Free Right Now (August 2014 edition)

I always have a freebie out there somewhere. What's free right now?

For the Wattpad books, the last few chapters of each book are set to private. You'll be able to read them if you have a Wattpad account, and follow my account there: wattpad.com/MinaVE. 

Hope you enjoy the books!

Gifted Little Creatures (Illustrated!)

Something new! And old! But also new!

I met artist Raine Sarmiento a few months ago, after we both attended the launch of Studio Salimbal Comics. She emailed me and asked if we could work together on anything.

And I said yeah! Here! (I'm always up for this!)

There's a companion short story for my Interim Goddess of Love trilogy called Gifted Little Creatures. It features Maya, goddess of the moon, and it's free to read on Wattpad. 

Raine has provided illustrations and a new cover. Now it looks like this!

This will be a 10-page (ish) booklet and I will be giving it away FREE once I figure out how to print it.

Raine, this looks so awesome. I love love love it.

Interim Goddess of Love trilogy: Sale until September 15!

Hi, everyone! Been getting a lot of questions about this lately, and yes, the entire Interim Goddess of Love trilogy is done, published, and available worldwide in ebook and paperback through Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, Book Depository, Apple, and other sites. 

In the Philippines, the Summit editions are the ones that will be in bookstores, but I'm not sure when exactly Queen of the Clueless and Icon of the Indecisive will be released. (Sorry! Definitely this year for QotC though.) 

If you absolutely cannot wait, you can get the international edition paperbacks by ordering directly from me. And hmm how about a sale? Order and pay for your books on or before September 15 and get the entire trilogy for P950. (Regular price is P1,050 for all three books.) Claim them through a Libis QC pickup, or add P70 for Metro Manila shipping/P100 elsewhere in the Philippines.

Email minavesguerra at gmail dot com to get the payment details. :) Thank you!

That Kind of Guy and Interim Goddess of Love nominated!

That Kind of Guy and Interim Goddess of Love (both published in 2012) have been nominated in the Chick Lit category of the Filipino Readers' Choice Awards which will be held at the 2013 Filipino Readercon! Thank you to the kind people who nominated them. :) Visit the link to see the other nominees!

Update: Voting is open now!

Interim Goddess of Love trilogy blog tour!

Before I forget, and because this week happens to be a busy and rainy one...

Yes, this is happening. The Interim Goddess of Love trilogy will be making appearances at various blogs over the next two weeks. I'll post links to them here, when they're up.

Thank you, Dia at Book Junkie Blog Tours for making this happen!

The tour posts!
Book Spotlight + Giveaway at Book Junkie Joint
Trilogy Review + Giveaway at Sab the Book Eater
Quickstop Tuesdays Review of Interim Goddess of Love at My Book Musings
Review of Icon of the Indecisive (Interim Goddess of Love #3) at The Girl Behind the Stories
Excerpts and Giveaway at Vailia's Page Turner
Reviews of the entire trilogy + Giveaway at I Am Krissy
Review of Queen of the Clueless (Interim Goddess of Love #2) at My Book Musings
Interview + Giveaway at Over a Glass of Milk Tea
Excerpt Reveal + Giveaway at Over a Glass of Milk Tea
Review of Icon of the Indecisive (Interim Goddess of Love #3) at My Book Musings (Spoilers!)
Review of Interim Goddess of Love + Giveaway at My Library in the Making
Guest Post ("How Sweet Dreams started it all for me") + Giveaway at marginalia
Review of Queen of the Clueless (Interim Goddess of Love #2) + Giveaway at The Blair Book Project
Interview + Giveaway at The Girl Who Read
Trilogy Excerpts + Giveaway at Logodiversity
Trilogy Excerpts + Giveaway at Diary of a Book Maniac
Review of Queen of the Clueless at Omaygawd (Spoilers!)
Review of Icon of the Indecisive at Omaygawd (Spoilers!)
Interim Goddess of Love review at Book Junkie Joint
Review of Icon of the Indecisive at Amaterasu Reads
Review of Queen of the Clueless at Not Just Silly Thoughts
Interim Goddess of Love review + Giveaway at Books for YA!
Queen of the Clueless review + Giveaway at Books for YA!
Icon of the Indecisive review + Giveaway at Books for YA!
Review of Queen of the Clueless at Book Junkie Joint
Excerpts and Giveaway at My Viewpoint on Books
Guest Post "Making Characters Believable" and Mini Reviews + Giveaway at The Smell of Parchment (Spoilers!)
Reviews of the Interim Goddess of Love trilogy at The Enigma of Herself
Review of Icon of the Indecisive at The Blair Book Project (Spoilers!)

And congratulations to Grelyn G. for winning the giveaway! She will be getting the entire trilogy in paperback and a Team Quin or Diego or Robbie keychain! (Which one will she choose? Heehee.)

What's Romantic for You? + Giveaway!

Cover muse: Chatting with photographer/style blogger Rhea Bue

In one of those things that I never thought of but makes absolute sense in retrospect, my friend/cover designer Tania Arpa collaborated with style blogger/photographer Rhea Bue for the international covers of the Interim Goddess of Love trilogy.

Rhea is also the model for the covers. I didn't know her prior to working with her on the books, so I didn't write the books with her in mind. But seeing her archive of fashion photos, duh. I'm so glad I work with people who are brilliant.

rheabue.com

Did you plan the cover together? How did you collaborate on it? What other ideas did you two come up with that didn't make it to the final?
Yes we did. We met over lunch to talk about the last book cover and how we were going to do it. We had tons of ideas that time like having cute boys surrounding me in a silhouette, an underwater shot and the cliff jumping shot but the most outstanding shot that Tania liked the most was the one where I was laying on top of the mountain. This gives you the feeling that "Hannah" is thinking very deep thoughts about her situation and how to overcome everything about love.

rheabue.com

How is your style/fashion photography different from how you shot this cover?
Usually I'd do normal OOTDs (outfit of the day) photos or take a photo of random things I see around me. But for this photo, it has more emotions and a story behind it.

rheabue.com

I love your posture and angles in this shot! How else did you shoot it, what other positions did you try?
Thank you! :) I had one where I was just sitting having a nice view from the top and another was the jump shot in back view. :)

Where was this taken?
This photo was taken in Zamboanga during the Holy Week.

I love the outfit -- as usual. Is there a story behind the outfit choice?
Thank you, Mina! :) With this outfit, I just wanted comfy and laid-back. My mom handed down the plaid polo I was wearing in the photo. She kept that polo for years now and since it couldn't fit her anymore, she had the best idea of picking me to keep it for her. Well I think this outfit somehow complimented the scene perfectly. Something from the "country-side" I must say.

Is this your natural hair color?
No. My natural hair color is dark brown. My mom styled my hair to red-blonde ombre. :)

Thank you for sharing your talent and awesomeness, Rhea! Visit her blog: rheabue.com.

Cover girl: Interview with my cover designer Tania Arpa

I asked my friend Tania Arpa, designer of the awesome international covers for the Interim Goddess of Love trilogy, some questions about covers:

Did you and (photographer/model Rhea Bue) plan the cover together? How did you collaborate on it?
We got together for lunch and talked about the book and what I had in mind for the cover photo. We talked about where the photos might be shot, and how.

What other ideas did you two come up with that didn't make it to the final?
For the photos? An underwater shot! And also a photo taken from the top of a cliff overlooking the ocean. They were just too hard to do.

How do you come up with your cover concepts?
After I read the book, I try to figure out the theme of the story. Then I'll remember scenes that are significant and try to picture each of them as a book cover. I also think of the protagonist and think of a photo of her that best illustrates her state of mind of her emotional state during some point in the story. I try to work from all of these.

How long did it take you to come up with the covers?
It took me either weeks or hours, depending on how you look at it. I start conceptualizing after reading the book, then when the photos come in, I visualize what I can do with them. The work on Photoshop takes an hour or two. I play around with fonts, photos, layout. I look at each design draft and ask myself questions like "Is this an honest portrayal of the story?" "Will this cover appeal to someone who will enjoy the book?" "Will this look good both on a paperback and as a thumbnail when it shows up on an amazon search?" Stuff like that.

It took a shorter amount of time to design the cover of Icon because the general layout was pretty much predetermined -- it had to be similar to the covers I made for the first two books. I just needed to tweak it a bit for the photo I was going to use.

How many photos did you have to choose from? How involved are you in how the photos turn out and what you get?
For Icon, Rhea gave me four photos to choose from, all taken from the same shoot. I picked this one because I'd always wanted a cover with Hannah lying on the grass being all contemplative. It seemed like something she would do. She wouldn't care about getting her outfit stained; she'd lie there and think about what in heavens she's gotten herself into. I never mentioned this to Rhea, so it's either serendipity or, more likely, she got that vibe about Hannah too.

Sometimes, like in the case of IGoL and QotC, I get photos that weren't originally intended for the cover. Rhea's photos were perfect for IGoL and QotC because while the photos were meant for her style blog, they had a touch of the surreal, and a bit of humor. So I just picked out the two photos I wanted to use and incorporated them into the design I was working on. I of course just needed to make sure they shared the same layout theme because they were two books of a series.

For Icon, although Rhea and I discussed the story and what I had in mind for the cover, she did the shoot herself and just sent me the photos she thought I'd like. I think it was better that way. I don't like looking over another artist's shoulder while they work, the same way I prefer being given creative breathing space while I work. I'd seen Rhea's portfolio so I was confident she'd come up with something great. And she did!

Tips for how an indie author in the Philippines can score a really cool cover please?
Hire me! And hire Rhea to do the photography. Haha. I think, for an author, the best place to start is to develop an eye for book covers. You don't necessarily have to know how to make one, but you should have an idea of what a good cover is and how book covers relate to the story and how they help sell your book (a while back, I blogged about how book covers are a marketing thing). Once you do, you're more likely to pick a cover designer who is good, and who can give you what you need. Don't choose the best artist you know. There are a lot of artists who are brilliant at painting and graphic design but can't design book covers. Choose an artist who loves and understands books and knows what should go in a book cover. Someone who knows what fonts not to use because you won't be able to read the title when it shows up as a thumbnail on a Google search. Also, it helps if you come up with a great tag line to give to your book designer. Sometimes a tagline will inform the theme of the cover design. However, sometimes the design will give you an idea for a tagline (I think I got the idea for the IGoL tagline while making mockups for that cover). Be open to possibilities.

Thank you, Tania!

Tania (blog.taniaarpa.com) and I are collaborating on other cover projects. Contact her to plan your awesome cover too. :)

Featured Reader: Kristel Satumbaga-Villar

To celebrate the upcoming release of Icon of the Indecisive, I'm posting readers' thoughts on the Interim Goddess of Love series.

Kristel was one of the first five to send in their thoughts, so she's getting a free Kindle copy of Icon of the Indecisive on release day next week!

Source: iheartorganizing.blogspot.com via Mina on Pinterest

Reading Interim Goddess of Love was like getting inside a time machine and being transported back in the good old days of college -- and maybe high school. It was a fun and exciting ride, as if I was there as one of the students of Ford River College witnessing the events first hand. 

I grew up reading Sweet Valley, Sweet Dreams and Love Stories books, where every story shows me more about the meaning of friendship, loyalty, and of course, dealing with young love. But it deals with American main characters and love interests, which gives me a different experience than what Interim Goddess of Love gave me. With its Filipino touch and setting, I can totally relate to Hannah in Interim Goddess of Love. I saw her as a former high school/college classmate, the type of batchmate you will always remember because she exudes that aura whenever she passes by the hallways, or gets caught up studying in the library -- someone you adore and wish you could be like her. And Quin, Diego and Robbie could be your typical school heartthrobs, whose names you usually write at the back of your notebook binders. 

Oh, I wish I grew up in a school like Ford River college with these wonderful people on it. 

Fan art by Kat Espalmado

Interim Goddess of Love fan art. Thank you, Kat! So so so cute.

Featured Reader: Katrina Flores

To celebrate the upcoming release of Icon of the Indecisive, I'm posting readers' thoughts on the Interim Goddess of Love series.

I received this through email from Katrina Flores (katrinalyn_erika):

Source: littlemissmomma.com via Mina on Pinterest

I was looking for a good book in National Book Store when I spotted Interim Goddess of Love. Seeing the book's interesting cover, I bought it. I started reading it on the way home. I love the unique plot about Philippine mythology and to make it more entertaining, it becomes modern. Good thing my mom listens to me every time I have stories about a new book I have read. I even read Interim Goddess of Love in school! Even my teacher checked out the book.

What makes the book interesting is Hannah. I think it's cool being able to be a matchmaker or problem solver of Love. And what I love about Hannah is her determination to make someone have their happy endings. She really does her best in everything.

I've been reading books by Mina Esguerra ever since I read "That Kind of Guy." Interim Goddess of Love is the first series that I have read that has the plot of gods and goddesses. It's gotten me hooked on mythology! And also, with Hannah (maybe) finding her own love, I want to know who she ends up with! (But I'm for Quin)

Do you have thoughts on Interim Goddess of Love that you'd like posted here? Send them to minavesguerra@gmail.com. Prizes like Kindle copies of Icon of the Indecisive and other random things are up for grabs!

Featured Reader: Chris Mariano

To celebrate the upcoming release of Icon of the Indecisive, I'm posting readers' thoughts on the Interim Goddess of Love series.

This is from Chris Mariano of Ficsation:

I was vacationing in Boracay when Interim Goddess of Love came out. I bought it on Kindle just as I was leaving the resort for dinner, then finished it before dinner was over. Good thing I was with friends who knew about (and forgave) my tendency to be absorbed by a really good book. I think I left an Amazon review immediately after finishing the book; I enjoyed not only the kilig that came with a well-written YA romance but also what the novella tried to do in introducing Filipino culture to a younger (and maybe even international) audience. 

Towards the end of 2013, my friends and I put up an NGO that advocated Filipino mythology (among other things) and IGoL was part of our 13 books of Christmas :) See how much it's inspired me?

Do you have thoughts on Interim Goddess of Love that you'd like posted here? Send them to minavesguerra@gmail.com. Prizes like Kindle copies of Icon of the Indecisive and other random things are up for grabs!

Featured Reader: Jennylyn Suguitan

To celebrate the upcoming release of Icon of the Indecisive, I asked some readers for their thoughts on the Interim Goddess of Love series.

Source: etsy.com via Mina on Pinterest

This is from Jennylyn Suguitan.

DISCLAIMER: I can be foul-mouthed sometimes.

When I first heard about Interim Goddess of Love, I didn't believe in its premise. I'm a fan of Greek and Roman myth but I don't know much about Pinoy myth. So in one of my random trips in NBS, I decided to give it a shot and I think I can say that it was worth the it.

I think it's very brave of you to actually try and write (and PUBLISH! :D) a book about a pinoy myth fanfiction. I love the characters and the story so now I'm hooked. :D

Hannah was great because she wasn't a whiny bitch. Hannah reminded me so much of Nam from Crazy Little Thing Called Love and I think both Nam and Hannah are adorable.

I liked it that Vida is actually such a Diva (That's an anagram!) with a reason why (she's a goddess, enough said!).

It's a good take on Pinoy mythology and hopefully the other two would include more gods and goddesses.

Do you have thoughts on Interim Goddess of Love that you'd like posted here? Send them to minavesguerra@gmail.com. Prizes like Kindle copies of Icon of the Indecisive and other random things are up for grabs!

Featured Reader: Charmie Saligumba

To celebrate the upcoming release of Icon of the Indecisive, I asked some readers for their thoughts on the Interim Goddess of Love series. 

I've chosen Charmie Saligumba (@chamiepop on Twitter) as the first featured reader. Not because she sent her thoughts first (there will be a future post on who made the first five) but because she actually lives in Bacolod/Negros Occidental and thus had the Creepiest Cool Coincidence while reading the book. :)

Charmie's copy and its post-it bookmarks

I found out about Interim Goddess of Love because I've been a follower since I first laid my hands on No Strings Attached. Since then, I've always looked forward to your work... and I think the only books I haven't bought are My Imaginary Ex and Queen of the Clueless. Haha. :D 

I think that IGoL is such a fresh breath of air. I've read so many Filipino chick lit books and (as far as I am concerned) I've never encountered a story that touched on the topic of Bathala, et al.. the Philippine mythology, which included some "magic" feel into it. It was like eating dark chocolate, it got better as I got into the characters' world. And what's funny and weird was that while I was reading a part about Silay's ancestral house, I was also passing by SILAY, actually passing by a friggin' Ancestral House. That was probably Bathala, telling me, "Told ya!" HAHA. I really found it amazingly-creepy.

Since I haven't read the Queen of the Clueless, I'm on Team Quin. Though that might change if I get to read QotC. :) 

I liked the fact that you made references on Philippine mythology because, sad to say, I honestly can't remember them anymore and it somehow sparked some interest... and the result was a little bit of research on my end. Which I think is great. Since we often forget about our very own mythology when we get into high school.

 Do you have thoughts on Interim Goddess of Love that you'd like posted here? Send them to minavesguerra@gmail.com. Prizes like Kindle copies of Icon of the Indecisive and other random things are up for grabs!

Another take on the Interim Goddess

FEU Fine Arts student Richard Cy created and designed an illustrated edition of Interim Goddess of Love for his thesis. Here's a sneak peek.

It's beautiful. :) Not for sale, but beautiful. His Twitter is @richardjaracy if you want to contact him about his art.

Summit's Interim Goddess of Love

In case you're a first-time visitor to my blog, here's the short story: I wrote Interim Goddess of Love in 2011 after challenging myself to come up with my first YA fantasy trilogy. In January 2012, I self-published it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and elsewhere, and sold special edition paperback copies.

Months later, my traditional publisher Summit Media offered to distribute it in Philippine bookstores. This meant that the book I wrote for Filipino young adults finally got the platform that'll help the most Filipino young adults (and maybe the not so YA) discover it. Thank you, Summit. I also made an effort to thank the people who supported IGoL in its "indie" phase (aka the First Edition Club), and I named names. They're found at the very last page of the Summit edition.

Of course I forgot a few names apparently, and will make up for it in the next book. Sorry! And thank you!

Get your copy of Interim Goddess of Love, available in local bookstores now(ish)!

Interim Goddess of Love, Queen of the Clueless (Tania edition paperback)

Now accepting Philippines-based orders for the Interim Goddess of Love and Queen of the Clueless international cover editions (aka the TANIA edition). Each book sells for P350, and I will buy you a cupcake per book you get. Am serious! But you have to be nearby (or willing to go to Eastwood QC) because I'd rather not mail cupcakes.

Also:
- Add P60 for shipping within Metro Manila, P90 for elsewhere in the Philippines
- Get an IGoL and QotC set for P650.
- Want to group order with friends? Order 6 books and the 7th is free. (And the freebie can be the NEXT book, IGoL 3: Icon of the Indecisive, when it comes out. Work out among yourself who keeps the freebie heehee.) Please note that shipping may be more expensive, but we'll have to check first.
- This is different from the SUMMIT edition (retailing for P175 and available in Philippine bookstores) and the KAMLA edition (P300, first paperback edition ever, available on request).

Email minavesguerra@gmail.com if you'd like to order. Specify please which edition you want, as this is getting complicated to explain. :) But - cupcake!

If you're outside of the Philippines, you can get the TANIA edition paperback on Amazon, for $8.99.

Gifted Little Creatures

I'm really really sorry that Interim Goddess of Love #3: Icon of the Indecisive won't be out for a while. Months, if we're lucky. I offer this, and hope it'll do for now...

Read Gifted Little Creatures free on Wattpad!

Consider this Interim Goddess of Love #0.5. Best read after Queen of the Clueless (IGoL #2), but don't let that stop you. :) 

Queen of the Clueless, and a new Interim Goddess of Love cover

We did it! The second book in the Interim Goddess of Love series, Queen of the Clueless, is out now!

Buy from Amazon

When I asked Tania Arpa to design the book's cover, I thought it would be a good idea to ask for a matching Interim Goddess of Love cover as well, because I was going to be launching the international paperback very soon after. So, with the help of photographer Rhea Bue, we now have these lovely covers.

Will share news about the paperback editions soon!

The Next Big Thing

Paolo Chikiamco tagged me, so I'm up next in this Next Big Thing writer blog meme. Writers get to talk about their upcoming books by answering the questions. I've been tagged! I am it.

1) What is the working title of your next book?
Queen of the Clueless (Interim Goddess of Love #2). But it's not just a working title anymore, it's the title by now.

2) Where did the idea come from for the book?
I wanted to write something that incorporated mythology, but keep it within my comfort zone of contemporary romance. So this happened.

This book is the second volume of a three-book series I launched early this year, called Interim Goddess of Love. It's set in a college just outside Manila where some Philippine gods and goddesses happen to be studying. I wanted to write QotC as soon as two specific scenes came to my mind -- which were neither appropriate for the first book (where the premise and characters are introduced) or the last (when the protagonist makes that brave final choice). It might have come to me during a cab ride, or while standing in line for something.

3) What genre does your book fall under?
Young Adult/Older YA/New Adult Fantasy Romance, I think. That exists, right?

4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
Sorry, I'm wussing out of this question. I have pegs and inspirations for the roles, but some of them are odd and I suspect are attractive only to me. I wouldn't want to ruin anyone else's experience of the book by superimposing that image. By all means, insert the hottest actors today in any role! (Update: Someone just did -- yay, Viel!)

5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
College sophomore Hannah, temporarily the Goddess of Love, tries to help out with her best friend's troubled relationship, and ends up discovering more about her new power.

6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
Self-published first. My traditional publisher (Summit Books) has offered to do a Philippine print run of my self-published titles though, so if this book gets the same treatment, I wouldn't mind at all.

7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
Ten months. It's not significantly longer or more difficult to write than other novels that I've finished in a shorter timespan, but I just didn't have enough time this year to do it. Arg.

8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Mostly Sweet Dreams, and maybe a hint of Beautiful Creatures and The Vampire Diaries. (But in writing it I was guided so much by TV's The Good Wife, which most people may find odd.)

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?
I taught a communication course in a college for a year. One day I gave a writing assignment, and told a friend about how two students interacted in a meet-cute way in that class, and she said "YA novel premise!"

10) What else about the book might pique the reader's interest?
It's romance, but with Philippine myths! Which is a fit because many Philippine myths are romances!

I'm tagging:
Ines Bautista-Yao
Chinggay Labrador
Marla Miniano
Katrina Ramos-Atienza
Gypsy Esguerra