Carl Javier has been an Avalon.ph customer and friend for almost ten years. He writes fiction, nonfiction, and criticism.  His first book was And the Geek Shall Inherit the Earth, a collection of essays about being a geek and the crazy experiences that come with that. His upcoming book, The Kobayashi Maru of Love, is going to be launched on Sept. 6 (launch details in the poster image below).

Here’s a short e-mail interview with Carl.

Avalon.ph: So what exactly is The Kobayashi Maru of Love?

Carl: The Kobayashi Maru was the test that no one was meant to pass in Star Trek. I recently went through a bad break up and I thought, if there’s something that geeks are supposed to be bad at, it’s the whole love game. So I decided to write a book about the breakup and then getting back into the dating scene. But it’s fun and funny and playful, despite it being about some sad stuff.

Avalon.ph: Is this book that’s just for geeks, or for everybody?

Carl: I think that geeks will appreciate it because of the references and I really tried to play around with stuff that geeks love. And much like my first book, I tried to write it so that it’s about geeky stuff, but it’s something that I think anyone can appreciate it. Plus, I think writing about love, whether geeky or not, makes it something that might appeal to just about anyone.

Avalon.ph: Describe the journey of this book from idea to print. Which part is the hardest?

Carl: I was taking my break up very hard and I found myself writing about it. Then I decided to just write about all the stuff I was going through, and before I knew it I had written enough to fill up a book. Then I tried to find a publisher for it, before coming to the idea of self-publishing it. I worked with my friend Adam David, who designed the book and helped me through the process, since he self-published his first book (and won a big time award for it too!) The hardest part was really finding the money that would fund the publication. Writing it was hard, emotionally because I was really putting it all out there. But turning it into a book was a real struggle because at the same time I was learning how to be an indie publisher. It was a very exciting experience, and I hope it shows in the book when people read it.

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Thank you Carl!

Website: Lumpen Culturati: Pop, Culture, Criticism
Follow him on Twitter: carljavier

The Kobayashi Maru of Love by Carl Javier (both covers), signed by the author, is now available on Avalon.ph.

Carl Javier is finishing his MA in Creative Writing at UP Diliman, where he received his undergraduate degree in English Studies major in Creative Writing. He was a fellow for the UP National Writer’s Workshop, the Dumaguete National Writer’s Workshop, and the UP Advanced National Writer’s Workshop. His work has been published and anthologized in various books and publications. His first book, And the Geek Shall Inherit the Earth, was published by Milflores in 2009. His next book Geek Tragedies will be published by UP Press.