About Me — John Pucay

Karinderya Love Songs, my debut novel, is available on Amazon

Photo of Author by Daryl Verzosa.

Karinderya Love Songs is a 2020s dating and sex literary fiction novel set in Baguio and Metro Manila, Philippines. If you like frank, crass prose like Bukowski (Women, Post Office), and a streak of drinking and adventuring like The Sun Also Rises (Hemingway), and simple writing like Murakami — This novel is likely for you.

You can learn more about the novel here.

Did you like some of my writing? Feel free to buy me a coffee here.

Born in Baguio City, Philippines, and raised by a jeepney driver father and a budget-savvy mother; I worked as a call center agent while in college and then became a graphic artist/animator for a nationwide media company after graduation. In mid-2018, I moved to Metro Manila in search of Glory, Girls, and Gold.

I worked as a marketing director. Then I was fired after 5 months.

During my 3rd month of unemployment, frustration led me to write an article that I sent to the Philippine Daily Inquirer on a whim. PDI published my piece in a week and readers started offering me a job. That’s how I discovered I could probably write for a living.

I worked a year in corporate before quitting everything in early 2020 to pursue writing full-time. Then the pandemic happened.

So far:

• I started blogging sporadically on Medium in 2021.
• I mostly write about life, relationships, dating, polyamory, career, and running.
• The blogging pays for my internet bill and cafe expenses; the writing client shoulders the food and rent.
• I’ve since become a (sporadic) Top Writer on Medium. And a Runner-Up for the Vocal.Media Fiction Awards (2022).
• My short fiction stories have appeared in various international literary magazines. While my creative non-fiction pieces were published in places like Tiny Buddha, Thought Catalog, Runner’s Life, Rappler, and others.
• And I managed to finish and publish my debut novel, Karinderya Love Songs, after throwing away three different drafts!

After 2 years of writing, KLS is finally available for order on Amazon. Or, if you’re in the Philippines, you can get the paperback directly from the author. Or from Ellie Librairie.

For other forms of support, you can also donate to me here.

Image provided by Author. Cover art & illustrations by James Guerrero.

Feel free to reach out to me at:

john@johnpucay.com

@johnpucay (Instagram)

@JPucay (Twitter)

johnpucay.com (Website)

View from my window. Image by Author.