Choco Chip Hips under Construction

Pre-press work is very exciting.

I got my beta-reader's feedback, edits from my grammar girl, and this cover study for the book. :-)

My Writing Corner

I used to have a pretty wooden desk with a swivel chair with all the writing implements within arm's reach--a round canister of freshly sharpened pencils, working pens, notepads and notebooks. Because I write for a living, this was my sanctuary, a place where thoughts flowed freely to the tips of my fingers as I typed on my laptop's keyboard.

Correction: I still have that pretty wooden desk with the swivel chair, but now it's filled with clutter--different colors of clay kneaded together by a toddler's hands so now, they look like one big gray clump, wet wipes, nearly finished tubes of kiddie toothpaste and a wooden spice rack with a glass window, which my son liked to use as an "oven" when he's pretending to bake his gray clay cakes.

Obvs, that ain't my writing corner anymore.

When my son is asleep, that's the only time I can really write. Because when he's awake, he won't leave me alone, grabbing the laptop away from me. So now, my writing corner has become this area.

It's that floor space between the bed (foreground) and the kiddie cabinet (pardon the pants peeping out of the bottom drawer). I usually prop up a pillow against the cabinet so my back won't hurt, then I'd sit on the floor and write. 

When my son would wake up from a daymare (I usually write when he's taking daytime naps 'cause I sleep early like him), I could easily get up and soothe him back to sleep--so I can have more writing time. It isn't a pretty space, but it works, and for now, that's all I need.

*This post is inspired by C.P. Santi's blog post on her writing corner. I couldn't find her post but it's there somewhere in her blog. Check it out!

Reality TV meets Romance

Synopsis: Charlotte Bertram is the star of Marry Me, Charlotte B! A reality show that follows her as she plans the biggest weddings of the year. Together with her assistant, Nellie Canlas and her son, Robert Bertram, see how she handles crazy client requests, bridezillas and more!

Based on the title, I thought the book's main character would be Charlotte, the middle-aged woman who ran the company that planned weddings. But it only took a while for me to get that the book title was also the title of the reality TV show, and that its real star was Charlotte's unassuming, frumpish assistant.

 I work in TV so I was pleasantly surprised that the story opened with terms I was familiar with--Zoom-Ins and Close-Ups and Cut-TOs. I felt like I was really watching a reality show, being introduced to characters in which at first, I wasn't emotionally invested. But scene after scene, I started to care. When was Nellie going to wise up? Did Robert really care--or is he just a really sweet guy?

But I think the clincher for me was how the story was written. The author's a wordsmith. I loved how she described places and scenery, and sweet moments matter-of-factly; no need to go overboard with the racing heartbeats and swoony glances. Everything unfolded in the right time, in the right way. In fact, the plot was so natural, it felt like real life--or a really good reality show.

Get it on Amazon or for free on Smashwords.

Mina Esguerra's best work (IMHO)

My son is taking a nap, and I should be writing the next chapter of my project, but I just finished Mina Esguerra's Greedy and Gullible, the last of her Young and Scambitious series, and I had to take a deep breath, switch on my laptop and write a review.

As soon as I read the first few lines of the first book, i was hooked. It had a different flavor  that distinguished it from all of Mina's past work. I liked the snappy, classy and not-a-word-wasted kind of writing. And because Manila was its main setting, it made me see the capital in a different light--one seeped in intrigue and secrecy.

I liked that I had to think while reading, especially since the books were fast-paced and jumped from one subplot to another, which was good brain exercise. Though I read what the characters were saying out loud, I wasn't privvy to their innermost thoughts and intentions. This technique made me turn page after page, and snap up the next book until everything slowly started to make sense. And despite all the high action, criminal acts and witty exchanges of words, there was still a touch of romance, which I found satisfying until the very end. 

If you want to know what the books are about, do check out the blurbs on Amazon. Better yet, buy the whole series. If you like books that don't waste words and are smart, these are for you.

Fil-Jap Fun

Now that my story is in the hands of able beta readers, I have more time for my other passion, which is reading.  Aside from devouring books from my fave genres--YA, Fantasy, Romance, and Mystery, I also make it a point to read local authors. Here's a recent one I read:

Be Careful What You Wish for - C.P. Santi
I bought this e-book two months ago, and only got to read it a week ago. It was a pleasant surprise of a book, because I absolutely had NO expectations when I bought it. 

A bit of disclaimer though: I know the author because of a common friend. But the last time I saw her was probably around 15 years ago when we bar-hopped in Malate with my friend and her college barkada, which included C.P. Recently, we re-connected in Wattpad (of all places). She added me to her contact list (not knowing who I was; she knew me by another name), and when I read her profile, I thought, hey, I think I know this girl. So we exchanged a few private messages, squeeing over the fact that yeah, we knew each other!

Back to the book--there was a time (when I was still childless) when I'd spend my free time marathoning koreanovelas and j-doramas. So imagine my delight when I discovered that Santi's novella read like a j-dorama from start to finish. But the refreshing twist was its endearing Filipino elements (the MC is a Pinay working in Japan). It was like something straight of my daydreams when I still had the time (and energy) to fantasize about my ultimate Jap actor crushie, Mokomichi Hayami (I wonder what happened to him. MUST google later). I also liked how Santi injected both Pinoy and Japanese expressions in the conversations, and thoughtfully included a glossary of the terms used at the end pages.

Despite the foreign setting, the story reads and feels authentic because the author currently resides in Japan. So aside from the love story itself, you also get to learn some interesting facts about Tokyo, including a peek into its thriving night life.

If you want a fun, kilig read, and you're a bit of a Japanophile, I highly recommend this read. In fact, I hope someone produces it as a TV series in Japan. :-)

Buy it on Smashwords and Amazon.
Author's blog: The Japayuki Chronicles

Will be reviewing more local novellas in the coming days!

Choco Chip Hips

Two more chapters to go and I'm done! Then another wave of work begins--having it beta read, revising, sucking it up and showing the story to a no-holds-barred editor, formatting it into an e-book, etc. But hey, I'm not complaining. It's a privilege to be able to write what I want. I hope that eventually, I will earn from it, but for now, I do this.

Title: Choco Chip Hips
Genre: Young Adult
Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old Jessie has everything going against her. She is shy, overweight, and worries too much about what people think. But one summer, a family emergency makes her realize that life is too short to live it on autopilot. Taking her life by the reins, she embarks on a summer-long journey that involves cake, sweat, being friends with a guy she had been secretly crushing on, and lots of awesome street dancing.


You can read the first 18 parts here. :-) Apologies for the rawness. I still have a LOT of fixing up to do.

Sidenote: I didn't plan for this novella to be this long. I originally aimed for 15 chapters, tops. But stories have a way of unfolding at their own pace so I had to respect this particular novella's rhythm. We'll see after it goes through the editing stage.

I am writing again!

It took me a while to get a new thing started, but finally, I'm doing it and feeling good about it.

The new novella is a bit different from the previous two since I've decided to take on the Young Adult genre. It won't be as heavy on the romance and I hope to keep it short this time--not like Once upon a Player, which was almost double the word count of Vintage Love. :-P

Feel free to join me on my writing journey, the progress of which will be posted on Wattpad.

And can I just say, I love Wattpad's new design. So much prettier and more professional!