Born on Halloween, this Pinay author wrote about haunted houses

What does a Halloween-born Pinay author choose to write about for her debut novel?

Haunted houses, of course.

In “Celestina’s House”, Filipina author Clarissa Trinidad Gonzalez centres her story on a woman living in a house possessed by the spirit of her ghostly aunt.

For the past few weeks, Gonzalez has been in demand as a panelist for book festivals as she celebrates being included in CBC’s “Top 63 Canadian Books to read in Fall 2024”.

“I’ve been busy with festivals, two weekends in a row. On September 22nd I was at the Toronto International Festival of Authors,” Gonzalez said in a phone interview.

“We just talked about the idea of home, of safety and protection, the role that imagination plays in creating a home.

“It was very well received.”

At The Word on the Street Toronto Book and Magazine Festival, Gonzalez was also a panelist for a discussion on Hauntings & Houses: The Horror in Home.

Gonzalez said they talked about “what makes a haunting? Is it psychological, or is it spiritual?”

Born and raised in the Philippines, Gonzalez grew up surrounded by stories about ghosts and hauntings.

After moving to Canada in the mid-1990’s, she spent some time working as a technical designer and eventually worked as a communications professional.

Gonzalez took a creative writing course at the University of Toronto in 2006, when a character she came up with resonated positively with her classmates and teacher.

She eventually fleshed out the character to become Celestina, the protagonist in the book.

“With a lush, tropical setting, an entrancing protagonist, and swirling ghosts that guide and subvert, Gonzalez has crafted a darkly romantic, immersive world,” said  Jennilee Austria-Bonifacio, author of Reuniting with Strangers.

The book’s summary states that:

“It begins with an act of betrayal that destroys the tenuous bonds of Celestina Errantes’s family.

For years afterwards, Celestina longs for an escape from her unhappy home.

Then an unexpected gift from her wealthy Lolo offers that chance: a long-forsaken property in Manila’s bohemian district, close to where ladies of the evening ply their trade.

It is no place for a proper young woman, but this house, even with its ghosts, makes Celestina feel at home.

Celestina tears into life, losing herself in the pleasures of the night, but soon finds that the emptiness within her is not easily filled.

When finally a true chance at happiness promises to save her, a sinister voice from the past returns, threatening to destroy it all.”

Gonzalez will be at the book launch party on Saturday, October 5 at 6 p.m., to be held at 192 Spadina Ave. in Toronto, Ont.

Celestina’s House is now available at major bookstores and online.