Missed a class? Get the textbook and skeds

I've put the lessons from #romanceclass and #steamyreads on Gumroad. Consider these PDF handouts, as if you attended the workshops. Best if you're a self-paced learner. If you feel you need to be writing with a community, do reach out to me and the other authors. We're still doing online discussions about this! (Or we can talk about stuff again if you really really need us to.)

#steamyreads textbook

#romanceclass textbook

PLAYERS sports romance anthology (includes The Harder We Fall)

The PLAYERS Sports Romance Anthology (from Flirt Publishing) is out now, and it includes the following books written during our #flirtsteamyreads class:

Between Heats by Laney Castro
The Princess Finds Her Match by Suzette de Borja
Submission Moves by Camilla Sisco
Tame the Kitten by Bianca Mori
The Harder We Fall by Mina V. Esguerra

The eight-book anthology also features books from bestselling authors Marian Tee, Liliana Rhodes, and Malia Mallory!

Amazon

iTunes

Allromance

From the octagon to the diamond, from bikers in leather jackets to rock-hard MMA fighters to gorgeous swimming champions, there’s just something about bad boy athletes that makes you swoon, knowing they’re the kind of alpha male to fight for the women they love.

  

This EIGHT STANDALONE SPORTS ROMANCE BOXED SET can be yours for only $.99 for a very limited time. 

Curl up on the couch with this hot collection of novels and novellas where athletes bring the steam both in and out of the locker room. And best of all, these stories have no cliffhangers! 

Includes three never released stories by NYT and USA Today Bestselling Authors Liliana Rhodes, Marian Tee, and Malia Mallory! 

  

Play With Me by Marian Tee: This is no ordinary love triangle: the ex-bad-boy who had his heart stolen, the foul-mouthed girl who has more Nikes than him, and basketball: the third party. 

Playing Games by Liliana Rhodes: Curvy Cassie Monroe moves to Canyon Cove with only one thing in mind--finding a job. But after a close encounter with a sexy MMA fighter in the locker room, maybe she’ll find love too. 

  

Strike to the Heart by Malia Mallory: Tennis star Jo meets MMA fighter Zane at a US Open party, not knowing who he is. Throwing her usual caution to the wind, Jo allows herself one hot night with a stranger… 

  

The Harder We Fall by Mina V. Esguerra: A fast fling is all what media student Daria and rugby player Nicholas have time for. Wanting different things from life means they don’t get to stay together, but it doesn’t mean they can’t have fun – as long as they don’t fall hard. 

Between Heats by Laney Castro: Madison never expected for all-American swimming champ Aaron to try getting her fired on her first day. But Madison’s not the type to back down from a challenge, and Aaron has a hard time pretending he’s not attracted to the aspiring model. 

The Princess Finds Her Match by Suzette de Borja: When their affair becomes tabloid headlines, proper Princess Lexie and sexy polo player Nic are forced into a pretend relationship and things get awfully complicated from there. 

Tame the Kitten by Bianca Mori: Kit Torres' near-collision with a speeding biker sets off a chain reaction that's a bigger rush than anything she's ever experienced before. 

Submission Moves by Camilla Sisco: MMA fighter Nick Rossi has never had to work hard for a woman before until a snarky feminist with a huge chip on her shoulder came along. But despite one hot night together, Rose spurns Nick at every turn. Nick may be undefeated in the cage but, in a battle of wills, he will find that Rose can more than hold her own. 

  

Eight sexy, gorgeous alpha male athletes are just waiting to make you theirs so tackle this hot sports romance collection now for only $.99c!

Stories/Books I released in 2014

Kids These Days (Luna East Volume 1) (short story "Fifty Two Weeks")

Properly Scandalous (Scambitious 2)

Wedding Night Stand

Say That Things Change: New Adult Quick Reads 1 (short story "Creation Myths")

Sola Musica: Love Notes From A Festival (short story "Georgia Lost and Found")

Perfect Boyfriends: My Imaginary Ex/No Strings Attached/That Kind of Guy compiled international edition

Gifted Little Creatures (an Interim Goddess of Love short story, featuring art by Raine Sarmiento)

The Harder We Fall (Spotlight New Adult #1)

Never Just Friends (Spotlight New Adult #2)

Thank you to everyone who was part of what I think was an awesome year, as far as being an author was concerned. :) Hope you're back for more next year!

The Boyfriend Backtrack by Dawn Lanuza: Excerpt + Giveaway [blog tour]

Visit the rest of the tour stops at Oops! I Read A Book Again

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for The Boyfriend Backtrack! I met author Dawn Lanuza at a workshop in Batangas (and also on the internet before that, if it counts) and am ecstatic that her book is out. I hope more people get to read and discover her work!

Check out this excerpt from her book...

“What if we get married,” he blurts out. No, more like, he spat it out.

I lean back on my chair, completely taken aback, “What?”

Kevin pulls his hand away and reaches into his pocket. He fishes out a blue velvet box. I squeeze my eyes shut. That is not what I think that is. This is not happening. Is it really? I open my eyes. Yup, box still in the table. I try to recall if there was a hint of proposal in our earlier conversation but all I could remember was whether or not we’re having Japanese or French tonight. So no, definitely, no.

“I mean, it makes sense, doesn’t it?” He asks me, snapping me back to focus.

I lean back to the table to gauge his reaction. Is he serious? Is he being forced to marry so he can settle back to Sacramento? I find myself looking back down at the box. Kevin begins to talk again but I couldn’t make out a single word.

I bet it’s the wrong ring. Kevin has weird taste in jewelry. As much as he’s got good taste in everything else, the man can’t seem to get it right when it comes to jewelry. Last time, he bought me these earrings that I only wore for a night and never wore again. I do not look good in hoop earrings, never did and never will.

And in the middle of me thinking about where I put those earrings, the most bizarre thing happened. It was more bizarre than the fact that I was thinking about these earrings when my boyfriend just dropped the word marriage into the table.

In movies, they call this bit a ‘montage’: a series of shots edited into a sequence. In my case, it was a series of all the men I’ve dated before I landed in this very table, in a quaint French restaurant, drinking wine from some French villa, staring at a blue velvet box from my boyfriend of three years.

There weren’t many of them, but it was disturbing, still. I mean, Dirk was in it. Dirk, who I’m not even sure I even really liked to begin with. And then there was Thomas, and Josh…

About The Boyfriend Backtrack
If they say that life flashes right before your eyes when you die, do you also get a flashback of your exes when your perfect boyfriend is proposing to you? At least that's the case for Regina Cortez. There's her dramatic high school boyfriend, her first college crush, the irresistible heart breaker, and the ever elusive one. By backtracking to her past, will Regina make it to 'I Do'? Or will she just keep running away?
Goodreads  Amazon

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About Dawn Lanuza

Dawn Lanuza has been imagining and writing love stories since she was a kid. She works for the music industry by day, and writes about meet cutes and snappy comebacks by night. She writes short stories, chick lit and young-adult fiction. She has a degree in Development Communication from the University of the Philippines.

Blog  Twitter  Instagram  Goodreads

My Spotlight New Adult books will be in Philippine bookstores

Soon!

photo posted by Mina V. Esguerra (@minavesguerra) on Dec 12, 2014 at 8:36am PST

Join the #buqoYA class (January 24 to February 28, 2015)

Telling you now, so you can spend the next month preparing:

New online class. January 24. We're writing YA romance. You in?

If you've attended #buqosteamyreads and #flirtsteamyreads before, the format will be very similar. I will be facilitating a mostly-online writing class. It will run from January 24 to February 28, 2015. Most of the lessons will be sent through email, but there will be two (optional but fun) face-to-face classes. 

This class will be sponsored by ebook retailer buqo. (Thanks, buqo!) Some details we know right now:

- Participants must write and submit an original YA romance/contemporary story (like previous classes I've held, there will be some required elements in each story as a challenge to each author)

- 5,000 words minimum

- English or Filipino or Taglish

- Authors retain copyright of their stories

- Finished work will be offered an ebook distribution deal on buqo

- The class is free! 

(Authors under contract with publishers must first get clearance to independently enter a distribution agreement with buqo. Thanks!)

Ready to be a published YA author? :) Sign up here to join the #buqoYA list.

This is only the first of several classes planned for 2015! If this is not exactly your thing, or if the timing doesn't work out, don't worry, future classes might be a better fit. 

Hello, Turkey! Translation and foreign rights

Nothing's certain until I see the book on a shelf somewhere, but I did just do this -- I signed a contract giving one company the right to translate some of my books in the Turkish language.

I decided to post about it for two reasons.
1. To inform you all that Turkish language rights to my books are taken, because I feel that I should, and
2. Other countries and languages - hello! Let's do this.

One great thing about starting to self-publish, and then keeping most of the rights even as I partnered up with publishers, is that I still own the translation and foreign rights to most of my books. And in writing new ones, I'll ensure that this remains the case.

If anyone is interested in translating my romance books into another language, or obtaining rights to print and distribute my books in another country, send an email over to minavesguerra@gmail.com. Thank you!

Workshop: Print book formatting and affordable printing, February 28, 2015

Update: 3 slots left as of December 5.

Print book formatting and affordable printing
Venue: O2 Space Solutions, Milelong Bldg, Amorsolo St. Makati
Time: 8:30 to 11:30 am
Fee: P3,500 (includes snacks and coffee)

Facilitated by Tania Arpa and Mina V. Esguerra

What we're going to do is format your book for printing and upload it to a print-on-demand service during the session. We will also talk about print-on-demand services in Metro Manila and help you place your orders that day.

I would also prefer a small group, so please go over these requirements before you reserve a slot. You must have, by February 28:

1. A final manuscript, in Microsoft Word .doc format or PDF
2. A cover spread (front cover, back cover, and spine) in JPG, 300 dpi
3. A book description
4. Laptop you can bring to workshop (can edit .doc, save to PDF, and edit JPG)

Contact me at minavesguerra@gmail.com if you prefer a special session because you are available on a different date.