Wicked Review: Don't Tell Anyone (Literary Smut) by Shakira Sison and Ian Rosales Casocot

Published: 2017

Format Acquired: Paperback

Genre: Fiction, LGBT

Order at Anvil Publishing: Don't Tell Anyone or go to any National Bookstore branch.

If sex remains taboo in the Philippines, gay and lesbian sex is still even more unspoken. “How do you do it?” is still the most common question queer Pinoys get. Even after that question is answered, there is still the popular notion that only heterosexual sex is ‘the real thing,’ and anything else is just a deviation or an attempt to replicate the male-female dynamic of human contact.

This book makes up for this history of invalidation. An unprecedented dirty dozen, Sison’s and Casocot’s stories are direct and unflinching. They make no qualms or apologies about the nature of sex between two men or between two women. They explore courtship and contact between same-gender partners with humor, hesitation and obsession, and eventually take the reader with them as they reel from heartbreak.

Whether you consider straight sex ‘the real thing,’ or are among the LGBTQ community that is hungry for a true account of Filipino gay and lesbian loving, one thing this collection and its characters do, over and over without exhaustion, is to keep on trying.

Right off the bat, this book is amazing, I have never read anything like this obviously because this is the first LGBT literature I have read. Really, this is amazing.

I have no qualms reading smut because duh, fangirl since 2009. I have long been exposed to smut. Literary smut that is. You know, stories that depict sex as something beautiful almost. Sex is where two people come together, either to fall in love or not. Both authors have tackled writing LGBT sex as beautiful as heterosexual sex.

I have been reading gay smut stories since I have been exposed to the world of fan fiction. If I'm not reading books, I'm reading fan fiction. But, gay fan fiction is different from literature. Literature is more raw. It digs through your heart and mind. After that, it fills you up with so much emotion that you kind of overflow.

This book is no nonsense, straight up gay and lesbian erotica. This book should be handled with caution yet with an open mind. I mean, come on. the LGBT community have sex just like heterosexuals, albeit it looks different. But yes, they can have sex. They can achieve climax as well. Damn right, they are the sexiest people I have ever come across with. Not only do they have sexy bodies to begin with, but their minds are sexy as hell. This book is literally in your face. Like, really you will devour this in one sitting. Or maybe sitting on top of someone, I don't know. Hah. Innuendo right there.

Reading this book didn't change my sexual orientation as a heterosexual. Reading this book made me understand the struggles and hardships of the LGBT community when they fall in and out of love. They suffer so much just like we do. Reading this book makes me want to study about gender and all the difference that there is about it. Just so I could understand that there's more to it than just being called a man or a woman.

This is just a beautiful piece of literature that I hope some day a lot of people would get to read more #LGBTLit. I hope this isn't the last from either of these authors. I hope more people follow suit as well. This book is funny, sexy, witty, sad, and just downright amazing. Just buy it now.

Shakira Sison has won two Palanca Awards in the essay category. As a columnist for Rappler, she has also been honored with a St. Scholastica's College Hildegarde Award and a Lasallian Scholarium Award. She was a fellow for Poetry in English in the University of the Philippines' National Writer's Workshop in 1999. Shakira holds a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of the Philippines Los Banos and works in finance in New York City.

Ian Rosales Casocot is a novelist, and teacher film, literature, and creative writing in Siliman University in Dumaguete City. He has won the Palanca Award several times and has also won the NVM Gonzales Prize, a PBBY Salanga Writer's Prize and the Fullybooked/Neil Gaiman Philippine Graphic/Fiction Prize for his fiction. He is currently the coordinator of the Edilberto and Edith Tiempo Creative Writing Center.

Wicked Journey: #SparkBooks Launch

Wicked Journey is a feature is where I recount the times I actually went out of my comfort zone and went to different places. This includes book signings, travels, and other posts related to journeying.

So, yesterday was the first ever book signing I attended for this year. Now that school's out, I can definitely enjoy some reading. I found out about these books during MIBF last September and I only knew two of the authors, Kate Evangelista and Chrissie Peria, but the rest, I've only heard of now. Not only are the covers really pretty, these books are really cheap too. The stories, even if I haven't read all of them are phenomenal. So, I bought all six books in one go because that's how I roll.

Yup, number 4. This is the nearest I got to being an early bird in all of the book signings I ever attended.  Originally, six authors were supposed to be there. But Camilla Sisco (Submission Moves) and Bianca Mori (Tame The Kitten) weren't able to attend due to prior commitments *insert tears*.

I spent the day yesterday with this lovely lady, Jera, whom I haven't seen in a looooooong time. I was really happy that she came yesterday so we got to catch up.

The event was hosted by Mina Esguerra, author of Envy Park, The Harder We Fall and Never Just Friends. She's one of the first local romance authors I knew about. She has published a lot of books already, both in print and online. Aside from that, she also handles writing classes online and helps in spreading the love for local authors.

The first author she introduced was Chrissie Peria, author of The Kitchen When It Sizzles and All's Fair In Blog and War. Her new book, The Kitchen When It Sizzles, is about the story of Olivia Nadal, the almost perfect heroine and Nate Olivarez, very very smexy chef. Their lives intertwine in a really hot and sizzling romance and of course, food. This was one of the six I picked up and I am hooked. Here is Chrissie as she shared an excerpt from her new book. Chrissie loves taking photos, cooking, and taking care of a tiny human. Said tiny human was present yesterday and was the cutest thing I have ever seen.

(Click here to watch the whole video. Special thanks to Dianne of Oops I Read A Book Again for allowing me to share the videos she took yesterday.)

Next up was Agay Llanera, author of Once Upon A Player, Vintage Love, and Choco Chip Hips. Once Upon A Player is about the story of college star player (as the blurb said, in every sense of the word) Val Fabian and how she tries to win over Jake Clementia before graduation. Agay is also a freelance TV writer and when she's not writing, she's watching volleyball games in the arena. Here is Agay sharing an excerpt from her new book.

(Click here to watch the whole video. Special thanks to Dianne of Oops I Read A Book Again for allowing me to share the videos she took yesterday.)

Kate Evangelista is the proud author of Til Death and her new book Savor. She wanted to write that's why she entered medical school...really. Now, she's writing full time. Savor, from the looks of it, is pretty intense. The cover is intense. The blurb on the back is intense. It even came in with a warning. Savor is about Dakota Collins, a photography student with an eye patch, and Luka Visraya, smexy vocalist of the indie band called Vicious, and how their lives are intertwined. Here is Kate, looking as fabulous as ever, sharing an excerpt from her new book.

(Click here to watch the whole video. Special thanks to Dianne of Oops I Read A Book Again for allowing me to share the videos she took yesterday.)

Dawn Lanuza is the author of The Boyfriend Backtrack and What About Today. She's in the music industry by morning and writes during the night. The Boyfriend Backtrack is about Regina Cortes and how her life is like a movie. Every moment in her life is played out in a montage. All the men that has Regina has been with, their memories and all, come crashing back to her. Here is Dawn as she shares an excerpt from her new book.

(Click here to watch the whole video. Special thanks to Dianne of Oops I Read A Book Again for allowing me to share the videos she took yesterday.)

 Next up was question and answer portion time. I really learned a lot from these ladies. Their stories are somewhat drawn from personal experience and extensive research. In the case of Chrissie, she had to look up on cooking courses online. Like, what happens and the cooking jargon. Kate also shared that she does not look at reviews online. As she said, "It's a rabbit hole!" It was funny, really.

Then it was time to raffle off prizes from the authors. Most of the winners were guys and girls named Camille. And then there's me. Awkward duckling that I am, won a goodie bag from Dawn Lanuza!

Coming up to the authors, well, it was really funny. I'm thankful that there were only a few people in the event because it meant having more time to chat up with the authors. Dawn and Agay noticed me because they remembered my Twitter and Instagram handle! *woot woot*  I also got take more photos with them!

This was me being awkward with Kate Evangelista. Because a) her eyes are just so pretty and b) I literally have no idea what to say...

I also took a photo with Kate's momager. Throughout the event, Kate was addressing her mom and well, I couldn't pass up the chance to take a photo with her mom. She was a very sweet woman. After Jera and I took photos with her, she said, "I'll be famous!" And we laughed and kidded that maybe at the end of the day, someone will put up a Facebook page for her.

I also grabbed the chance to get a picture taken and a book signed by Mina Esguerra since she was there and her books are 10% off that day. Win win for me!

I went home with a big smile on face. I will never forget this event. I'm looking forward to reading all these amazing books I brought home with me. This is probably the start of me reading local author's work, which is something I haven't done ever.

Many thanks to National Bookstore and to Anvil Publishing! Here's to more books from local authors~!