Playing Autumn: New edition, new cover, out in March

In 2013, I wrote a romance novella that wasn't set in the Philippines, for the first time ever. It's called Playing Autumn and it was published by Jaded Speck Publishing in an ebook bundle called Rock Gods of Romance.

You know what happens when you leave your comfort zone? Like when you're traveling? You overpack, and take so much of home with you. Just in case. Playing Autumn feels that way. (If I really stopped to think about it, this entire US-setting Spotlight series feels that way.) Houston, Texas, where Haley and Oliver are from, is also where three-fourths of my immediate family live now. There are more places, things, obsessions, and in general things that actually happened in this book than any of my Manila-setting ones. 

Maybe in something that's more obviously a fantasy, we can be a little more honest about things? 

This is a new edition, because in the past year I spent time exploring what I could do with a longer form of novel than I used to write. Playing Autumn is now over 50,000 words. Someone helped me with this, and I'm grateful for the push. It's always nice to get a little push.

I love the cover. Designed by Tania Arpa.

Haley Reese is going back home to Houston and she's dreading this trip. She volunteers as a mentor to young musicians at an annual festival, and the longer she's been doing it, the more she feels like a fraud. It's been years since the web videos that made her sort-of famous first came out, and she hasn't done anything else to pursue the career in music she's always wanted. Things start looking up when she shares a plane ride with Oliver Cabrera, music prodigy, rock star, and the reason why she picked up an instrument in the first place.

Oliver Cabrera hasn't called any place "home" since he started touring professionally in his teens, but Houston is as close to it as any. He's also nearly broke, his career just about over. When he gets the invitation to mentor at the Breathe Music Festival again, he decides, what the hell, he should finally show up. He meets Haley, Hot Piano Girl herself, and finds her fear of failure might be easier to fix than his own.

Playing Autumn was first released in 2013 in the Rock Gods of Romance ebook anthology. This is a revised, expanded, and steamier edition.

Out in March. Those who bought the limited paperback run of the first edition will get the ebook free.

Buy links: Amazon  Smashwords  iTunes

Playing Autumn (limited first edition) paperback giveaway

So here's the deal -- Playing Autumn, my novella included in the Rock Gods of Romance bundle, is going to eventually be released as a solo book. I delayed those plans because an exciting opportunity for the book popped up, but it required expanding the story, which I haven't started on yet. (Next month, promise!)

And then I fast-tracked the printing of a paperback because Dia Frampton and Meg Frampton are in town. I had the happy lucky chance to meet Dia last year, on her first visit to Manila, and gave her a copy of Fairy Tale Fail -- and she's been reading more of my books since then. So I thought that the perfect prezzie for her and Meg would be the book I wrote about musicians, right?

Tania Arpa designed the cover, and so quickly too. I owe her baked goods and perhaps fancy drinks.

Mission accomplished though! Meg and Dia got their copies on the night of their show at Hard Rock Cafe Makati.

(Dia's writing a novel too, and the bits that she's posted so far have been quirky and awesome.)

Some people have offered to buy the limited copies (thank you!) but since I don't know how much they cost yet (I pretty much just grabbed them from the printer as soon as they were done!), here's a giveaway for Philippine residents! Will post order details soon.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Playing Autumn, my new book, part of the ROCK GODS OF ROMANCE bundle

It seems like I've been posting new release days so often this year (a happy problem), and I hope you can all bear with another one.

Playing Autumn is my first international release, and it's part of the Rock Gods of Romance ebook bundle. The entire set is $0.99 for a limited time (if you Amazon Kindle account is set to US), so hey, if you ever wanted to get me a present for the holidays, this is all you need to buy. Less than P50!

Buy from: Amazon  Barnes&Noble

Read the Playing Autumn preview on Wattpad

Description from Amazon

Lose yourself in a wildly passionate, swooningly romantic and enthralling joyride with the Rock Gods of Romance Boxed Set, which features stories of all heat levels from NYT bestselling author Ava Lore and Marian Tee, USA Today bestselling author Liliana Rhodes, and Amazon bestselling authors Caitlyn Duffy, K.T. Fisher, and Mina V. Esguerra.

With this collection, all your secret fantasies and daydreams will come to life in the arms of the sweetest and sexiest rock stars you'll ever find in romance novels.

Hometown Hook-Up by Caitlyn Duffy: Brice Norris' new-found fame as lead singer of the rock band Sigma is suffocating him when he returns to West Hollywood after the band's first world tour. He feels like he's being pulled in a million directions by managers and agents, and can't find a way to block out the trappings of fame--the girls who want to spend time with him, the cocktails, and the paparazzi--long enough to start working on the band's second album. On a spur-of-the-moment trip home to Massachusetts to visit his parents, his chance encounter with his former high school crush, Meredith, reignites not only his attraction to her, but his passion for music.

Record, Rewind by Ava Lore: The last person in the world Cassie Bell wants to see is Damien Colton, the lead singer of the blazing hot band, The Hollow Men, and her secret high school crush.

But when she and Damien meets at the hotel where she cleans rooms for a living, it seems fate has brought them back together. And when they find themselves locked in the hotel's rooftop, it seems fate likes to play a good prank.

Can Cassie ever overcome her shyness and confess to Damien the torch she's carried for years, or has time changed them both too dramatically for them to ever have a second chance?

Playing Autumn by Mina V. Esguerra: "Hot Piano Girl" Haley and rock star Oliver officially meet on a plane ride back to Houston, where they're both serving as mentors at a music festival for young artists. Unofficially? Haley has been a fan of Oliver's since she was ten (and he was twelve), when she saw him on a TV talent show. And Oliver's had her in his head since he saw her performing covers of his songs online. His career has hit rock bottom, and hers has stalled before even starting. Will an autumn weekend in their hometown give them exactly what they need?

The Ballad of Jude by Liliana Rhodes: Zoey Ackerman had no idea a summer job would lead to her helping create one of the biggest rock bands in the world. But when her boyfriend, Silverlight's drummer Jude Morrison goes on tour, can their love survive the temptations of sex, drugs and rock n roll?

The Rockstar I've Loved for So Long by Marian Tee: Dylan Charbonneau, the rockstar 18-year-old Bree Wyle has been in love with since forever, wants to belong to her. That should make her deliriously happy...if only he hasn't made clear he also belongs to the millions of girls who love him, too.

Heat by K.T. Fisher: When Lacey's best friend, Roxie takes her out for her birthday they meet two sexy men. Not knowing that they are rock stars. They end the night at the girls apartment, where Cole and Mason find out just how close the best friends can be. Lacey and Roxie have no idea the guys are in a famous rock band, they're just two gorgeous men to them. Even as Cole and Lacey find themselves drawn to each other, Cole doesn't want to tell Lacey that he's a rock star. Can Lacey be with Cole when she finds out the man she thought she was falling for has been lying to her all along?

When so much is going on

Three things:

1. Please continue to donate time/money/expertise for Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda relief. (Philippine Red Cross, Authors for the Philippines)

2. Wattpad was sweet enough to send an email saying that one of my stories was kicking ass. Not as much as others! But I'll take it. :)


3. It sounds crazy but I will have another book out in December. It's called Playing Autumn and it's an international release, published as part of the Rock Gods of Romance ebook bundle. (Wattpad preview here.) Watch out for it, while I bite my nails anxiously.