As of end-of-year 2017, I have written and published the following books (in chronological order, so no book gets hurt because of course books have feelings):
Blossom Among Flowers (YA romance) – July 18, 2015. Japanese high school kids. Popular, seemingly cold boy genius grudgingly tutors headstrong yet head-in-the-clouds manga fangirl. Jdorama feels. I wrote it because I loveloveloved Hana Yori Dango and couldn’t get over how Rui didn’t get Makino when they’re obviously soulmates.
Songs of Our Breakup (New Adult romance/Playlist #1) – August 22, 2015. First book set in the Philippines, with Filipino characters. Band boy breaks up with band girl. Band girl’s Japanese celebrity friend flies in, sets himself up as her perfect distraction, and for so much more. I wrote it because I’m a Pinoy music scene fan and Oguri Shun fan and why can’t I have it all in one universe? Oguri Shun is my Shinta, but the easy rule is you choose your own.
Majesty (Urban Fantasy/ Young Adult/#StrangeLit) – October 2015 on Buqo/ March 17, 2016 on Amazon. Welcome haunting of a beautiful ghost, friendship you find in hopeless places, and friendship and love that endure even death. I wrote it for Bronze Age Media and Buqo‘s StrangeLit workshop. And also because it’s a story that’s been living with me for years and although painful it needed to be written.
Songs to Get Over You (New Adult romance/ Playlist #2) – February 29, 2016. Band boy pines for band girl but does nothing. Accountant girl pushes him to move, and towards a new direction. I wrote it because Miki needed to learn things. I love him that way. You’ll understand once you’ve met him.
Songs to Make You Stay(New Adult romance/ Playlist #3) – October 9, 2016. Japanese celebrity boy gets band girl, but the struggle doesn’t end there, does it? Living the life you know versus living the life you choose, and finding out where exactly love fits in. I wrote it because Shinta is extra and won’t quiet down and leave me alone.
Make My Wish Come True (#romanceclass Christmas anthology) – December 2016 on Gumroad/November 15, 2017 on Amazon. My short story is Christmas Chicken Dance. Japanese celebrity boy flies to Manila to surprise his mother for Christmas + an ulterior motive to get the girl. I wrote it because again, Shinta. Extra.
Promdi Heart(anthology of love stories set in Philippine provinces) – March 29, 2017. My short story is One Certain Day, set in Hagonoy, Bulacan. Artsy girl and band boy end up being cemetery neighbors one All Saint’s Day. It becomes a yearly tradition and grows into friendship, and to girl, maybe something more.
Summer Crush (anthology set in a music festival in surftown La Union) – April 7, 2017. My short story is You Only Need Reminding. Accountant girl drops all the balls she’s been juggling for a summer getaway with band boy boyfriend. But what if there really is no such thing as escape? I wrote it because Tara Frejas,Six delos Reyes and I wanted to merge universes. It wasn’t easy but it was awesome and why yes, I’d totally do it again.
You Out of Nowhere (steamy romance/ Flair #1) – November 4, 2017. Train meet cute. Accidental Seoulmates. Older, cookie bar boss lady is so over dating and looking for the One. Younger corporate boy thinks she might just be it. I wrote it for #romanceclass2017 (alternating POV! Filipino characters! Heat level 3++!). It’s the first book from #romanceclassFlair and it makes me feel honored and grateful and pressured all at once.
Nine books in three years. NINE. Six novellas and three anthologies. All love and work. All thanks to the village it took to make the books and to people who read, reviewed and rated and told me they’ve read and enjoyed the books. All thanks, always, to the #romanceclass community.
Like most things worth doing, I’m realizing that the more I write, the more I need to learn, and the more I should improve and it’s a cycle that will never really stop. It’s hard most days (lots of days), and some days I truly believe I suck and should be banned from ever lifting a finger over a keyboard. Days like today and the past few days, for example, when even the thought of starting a sentence and plotting outline makes me shrivel up and die a little inside. But it’s all part of the process. I shall get through this. There are more stories to be written. Until then I am proud and grateful for the stories already out there, and if you find them, I hope they bring you the feels you need too.
Happy New Year! Here have an adorable Joe Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel song!
This day could best be described as a day of leisurely cramming.
Day 3 and 4 was dedicated to music-festivaling, because really that was the entire point of this trip. This day therefore, day 5, was our last full day, since the next day was the one wherein we fly back home to Manila (sadness). So tired and bruised though we were from two consecutive days of dancing under the sun, Hazel and I were still hell-bent on getting the most out of our last day in Tokyo. Continue Reading
Going to Tokyo was one of those dreams I never thought would come true. Even with the news of dirt cheap plane fares, guesthouse-type accommodations, and more lenient visa rules, the Tokyo-plan remained in the airspace of dreams. The trip just had to be perfect, you know? Sakura blossoms raining from the sky, sushi platters floating in the air towards me, and maybe Oguri Shun escorting me around the city. That kind of perfect. This year, however, I realized I cannot keep waiting for the perfect timing, or the perfect weather (or the perfect celebrity bishounen date. Sad face), or else I will never get there. I just needed the perfect travel buddy, and the perfect excuse. Continue Reading
It had a new cover thanks to the magic of Tania Arpa. I loved the first cover, done by my awesome friend Sarah Magdasoc, but I thought I’d give it a makeover and experiment with something that looks more fun 🙂
Oh, and last but not the least, Blossom Among Flowers AND my New Adult book Songs of Our Breakup are now available in print! Fill out the order form here to get your copy.
Phew. September was a good month 🙂
Blossom Among Flowers is available on Amazon, Buqo and in print.
Maybe it is because I watched Lupin III in the midst of the sheer glory of the Rurouni Kenshintrilogy. Maybe it is because I haven’t met a multi-language movie that I liked. Or maybe because this is the first time I’m watching an Oguri Shun film in an actual theater and not just a subbed torrent or DVD, and I had such high expectations. (At least that’s one thing off my lesser-dreams bucket list). Try hard as I did, biased as I am, I found it hard to sincerely like this movie.
The 2007 Japanese film hit Kisaragi has been on my to-watch list for far too long. I’ve actually seen nearly the entire film on Youtube, only for the video to be cut about thirty minutes into the ending. Convenient. Years later, that elusive ending is finally mine. Thus, a review. Continue Reading
