Ysabelle Suarez
Fantasy Writer
Born in the Philippines, she moved to North Carolina when she was three, before moving back to the Philippines at ten. She spends her days dreaming up worlds and putting these dreams to paper. These experiences have formed her worldview and can be found in the way she handles themes of colonization, identity, and belonging.A former academic, she holds a BA in International Studies-International Politics track, Minor in Peace Studies from Miriam College (Quezon City, Philippines) and a MA in Political Studies from University of Texas at Arlington.Ysabelle currently works in a non-profit that the Primetime Emmys are awarding with the Governors Award for their advocation of queer representation in media. She is part of the development department, where fundraising for better queer representation is not just her passion, but her livelihood.Ysabelle has been mentored under the SFWA Mentorship Program (under Marie Brennan) and Author Mentor Match (AMM) where a debut author helped her revise for querying.
Works in Progress
Currently Querying: Shadow of the Sun aka Filipino Reconquista
Pitch: When warrior Amin notices the cracks on the starlit walls protecting his polity from the ruthless colonizers, he looks to revive magic long dead. With disgraced heir Dimaya, they must unite their polities before colonizers break their godly protection and the river turns red with their blood.
Comps: City of Brass x The Jasmine Throne x The Unbroken
Triggers: Fantasy typical violence, domestic abuse, emotional abuse, psychological abuse, colonization, gaslighting, manipulation, attempted sexual assault, gore, death of a parent (mentioned, not shown)Currently Drafting: Graveyard of Peace aka Decolonial Kushiel's Dart
Pitch: Nuria de Borja remembers when her father took her from her homeland, taking her to the beating heart of an empire intent on taking all in their way. All in the name of their religion. Adhika of Sinagtala was once her princess, but now Adhika has been taken as royal captive. Together, the two colonized women work together to let the blood stains of the empire be known to all.
Comps: Kushiel's Dart + Winter's Orbit + Memory Called Empire
Triggers: Fantasy typical violence, emotional abuse, colonization-related violence (physical and cultural)Shelved for Now: Spirits of Blood and Glory aka Mythological Digimon
Pitch: All Rhian wants is to have a quiet grad school semester so that she can get a great internship. But all plans go down the drain when she joins a secret society and summons a death god, his identity looted and replaced by colonizers. Rhian finds herself the target of mercenaries who want her god to revive the dead.
Comps: Ninth House x Gods of Jade and Shadow x Mythological Digimon
Triggers: Fantasy typical violence, colonization, themes of death, death of a pet/familiar (shown, act three)Dimaya Art by: popcorncheek
Contact
All social media: @ysabellesuaQuasi-Blog can be found at: Ysabelle’s Ramblings. While the contents are currently being written, it will contain: my thoughts as I decolonize my worldbuilding, favorite books and what we can learn from them, how I apply my degrees in my writing (Intersectionality lessons for character and large casts, geopolitics, etc), and more!But since you’re here, have a photo of my husky pup.
