Thursday, January 22, 2015

Only A Kiss by Ines Bautista-Yao: Excerpt and Giveaway [Blog tour]


I'm so happy for Ines!!!

First, a bit of background: Ines Bautista-Yao was my editor at Summit Books. I consider her my chick lit mentor and partner in crime. If you liked any of my books from Summit at all, know that she was in part responsible for the good stuff. Only A Kiss is the first book she independently published, and I'm glad it's out in the world now! Here's an excerpt:
When Katie entered the living room in her midnight blue gown that showed off her shoulders and clung to all the right places, places he had never noticed before, his breath caught in his throat. Her hair was all wavy and loose down her back but it looked like she had done something to it because it looked shinier. And she was radiant. Her eyes were sparkling, her lips were glossy—it could have just been the illusion brought on by makeup, but still, he felt as if he were standing next to someone else. Someone he had asked to the ball, not because she was his best friend, but because there was something about her that he wanted to get to the bottom of—because there was something about her that was slowly reeling him in. And at that moment, he realized he wasn’t just anticipating the hype, he was already living it.

Title: Only A Kiss
Author: Ines Bautista-Yao
Publisher: Chamber Shell Publishing
Date of Publication: November 29, 2014
Genre: contemporary romance

Blurb:

When she was nine-years-old, Katie knew she wanted Chris to give her her first kiss. It wasn’t because she was in love with him (no way, he was her best friend! Besides, she was in love with his fourteen-year-old big brother), it was because she could make him do anything she wanted.

Besides, it didn't really mean anything. It was only a kiss after all.

But then things started to change. They grew up. They parted ways and went to different high schools. And other girls and boys—well, just one particular boy—came into the picture, throwing their lives upside down.

Told from the alternating points of view of Katie and Chris, this love story between two best friends will tug at your heartstrings and leave you thinking how the simplest things can mean so much.


Purchase linksAmazon | Buqo.ph ($0.99 until February 14!)

Paperback copies are now available in Fully Booked and soon in National Bookstore.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Ines Bautista-Yao is the author of One Crazy SummerWhat’s in your Heart, andOnly a Kiss. She has also written two short stories, “Flashbacks and Echoes,” which is part of a compilation called All This Wanting and “A Captured Dream,” one of the four short stories in Sola Musica: Love Notes from a Festival.

She is the former editor-in-chief of Candy and K-Zone magazines and a former high school and college English and Literature teacher.  She is also a wife and mom and blogs about the many challenges and joys of motherhood attheeverydayprojectblog.com. She has recently launched The Author Project, a section in her current blog devoted to the stories in her head: http://theeverydayprojectblog.com/inesbyao-author-project/

She posts on Instagram and tweets @inesbyao and her author page isfacebook.com/inesbautistayao.

Monday, January 19, 2015

Things you can join, do, and buy

Hello! You might have read the article about my work in the Philippine Daily Inquirer today.

If you're a writer in Metro Manila/Philippines and want to participate in the workshops, here are some signup forms:

Ebook formatting and publishing, Jan 31: bit.ly/learnebookpub
Print book formatting and affordable printing, Feb 28: bit.ly/learnprintpub

These workshops are for authors who've already written their books and are ready to publish. If you're still thinking about writing a book, go here:

#romanceclass textbook and schedule: https://gum.co/MDqis (PDF of lectures given to my chick lit/contemporary romance writing class)
#steamyreads tool kit and schedule: https://gum.co/FkOs (PDF of lectures given to my steamy romance writing class)

If you're a reader and you want to try my books (YAY!) go here:

My Chic Manila series features Filipino characters and Philippine settings.
My Spotlight series is new adult romance set in the US.
Some of my books are on Wattpad. Free to read! wattpad.com/MinaVE

If you've read my books and didn't realize that more Pinoy authors are writing English-language romance now, go here: http://romanceclass.co.vu

I send out a monthly newsletter with announcements and freebies. There's a signup form here on the right side of the blog.

I will be speaking at the Creative Entrepeneur Summit organized by Writer's Block Philippines on January 31.

Thank you!

Thursday, January 1, 2015

The plan for 2015

quotes.land

Create things.
Help people who want to create things.
Get people excited about creations.
Work with people living in the present and future (not the past).

Let's do this!