Devin Galloway studied linguistics and interpreting, then spent three years traversing the width and breadth of Panay recording folk tales and urban legends in six languages. From the memoirs of an 85 year old former guerrilla fighter on the shores of Capiz, to traditional folk histories in the mountain barangays of Tapaz, to urban legends in the alleyways of Molo, he visited nearly every village on the island in his quest to collect every story he could find. He met his wife Marites, a descendant of Datu Bangkaya, in Aklan. They currently live in Washington state with their three children. Maragtas was written to help connect their children to their family history and Visayan heritage.