is how “Water Moon” will fit into that… Just this big picture about me as an author and, wow, I felt the love.
I’ve seen a lot of online interviews with you. What else did they do to create buzz?
They got earlier copies of the book into as many reviewers’ hands as possible; that created a lot of organic buzz around the book. They also did a lot of fun stuff, too. At the UK Young Adult Literary Conference, for example, they made this magical, magical booth… It was so beautiful! You could get free mochi ice cream and there were walls where people could pin up their dreams–the line for that was like an hour long!
And I believe all the special editions created a lot of excitement, too. Illumicrate was the first subscription box company to feature “Water Moon” in their monthly box. They created their own cover, their own end pages. For the book box, they even included a custom-made “Water Moon” blanket based on the midnight bridge scene. It’s so pretty!
Will there be a “Water Moon” movie? You have an agent in Hollywood representing you?
I had multiple offers from different film agents when the book came out. I decided to go with an agent from United Talent Agency. No firm movie project plans at the moment but I have spoken with a couple of producers.
Live action or anime?
A lot of people are saying it lends itself to animation because they say it’s such a visual novel. If I could have both, why not? If you’re going to dream, dream big, right? (Laughs)
What’s your advice to Filipino authors who are dreaming of a success like “Water Moon”?
They say, “Write what you know.” I feel that it’s very self-limiting. You need to let your curiosity take the lead. At least for me, that’s what works. Because if it interests me, then I’ll be passionate about writing it and learn what I need to learn along the way. Don’t limit yourself. I said it 15 years ago and I’m saying it now: Imagination is one of the few places Filipinos can visit without a visa. Let’s take advantage of that.
What’s the best thing about this whole experience?
I dedicated this book to everyone looking for new beginnings. Because at my age, you don’t think that you’re going to begin again–and I literally began again with a new agent! This was my last-hurrah book. Now, I suddenly feel so reinvigorated, so amazed by this. So many new experiences.
And what’s the next book?
It’s a standalone, same genre as “Water Moon”–but with a completely different set of characters and setting.
“Water Moon” is available on Amazon and Fully Booked. It can be preordered from National Book Store.
