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#romanceclass Podcast Episode 2: Never Just Friends/Fallen Again by Mina V. Esguerra

Posted on December 20, 2015

You enjoyed Episode 1 of the #romanceclass podcast right? The one of Fall Like Rain by Ana Tejano? And by now you’ve subscribed to the #romanceclass YouTube channel right? GOOD. Now click below for Episode 2, this time of Never Just Friends/Fallen Again by Mina V. Esguerra. In this excerpt, you will meet Jake, read by Gio Gahol, and Lindsay, read by Rachel Coates. Here’s a bit of background about the book before you hit play on the podcast:

It’s too easy to fall in love with Jake. Don’t do it.

Despite living in two different countries, Lindsay Kresta and Jake Berkeley have loved each other as friends since their senior year in college. She’s his emergency contact, his “zombie apocalypse buddy,” and his holiday dinner companion.

But now that he’s known as Jacob Berkeley, star of a wildly successful TV show, he shows up with big news days before her big work conference. He wants to save forests again, work in environmental research…and he wants her.

Don’t fall in love with Jake. Easier said than done.

Ready? Go! And oh, and lots of giveaways too when you scroll down.

Top 15 Songs from the 2015 Romance Writing Playlist

Posted on December 20, 2015

One day, author Katrina Ramos Atienza tweeted about a romance writing playlist that keeps her going when she’s in her writer’s hole. I took the bait, we fangirled a bit (ehem, Alex Turner), and then she so kindly shared her Spotify playlist link to the Twitterverse. A few months and many track contributions later, her playlist has swelled to 30+ songs and it’s still growing. I list my 15 favorites below (since 2015 is wrapping up and it’s the season of year-end lists), in no particular order. Feelings may vary depending on the weather, or the availability of chocolates in the vicinity. Continue Reading

Writing Now

#romanceclass Podcast Episode 1: Fall Like Rain by Ana Tejano

Posted on December 17, 2015

So remember at FilReadercon when we had theater actors Rachel Coates and Gio Gahol read excerpts of our romance books? Remember we said we’re launching a podcast to follow through with that soon? Well the first episode is up! YAY! This first one is an excerpt from Fall Like Rain by Ana Tejano, wherein Gio reads Mark, and Rachel reads Rain. Read a bit more about the book below before you hit play:

Rain De Castro has been in love with her best friend, Mark Velasco, for almost the entire time she has known him, but she’s clearly in the friend zone because he’s happily in a relationship. Or so she thought, until the news of his break-up reaches her. Now that Mark’s single again, she decides that it’s time to get out of the zone. But when her cousin Lissa comes into the picture and sets her eyes on Mark, Rain feels troubled when he gets a little too friendly with her. Rain is determined to fight for what she feels this time, but is it worth the effort if it’s a losing battle from the start? Will she back off to give way for her best friend’s happiness, even if it means losing him to someone else again?

Ready? Great! Don’t forget to subscribe to the #romanceclass YouTube channel after watching, okay? Because more live readings are coming up including one for my book Songs of Our Breakup! Oh, and scroll down after the video because we’ve got a raffle for you guys too <3 Continue Reading

Music Dance and Lyrics Writing Now

Reblog: Top 5 Heartbreak Songs

Posted on December 8, 2015

Note: Original post was part of the TBD Blog Tour for Songs of Our Breakup, and can be found in author Ana Tejano‘s blog here. You may find some songs already in my book soundtrack. But that only means I heart those tracks very much.

I don’t know why I felt like reblogging this. Maybe because I’m revising Songs to Get Over You and the feelings are getting to me. Or maybe because Monday bit me and is still dragging me down. In any case, I needed to listen to something, and I remembered this. A ready, foolproof, karaoke-hits playlist. Continue Reading

Writing Now

Filipino Readercon 2015: First Timer Feels

Posted on December 3, 2015

They say you will always remember your first time, and that holds so much truth for me and my very first Filipino Readercon. I arrived halfway into the festivities but just in time to catch all the good stuff. I tried to make it simple for myself by limiting my goals to just three: Continue Reading

Writing Now

Majesty: Cover Reveal and Print Book!

Posted on November 29, 2015

Last August I joined StrangeLit, a paranormal/urban fantasy writing workshop sponsored by Buqo and Mina V. Esguerra’s Bronze Age Media. The product of that is Majesty, a novella about a beautiful ghost and friendships that endure.

What would you do if the ghost of someone you love appeared in front of you?

Majesty is a beautiful ghost, with her hair of fire and eyes gray like smoke. That is Andy Fey’s first thought when the ghost of her best friend Majesty Hall appeared in her bedroom, only two months since her death. Majesty doesn’t know why she’s there, why only Andy can see her.

Andy isn’t sure if she should tell Gale, that boy who claims that he and Majesty were in love. Funny, sarcastic, and a self-proclaimed serial heartbreaker, Gale is proving to be a good friend in grief, though his trail of broken hearts could soon include hers.

As Andy and Gale wade through their sorrow, Andy wonders if Majesty is here to help ease her into this new, complicated friendship, or if she has a mission all her own.

Majesty is happily bundled with 9 other stories in the Darkest Dreams eBook, available at the Buqo store. But soon the story will be released as a standalone, so it needed its very own book cover. Covers for my last two books were magicked from photos by the awesome Tania Arpa. But for Majesty, I wanted an illustration. So I commissioned watercolor artist Raine Sarmiento after seeing her beautiful work on Mina’s Gifted Little Creatures. I hardly knew what instructions to give and what to expect. But when Raine sent me her final work as you can see above, I teared up just a little. It’s exactly what I didn’t know I wanted.

I brought a few printed copies to FilReadercon last Saturday and all copies were promptly gobbled up (thank YOU, friends haha). The standalone eBook version will be available on Buqo and on Amazon early next year, but if you want to have your own print copy now, please fill out the order form here 🙂

Thank you so much again Raine! You make me want to write a Caleb story just so we can do this again 😀