Guest post by Katrina Ramos Atienza: The story in your head

The story in your head
by Katrina Ramos Atienza

I was talking with a friend recently, an avid reader, and together we discovered -- or maybe articulated is the better term -- a key truth for people who love stories: we tend to view the world in narrative.

I know, I know, hardly earth-shattering. But as my friend and I were talking about this, we realized what this really means is that we tend to force the randomness of reality into the orderliness of a narrative.

Coincidences become plot. Something interesting a friend tells you informs your interactions with others. You pick out the elements of a conversation that fit in the story in your head, and suddenly a theme emerges. You say, oh cool, this week is all about unrequited longing. Or chasing after a dream. Or maybe even something as mundane as "everyone is getting married except for me."

Because a story is easy. It has a beginning, a middle and an end. It has tropes and archetypes and specific character beats. You know that conflict ends in resolution and that a story needs symmetry for balance. Bad things can happen, but you are warned, thanks to foreshadowing.

Real life, however, is hard. It's totally random and unbalanced. Conflicts hang in the air and never get solved. Things hit you without warning. Real life doesn't have a template, and you can't predict how a person will really behave.

How we impose a story on our lives is what You Caught Me On A Good Day deals with. The main character pictures himself in a movie, complete with soundtrack, as he goes about his day (oh God I am so guilty of this). Another character enters the picture, and it seems that his imaginary indie romance finally comes to life. Or does it?

And that's my story: Expectation versus Reality, and all that complications that ensue, in 10,000 words or so. Hope you enjoy it!


(PS: When I first finished this story I wasn't sure what to make of it or where it fit in. It was romance, but not the kilig light-hearted ones that are genre staples. The genre New Adult -- with its themes of exploration and discovery -- seems like a good fit.)

Katrina Ramos Atienza blogs at katrinaramosatienza.com. Read You Caught Me On A Good Day by getting All This Wanting on buqo. (http://bit.ly/ATWbuqo) 

Spark, my YA paranormal romance project with Katrina Ramos Atienza

When I first visited Bacolod and its neighboring cities, I thought, wow, somebody should write a YA paranormal novel set here. There's so much history (and secrets), how could you not? I encouraged Katrina Ramos Atienza, whose family is actually from Negros Occidental, to do it. We decided to write one together. (Which is more fun than just telling people to write books for me haha.)

It's not done yet, but we're releasing it in stages. Here it is on Figment.

And Wattpad:

[Well Played] Excerpt Reveal + Giveaway

Welcome to today's stop on the Well Played + All's Fair in Blog and War blog tour! 

   Patrice Reyes is starting her junior year at the University and she's convinced it's going to be the best semester ever. For starters, it looks like this is the year her team will win the regional football (soccer, for you Yanks) championships. Her subjects are looking good, and there's even a chance she might finally get somewhere with her rock star crush. But a new classmate—arrogant, cold Math nerd ( 'nuff said)—is seriously throwing off her groove. Will she ever get rid of him and have the awesome semester she deserves? Or is there truth to never judging (Math) books by their cover?

Buy: Amazon Smashwords Paperback

Well Played, written by my friend Katrina Ramos Atienza, happens to be a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice set in the Philippines. How modern? And set in the Philippines how? Check out the excerpt below to see -- and don't forget to join the giveaway!

His gaze seemed to search her face. "And that point is?"

"Is that we're completely different."

He remained silent, but his expression was incredulous. 

"You're Mr. Analytical Applied Math who hardly speaks and doesn't dance and hates football and looks down on the arts students," she said hurriedly.

Paul's composure was unruffled. "And if I were to go by your argument, I would state the opposite: you are Ms. Illogical Communications major who blurts out whatever comes to mind, makes a fool of herself on the dance floor, would kill over a simple thing like football and resents the science students." 

She swallowed a lump in her throat. "Fair enough," she said, struggling to contain her shock. "I never really doubted that was what you thought of me."

"But then you'd be wrong," said Paul quietly.

"But you just said—"

"What I said was modeled on your argument. I simply took your words and said the opposite, so as to illustrate my point."

"And your point is?" She leaned forward, challenging him.

"I don't think of you that way at all."

"Huh," scoffed Patrice. "And how do you think of me?"

Paul suddenly leaned back, seemingly irritated. The waiter arrived with their baked macaroni, but the tension on the table remained. 

"I think of you very differently," he finally said, in a very soft, strange tone of voice that Patrice strained to hear.

Join the GIVEAWAY to win these awesome prizes!
3 Swag Bags (from Author Katrina Ramos Atienza) containing 1 medium, gray Well Played shirt + 2 Pride & Prejudice Bookmarks + Think Free Bag Tag!
3 Swag Bags (From Author Chrissie Peria) containing 1 paperback copy of All's Fair in Blog & War, 1 unique trinket, 1 pocket journal, ebook voucher, postcard and bookmarks!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Katrina Ramos Atienza, born and bred in Manila, Philippines, has been writing all her life. She's worked in the fields of PR and corporate communications while blogging, freelancing and writing fiction. Four chick lit novels (Pink Shoes, 2006; The Hagette, 2006; If the Shoe Fits, 2008 and Shoes Off, 2010) are available in paperback in the Philippines, while her earlier short fiction works have been published in Philippine publications and collected in the Growing Up Filipino II anthology. Well Played (2013) is her first independently published novel. She graduated from the University of the Philippines at Los Baños and is married with two kids.

Buy: Amazon Smashwords Paperback

Well Played by Katrina Ramos Atienza

It's another happy day for followers of Filipino-authored contemporary romance! My friend and fellow "chick lit" author Katrina Ramos Atienza has a new book out, and guess what? It's a retelling of Pride and Prejudice. Yes, that one. Set in the present day, at a university that looks exactly like UP Los Banos.

Patrice Reyes is starting her junior year at the University and she's convinced it's going to be the best semester ever. For starters, it looks like this is the year her team will win the regional football (soccer, for you Yanks) championships. Her subjects are looking good, and there's even a chance she might finally get somewhere with her rock star crush. But a new classmate—arrogant, cold math nerd—is seriously throwing off her groove. Will she ever get rid of him and have the awesome semester she deserves? Or is there truth to never judging (math) books by their cover?
Get it on Amazon

Katrina is independently publishing this, and I was happy to help her on that last stretch so she could release this book. I hope romance readers and supporters of Filipino authors out there go and get it!

My next project: A YA paranormal novella

Photo by Sam Ramos-Zaragoza

We're doing this.

My next project is a YA paranormal novella, and we're calling it Spark. I'm writing it with Katrina Ramos Atienza.

More details soon!