#amandithesecretmessenger

[haru-kuneko]

To our fellow Filipino neighbours affected by the earthquake in Mindanao, hope y'all stay safe and sound. I heard that it was so massive that it even caused a tsunami alert in Japan \( ̊☐ ̊”)/

As for my loyal Wattpad readers who are also here on Tumblr, rest assured that "AMANDI" is currently in the works and will be out tomorrow Friday.

Here's hoping the rest of the year becomes a lot less grim! *fingers crossed 🤞(>.<)🤞*

[haru-kuneko]

Happy Halloween! Chapter VI of "AMANDI: The Secret Messenger" is finally out. Only on Wattpad.

Also, Chapter VII will be divided into two halves so the first three parts will be on October 26 (17:00 GMT+8) and the remaining three on October 27 (06:00 GMT+8).

*Psst! It's best to read them on mobile devices. I also apologize for the awful screenshots as I copy-pasted them from Wattpad via desktop. Also, to anyone living in the Philippines, hope y'all are safe during the typhoon.

[haru-kuneko]

Another Happy Weekend (hopefully)! ✨🌟

Any of my fellow Filipinos heading to the Big Bad Wolf book sale at the Filinvest Tent or just wanna chill out on the couch to catch the finale of Murder Drones? (*≧∀≦*)

I promised myself I'd make more art during the weekends. From upper right to lower left, Kaira, Leo and Irene find themselves under the looming shadow of The Big Bad Wolf.

Also, RAWR is supposed to be a made-up magazine for nostalgic millennial hipsters. The name comes from “rawr XD” which a lot of emo teens in the 2000s used to say "I love u." ‘XD’ is actually a laughing emoji.

If you’re wondering why DunMesh and Murder Drones are there, that’s ‘coz I’m both into those fandoms right now. I heard RedHook is gonna have their Australian tour starting on August 30th!

Laios: READY TO RAWR XD! LET'S BE FRIENDS!

Kabru: Now that golden retriever (Laios) is distracted, where is that freak that roasted my mom's chicken tikka masala?

Mickbell: I'm so awesome right now.

("Imposter" by RedHook starts playing in the background)

[haru-kuneko]

Chapter XI of "AMANDI" is out now!

Here are the release dates on Wattpad:

🎃 October 31st (17:00 GMT+8/20:00 GMT+11) > PART 1 & 2

👻 November 1st (07:00 GMT+8/10:00 GMT+11) > PART 3 & 4

👻 November 2nd (07:00 GMT+8/10:00 GMT+11) > PART 5 & 6

If you happen to be new here and are just hearing about this book, it's a sequel to my sci-fi, mystery novel called "TCOTRB: The Case of The Red Bubble" on Wattpad.

I highly recommend you check out TCOTRB first, as there are a lot of things in AMANDI that wouldn't make sense unless you've read the first book. Both series follow a young self-proclaimed detective named Milo Sidaris, along with his friends Kaira, Leo, Jin and Irene, as they get involved in one of the Philippines' darkest conspiracies.

Imagine a fourteen-year-old boy starting out on Reddit ('BreadIt,' as it's called in the book) where he stumbles upon a mystery and later ends up being put on a government watchlist for his involvement.

It is a must-read for those looking for some weird, twisted stories outside of the typical romance novels you often see on Wattpad.

P.S. To anyone asking if I take commissions, make sure you're a legit person and your profile contains enough information telling me what company, origin and the kind of services you offer complete with contact info. I don't use PayPal due to safety reasons. For example, [First name/Last name] from the Penguin House Department in Australia looking for a book cover artist who can do a vector-esque art style. I wanna know who you really are and if you got any references. Don't just say you wanna hire me or I'll block you. Also, if you wish to share my art, please give credit. DO NOT REUPLOAD!

[haru-kuneko]

Whew! Time sure flies so fast. I have been busy at work lately so it looks like we're gonna have to kick off the end of the month with more clues and ground-breaking mysteries in this upcoming chapter. As much as I love living in Australia, I still kind of miss the Philippines.

Another thing is it sucks how there's an ongoing bias towards authors who come from certain backgrounds or countries. This isn't just a writer's thing, but it could happen in other industries. Imagine being turned down all because they didn't like your country.

[haru-kuneko]

I remember checking the stats behind one of my books yesterday and I know this may not mean much to anybody, but to me it felt like I've just hit the jackpot! Who knew I would also have a small audience in America, Saudi Arabia and France as well? I was not even expecting twenty to thirtysomething-year-olds would be into this.

Despite the book being aimed at ages 15-21, I bet there are young kids out there checking out this book and pretending to be older. I do wish that many people would at least give it a chance and read the whole thing, though I kind of chalk it off to how people tend to fast read or struggle to finish it due to those pesky ads.

Now, here's my personal take: Those numbers tend to be subjective. Just because a book is popular and mostly beloved by everyone, it doesn't necessarily mean it's gonna be good. You could also spend years writing your book, reassuring yourself how good it's gonna be and still not get as much attention. It just means there's a certain audience out there who could appreciate your stuff.

Also, this is Wattpad we're talking about and publishing very niche, unconventional stories on a platform where YA fantasy-slash-romance titles are put on a high pedestal can be a challenge.

Now, I did not make this post to brag and claim I'm this absolute chad in writing. I am not saying you shouldn't care about views and comments because engagement is still important. It is meant to inspire other writers who might be bummed by those numbers and assume that because of a few bad reviews (or even not having a lot of engagement), then it already means nobody's gonna appreciate them and their works. As they say, a man's trash is another man's treasure.

[haru-kuneko]

Art Promo Corner

Happy Nat'l Book Lovers Day, everyone! Also, cheers to my lovely readers (including the silent ones) who were able to make it this far and the exciting aftermath of this recent chapter. Hope to see y'all on October 31st for more thrilling adventures and drama! 🎉

PROMO ART FROM CHAPTER X (TULPA)

Professor Sylvester standing over the balcony as some eldritch creature emerges from below. Imagine this taking place inside a veined, jello-like dome with a fleshy interior, characterized by a fleshy ceiling and flooring. 

Meet The Parents

A quick concept of Milo and his friends' family. Again, I do apologize if the colors look off though. They look a bit more vibrant and crisp when I view them on my phone. 

Dexter Cojuangco (Volos) and Sofia Romano (Arachne)

Dexter can never go out without his trusted orange beanie hat. He is rather insecure about his grey hair (which I suppose is a result of stressful and traumatic events). By the way, his last name is read as 'KO-HUANG-KO.'

The Sanchez Family

Uhh ... I think I got a little lazy drawing this but you at least get the idea of how the architect behind the dome structure of the Philippines and his wife look like.

Now, Mr. Rafael Sanchez (a.k.a. Icarus) is actually of Spanish and Filipino descent, making him a "mestizo", while Ms. Cornelia Ackerman-Sanchez (a.k.a. Perchta) is of Dutch descent. They are one odd family. Whatever you do, never mess with Madame Cornelia over here! 

[haru-kuneko]

July 20th - 21st: The Secret Bubble Radio Anniversary

I just wanna give a quick heads up! To those who might be weirded out and confused by the amateur art style, it's supposed to be inspired by ol' graphic novels and comics with thicker outlines and flat colors. All of them were drawn on the iPhone 'Pages' app. This post is dedicated to celebrating the anniversary of these two books. TCOTRB was published on Wattpad on July 20th, 2022. The sequel “AMANDI: The Secret Messenger”, on the other hand, was published on July 21st, 2024.

At camp, Jin (TCOTRB and AMANDI) is suddenly surrounded by Mina (a character from my graphic novel "BIOMETRICS"), Zoey and Uzi once they discover he's reading the latest volume of Shonen Jump.

Man! If only it were so easy to win girls over as an anime fan ... Uzi here is like "Do they have Naruto there, too?".

A glimpse of Kaira (left) and Irene's (right) outfit during the Halloween party chapter. Fun fact: Kaira is the one who actually designed Irene's iconic witch costume.

Inspired by the scene from TADC episode 5 where the characters were posing in an empty white room so I thought of drawing Leo in his streetwear posing in this vibrant, colorful room.

•••

P.S. To anyone asking if I take commissions, make sure you're a legit person and your profile contains enough information telling me what company, origin and the kind of services you offer complete with contact info. I don't use PayPal due to safety reasons.

For example, [First name/Last name] from the Penguin House Department in Australia looking for a book cover artist who can do a vector-esque art style. I wanna know who you really are and if you got any references. Don't just say you wanna hire me or I'll block you.

Also, if you wish to share my art, please give credit. DO NOT REUPLOAD!