ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Vida Cruz lives in a stunningly woodsy village by a dam in Manila, Philippines with her parents, sister, and six memeable dogs. Formerly a journalist, she now writes children’s storybooks that teach Chinese kids English.
Due to a combination of a strict upbringing, an all-girls Catholic school, and a weak immune system, Vida decided to liven up her life—and she turned to Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, fairy tales, and romances to do just that. Of course, a steady diet of books and cartoons will eventually compel the dieter to write and draw, which is exactly what happened. But it wasn’t enough.
Deciding that words were her calling, she worked hard for fellowships to two national workshops and a scholarship to the Clarion Writers Workshop in San Diego. All of these enabled her to travel and discover what a beautiful place the world is.
Ironically, traveling also helped her become interested in Philippine history, culture, and mythology. All these inform her fiction, which can be found in Expanded Horizons, Lontar: The Journal of Southeast Asian Speculative Fiction, and the Philippine Speculative Fiction anthologies.
“Odd and Ugly” is the result of all these influences coalescing around the persistent image of a kapre in a tree and a young girl beneath. Sometimes, they were in a graveyard. Sometimes, the girl had a steampunk robot governess with her. Upon asking “Can Beauty and the Beast be retold with this image?” the story finally wrote itself.
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Reyna Nicole Rochin was born December 30, 1990 in the suburbs of Los Angeles. Like most artists, she had crayons and paper in her hands since the day she could hold them.
As she grew up, there weren’t many other artists near her. She spent her childhood playing in the backyard, taking trips to the California beaches, and simply trying to get through life with good grades.
Soon after high school, she received a scholarship to play volleyball at San Francisco State University, where life led her next. With her sports background and a degree in Fine Arts (emphasis in drawing and painting), she had no clue what to do—so she took up a career in personal training.
A few years later, she found that painting still held her interest in her off hours. So she decided to return to school and was accepted to the Savannah College of Art & Design for an MFA in illustration.
Today, she spends her time working hard at school in Atlanta, power lifting, and reading when she gets the chance.