Heads up: "Mockingjay" (The Hunger Games Trilogy, Book 3) Book Launch

Found out about this via my Goodreads group. I haven't read any of the Hunger Games books (unless you count the few pages I browsed at a Fully Booked branch recently), but I support the idea of this launch.

I love that these books have enough of a fan base for a party. And that they're really excited about it. I wish them a great fandomy time. :)

Filipinos on my reading list

This year is shaping up to be the year of the Filipino author, at least as far as my reading list is concerned.

So far I've read...

Marla Miniano: Every Girl's Guide to Flings and Table for Two
Melissa Dela Cruz: Blue Bloods and Masquerade
Vince O. Teves: Getting Over Andrea and The Wedding
Miguel Syjuco: Ilustrado
Andrea Pasion: Have Baby, Will Date
Maya O. Calica: Undercover Tai Tai
Claire Betita: No Boyfriend Since Birth

The cool thing is that not all of them are locally published, and not all are necessarily "Pinoy" in subject matter either.

Proof!

So this was in the mail for me today! It's the proof of Fairy Tale Fail from CreateSpace, the company that's helping me work out the print publishing side of this experiment.

The cover (photographed by Bianca Pascual and designed by Michael Co) came out as pretty as I imagined it to be. There's a slight color mismatch but that's my fault, and it's a consequence of using a gradient for the background but kebs, the gradient is cute.

The other quibble I have is that the book doesn't have printing on the spine (too thin according to the app -- but it's not really!). I can change it by adding pages to make the book thicker, but that just makes it more expensive.

That said, this edition also has two pages of notes, about the Filipino words and cultural context. (Because Laura suggested it.) Nothing else has changed, except for formatting.

Off to read and edit. :) And I hope this shows up on Amazon in paperback soon!

A hundred hugs

Recently, I mentioned on a Goodreads discussion thread what I discovered once I had something published: Pinoys read, but they don't talk or write about it as much.

I post nearly every review of my books I can find, and to this day there aren't a lot. There are a few new ones, like the reviews from Laura, Janine and Cienne of My Imaginary Ex on Goodreads. But it's always been a quiet thing, and I used to think that it meant no one bought or read the book. Then I got a royalty check (!) that told me how wrong I was.

I appreciate each and every review I find (no matter what they think of the book), but I have to admit -- even I'm not as quick with the feedback after I read someone else's work. Even if I loved it. I don't really go around emailing writers or producing full-length critiques of their novel. The best I can do is post about loving it, or share a link to it with a short recommendation.

So now, just a mention makes me happy. Like this tweet from xingkit. This message from janajana1210. This FB post by Janine. (Wish I could comment to thank you but it's not allowing me.) And, the thing which made my morning: the 100 people who "like" My Imaginary Ex on Facebook.

Someone once told me I should write about "important things" -- instead I write romances. :P Thanks for making me feel absolutely fine about the choice.

And that makes four

I just put the draft of Love Your Frenemies to bed. It's the one about Kimmy (from My Imaginary Ex) and the act of finalizing it gave me a bit of deja vu.

Eleven months ago, LYF was a complete draft ready for review -- until I asked my editor not to work on it. It's been a difficult story from the start (because Kimmy is hateful and I needed to keep her that way) but even when I finished it, something about the plot bothered me. I also gave myself the extra challenge of making certain things fit with the earlier story (like puzzle pieces).

A few months ago I found a way to make it work. Whether or not it works for other people is entirely up to them, but I tend to want to satisfy myself first. And now I'm satisfied. :)

So now that I'm done with LYF, I have no more "projects" in development. That makes four novellas completed in two years.

Going to take a break as I work on getting these published. In the meantime I'm on listening mode, because friends are telling me all sorts of story ideas. (It happens when they know you write romance. Drama!) I'm also considering a genre shift. (Zombie werewolf robots!?)

Works in progress

So now I'm learning that if I want to reach out to new audiences for my work, I have to really put myself out there as a writer. I mean, really out there. This led to the creation of the Facebook page, the Multiply site, the Twitter account, the Goodreads page (the latest one, by the way -- add me!), and the Amazon author page.

Because of all this online real estate, I have to now talk about stuff. And writing. It's expected, isn't it? And I appreciate it when authors I admire write about the process. It's like a support group. Also, looking back at my entries, there's an appearance of actual work being done. I get to talk -- for the first time -- about works in progress.

I posted a few entries back that I finished a draft called Fling Flop. That's the first one I completed this year, because Fairy Tale Fail was actually written last year. The idea for Fling Flop came from a comment thread with some friends, and the female protagonist is somewhat based on an actual person I know, a person I think is truly the Best Assistant Ever.

It's possible that if I continue to write love stories, I will write them based on friends, and give them the romances they deserve. We'll see.

So now that FF is done and being read by other eyes, I'm starting work on a project I'm calling LYF. LYF was something I had finished last year, but I wasn't comfortable with it. Too many false starts, and I couldn't get the tone right (this is still in first-person POV). But I recently thought of how to fix it, and I'm doing that now.

LYF is Kimmy's story, by the way. Those who've read My Imaginary Ex may remember that character.

I hope I finish it soon. I have the last scene in my head, and usually that's when I feel good about a story. When I know how it ends.

A good year

My Imaginary Ex was reviewed at Sumthinblue's blog, including other Summit chick lit books. Feedback from readers feels great every time, but it's a tiny bit cooler when they hit on something I totally intended, or point out something that I didn't even realize. Her review has a bit of both.

Also, a shoutout to Chessie, who sent a lovely text message this week after reading the book.

Will consider these words of celebration. It's been a year since I first saw My Imaginary Ex on a bookstore's shelf (the Bestseller branch in Galleria). Happy bookstore birthday, MIE!

Here it was, a year ago! Beside my friend Katrina Ramos Atienza's book.