In The Elsewhere Express, Samantha Sotto Yambao weaves grief, imagination, and self-discovery into a journey that blurs the line between the lives we inherit and the ones we choose. In this thoughtful Q&A, she reflects on the emotional weight of living for someone else, the quiet sabotage of fear and doubt, and the immersive magic of storytelling beyond the page. From her Manila roots to her richly imaginative worlds, Yambao explores how culture, creativity, and curiosity shape her work – inviting readers to step aboard a train where loss, wonder, and possibility travel side by side toward something transformative and deeply personal.
Raya gives up her songwriter dream after her brother’s death and starts living his instead. Can you talk about how the notion of “living someone else’s life” shaped the emotional core of the story? Did you draw on a personal metaphor or specific moment when you felt that in your own life?
I’m lucky enough to have grown up in a family environment that encouraged me to pursue my own path. Coming from an Asian background, however, I am aware that this is not the general dynamic in my culture. I know of people and friends who felt like they needed to conform to their parents’ expectations and put their own passions aside to live their parents’ dreams.
The stowaway and the “dark malignant magic” against the train provide the threat that forces movement, discovery and purpose. What does this antagonist represent to you–fear of purpose lost, the inertia of grief, the sabotage of belonging? And was the idea of sabotage or derailment something you explored deeply in your own creative process?
All of the above. As a writer, my biggest enemies are overthinking and doubt. Over the years, I’ve learned that fear serves a purpose – but that there is a time and place for it. It has no role to play during the creative process, which is why I write while my inner critic is asleep. It’s more than welcome to join me when the book is done and can benefit from a critical eye and is no longer in danger of shrivelling beneath its gaze.
The first edition of the book comes with interactive end-papers where readers can colour in a scene, and sprayed edges and a full-colour illustrated bookcase. How do you view physical book design as part of the storytelling experience? Is there a scene or motif from the novel that you especially hoped would be “felt” visually or tactilely by the reader, beyond just the text?
It’s always nice when all the elements of the book work together to create an immersive reader experience. Colouring can be such a meditative experience that allows our thoughts to be both present and wander at the same time. I love that readers will get to enjoy this activity as part of their journey on the elsewhere express. My wish is that readers experience the entire book this way – as though they were a passenger on the train itself.
“I feel that my writing is very much a product of the diversity I’ve been fortunate enough to be exposed to.”
As a speculative fiction writer based in Manila, and someone who describes yourself as a “professional daydreamer, aspiring time-traveller,” how do your geographic and cultural roots feed into the architecture of weirdness in the novel? Are there particular Filipino cultural motifs, folklore, or transit metaphors that quietly informed the story?
As a Filipino of mixed heritage who has had the privilege of an international education, work, and travel experience, I feel that my writing is very much a product of the diversity I’ve been fortunate enough to be exposed to. I feel very lucky to live in a part of the world that is such a melange of both Asian and Western influences. While there may not always be Filipino-specific plot points in my work, who I am and where I am from certainly shape my writing voice and inform my perspective.
What’s the one thing that you feel as an author makes you unique to people who aren’t authors?
I’m not sure that there’s anything unique about being an author other than perhaps being afflicted with thoughts that have the nasty habit of shaking you awake at three in the morning, demanding to be written down.
Where you write from – please describe it for us, including views, any must-haves with you, totems, music, etc.
I’m such a nomad when it comes to writing. I have an office, but there’s an equal chance of catching me writing on the bed, on the dining table, on the couch, or any other random chair around the house. I enjoy writing with a view of the garden especially when it’s raining. As for must-haves, I happily welcome the company of our four dogs, ridiculous amounts of coffee, and sugar-free gum to keep the munchies away. One thing that is not welcome, however, is music. I will listen to music before or after I write but never during. There are too many voices in my head as it is.
What’s the best book you’ve ever been gifted? And what’s the book you would always gift?
When I was a teen, my parents got me a boxed set of Agatha Christie books. The Murder on the Orient Express started my love affair with stories that leave me staring at the wall. As my family and friends have such diverse tastes in books, the gifts I always give are ones filled with blank pages. You can never go wrong with a beautiful, handmade journal.
