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Songs to Make You Stay

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RomanceClass Podcast Episode: The Rockstar Trope

Posted on February 28, 2021

RomanceClass Podcast is back with Season 4! Kicked off with the launch of The Tropetastic Kindness Bundle (available until April 14, 2021 here, all proceeds to charity!), and now with Episode 2: The Rockstar Trope. Alternate title: Why Are Rockstars??

Super cool to have been part of this panel because 1) I write about rockstars in romance, and 2) turns out it’s good to sit with the questions of why we are fascinated with these musician people and why and how we enjoy them, specially in our romance content.

Chatted with gig/music/writer friends Dawn Lanuza, Six de los Reyes, and Tara Frejas, with hosting by producer Mina V. Esguerra and direction from producer/the voice of god (lol) Tania Arpa.

The episode is up on RomanceClass Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube. A few of my things from the discussion here, plus some stuff that came to me after, which is how the brain works sometimes.

  • Origin story. Seeing friends and classmates picking up instruments, forming bands, and performing in high school and college. Seeing how funny and cool and awkward it could be, kids trying to work together to create synchronized output, mess and art. The band dynamics that come out of the exercise. Picking up a guitar myself, to which when asked if I play, I can only answer as Lizzie Bennet said to Lady Catherine: “a little ma’am, and poorly.” Still fun though, always fascinating.
  • Influences. Sandwich, specially the dynamic of having three guitarists and the live performances. They will always be my favorite local band to see live. Alex Turner, for the words and lyrics. And for the album AM, bless him.
  • Characters inspired by real people who formed bands. Short answer is yes, they exist. Longer answer points to origin story. There is always that one cute boy in high school who got good with the guitar, then with the drums too. And maybe in college there was a cute boy who brought his acoustic guitar around and played and sang for anyone with little prodding.
  • Biggest rockstar moment. Parading into the wedding reception hall as part of the entourage, only to see Ebe Dancel performing live. Romanceclass also met Champ Lui Pio of Hale in a rockstar lecture, that was a teenage dream come true. Local gigs in the likes of Saguijo, Conspiracy, and Route 196 were chill spots for casual rockstar encounters, as were music festivals where musicians roam freely.
  • Hype and zone out songs. Submarine OST album, all songs by Alex Turner. Love Me/ Love Me Not by HONNE, on Spotify.
  • Recs for rockstars in media. Sunset Curve and Julie and the Phantoms in Julie and the Phantoms. Mido and Falasol in Hospital Playlist, on Netflix.
  • How do we like our rockstars. Six segued to our Summer Crush tagline, PEACE LOVE AND ROCK AND ROLL, which says it best. We fall for the charisma, the stage presence. Skill on instruments and with words is hot. But we want to see these things on good people having healthy relationships, which is what romance should be about

In summation, rockstars are cool, we like them a lot. Music is awesome. And I really, really, really miss live music. There’s something magical about being in a space with friends and strangers who’ve come together to soak up notes, rhythm, and words together, to receive energy and give it back. It’s a giving circuit. It’s potent joy. And even with the reach of technology, for me live streams don’t quite cut it.

I wish the pandemic is over and we are all safe and healthy and can go to gigs again. Until then, we have our rockstars in romance.

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Writing Now

30th

Posted on August 18, 2020

Written for #RCReadathon2020 Prompt and Pairing, Please! Challenge. Jill and Shinta are characters from the Playlist series, starting with Songs of Our Breakup and also in Songs to Make You Stay.

Prompt:  Shinta plans Jill’s 30th birthday party

 

***

Shinta Mori took birthdays seriously. Specially the landmark ones, like the 30th, which was turn-of-the-decade important.

Since he’d made Manila his home base, he had been hearing it referred to as the advent of the tito-slash-tita stage of life, where one would get excited about purchasing rice cookers and tea. Fascinating, really.

When he turned 30 he already had an interest in household machines and errands, having moved out to his own place early on. And tea, while it was not sake or beer, was always nice.

Anyway, this wasn’t about him. This was another person traversing into an exciting new decade, and this person was important.

This person also nursed a firm dislike of birthday parties.

Tricky.

His palm fell on Jill’s thigh, squeezing. “Do you want to go to Sapporo?”

One eyebrow rose. “Randomly?”

“Not right now.”

“Yeah, cos I’m supposed to be up there in 5 minutes.” Her mouth curved to his favorite smirk. She tilted her head towards Commute Bar’s floor where Nino was testing a beat on his drums.

“I actually can’t go on a trip next month,” Shinta muttered, gaze dropping on the sticky table.

Why did he have filming schedule around this important birthday? It was an extra challenge but he was up to it.

Jill was looking at him with narrowed eyes, which meant she was figuring him out, which meant she would get there soon, with the way she knew him.

He needed a distraction.

He leaned over and captured her lips, her face in both his hands, thumbs tracing her cheekbones. His kisses ran deep, bordering on inappropriate in public despite the dim lights of the bar.

He felt her smile against his moving mouth, palm smacking his chest.

“Fine, be that way.” She broke away from him and she stood up, aiming for her bandmates, fingers through his hair as she went. “I’m going to pretend I don’t know what this is.”

***

“She hates parties.” Miki’s tone was as flat and no-nonsense as Shinta imagined his expression would be.

“It’s not a party,” he said to his phone. “It’s an intimate congregation.”

“Also hates surprises.”

“I am walking a tightrope, I know.”

Shinta flopped face down on the sofa, his feet dangling from the edge. He raised his head to peek at his door in case Jill was coming in, but he had only imagined the faint jangling of keys.

Birthday planning was fun but he was making this year’s extra stressful for himself, with how much he wanted it to be perfect. Also with how he was involving more people. It was usually a trip or a quiet day of just the two of them, how she preferred it.

But really, one did not turn 30 every year.

“What do you have?” Miki’s voice called him back.

“Sushi, guitars, Tokyo, Trainman, girl squad, me. A list of things she likes.”

“No better place to start.”

Shinta sighed. “Hai.”

He reached for his laptop, open on the side table. He had been searching for inspiration, for a hint of something that would be the perfect not-quite-a-surprise, not-big-enough-to-be-a-party idea.

He had been searching for weeks, thinking about this for months. He’d thought of a lot but nothing was sticking. He swiped his finger on the trackpad and typed some more, going back to his usual website haunts for possible clues.

He was scanning on social media when he saw the announcement. He and Jill had been waiting for this. And for it to fall on this date.

His face stretched into a grin.

“Yatta.” He shifted his cheek to speak to his phone where Miki was holding his end of the call. “I think I got it.”

***

“Perfect seats.”

Jill released a low whistle as they dropped on the cushioned seats, eyes scanning the arena’s many floors, the rows filling up with fans bearing light sticks and banners. She turned to the stage, to the flashing lights around them, then to his face. He thought her eyes sparkled the most then.

He nodded, proud of himself. He’d fought an intense online battle with fellow warrior fans to secure these tickets. The show was sold out in less than three hours and he was one of the lucky ones.

It was a special birthday gift. He was blessed.

“Not in the VIP, because that means standing in the mosh pit with energetic teenagers for 3 hours and that’s not fun for the lower back,” he said, slipping his fingers through hers. “Not too far that you have to rely on the big screen to see the band’s faces. They charged extra for the faces. This is—”

“Perfect. Just right.”

Jill planted a kiss on his lips and he knew it was meant to be sweet but no wait—his palm cupped her nape and pulled her back to him, making the kiss last. When her palm came between them, it cradled the curve of his neck.

“Happy 30th birthday in 3 more hours,” he whispered.

She wrinkled her nose at ‘30’ but was laughing when she wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

“Thank you. You don’t have a surprise party waiting after this, do you?”

“Only an intimate congregation with your favorite people.”

“There’s cake?”

“Of course. I made everyone promise not to sing the birthday song. They can just whisper or text greetings to you.”

“Okay.”

The lights had dimmed, spotlights bursting, dancing, then zooming in on the stage. The crowd rose, a single collective yelling, screaming their hearts out, light sticks waving in the air.

Jill and Shinta stood with everyone else, but her smile was on him.

He lifted their linked hands to nudge her chin. “Tomorrow I can help you look for the best rice cooker.”

“Perfect.”

When she laughed and kissed him again he knew she meant tonight, this birthday, his plans, the chaos and the music around them, and the two of them together, always. Perfect.

 

End

 

Note: Jill and Shinta were 21 and 24 in SOOB and STMYS lol so this was fun to write and also made my head spin cos a lot would have happened in the years in between. But for sure there were constants–like music and friends and Shinta.

Special thanks to Day6 World Tour 2019: Gravity in Manila and rice cookers.

#RCReadathon2020 Prompt and Pairing, Please! Challenge thread this way for more ficlets of your Romanceclass faves.

No one asked for it but I wrote a Jill-Rhys fic here.

Life and Lemons Writing Now

2017 Gratitude: In Books

Posted on December 31, 2017

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!

Writing Now

2016 – The Bookish Year That Was

Posted on January 7, 2017

It feels good to do this again, because it tells me that 2015 was not a fluke or a very vivid daydream, but was something that really happened and led to more things in 2016, writing and publishing-wise.

In 2016, I:

 

  • Wrote a children’s short story for Bayong ng Kuting called The Kitten She Didn’t Love, loosely based on the love-hate relationship between my sister and our indomitable male feline, Bing. This may be a trope.
  • Wrote a story spiral for Ines Bautista-Yao’s blog, starring Miki, because some days my feelings belong to him.
  • Attended a YA writing class organized by Bronze Age Media and facilitated by Ines, because I liked hanging out with the people and because my YA wheels needed oiling.

 

  • Participated in Manila International Book Fair on the first year that #romanceclass had a booth. It felt surreal. Until now I know my understanding of its significance remains dim and narrow. Suffice it to see though that our booth was right in front of National Bookstore, but our books were being bought anyway, such that panic-reprinting and restocking had to happen. Suffice it to see how the community came together, in manning the booth and playing tindera for the day and hollering mamser, pagibig? and recommending each other’s works to readers. There was already boundless joy and pride in that.
  • Felt kilig over and over again in live readings. In April Feels Day (special kilig because theater actor Jef Flores read as Miki from Songs to Get Over You), Feels Rush In, All The Feels, and Feels Fest.

 

  • Met wonderful new people—fellow writers, readers, both local and international. Saw a bit of how people in other places responded to my books, and got the happy surprise of seeing them accept my book people too.
  • Signed up for my second Mina V. Esguerra workshop, #romanceclass2017, a thing that is carrying me through to 2017. That and a fun project with #romanceclass chicas Six delos Reyes and Tara Frejas.

I ended my 2015 post with a list of goals, and I am happy to have checked them all off in 2016, at least at the minimum. So I thought a new list would be a good way of ending this post too.

In 2017, I will:

  • Write and finish my #romanceclass2017 manuscript. This is uncharted territory for me, because of the POV, the steam level challenge, and largely because this is a new universe, not the familiar terrain of my band boys and girl in the Playlist series. Scareciting. I’m building a Pinterest board as I write, because I do that now, apparently (visuals are important). Check it out if you’re curious? 🙂 https://www.pinterest.com/jayetria/where-this-takes-us/
  • Write one more book, maybe YA. Maybe Nino, or Kim, or someone yet to be imagined. Will see where my feelings will take me.
  • Publish one to two books.
  • Work on the fun, secret-for-now project with Six and Tara.
  • Go out and go places and do new things for feelings, special challenge dated 12-10-2016 in mind.
  • Rest and recharge haha because sometimes I don’t like to do this until my body breaks down and forces me to. And being forced to rest doesn’t feel restful at all, if that makes sense.

Every year is bound to be better than the last. That’s a good way to look at things, right? I’m going to keep that in mind. Hello 2017! I hope you’re ready for more of my words and feelings 🙂

Music Dance and Lyrics Writing Now

Soundtrack to Make You Stay

Posted on October 29, 2016

This playlist for Songs to Make You Stay is a mixture of music I listened to between writing (cos I need silence to write. Please don’t turn Brooklyn Nine-Nine on now, sister, have mercy), music I imagined blaring out of the speakers at Commute Bar between sets, and in Doozy Book Cafe and Bar on that first Gig Night. Bulding this playlist was extra fun because a lot of these songs were new to me, some of which I won’t even normally listen to. And it’s fun finding new music to like. It’s one of the best surprises.

So here, enjoy Shinta and Jill’s feelings in song format. I hope you find a few good surprises too.

Pavement. Summer Babe

Bon Iver. Holocene  Continue Reading

Writing Now

Happy Book Birthday, Shinta! Songs to Make You Stay is Live <3

Posted on October 9, 2016

I agonize over writing a lot (normal), but it took me more than a few months to finally decide and write this book. As far back as last year (soon after releasing Songs of Our Breakup), my friend/fairy godmother Layla and I had been plot-bunnying about this. It was supposed to be Miki and Shinta in one book, in alternating perspectives. But then I thought, ‘no, what a mess that would be.’ Also they deserved more than that <3 So Miki got his own book, Songs to Get Over You. Now Shinta has gotten his, and they share the same timeline.

Although I thought I left him and Jill in a happy space in Songs of Our Breakup, I also knew it wasn’t going to be easy for them. Because long distance relationship. And celebrity problems, on both sides and in different ways.

So yay, here you go. Here’s Shinta’s story. I hope you’ll enjoy spending more time with him like I did. Happy book birthday, Shinta*!

Songs to Make You Stay (Playlist #3)

Love isn’t supposed to be this hard.

Now that he’s finally won Jill, the girl who’s always rocked his world, you’d think life would be heaven on earth for Shinta Mori. In a way, it is. But maybe he’s underestimated the fact that he’s a hunky movie star in Japan while his girl is ruling the indie music scene all the way in Manila.

When he spends a long-awaited vacation with her–through impromptu performances, frenzied flyer distribution, and unhinged radio guestings–he realizes how imperfect his seemingly perfect life is. And he begins to wonder if what they have is strong enough to survive years of being apart.

Can Shinta prove he’s worthy of the spotlight the universe shines on him? And more importantly, deserving of the devotion of a young girl in love?

Cover design by Tania Arpa. Photography by Hazel Caasi, featuring Yuki Sakamoto.

Available on Amazon. Paperback launching on #romanceclass FeelsFest. Also available via this form.

*Happy birthday to you too, John Lennon!