They say that age shouldn’t hold you back from fulfilling your dreams. Malaika Cuezon, 13, had always wanted to become a writer, and earlier this year, that goal became a reality.

Cuezon’s first book, Diola Code, is a mystery novel set in the author’s hometown of Davao City. The novel is named after Diola, the mother of Pag-Asa, the first Philippine eagle to be bred and hatched in captivity.

The story revolves around Drew, a non-verbal girl who only communicates via Morse code, and who must solve the mystery behind her father’s car accident. “I was really interested in the genre of mystery. So I decided to [see] if I can make a detective series,” she said.

Deciding to create a nonverbal protagonist was a creative decision. “I noticed a lot in mystery books, the character is really, really smart. So, yes, Drew is smart, but what if she also has this personal setback? So maybe she has a hard time communicating normally, so that's gonna give her a challenge to overcome, and at the same time, solve the mystery,” Cuezon said. “I had to research a lot about the topic. I had help because my mom is a doctor.”

Cuezon, who is homeschooled, said her interest in literature started early, when her mother would read aloud to her every night. This developed into an interest in Greek mythology (via Edith Hamilton and Rick Riordan), Sherlock Holmes, and graphic novels. She credits Faye Villanueva and Aria Chelabian’s Filipino comics series Ma-I as her main inspiration to become an author. In fact, Diola Code started as a graphic novel before Cuezon decided to publish it as prose. “I met the author and illustrator of Ma-I,” Cuezon shared. “I realized, wow, they're actually authors, they're really famous. So that's what inspired me. In fact, my book is dedicated to them.”

She honed her writing skills by joining The Writers’ Club (TWC), an organization of publishing industry professionals dedicated to encouraging young writers to discover their voices. Participants can later decide to join Book Writer’s Club (BWC), where they are guided through the publishing process. “[TWC] really taught me how to properly write the plot of the story, how to make the characters, and how to describe the setting, Cuezon said. “After [TWC], I joined [BWC], where I really started writing the book itself… I started the first draft around March 2025, and with the editing process, my first copies arrived in December.”

Cuezon encountered her fair share of challenges, including the dreaded writer’s block. “I think the hardest part of writing the novel was writing out the plot… that's where I had a very long writer's block. And sometimes it doesn't really go as I originally imagined the story.”

Her advice? “I just kept writing or brainstorming. Like, if this doesn't really work out, what can I do? Let's say I was stuck in chapter six, I go back to the chapters I wrote, and I try to revise or reread so I have an idea of how I should write the part I'm stuck in.”

She also draws inspiration from real-life observations. “Whenever I interact with my friends, I try to notice their personalities… and I try to apply it to my characters to make them more realistic,” she said. “Since the setting is in Davao City, I look around and try to describe what Davao City is like. What makes it different from other settings, like the USA, Europe, or even Manila? That's also mainly my other inspiration.”

She has two favorite parts of the writing process. “The first one is writing the scene that you actually wrote the story for, like, there's a specific, there's this scene in your head, and then you build the whole story around it, and once you get to that chapter, you're really excited. And the other good part is the editing process. I had a really good editor. She improved my writing. Aside from the grammar, she helped me a lot with how to properly structure the story and how to fix the plot holes.”

Diola Code is published by Paraw Books, the services imprint of Kawangis Publishing. It was launched at the Davao City Library, and Cuezon has been making appearances at book events and bazaars since then. “It's a really big achievement, but honestly, I try to be as humble as possible about it,” she said. “That's what my parents taught me.”

Cuezon is already making plans for her second book. She also wants to explore other genres and hopefully fulfill her dream of writing a graphic novel. In between, she draws and is training her German Shepherd, Chicken, to be a volunteer search and rescue K9.

Her advice to potential authors? “Keep writing and keep reading, because you can't become a good writer when you're not a good reader.”

Good writing advice for anyone at any age. (Photos courtesy of Dr. Marianne Cuezon)