SOME NOTES ON THESE STORIES were sparked by sights or sounds by other people; some of them approach the character of collaborations.

"Visitors" was inspired by an exhibit by Gabby Barredo; "Tell the Sky" was inspired by the work of Yvonne Quisimbing; "Little Fears" by the photographs of Frankie Callaghan. I asked Noelle Pico to dash off some lyrics to suit the lost fictional '80s rock star of "More Than I Ever Wanted Anything." "Tell Me Do…" was inspired by an illustration by Dave Yogore. "It's not me" was inspired by the Album Identity Theft, by the band Drip (Beng Calma, Ian Magbanua, Malek Lopez, Caliph8, and Mark Laccay, at the time). "Sabado, 1995" was inspired by the Eraserheads song "Sabado" and "1995," and the '90s in general.

Many of these stories drew more directly from personal occurrences, from my life, and the lives of loved ones. If you know me in real life, you may recognize an incident or anecdote here and there. For everything borrowed without permission, you have my utmost gratitude, and, where appropriate, my sheepish apologies.

Katigbak, M. Luis Joaquin, "Some Notes on the Stories," Dear Distance: Stories by Luis Joaquin M. Katigbak, Anvil Publishing, 2012, pp. 131

Luis Joaquin M. Katigbak

Other books by the author include Happy Endings (University of the Philippines Press, 2000) and The King of Nothing to Do (Milflores Publishing, 2006). You can also search the digital archive of the Philippine Star for his weekly column " Senses Working Overtime" here.

This is the last book published by Luis Joaquin M. Katigbak (26 July 1974-20 April 2016).