Hello, 2018!

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Hey look it’s 2018! Hello, how’s the first day of the year treating you so far? 🙂

2017 was very eventful, more in terms of #romanceclass events than the actual writing. We had several events for the community in the past year that I’ve actively participated in the behind-the-scenes (and I only got to recap one, haha) that it feels like I’ve spent most of the year with them. That’s probably true, and I don’t mind. Oh, and I got my books live read twice this year, and nope, the feeling still doesn’t go away. (And I’m getting something read out loud this week so hello, nerves!)

In terms of books, 2017 was the year of the short story and new editions, which I celebrate because writing Meah’s book was a challenge that I didn’t really expect. I think there’s a pattern with the books I’ve been writing since 2013, that it takes about 1.5-2 years before I get a new, full-length book out. This is slightly worrying because what about my goals, but then, 2017 was the year I learned to be patient with my writer self, to cut myself some slack, and to keep trying and throwing things at the wall until something breaks. I think I’ve broken through the wall now, so let’s all cross our fingers I won’t rewrite anything again.

Last year was also the year of Purpose-Driven Branding, thanks to The Purposeful Creative. I’ve attended marketing classes before but this one was more personal, and well, more purpose-driven that I ended up reviewing my brand purpose and working on my content plan for the first quarter of 2018 on the last day of 2017. I’m excited about the challenge of trying to reach for my marketing goals this year, learning from these experiments, and sharing it all with you.

On reading, well 2017 was the year I read the least books (39), and maybe my slowest reading pace? Life happened, and I have a feeling that I should start culling my TBR because I don’t think I’ll be able to read all the impulse buys I made years ago. I did read the following books by Filipino authors/creators (links to buy when you click, if available!):

I’ll do better with this. 🙂

So what’s next, 2018?

2017 was a pretty good year because of a lot of unexpected things in my non-author life, and a lot of lessons in my author life. It’s definitely not seemingly dark as 2016, so it was good. I do feel like I kind of just cruised along this year, so in 2018 I want to be more active with this, to step out in faith and to try more things rather than wait for things to happen. 2018 will be all about being open and trusting. I have no idea where that will lead me, but like what Faith said, uncertainties are an exercise in faith.

Here are some 2018 ~plans!

  • Publish Meah’s book (let’s gooo)
  • Work (and hopefully publish) Ruth and Ian’s book
  • Quarterly marketing + content plans + and take time to evaluate them for learning and sharing
  • More #romanceclass Things!
  • Read more than I did in 2017
  • Keep making room for art and gratitude in my life 🙂
  • Be kind to myself and honor my pace, but also remember that done is better than perfect. (Thanks, Arriane!)

Are you ready? Let’s go. 🙂

Art by #romanceclass Trash, from Carla de Guzman’s Midnights in Bali (which I haven’t read yet, eep!)

That December Night

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In the Keep the Faith universe, Faith returned from her mission trip around the end of November, so she spent her first Christmas as a single person after five years back in Manila. In the first act of the book, she meets Nico, and it was around this time of December where he calls her French Fries for the first time.

Now, where did that pet name come from? I honestly had no idea, except it seemed cute when I was writing it. And it still is cute now, but only if you understand the context, maybe? I don’t know. Maybe it’s a Nico thing and I’m still a bit in love with that LI.

Anyway, so I remembered that, and realized that I may not have shared this video yet here! Earlier this year, the wonderful bloggers who organized #BookwormsUnitePH asked me if they could have an excerpt from Keep the Faith read during the event. I said yes, of course, and that was the first time Salve Villarosa and Migs Almendras read from my work, and it was that first French Fries scene. Here’s the video (thanks, Veron!):

And speaking of Faith and Nico and Christmas, their first Christmas as a couple (a few months after the end of Keep the Faith) is part of Make My Wish Come True, the #romanceclass Christmas anthology, which is now available on Amazon. 17 stories for $4.99 + guaranteed Christmas feelings – get it for yourself, or gift it to your friends!

I’m also releasing a little something to my mailing list that’s kind of related to all that I wrote there – subscribe here if you want to read it!

So it’s Singles’ Day…

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…and I had no idea that this “holiday” existed.

I only found out about this through Metrodeals in an email: “11–11 Singles’ Day Supersale Preview” and I thought it was a joke. Like how did Metrodeal know this about me? A little research and Wikipedia gave me this:

Chinese Singles’ Day or Guanggun Jie (Chinese: 光棍节; pinyin: Guānggùn Jié; Wade–Giles: Kuang-kun chieh; literally: “bare sticks holiday”) is an entertaining festival widespread among young Mainland Chinese people, to celebrate the fact that they are proud of being single. The date, November 11th (11/11), is chosen because the number “1” resembles an individual that is alone.

Huh.

Fake It Till We Make It (Ruth x Ian) fancast+aesthetics

Anyway, I thought this was even funnier because Ruth, one of my characters in You Could Be the One, would think this holiday is hilarious and sad. After all, she’s never had a boyfriend.

So in honor of this holiday, I thought I’d share this piece that will be part of Ruth’s book. Maybe not in the exact form, but it will be there. I have half an outline and half of the first chapter written in her book – so if you’ve been waiting for that, there is progress! If you want to get more news on her soon, sign up for my mailing list? 🙂

If you want to get to know Ruth, you can read her story from Fake It Will We Make It, a story in You Could Be the One. Ebook is available on Amazon, and print copies are still available (PH only)! Or you can watch the live reading of an excerpt from the story by Fred Lo and Vanya Castor here.

Here you go – leave a comment if you relate? Haha. Happy Singles’ Day! 😉

Two years ago

Dear you,

Hi, I’m Ruth. And I’m…your future wife.

Okay, this feels very silly now, but I figured it’s only because this is the first time I’m writing to you, my future husband. So bear with me a minute – it should get better later on.

I don’t know you. Or if I do, I don’t know if you are you yet. Sometimes I wonder if I have met you already. Did I meet you at work? Did we serve together in Holy Family Missions? Are our paths yet to meet? Are we friends now? Will we be friends soon? (I hope so!)

I’ve heard and read and watched so many stories of people writing to their future spouses before they even met, and finding out later that the letters have helped them find each other. But I’m not writing this because of that, as much as I wish this would lead me to you. I’m writing this now because…I’m lonely.

I shouldn’t be. After all, today is also my 30th birthday, and this is a cause for a big celebration. But now that the party is over and everyone’s home, I remain alone. The loneliness settled in again. It’s not like this is the first time I felt this, but tonight it just felt more poignant. It didn’t help that I was surrounded by couples earlier, and that Tita Ellen asked those questions about my non-existent love life again. Somehow, now that I’m thirty, these things have a heavier weight, no matter how hard I try not to make it matter.

I’m sorry to unload this all on you on this first letter. I won’t blame you if years into the future, you start questioning why you’re with me when you read this.

I guess…I just miss you. Is that possible? To miss someone that you’ve never even met? But that’s what it feels like now. Maybe especially because I don’t know you yet. I miss you, and I’m excited to know you and to fall in love with you.

I pray our paths cross soon and that I’d recognize you, and you, me.

Please get here soon.

Ruth

It’s April and we feel Things (Year 2)

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It’s been exactly one month since #AprilFeelsDay2017 happened, and how do we recap the feels? Oh, I don’t know. I am pretty coherent now after all the flood of feelings that didn’t end on April 30, so let’s try.

But first, a video by Chi Yu Rodriguez!

I did a bit more work behind the scenes in this one, since Mina was on a trip early April. I ended up doing logistics for the event again, which was kind of funny. I always said I wasn’t a logistics person when it comes to events because how to deal with ingress and egress and all the equipment and layout and stuff? But to be honest, it was fun, and Filipino ReaderCon 2015 prepared me for this. The one for #AprilFeelsDay2017 was pretty easy. 😉

Let me bombard you with photos from the event  at this point, because I think the entire morning of April 30 kind of left me in a daze from all the preps. (More when you go through the #AprilFeelsDay2017 Instagram tag!)

#AprilFeelsDay with #romanceclass ❤

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Our cashiers! #romanceclass #AprilFeelsDay2017

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