My name is Brian A. Cagayat, and I am a Filipino-American writer in my early twenties. Born & raised in San Diego, Calif., I was influenced at an early age by late Beat icon Jack Kerouac (On the Road). Lately I've enjoyed the writing of Doug Coupland, Sam Shepard, Kurt Vonnegut, J.D. Salinger, Hunter S. Thompson, et al. Authoritative influences include my high school mentor, Robert E. Lunsford, of Morse High School (Calif.), who taught me so much in a three-year English program and assured me I would become a published novelist one day; my college film/literature professor, Dr. Thomas A. Nelson (San Diego State), whose brilliance compelled me to become a screenwriter; and, last but not least, my fifth-grade teacher, the late Tom Watts, who pushed me to write for the school newspaper even though I didn't initially want to (it was my first foray into creative writing, and I don't regret it one bit). Thanks also to Profs. Michael O'Donnell, Lidia Yuknavitch, and William Luvaas, my three creative writing professors at SDSU, all of whom probably still remember my name. Probably. Thanks also to certain individuals who have been so supportive of my writing career (or what you can call a "career").

My unpublished first novel, Edge of California, deals with the lasting effect Generation X has had among the younger siblings of the more successful “yuppies” of the 1980s. Subjectively, it is the surreal, semi-autobiographical tale of a twenty-something Filipino-American office drone (Brian) and the psychological breakdown he suffers due to what he feels is a monotonous existence in San Diego, California. At the core of his psychosis is the memory of a white girl named Connie, a girl he had been obsessed with in college. Because of her, Brian flounders through his existence—ditching work, wasting weekends in bars, alienating his concerned parents, suffering through nights of insomnia, even contemplating suicide as if it is no big deal. His life changes, however, with the arrival of old classmate Tim Saybrook, a wild-eyed former minor league pitcher who may give Brian a chance to leave his current life and live that of a writer on the road. But will life really be different with the arrival of Tim?

Edge of California excerpts are available in the ARTICLES section.

SDSU English Literature graduate 2001, cum laude; Golden Key National Honor Society alumnus; previously published in SV Magazine (2001 issue), “30 Minutes at Borders”

Since the summer of 2001, I've been trying to publish my first novel, Edge of California, to publishers big & small. So far I have four rejections (as of 7/19/02); I'm still hoping to be published by 2004 :)