has been named one of Spotify’s Best Audiobooks of 2024, and Buba a Spotify Breakout Author of 2024, and Saints was one of Reactor’s Reviewer’s Choice: Best Books of 2024.
Here Buba dreamcasts an adaptation to her new novel, Daughters of Flood and Fury:
Daughters of Flood and Fury is Book 2 of the Stormbringer Saga which I pitch as my Filipino Mythology Avatar the last Airbender, but the Avatar is not a Pacifist. Imagine a mid-17th century southeast Asian archipelago brimming with magic and dragons with dozens of gold and pearl rich kingdoms and city states struggling to ally against greedy western powers. Where daring pirates raid western ships loaded down with Oriental riches - gold, silks, slaves - and elemental shamans entreat their goddesses to keep these thousands of islands born of fire, dotted with volcanoes from exploding or being swamped by sea and storm.Visit Gabriella Buba's website.
Book 2 has 3 point of view characters. Lunurin, a Stormcaller in service to the Goddess of Storms and Vengeance, and Alon, a tide-touched healer named to the Goddess of the Sea and the 2nd son of the ruler of one of the richest city states in the archipelago newly freed from the colonial empire. They are the protagonists from book 1 now married and wrangling enemies and allies across the archipelago into an alliance to face the Spanish armada coming to re-conquer their city. I also introduce the Point-of-view of Inez, once a postulant in a nunnery, who suffered greatly at the hands of Spanish priests in book 1 and now finds herself chasing missionary rumors of her sister Catalina returned as a martyr gathering the faithful to the reconquest.
If this were being cast 20 years ago I would beg for my male narrator for the Audiobook, Dante Basco to play Alon. It was an absolute pie in the sky dreamcast to have him agree to voice Alon. After all Dante Basco is the original Filipino elemental magic man, Prince Zuko from Avatar the Last Airbender. But Dante now directs as well as acting, producing, and voice acting, so he would make an amazing director for Daughters of Flood and Fury. He has an absolute spot on vision for the energy of my work. He could also play an excellent and devastating Jeian (Alon’s volatile older brother.)
Manny Jacinto would be a more age appropriate casting for Alon, and he was an early face claim for Alon, especially after I’d seen his pandemic long hair selfies. Manny just plays such wonderfully sincere and conflicted characters I know he would do Alon’s arc justice, and really bring the heart needed, as Alon struggles to keep his family and Aynila’s Alliances from falling apart in the face of the approaching armada.
For Lunurin’s fancast, I think Nadine Lustre would be excellent, she’s a Morena filipina actress whose been quite vocal about how her Morena coloring disadvantaged her in casting calls in her youth, and has been an advocate against colorism in the Philippines. And her hair is perfect for Lunurin a stormcaller who’s power is bound up in her long wavy hair. Lunurin being played by a morena actress is very important to me, I would not want her white-washed.
For Inez, Olivia Rodrigo, especially in her early career work plays a really convincing conflicted teen. Not only is Olivia Rodrigo mixed filipino, she’s proven she has the vocal chops to make Inez’s crocodile singing ocean magic really chilling.
I could go on, because nothing would make me happier than to cast all my favorite filipino actors and actresses as my characters but those are the big 4 that would make Daughters of Flood and Fury a really epic movie.
--Marshal Zeringue
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