“A heart-pounding historical horror that pulls you under like a rising tide and refuses to let go.”
The Dreaming at the Drowned Town pulls readers into 1920s Philippines, with a mix of historical detail and supernatural dread. Through its main character; Enrique, a local guide haunted by violent, prophetic dreams, the story moves from bustling heart of Cebu's streets to the eerie Leyte coast where a sunken town mysteriously resurfaces.
The novel creates a strong sense of place, colonial tensions, American influence, and local folklore weaved into a slow-burn mystery. A story where nightmares blur with reality until you are never sure what is dream or truth. Themes of memory, colonial power, and the thin line between faith and fear give the novel weight beyond its haunting scenes.
About the Authors
The Brothers K are siblings Kevin and Kyle Ferraren, Cebu-based writers with different professional paths. Kevin is a licensed pilot and a biology graduate from UP Cebu while Kyle studied psychology at Ateneo de Manila and had once planned to study law. Their backgrounds shape their stories in different but interesting ways.
Q: How do your outside lives influence your writing?
Kyle: Psychology was a gateway for me to learn a lot. What I learned in school appeared in their own way in the books we have written together. My early pursuit of law allowed me to read a lot of court cases. It provokes the mind into greater depths of creativity.
Kevin: For me, it is more on the technical aspect, because biology and flying contribute to our world-building. I like to ground stories with a little bit of realism, so it is easier for readers to relate.
Their combined skills explain the book’s mix of sharp psychological tension and believable, detailed world-building.
The Book’s Setting
Q: What inspired the idea of a drowned town suddenly rising from the sea?
Kevin: The concept is a combination of two ideas. A town in Nueva Ecija where a sunken town reemerged during the 2020 drought, and a small island in Leyte called Dawahon was built over a sandbar. The historical ghost town and the sandbar community basically became the inspiration.
By blending these real places, the authors created a landscape that feels alive. The drowned town is both historical and otherworldly which is a perfect stage for a mystery where the past refuses to stay buried.
Historical Layers
Q: What made you decide to pick the 1920s?
Kevin: It was my brother’s homage to Lovecraft, but we also wanted a story set in Cebu during a turning point. Business was booming. We made references to historical events such as the leper colony in Culion and the Battle of Tres de Abril.
This careful grounding in Philippine history makes the supernatural events more unsettling. The world feels authentic, so when strange things happen, they feel possible.
Dreams and Reality
One of the novel’s strongest elements is the way dreams bleed into waking life. Enrique’s nightmares are vivid and violent. Over time they stop being just dreams and start shaping what he sees and feels. This blurring keeps readers uneasy. We question what is real just as Enrique does, which heightens the horror and suspense.
Q: Dreams and reality overlap throughout. How did you craft that “dream logic” while keeping the plot clear?
Kyle: In cases of insomnia, schizophrenia, and similar disorders, there is often a blur between sanity and the loss of lucidity. We wanted to accelerate that for Enrique. As people die and his mental fortitude is tested, his stress builds up and he slowly unravels.
Faith and Skepticism
The story also explores faith, doubt, and the meeting of cultures. Catholic rituals and old beliefs stand beside an American push for modern thinking. This tension deepens the novel’s central question: what do we believe when the impossible starts to happen?
Q: What role does Catholic imagery and faith versus skepticism play in the book?
Kevin: Faith remains part of a larger cultural crossroads. Hispanic Catholic old world and the free-minded American way of life were both present in the Philippines at the time. Faith versus skepticism underlines the differences between the American and the Filipino.
Collaboration
Q: How do you collaborate as siblings when writing a single novel?
Kyle: We brainstorm and conceptualize together, but when it comes to typing, I took point on this book. I would write, share it with my brother, and he would offer insights and advice.
Their process allowed them to finish the first draft in just 12 days during National Novel Writing Month 2024. Kevin even consulted a former history professor to confirm details of 1920s Cebu, adding authenticity to every scene.
Where to Buy and Learn More
You can grab their awesome books down below!
🔗 Flowpage: https://flow.page/thebrothersk.writers ✨
🔗 Books2Read: books2read.com/ap/xX4991/The-Brothers-K ✨
🔗 Amazon: www.amazon.com/author/the-brothers-k
🔗 8letters Website: www.8lettersbooks.com/indie-authors/the-brothers-k/
The full-length video of our interview with the Brothers K will be posted online on October 3, 2025 on both our Facebook page and YouTube channel in time for the launch of their book "The Dreaming in a Drowned Town".
Keep an eye out to hear the entire conversation about their inspirations, research, and the eerie dreams that shaped this remarkable novel.
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