Bounty hunter chases Filipino immigrants in thriller novel ‘Multo’

Filipino American author Cindy Fazzi’s “Multi” has been decades in the making, with author Cindy Fazzi’s own experiences as an immigrant inspiring the book’s milieu.. CONTRIBUTED

SAN FRANCISCO — Filipino American author Cindy Fazzi is releasing her new thriller Multo, featuring Fil-Am bounty hunter Domingo, who trails undocumented immigrants while writing an advice book for those aspiring to live in the US.

Domingo’s latest job is to seek out biracial Filipino woman Monica Reed, the only fugitive who has ever escaped him and the only one he’s ever released against orders. The hunt uncovers a dangerous truth that Reed is determined to publicize even though it puts her life in danger.

The book has been decades in the making with Fazzi’s own experiences as an immigrant inspiring the book’s milieu. “I first wrote the manuscript that became Multo back in 1995 when I was a green card holder waiting for my US citizenship,” says Fazzi.

Interest and inspiration

She had arrived a few years prior to take up graduate studies in journalism at Ohio State University after working as a reporter in Manila and Taipei.

She was then accepted in an internship program with the Associated Press and was offered a full-time job at its conclusion. “I started working in the Columbus Bureau [in Ohio] one month after I received my master’s degree. I became a naturalized US citizen in 2000.”

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“I became interested in fiction writing in graduate school. I actually had the time and motivation to read, write, and discuss books with friends. It was a luxury I never had while working as a reporter.

“The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan was one of the first books I read when I arrived in the US. She inspired me to write fiction, not only because her book is about Asian Americans but because it was so successful. She was proof that there’s an audience for Asian American writing.”

Attuned

While developing the manuscript, Fazzi had first created the Monica Reed character. “I was very attuned to immigration problems,” she says. After reading a New York Times article about a bounty hunter who specialized in deporting undocumented immigrants, she was inspired to create the Domingo character.

“It took me two years to write the first version of the book, which was universally rejected by literary agents who considered it ‘uncommercial.’”

“I set it aside and wrote other novels. Multo sat in my computer for years.” It refused to disappear. “I rewrote it in 2008 and then again in 2017.”

Debut thriller

In the intervening years, her articles have appeared in Electric Literature, Catapult, Forbes, and Writer’s Digest. Her short stories have appeared in Tough, Snake Nation Review and Copperfield Review.

Fazzi worked on two other books. She wrote romance novel In His Corner under the pen name Vina Arno in 2015, published by Lyrical Press. Next came historical novel My MacArthur in 2018, published by Sand Hill Review Press.

When it comes to writing, Fazzi relies on a routine. “It’s really important that I start my day early, at 5 a.m. And that I start it with about 10 or 15 minutes of meditation.

“As a former reporter, I can write anywhere, anytime, but it won’t necessarily be optimal. I write best at home where I’m surrounded by familiar things.

“A UC Davis mug that my daughter gave me, for coffee while I’m writing. A ‘lucky’ bamboo plant that’s five years old. A little figurine of a laughing Buddha, which Filipinos consider lucky. A small bowl of quartz stones that I’ve received from friends and family over the years.”

Fortune favors the persistent. “Multo was acquired by Agora Books last year, 27 years after it was conceived. It’s my third published novel but my debut thriller,” she says. Multo will be available starting September 2023.

For book signings and other author-related events, visit cindyfazzi.com.