Angel Gonzal

The indie author of “Stone” and “The Old Purple Box with a Pink Ribbon,” He was born in the Philippines, with him being the youngest of five siblings. He spent most of his preteen years in the Philippines, graduated high school there, and spent not even one semester in college, not because he dropped out but for good reasons.

His love for the arts manifested when he was just a kid, maybe because he got it from his dad. At an early age, he impressed relatives and friends with his talent for drawing. He drew Christmas cards, Birthday cards, Thank you cards, and any card as long as he could show off his artwork, he did because he enjoyed it. For a young kid, the compliment he got was more gratifying than anything he could think of. This served as fuel for him; he drew anything and everything but as he got a little older, things kind of mellowed out a bit.

He still loved to draw but being a movie and television buff at an early age changed his perspective in the arts. His imagination grew to the point where he creates stories in his mind. It was one of those “What if?” moments you get, like for example; what if I can make a story better? Or better yet, what if I can write something that’s better? This triggered his passion for writing and while honing his skills for drawing as well. Combining the two things he loved, he started making his own comic books from pieces of paper stapled together to create one. He did this with his best friend in grade school who had the same interest as him. For months, a comic book empire was in the works but unfortunately, it never fully thrived. Although there were a couple of subscribers from school who wanted more, eventually, the comic book business died out but this wasn’t the end for him. For him, this was just the beginning, literally.

As the years passed, his skills in drawing evolved from silly caricatures to actual sketches of people's faces. This was a new hobby for him that he took with him to the United States. Although his love to write was set aside, he never fully turned his back on it, as a matter of fact, he wrote a 50-page fictional story about a superhero that was never published, and that was by choice. It was a rough draft and it was just written horribly that even he thought it wasn’t publish-worthy so he threw it aside and moved on.

In the early 2000s, he joined the military after working three jobs that didn’t quite satisfy his needs. He thought a four-year enlistment for a chance to go to college was a sweet deal so he ventured out and tried it. He finished bootcamp and was stationed in Norfolk, Virginia afterward. While serving in the military, he gained a little popularity for his sketches and made a little money. People would come up to him and ask for a sketch of their wife, their kids, or of themselves, and in return, they’ll give him a little something for his work. That went on for years until the day he left the military.

When he returned home, he thought it’s time to set aside the pencils and replace them with a keyboard. From there, he began writing again, and although he got negative feedback from time to time about his work, it didn’t faze him but instead, he pursued and to this day, he’s still writing. The stories in his mind are limitless, although scattered; he hopes one day he’ll be able to organize them and transfer those stories onto paper that he could share with the world. His two daughters and his lovely wife are his inspiration to pursue his dream, and just like the comic book empire that never came to fruition, this time would be different. This time there are more works of Angel Gonzal to come.