The moment I saw a blog tour for an aswang novel, I knew I had to join. Thank you so much to Shealea from Caffeine Tours for hosting this blog tour and accepting my application. And thank you to the author, Jason Tanamor, for my free e-copy of this ARC.
Read on to learn more about the book and about aswang and Philippine folklore!
Vampires of Portlandia is an adult fantasy novel by Jason Tanamor. It will be released on September 29, 2020.
What is Vampires of Portlandia about?
When Marcella Leones relocates her family of aswang vampires from the Philippines to Portland, Oregon, she raises her grandchildren under strict rules so humans will not expose them. Her only wish is to give them a peaceful life, far away from the hunters and the Filipino government that attempted to exterminate them.
Before she dies, she passes on the power to her eldest grandchild, Percival. He vows to uphold the rules set forth by Leones, allowing his family to roam freely without notice. After all, they are aswangs.
However, when the aswang covenant is broken, the murder rate in Portland rises drastically. Who is behind the murders? And who is behind the broken covenant? Along with sensie Penelope Jane, Percival must find the truth.
It's then they discover that there are other breeds of aswangs—werebeasts, witches, ghouls, and viscera—who have been residing in Portland for years.
Based on Filipino folklore (aswang), “Vampires of Portlandia” is a fantastical tale of different monsters coexisting in the weirdest city in America.
Does this book sound interesting to you? No worries. It's coming out next week!
My moodboard
Some of you might be wondering: what is an aswang? Well buckle up.
Let me introduce you to Philippine folklore!
The Philippines, located in Southeast Asia, has been a bustling crossroads of culture for thousands of years. Our culture isn't just Malay, it's also heavily influenced by China, India, and of course the old colonizers: Spain and the United States. If you're also Southeast Asian, you might recognize some of these creatures, albeit under a different name.
First, what is an aswang?
The aswang is basically an umbrella term for various creatures of Filipino foklore. There isn't an exact taxonomy to classify them, but they share these characteristics:
- They're often evil or malevolent, causing harm to humans
- They drink blood or eat internal organs and viscera (sometimes they eat unborn fetuses)
- They look like regular human beings by day, but shapeshift by night (into monsters or great dogs)
- They can be defeated by garlic, salt, a stingray tail, or holy water
For further reading, I highly recommend The Aswang Project online:
https://www.aswangproject.com/etymology-of-aswang-where-did-the-word-come-from/
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Check out the other stops for this blog tour here!
September 20
September 21
September 22
September 23
September 24
September 25
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