#JustWritePH: What stupid things would you do #ForLove?

JustWritePH-ForLove-Cover#ForLove

Love is never easy, but the journey to that happily ever after is what makes it worth it. Witness the struggles of these characters as they work their way through both new romances and second chances at love in this four-story bundle. Features “I Still…” by Beth G., “Sigh No More” by Carla de Guzman, “Velvet Valentine” by Giselle Bacalla, and “One Sweet November Day” by Amae Dechavez.

CLICK HERE TO BUY THE BUNDLE.

Get a chance to win this bundle by joining THIS GIVEAWAY! It’s absolutely FREE!

Click the Read More link for the excerpts. My reviews for Sigh No More by Carla de Guzman and One Sweet November Day by Amae Dechavez, as well asstory blurbs and author follow links are found HERE.

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{ Bundle Review } #JustWritePH’s #ForLove

Love is never easy, but the journey to that happily ever after is what makes it worth it. Witness the struggles of these characters as they work their way through both new romances and second chances at love in this four-story bundle. Features I Still… by Beth G., Sigh No More by Carla de Guzman, Velvet Valentine by Giselle Bacalla, and One Sweet November Day by Amae Dechavez.

Did you know that the #ForLove bundle is available on Buqo for only P45/$0.99? CLICK HERE to buy the bundle.

Or, you know . . . you can also win this bundle by joining their ongoing giveaway! Click onTHIS LINK to enter.

Click the Read More link below for introductions to all four stories in the #ForLove bundle, followed by a quick review of Sigh No More and One Sweet November Day. Excerpts will be up in a separate post.

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Them MIBF Shenanigans

I attended the MIBF twice this year; first on Thursday (9/17), and then on Sunday (9/20). It wasn't a surprise how SMX was crowded during the weekend, what with a cosplay event happening simultaneously on the second floor.
I attended the MIBF twice this year; first on Thursday (9/17), and then on Sunday (9/20). It wasn’t a surprise how SMX was crowded during the weekend, what with a cosplay event happening simultaneously on the second floor.

MIBF, or the Manila International Book Fair, is the country’s biggest and longest running book fair that usually happens in mid-September. As per usual, I am a relative n00b to this, and only attended it for the first time in 2013. A sort-of mistake, because I didn’t bring a lot of moolah with me so I failed buying more books. (Then again, that might have been a very wise move.) I did come home with three new books and I was happy and content with them. If I have read all three is another matter altogether.

This year, I got to attend the 36th MIBF as an author. No, really. I had to sit down and read those words from a friend’s Facebook post and realized it was true for me too, and the feeling is unbelievable. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t get a book signing session or people following me around asking to take pictures. I didn’t even actually sell books in the traditional sense, nor did I participate in any talk or seminar about writing. Nope. None of that . . . BUT!!! those are my future goals.

So what did I do, you ask? Well, I . . .

  • Reacquainted myself with Filipino publications, especially those outside my genre, by walking through the different booths and browsing their selections.
  • Donated a couple of old books for a library and exchanged them for #BuqoYA bundles I haven’t read yet.
    • SIDENOTE: A total of 489 books (novels, textbooks, even comic books) were donated. These books will be distributed to different libraries in Mariveles and Binondo.
  • Hung out at the Buqo booth for long stretches of time, which was really convenient because all the walking can really take its toll on you, especially when you’re lugging a bag of books.
  • Bought new books by fellow Filipina writers and got some of them signed too!  (Thank you Agay, Mina, and Edith!) It was just too bad I wasn’t there when Kate Evangelista signed her books!)
  • Met other Buqo workshoppers and got to take pictures and chat with them, if only for a little while.
  • “Gave away” freebies to any book donors who chose the Buqo bundle I belong to (#StrangeLit #KillerSeasons REPRESENT!)
  • Gave away promo codes to my book Paper Planes Back Home too, in the form of cute little bookmarks.
  • Had lively, oftentimes non-sequitur chats with author friends, new or otherwise. (We have set goals, people. Just watch out for them! :P)
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A Quarter of Myself

Disclaimer: This post exists because a certain Filpina author named Caryn P. Santi tagged me over at Wattpad. 😛 I’m going to try my best to make this worth your while. <3

First, some ground rules.

Once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. (T: This is a looooong note.)

At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. (T: Dayum. That’s going to be difficult.) You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it means I want to know more about you.

Let’s begin.

1. I have a pet bunny named Max. Max Rusca.

There’s a Heneral Luna reference there somewhere. If you haven’t seen the movie, do it. Anyway, this is Max.

Instagram will load in the frontend.

He’s been with us for six months now, and we initially thought he was a girl until his balls dropped, freaking us out. I have never had a bunny before (I used to have dogs, adorable askals) so having him as a pet is an entirely new experience for me. Max is the reason why I thought of the initial concept for my #StrangeLit novella, even if it morphed into an entirely different thing altogether. He’s a sweetheart, and likes getting cuddles.

2. In high school, I had three orgs.

I was an official member of the dance club, and an honorary member of drama and glee. Before graduating, I penned a stage play for the high school drama club and got to help direct its very first run during my freshman year in college. After that, I also got to direct the glee club on their yearly concerts. Fun times. <3

3. Sometimes I got into trouble for writing fiction . . .

. . . because I would do it in the middle of class. Geometry, for example. Kids, don’t try this at school. Unless you’re really, really good at Mathematics. I failed Geom on one quarter in junior year.

4. My favorite author is Mitch Albom.

And one of the things I’d like crossed out of my bucket list is to meet him in person and give him a copy of my book, Paper Planes Back Home, because in some way or other, he inspired me to write and finish it.

5. DBSK/Cassiopeia will always be my fandom.

Got hooked on them in 2006, three years after their KPop debut. Wrote fanfiction (they call it real-person fiction now, I found out) and about them. Collected their albums, posters, magazines, etc. Broke my heart when they disbanded, lost some friends over it too. Which side did I take? Yunho and Changmin’s. They’re my top 1 and 2.

And I will refuse to get into any more discussions about how they disbanded and why I stuck with the leader and the magnae because I don’t think I’ll ever be over it.

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#JustWritePH: How far would you go #ForJustice?

JustWritePH-ForJustice-Cover#ForJustice

When justice calls, heroes rise. Follow the journeys of a fire programmer, two very unique detectives, and an unlikely partnership between a mortal and a ghost as they fight for what they believe in and even their very survival in this action-packed bundle of four stories from up-and-coming writers. Features Eleven by Michael Recto, Expendable by EK Gonzales, Between Two Worlds by Pau Castillo, and The Seven-Day Detective by Mark Manalang.

CLICK HERE TO BUY THE BUNDLE.

Join the giveaway and get the chance to win this bundle! CLICK HERE.

Click the Read More link for the excerpts. Reviews for Eleven by Michael Recto and Expendable by EK Gonzales, plus book descriptions for all four stories as well as author follow links are found HERE.

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