Saturday, September 14, 2013

Hello Blog Tour + Giveaway


This will be the last blog tour I'm joining, for this month at least. It's been a crazy month but I'm looking forward to reading Addie Lynn Co's collection of short stories Hello when this is all over.

About the Book:
What if The One actually walks up to you and even says hello, would you greet back or turn your back unknowingly that you have actually met? Would you know when you’ve actually met?

Serendipity is a funny thing that brings a tinge of bittersweet bliss to anyone who is fortunate to experience it. Hello is a trilogy that explores how serendipitous life can sometimes be.

Definitely, Maybe is a story of how fate plays with two people as they meet each decade hoping that maybe this time around, they can finally be together.

Almost Mismatch tells how two people so right for each other be so wrong and no matter how much they try to suppress their feelings, true love will not stop at anything. What is meant to be will be.

Finally, Dinner Date portrays how two people’s search for love could take them to different places and people only to lead them back to where they started.

The world is just like a huge maze that no matter what direction one walks to, there will always be one final destination. There seems to be an invisible string that is handcuffed to two people on each end and unsuspectingly pulls these two people destined for each other back together no matter how long it takes.

You can purchase the book through any of the following links:
Amazon
Smashwords
Nook
Kobo
Paperback

Ms Co was also in my #romanceclass, but I only knew a few details about her and this book. I knew she had written Hello before (and was writing something else for the class), so I wanted to ask her about some of the writing tips that she picked up from class that have helped her in writing next book. This was her reply, in her own words:

(Yes,) I wrote the book Hello before #romanceclass with Ms. Mina. It was really a lucky chance I was taking because as I was in the stage of editing it in preparation to self-publishing it, I stumbled upon the #romanceclass that Ms. Mina was offering for free so I didn’t hesitate and just joined the class since it is free and I have always been looking for someone who could mentor me.

I tried incorporating Ms. Mina’s lessons into Hello but something in my heart tells me that I want this book to come out to the world the way I would want it to be read and appreciated by the readers. I wanted to have the freedom to tell it the way I wanted to and not be limited by a formula. Sure, at first, I was a bit skeptical about it because I didn’t want my story to be too formulaic for fear that it might end up being too cliché. But it seems like the formula is what the people bite into so I gave it a try, slightly with Hello but mostly with the contemporary novella I finished in #romanceclass entitled Forget Me Not (formerly introduced by Ms. Mina as Second Time Around) which I might self-publish in the future if the first one would go well. I realized that the formula is not so bad after all as long as you give it a twist to make it your own.

Writing tips that I picked up from #romanceclass:

1. Work on a schedule and keep with it.

Or at least have someone set deadlines for you. This is the best way to keep you motivated and avoid procrastination. I’m really a procrastination queen and I tend to do other stuff and not focus on writing that I end up not finishing stories that I have started. But with the #romanceclass, Ms. Mina was there to constantly remind us of the fast approaching deadlines and just posts words of encouragement to keep us from giving up and leave our stories hanging.

2. Draft a working outline.

I used to write spontaneously meaning I just write whatever comes to mind as I write it. I don’t really plan on it. I just think of what to write scene per scene and hope that the beginning at ending would connect somehow as I finish it. But this is not really a good idea especially if you’re the type who wants everything to be in place and perfect. From my experience with Hello, I kept on editing and editing the manuscript because I felt like it was always lacking things or details of the story to make it more solid and connected as a whole. The editing never seems to end. I kept adding here and there which is very tiring and makes you doubtful of the perfection of your story in the reader’s eyes.

But working with an outline keeps the entirety of the book more solid and figured out even at the beginning of the project/ writing process. It would make you want to write, write, write to reach the ending that you have always pictured in your mind. The thought and continuity of the book would not go off track because you have got it all planned out. You just have to elaborate the scenes and have the characters act it all out for the readers’ imagination. Another good thing about outlines is that you’d be able to cut out the unnecessary scenes that seemed perfect to include before but just seemed blah now. You would not be wasting your time writing it and the readers’ time in reading it.

Now, I always have this outline or mini checklist of the scenes or details I would like to include and arrange it accordingly so that I won’t forget anything that I think should be included in my novella.

3. Keeping the romance while still being realistic and not sickly sweet.

I really think this is an important tip because it is hard to evoke the ‘kilig’ factor without making it ‘gasgas na’ which I really wouldn’t want my book to end up with. I guess keeping it simple is the key here. Ms. Mina advised me not to make it too complicated because the focus of the novella would steer away from the romance which is the point of the novella after all.

4. Letting go and being proud of what you have finally created.

Don’t dwell too much on trying to please everyone. Someone’s always bound not to like it no matter what. But what’s important is that you are satisfied with what you have created and proud to show it to the world.

There are a lot of steps to the first stage of self-publishing. The first would be finishing writing the first draft, then move on to editing it for grammatical/ technical errors while maybe dreaming of how the book cover design will be. Create it yourself or have someone create the art for you while you format the manuscript according to what is needed because from what I learned, Smashwords and Kindle formats are different with each other plus the format for having the book printed on paper. I definitely went crazy with all the different formatting requirements. And when you finally have the book in your hand or the formatted soft copy ready for upload to Smashwords or Amazon Kindle, there’s no going back now. You’ve come the long way now, all that’s left to do is go all the way.

Now that’s just the first half of the journey, the second half is marketing your book but that’s another story to tell. But what’s really important is to have your novella out there to the world. In no time, someone will discover it and take a chance on your novella.

What I’m really trying to say is don’t wait anymore and just let it out there for the people to read. The main goal to begin with really is for you to be able to tell your story. Getting the appreciation it deserves is just a bonus.

About the Author:
Addie grew up reading Sweet Valley High books and Nancy Drew mystery books. She finished a degree in Communication Arts and really wanted to pursue a career in filmmaking but due to high production costs of a film, she opted to tell her stories through her novels. Being the hopeless romantic that she was, she will stop at nothing to share her passion with everyone and hopes that she could infect others with it. She’s a daydreamer by day and an author by night.

Contact Info:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/addielynn.co
• Wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/user/addielynnco
• Blog: http://shelflifeofaddielynn.blogspot.com/
• Email: addielynnco@gmail.com


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Monday, September 09, 2013

Vintage Love Blog Tour + Giveaway

Full disclosure: Author Agay Llanera is a classmate from Mina V. Esguerra's #romanceclass. But when our online class started, I wouldn't know her from Eve. Since then I've actually learned a bit about her through our email exchanges and chats. I'm really pleased that she's making a book tour stop on Ficsation to share her contemporary romance novella Vintage Love.

About the Book:
26-year-old Crissy Lopez’s life is in dire need of a makeover. Her wardrobe revolves around ratty shirts and beat-up sneaks; her grueling schedule as a TV Executive leaves no room for a social life; and worst of all, she’s still hung up on the Evil Ex who left her five years ago.

When her fashionable grand-aunt passes away and leaves behind a roomful of vintage stuff, the Shy Stylista inside Crissy gradually resurfaces. Soon, she feels like she's making progress -- with a budding lovelife to boot! But the grim ghost of her past catches up with her, threatening to push her back into depression. To finally move on, Crissy learns that walking away is not enough. This time, she needs to take a leap of faith.

You can purchase the book through any of the following links:
Amazon
Smashwords
• Paperback: Contact the author (links below)

As I mentioned earlier, Ms Llanera and I met through Mina Esguerra's online #romanceclass. While I knew that she had begun her novella even before the class started, I also wanted to find out how the class had helped her.
WRITE AND WRONGS
How I Finished My First Novella

A year before I finished Vintage Love, I attempted to write a Young Adult novella with the"inspiration-will-come-when-it-comes" approach. I had heard about writers talking about how their characters had written themselves, and how they had moved the story forward on their own.

After writing the prologue, I felt pretty good about it. So I moved on to writing Chapter one...and well, that was as far that I had gotten. My characters refused to budge. I didn't know what was going to happen. So after countless attempts to finish the chapter, I just gave up and shelved the story.

The following year found me pregnant with my first child. I felt the need to do something huge, to cross an item off my bucket list before I popped because I knew that being a mother would rob me of the luxury of free time.

I decided to write a chick-lit novella. Determined not to repeat history, I first did a bit of research on the net, on how authors wrote their novels. Then I read about five chick-lit novels just to get me in the groove.

First, I drafted a synopsis--nothing fancy; the important thing was I had an idea of how the story would begin and end. Then I stapled some sheets of paper together (recycled of course) and proceeded to write the synopsis for each chapter by hand. I felt like I was accomplishing more that way instead of staring at the blinking cursor on my laptop screen.

After I had mapped out the entire story, which took about a month, I proceeded to type at white heat, which meant I just wrote whatever came to mind without thinking of grammar or story flow. After finishing a chapter, I'd stop. Then I'd continue working on it the next day; this time, editing it as ruthlessly as I could.

I did this day after day, and after two months, I found myself with a finished novella.

The story didn't end there, what with the beta reading, editing, and publishing done a year later, but the main thing was that I finished it. And now, if you choose to, you can read it.
I'm really glad I picked up a copy of Vintage Love. I was hooked from the first page. Crissy and Vince are two extremely likable characters and their romance develops naturally. I could definitely imagine their story being on a Summit romance! I loved how going through her Nanay Maring's vintage things helped Crissy deal with her own past. But don't take my word for it -- get your copy of Vintage Love and read for yourself!

About the Author:
Agay Llanera is a freelance writer for television and video, and a published writer of children’s books. She is a member of KUTING, a private, non-stock, non-profit organization, which aims to be the Philippines’ foremost writers’ organization for children.

Contact Info:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AgayLlanera
• Twitter: @agayskee
• Blog: http://agayisagirl.blogspot.com/
• Email: agay.llanera@gmail.com

Giveaway time! Get the chance to win one of three swag bags (including a paperback copy of Vintage Love and vintage-inspired jewelry and bookmark) Agay Llanera, one of three swag bags (including a paperback copy of Hello and trinkets) from Addie Lynn Co, and a grand swag bag from Addie Lynn Co, which includes a paperback copy of Hello.


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Saturday, September 07, 2013

Well Played Blog Tour + Giveaway

What's great about being a blog tour stop is that you can ask author many things about the writing process. Author Katrina Ramos Atienza generously shares her experiences on writing the contemporary romance novella Well Played.

About the Book:
Patrice Reyes is starting her junior year at the University and she's convinced it's going to be the best semester ever. For starters, it looks like this is the year her team will win the regional football (soccer, for you Yanks) championships. Her subjects are looking good, and there's even a chance she might finally get somewhere with her rock star crush. But a new classmate—arrogant, cold Math nerd ( 'nuff said)—is seriously throwing off her groove. Will she ever get rid of him and have the awesome semester she deserves? Or is there truth to never judging (Math) books by their cover?

You can purchase the book through any of the following links:
Amazon
Smashwords
• Paperback: http://katrinaramosatienza.blogspot.com/2013/07/pre-order-wellplayed-paperback-now.html

This is the first time that I've read a Filipino adaptation of a famous novel so I really wanted to ask Ms Atienza what challenges she encountered. How did she decide which characters needed to stay close to their original versions and who would get big changes in the adaptation?

For me, LB was the perfect fit for Pride & Prejudice. Austen set her story in this small, very insular world; in many ways UPLB is like that, too: a small college town where everyone knows each other and, sometimes, get into each other’s business. From the moment I decided to do the retelling I already knew that I’d have the landladies and tenants of Alta Women’s Dormitory as stand-ins for the Bennets; I knew that Netherfield / Meryton would be U.S.A. (in real life, an apartment complex called White House). For the balls, the different college parties worked great. Once I did the outline I knew I had to streamline some plot points from the original. For example, although Mr. Collins and Lady Catherine are the funnest characters in P&P, adding them into the mix would complicate a story already teeming with plot points (though I did consider doing Lady Catherine as a bitchy dean or something!)

Once the stand-ins were chosen, their traits from the original were pruned or enhanced organically -- meaning I wrote it through. There was a lot of thinking along the lines of “does it feel right for this character to do this? Would ‘Jane’ actually say this, or would she be as passive as her original? Would ‘Mrs. Bennet’ still be as interested in matchmaking?” The answer to the last one, by the way, is yes to a certain extent; you’d be surprised to find a lot of well-meaning old ladies taking a keen interest in your love life in UPLB!

With all the many different characters, I was conscious of making sure I didn’t have one-offs in the story just because they were in the original. I had to ensure that everyone I introduced would have some resonance or contributed to advancing the plot later. I actually had to do a bit of rewriting so that “Caroline” and “Mr. and Mrs. Bennet” had something to do with the resolution.

The real challenge was just the timing of the whole plot. I knew that the Wickham paninira had to happen, but when, exactly? And what would be the fallout from that? There was the temptation to just throw all the plot developments after that, boom boom boom, but in actuality it’s only the middle of the book, so there was still some story-building to be done. It was probably at this point that I got my yearlong writer’s block! It took a lot of rewrites to fix the pacing after that, but I think once I figured it out it flows pretty well. That’s the hope!

One of the things that I enjoyed about Well Played is trying to figure out which character was which and anticipating how my favorite scenes from the original version would be given a new spin. There was really much attention to detail -- not just in the setting but also in the characters themselves. You can tell what a big P&P Ms Atienza is! So if you're a big fan of Austen (or just romance in general), don't forget to pick up this book.

About the Author:
Katrina Ramos Atienza, born and bred in Manila, Philippines, has been writing all her life. She's worked in the fields of PR and corporate communications while blogging, freelancing and writing fiction. Four chick lit novels (Pink Shoes, 2006; The Hagette, 2006; If the Shoe Fits, 2008 and Shoes Off, 2010) are available in paperback in the Philippines, while her earlier short fiction works have been published in Philippine publications and collected in the Growing Up Filipino II anthology. Well Played (2013) is her first independently published novel. She graduated from the University of the Philippines at Los Baños and is married with two kids.

Contact Info:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/katrinaramosatienza
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/iggyatienza
• Blog: http://katrinaramosatienza.blogspot.com
• Email: mailto:kratienza@aol.com

Giveaway time! Get the chance to win one of three swag bags (containing 1 medium,gray Well Played shirt + 2 Pride & Prejudice Bookmarks + Think Free Bag Tag) from Katrina Ramos Atienza or one of three swag bags (containing 1 paperback copy of All's Fair in Blog & War, 1 unique trinket, 1 pocket journal, ebook voucher, postcard and bookmarks) from Chrissie Peria.


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Thursday, September 05, 2013

All's Fair in Blog and War Blog Tour + Giveaway


I've had this blog for close to seven years, but this is the first time that I've actually participated in a blog tour. That's why I'm so glad that the first to be featured through it is my good friend Chrissie Peria and her contemporary novella All's Fair in Blog and War.

About the Book:
Five Cuevas @5travels Three guesses to where I'm going next. Starts with an M. Ends with a U. Has a lechon named after it. #travel

Twenty-something travel blogger Five thinks she has hit the jackpot when she gets invited to glittering Macau for an all-expense-paid bloggers tour. Think majestic old churches, sparkling casinos, exhilarating bungee jumps, and the world's most unforgettable egg tarts. The trip is practically perfect, except for one little glitch. She gets assigned to be travel buddies with Jesse, the world's most infuriating photo blogger, and it's definitely war at first sight.

Will Five let Jesse turn her dream vacation into a total nightmare? Or will falling in love be on the itinerary?

You can purchase the book through any of the following links:
Amazon
Smashwords

Even if All's Fair in Blog and War is about blogging and travel, food also played an important role in the book. That's why I wanted to ask Ms Peria how this came about. Did she expect readers' strong reaction to egg tarts?
It's always nice to hear from readers. They make you realize things you didn't realize about your book. In my case, I found it surprising that most everyone was reacting to egg tarts. All's Fair in Blog and War is set in Macau, a land most known for casinos. It's Asia's Las Vegas. In fact, a lot of the big Vegas hotel and casino chains have set up shop here.

A trip to Macau made me realize that the place is more than just a mini Las Vegas. It has a rich culture drawing from a shared Portuguese and Chinese heritage. A lot of UNESCO Heritage sites make its home here. So steeped is it in its past that even the McDonalds and Starbucks branches are dressed up traditionally, ensuring that they don't stick out like sore thumbs amidst the architecture. We spent the days walking the usual tourist attractions and the narrow, dimly-lit side streets at night. We hopped from fancy hotel dinners to hole-in-the-wall eateries where food was brought in from street carts. It was a Macau that was more than just Casinoland.

When the time came to write the book, I drew heavily upon my personal experiences in Macau to bring the setting to life. Unfortunately, I am also a food blogger, so food is heavily entrenched in all my travels. Macau was no exception: bacalhau, bakkwa, almond cookies, Phoenix egg rolls, peri-peri chicken, serradura, street side noodles---I ate it all. The star of the trip, and subsequent trips as well, were the egg tarts from Margaret's. I was not a fan of eggy confections, but for this particular treat, it was love at first bite. Eggy, flaky, with just the right amount of sweetness. It's so good, that I always bring home boxes of it. But it was only after people pointed it out did I realize that my love for egg tarts made it to the book, and to people's imaginations as well.

If you're one of the readers who suffered from egg tart cravings while reading All's Fair in Blog and War, please accept my apologies. If you haven't read the book, consider yourself warned: Do not read on an empty stomach.

What's nice about Ms Peria is that she even thought of making social media links for her characters. Five and Jesse are bloggers after all! Talk about leaving no stone unturned!
• Instagram: @fivetravels
• Twitter - Five: @5travels
• Twitter - Jesse: @wanderingcamera

About the Author:
Chrissie's first trip to Macau was in the summer of 2010. Like her main character, she fell in love there. Unlike her main character, she didn't fall in love with a guy; she fell in love with egg tarts.

An advertising copywriter in her past life, she now spends most of her time writing, taking photos, cooking and babysitting. She tweets about food and writerly things as @kitchencow. For thoughts longer than 140 characters, she blogs on http://thewriteside.kingdomcow.net. She still plays with dolls and she thinks that bacon is the answer.

This is her first novella.

Contact Info:
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/kitchencow
• Blog: http://thewriteside.kingdomcow.net
• Instagram: @kaoko25

Giveaway time! Get the chance to win one of three swag bags (containing 1 medium,gray Well Played shirt + 2 Pride & Prejudice Bookmarks + Think Free Bag Tag) from Katrina Ramos Atienza or one of three swag bags (containing 1 paperback copy of All's Fair in Blog & War, 1 unique trinket, 1 pocket journal, ebook voucher, postcard and bookmarks) from Chrissie Peria.


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