SILENCE: THE LOUD SECRETS OF THE MUTED HEROINE
Step into a dystopian world where truths and hopes are twisted, and only those who have complete body parts are considered humans. Silence by Che De Leon is starting to make loud noises as it takes the readers to a whole different level of twists and turns.
One rainy afternoon, Che was struck by a bizarre idea that marked the creation of this novel. Che shares, “I was sitting by a table, surrounded by peers who I believed were my betters. I couldn’t speak, since I was ashamed that they would realize that I was a fraud. I imagined that I took my own tongue and silenced myself—and that is where the image came in. Me, missing my tongue, desperately searching for it. I found myself doing that a lot—in both my personal and professional life.”
Using this idea in building a more peculiar world, Che chose Lily, the muted protagonist, to give people an intriguing look into the mind of one who was silenced: it may be seen as a vulnerability, but she is anything but that. On a brighter note, this novel resonates with the readers to find their voices, to seek the core of their very existence, and to stop waiting in silence.
“It is my wish that my readers would also find a piece of themselves or be inspired to release the weird voice inside them and write all the things that have yet to be said. Who knows–our weirdness itself might be fantastic.”
However, making this idea into reality also fell into rocky roads. Che recalls, “It was challenging to write the novel while I was working. Working full-time also tends to drain one’s energy and inspiration. I overcame it by committing to write at least 1,000 words per weekday and 2,500 per weekend. Forcing myself to write ironically made me more inspired.” By taking one step a day, Che managed to give life to Lily and the unusual world of complete and incomplete characters—both literally and metaphorically.
Che De Leon also encourages everyone, especially readers and writers alike, to step out and be brave in exploring different forms of readings.
“Read everything, not just the genre or form of media you’re interested in. Consume everything. Learn from everything. And then put it into practice. It takes 10,000 hours to master a skill—but remember that the best part is always the journey.”
Silence is now available on 8Letters website, Shopee, Lazada, Amazon (EPUB), and Gumroad (EPUB). Join Lily as she unfolds truths and spills her secrets to end her deafening silence!
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About Che De Leon: Born in Manila, Philippines, Che De Leon is an aspiring Filipino novelist with a Master of Fine Arts Creative Writing degree in De La Salle University Manila. She had also taken International Studies Major in Japanese for her bachelor’s degree from the same school.
Che is a voracious reader and consumer of different types of media: fiction, non-fiction, film, comics, video games, tabletop RPGs, etc.
“Silence” is her first novel.
