For the most part, my favourite authors stick to their expertise. For instance, John Grisham writes the finest legal thrillers. He released a nonfiction book (The Innocent Man), but it bombed. Michael Connelly is the king of crime fiction. He’s also tried his hand at legal fiction, with Mickey Haller as the frontman. See also: Resurrection Walk, his latest instalment. Regardless, I prefer his meal ticket, the Harry Bosch series. Jodi Picoult unpacks pervasive social themes. Haruki Murakami explores Japan and utilises cats, wells, and magical realism. So, where does this leave Topher Ong? Note: I’m not trying to compare my tales to this august company. I’m merely attempting to show commonalities in my stories. So, allow me to provide some of the most prevalent themes in my shorter fiction (around five thousand words or twenty pages).

1. Utilising a school setting. I spent many years studying in two different countries. As a child, I attended a Chinese school. A long stint in a Catholic Academy ensued. This spell left a lasting mark in my writing. See also: my nonfiction book. Finally, I brought my talents to Sydney, where I garnered two uni diplomas, including an Honours degree. This ensured that I am brimming with stories from my stint with education. Having enrolled in various institutions provide me with a unique perspective.

Writing about school is easy since I have a ton of ideas. This reconciled with writing about what you know. If you were a crime reporter, like Connelly, you wouldn’t make a career out of accentuating extraterrestrials. If you were Murakami, you wouldn’t set your novel in Mumbai. I must admit though that Grisham has flaunted his versatility. He has penned books about WWII, football, and basketball. They were all well-written. In this regard, Picoult is even better. Her texts are not only well-written but incredibly well-researched.

Most of my stories have a kind of school element in them. One cursory glance at this site and you’ll sense that trope. They are fictionalised, loosely based on my actual experiences. People from all around the world could relate to these tales. One phrase that could apply to my stories is, ‘Fiction is stranger than truth’. The reader would wonder if indeed the works are fiction, fictionalised, or true to life. Subverting reality is a good problem to have.

2. The expat experience. Another theme is the mobilisation of Filo expats to the west. Again, this ties in to the real world. Though I grew up in the Philippines, we’ve settled in Oz. I’ve utilised Melbourne and Sydney as canvases for my pieces. The same goes with Auckland, New Zealand. In tales such as ‘Reming’, I differentiate a Westernised Aunt with a newly arrived expat.

My own experiences are like pawns on a chessboard. I know a thing or two about that board game, having beaten a senior last year. In fact, last year, I never lost a clean match. The latter had to cheat to beat me as I took a toilet break. Last year, the same held true of scrabble; I won out. Regardless, these memories are the building blocks of the narrative. It’s like making pots out of clay; the latter moulds them. Out of this foundation, fiction is built.

3. Blocking unreasonable people on social media. This is a recent addition to my oeuvre. Again, actual happenings inspire this. A few snobs have blocked me online. The number of twerps that I’ve actually blocked, is greater. These women usually have stories, before the restriction. In my later output, there are four or five tales that have this trope.

We live in a time where older forms of evasion have been upgraded. Due to technology such as smartphones, iPads, and social media, we have taken ‘ghosting’ to another level. My story, ‘Reming Dos’ continues where Reming left off. There, the protagonist meets his eye candy, a Portuguese stunner who was his classmate. Eventually, they would become friends, until the lass blocks him on Facebook for no reason.

The inverse happens in another tale. The protagonist inspires a groupie, who becomes his biggest fan. She would wait with bated breath for him, intent on chatting. She even says ‘I love you’. Sadly, the feeling was not mutual. They have very different conceptions of their relationship. Both of them move on. Years on, the guy makes the mistake of viewing her profile. The jilted girl then blocks him forever.

Finally, in Story W, a Spanish-Greek gal avoids chatting with our protagonist, Oscar. She does reply to his offline messages. They only chat once, before LeAnn grows cold. She then blocks him on FB. Over a decade on, the block remains.

4. Hoop dreams’. Basketball is king in Pinas. The first hoops tale was actually one on Freestyle, an online sports game. It wasn’t that polished. I dedicated a few pages of Reming to pickup b-ball. In my later work, one story was dedicated almost entirely to the game. It depicted my battles with this Viet cager. These went on for a while. In the end, I steered away from him. When I tried to call him later on, I realised that he had blocked me.

In another story, aptly titled ‘The Shammgod Delusion’, a rusty point guard schools an entire village. In several pickup games, he was like Michael Jordan against a group of choir boys. True to the heading, he unleashes the Shammgod dribble against unsuspecting kids. Delusion was more than just a basketball story. It’s similar to Reming, unpacking the expat experience where people are caught between two cultures. Among my recent output, Shammgod is clearly the lengthiest, at over six thousand words. It’s like a hybrid text, full of hoops action, friendship, and expat identities.

5. Comic timing. I’ve recently brushed up two of my stories. I would classify the first as a coming of age narrative and a black comedy. Story R is loosely based on our fam’s experience adopting a five year old. It’s likewise a cautionary tale on bringing a total stranger into your abode. At over four thousand words, this is one of my longer stories.

As per above, Story W revolves around Oscar and Evie, who embark on an online relationship. They were school and club mates. They do not let distance stand in the way of their connection, which steadily grows chat by chat. Once again, there is a healthy dose of humour. These pair of tales form my two most useable short stories. Thus far, more thought has been poured into them than the others.

There’s also one story that has a very funny sex scene. It should actually be titled ‘CIA: Caught In the Act’. Problem is, that headline is already taken. So I’ll settle for the working title, ‘Sekyu’. You might think that I just appropriated a Moonlight sequence. However, the inspiration behind it was ages ago.

‘O Sir, ngaya Sir’.

He’s just missing the salute.