Hooks

I'm obsessed with them. S hooks, 3M hooks, Command hooks, carabiners. Hooks for my clothes, for my bags, for the calendar at home, for our family mission, for my dressing robe.

And hooks are also a writer's device.

I just finished several episodes of Modern Love (Amazon and NYT) and Watchmen (HBO) while reading Watchmen, the graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. Fascinating combination! To be precise, just finished episode 5 of Watchmen, "Little Fear of Lightning," and it ends with a love song, Some Enchanted Evening, which reminded me of all the love stories in Modern Love and which made me feel awful for Janey Slater, Laurie Blake, and, by association, Angela Abar.

It made me realize that a writer is like Doctor Manhattan. A writer is a god who knows the beginning, the middle, and the end. And not necesssarily in that order. To a writer, the whole story can occur in an instant -- everything in a kernel, in a single hook.

And then she reels it in. And then she reels *you* in. That's the nature of story. Regardless of "what really happened" and regardless of attribution or source, the story is the story. The story is the gift that was given and can never be taken back.

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Photo credit: Tatiana Rodriguez on Unsplash

#4 of 24: A Story in a Story, A Review of Fairy Tale Fail by Mina V. Esguerra

Fairy Tale Fail by Mina V. Esguerra
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A Story in a Story

I am not like Ellie Manuel, the protagonist. There are elements to her that I can identify with but she's the carefree type. That was why it was fun to get inside her head. That's for starters.

After having read Mina Esguerra's #RomanceClass textbook, it seems that Fairy Tale Fail fits perfectly into the Hero Journey. It felt meta. :-) But in a very fun way. And I was rooting for Lucas the whole way. Okay, no spoilers.

What I really liked about Fairy Tale Fail was Ellie's journey into self-awareness. She realizes that getting what she wants doesn't necessarily mean it's the best path for her. For many people, getting what they want is the be-all and end-all of things. That's the whole point of the journey. But I'm glad it didn't turn out that way. It's nice to see Ellie be who she is and appreciate herself just the way she is. This is the kind of protagonist that I'd like my daughter to read about one of these days.

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#3 of 24: The Thrill of a Bad Boy's Past, A Review of That Kind of Guy by Mina V. Esguerra

That Kind of Guy by Mina V. Esguerra
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Thrill of a Bad Boy's Past

What hooked me immediately with this story was: WHY? Why did good girl Julie say no to a marriage proposal from obviously hot Anton? The story begins with one of Anton's past "conquests" and that sucked me into the story.

To begin with, Julie isn't an all-around nice girl after all. Her staff actually hates her. So, that kind of made her a more layered character, someone I wanted to get to know better. I really liked this story. For all the good girls (a.k.a. Manangs) reading it (haha!) it will give you some vicarious thrills. I liked how Julie wanted to get to the bottom of her feelings, no matter what the situation. She knows there's something missing in her relationship, so she doesn't just follow her feelings. That's a brave thing to do. Confession: I wanted Anton to be "badder." Or maybe I wanted to know him more, to understand what was going on in his head throughout his string of flings. But this is more of Julie's story. Don't get me wrong. It's a really good perspective. Go read it!

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#2 of 24: A Review of Outlander by Diana Gabaldon; A Very Long Journey

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A Very Long Journey

I've been told by a friend that the TV series is where all the excitement is at. I wanted to read the book, nevertheless. It took me several months to read. And I stuck with it. It wasn't exactly a page-turner for me. It's a brave new concept: romance/science fiction/ historical fiction/ adventure. So, I committed to it even though it took me forever to finish. Claire was likeable enough and Jamie was hot. Maybe that's what spurred me along. Or maybe I wanted to find out more about Geillis Duncan, one of the most interesting characters in the book and a time-traveling witch villainess. On paper, it looks like the type of book I should have liked more. But I don't think I'll be moving along to Dragonfly in Amber. Outlander alone was a very long drawn out journey. But, hey, I stayed the course.

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#1 of 24: A Review of Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert; Permission To Write For The Heck of It

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Permission to write for the heck of it

This was a long, leisurely, meandering read for me. What I loved about it was the paradoxical way she made writing both sacred and mundane (something embodied in the last story she tells from Bali...but I won't spoil it for you). Writing is both divine and frivolous. I get it. Would I still write even if I never make a bestseller in my lifetime? Yes, I would. Because writing is a lovely thing. It *is* being touched by the divine...and yet it is also totally unnecessary. A poem is a privilege and a gift in a way a physical chair or even a dentist's appointment never would be. It is totally not practical, useless in a sense, and yet contains the meaning of life or at least the seed of it. I also love how she encourages creators to follow their curiosity and to put away the costume of "the tortured artist." Write for the pleasures of writing and don't feel guilty. Share it and move on. Perfect to share this during Valentine's weekend. Love is ephemeral and yet eternal. That's the same thing I can say of the creative life. Big magic. Tiny, beautiful thing.

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#12 of 36: A Much-Beloved Companion, a Review of Mindfulness on the Go by Jan Chozen Bays

Mindfulness on the Go (Shambhala Pocket Classic): Simple Meditation Practices You Can Do Anywhere by Jan Chozen Bays
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I bought this book on a whim because it was so small and so promising (the keywords were: simple, do anywhere). It was true to its word. This will not be the first time I will read this book. This was actually my "banyo" read (sorry, TMI!) for the whole of August and September. My favorite practices were: 1) using my left hand (non-dominant hand) to brush my teeth (that was all I could manage for August), 2) feeling the bottoms of my feet. It's very interesting how relaxing it can be to put one's awareness in one's feet. We are all so used to centering our attention in the head or the heart (or even the breath), it's very refreshing to feel one's feet entirely. 3) When eating, just eat. It's very easy to use eating time as a time for talking or doing something else (like reading or browsing through Facebook!). Eating to just eat helped me pay attention to being full. 4) Just three breaths. This is a very easy mindfulness exercise. It just takes the space of three breaths and it can instantly bring me into the present. 5) Being present to the temperature. I notice that when I feel the slightest discomfort, I try to change the temperature (put on the fan or put on aircon) but actually adjusting to the temperature is a good mindfulness exercise. After a few minutes, it's not as bad as one thinks. This book will be a much-beloved companion in the future.

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#11 of 36: Survival is Insufficient, a Review of Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

How appropriate that this is book number 11 for me! I really loved reading this book. I've mentioned it elsewhere: I'm really attracted to postapocalyptic/ dystopian books. I've been trying to understand why. Maybe it's because I know it will be coming soon, given the damage on this earth and the exponential quality of any human intervention. Anyway, this was a lovely read. I loved how the loops tied nicely together, in the end. I also loved the essential quote from Star Trek that drives The Traveling Symphony: "Because survival is insufficient." One sees how little things, little accidents become mythic in nature after some time has passed (like The Museum of Civilization). There's also some metafiction going on with the titular Station Eleven as a story within the story, a really nice touch. All in all, it was a great ride, full of little moments of insight and many threads interweaving. It's not a Mad Max version of the future...just one in which art survives.

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#10 of 36: Reading a Tour de Force, a Review of Smaller and Smaller Circles by F. H. Batacan

Smaller and Smaller Circles by F.H. Batacan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I think this is a tour de force by F.H. Batacan. I read this as an assignment for a writing workshop (still for October) called #HeistClub (crime writing). I was really blown away by this book. The author made a serial killer entirely plausible in this book while exploring all that's wrong in Philippine society. All the characters were strong and believable and I was moved to tears several times, especially when Batacan described the families of Payatas. It's all too true and the book brims with the author's palpable anger. This is one of those books that's un-put-down-able. If I get only a smidgen of Batacan's storytelling powers, I think I'll be able to write a decent crime story. I bought both the Kindle version of the book (pre-ordered) and the print version. It's that good. I hope to read more stories with Fr. Gus Saenz (it was nice seeing him again in Manila Noir) and Fr. Jerome Lucero. Or just more stories from F. H. Batacan.

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#9 of 36: O, Discontented Mary, A Review of The Forest of Hands and Teeth

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This choice of book confirms my addiction to the postapocalyptic genre. Incidentally, I bought this book at a second-hand bookshop. I liked the premise based on the blurb. Oveall, it may sound like just another zombie book but I liked the lyrical quality of the storytelling.

One doesn't know how far into the future this story is. All the reader is given are glimpses of social experiments in trying to live with a zombie outbreak (the zombies are called "the unconsecrated" by the very puritan-like community led by the Sisterhood) as evidenced by previously inhabited other villages similar to the one the main character used to live in. I was just a bit annoyed by the main character, Mary, who is always discontented. First she's hankering after Travis, the romantic interest, who is betrothed to her friend, Cass, and when she gets Travis (only slightly damaged), she starts hankering after the sea. I was hoping there was more into the origins of villages with roman numerals. Sadly, that doesn't get resolved in this book. I'm not sure I should move on with the series as well. I'm still thinking about it.

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#8 of 36: A Quick Read on Principles of Unschooling, a Review of Unschooling Rules by Clark Aldrich

Unschooling Rules: 55 Ways to Unlearn What We Know about Schools and Rediscover Education by Clark Aldrich
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a great introduction to unschooling. It's not a step-by-step manual but rather a series of manifestos to help the parent or educator understand the principles of unschooling. There's a lovely anecdote in the foreword by Jeff Sandefer which captures the unease that I, too, felt as a parent assessing traditional education. I won't give it away but it's worth reading because of the emotional connection it can make to both parent and teacher. As a parent, I have a few bullets to work on (which is detailed in the last chapter, Places to Start) like: looking into internships, apprenticeships, and interesting jobs as alternatives to term papers, textbooks, and tests. Two of the action points that I've taken to heart are: (1) go outdoors more often and (2) expose more (teach less). Just these two have already enriched our homeschooling life. I borrowed a hard copy from a Human Heart Nature store in Pasig and I eventually got myself an e-book version so I can quickly review the contents as my husband and I go over our homeschooling plans.

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#StrangeLit: Finally Letting My Mermaid Swim Free

#StrangeLit class pic (Sept. 5, 2015)

#StrangeLit is an online writing workshop facilitated by Bronze Age Media (read more about it here), conducted by bestselling author, Mina V. Esguerra (with the help of fantasy author gurus like Budjette Tan, Paolo Chikiamco, and Kate Evangelista), and sponsored by buqo, that culminated last September 5. I'm so glad I joined! My manuscript, The Mermaid from Siquijor (a whopping 28,000 words. It's a novella, ladies and gentlemen!) has been submitted and ready to be distributed. Yay!

Last Saturday, Mina asked us to share what we did right and what we did wrong. So, I just wanted to share what those were for me.

What I did wrong

I was in a rush and I sacrificed a lot of sleep. If you ask me, I wouldn't take back those hours of writing, anyway. The sacrifice of sleep was worth it. I should have paced myself better. I'm now back to regular programming (until #HeistClub starts...That's another story).

I didn't give my beta readers enough time to read my manuscript. I'm so grateful to those who agreed to beta read despite the condition of next-day feedback. I also didn't give myself enough time to mull over the edits that would address the feedback of my beta readers. I just wrote them in as soon as I got the comments.

I had 5 weeks. And the expectation was 5,000 words. I over-delivered, yes, but I also crammed a lot. When I found out that someone wrote 60,000 words (a full novel!), I realized, though, that there are really no excuses. I have to live with the amount of time that I dedicated to the workshop.

What I did right

I signed up for #StrangeLit. This story has been brewing in my mind for three years already. In fact, I've released a free flash fiction version (what became the prologue in my novella) online and it's one of my most popular downloads. If this class didn't come up, I wouldn't have given myself a deadline. That's what I love about Mina's workshops, it makes me accountable to someone other than myself.

My outline saved me. If I didn't have an outline to keep me going I wouldn't have finished.

My research was complete. I did it three years ago!

Freeing the mermaid

All in all, I'm just glad that my mermaid isn't swimming in my head anymore. I love Siquijor and I realized that if there's any one place in the Philippines where mermaids would hang out, it would probably be there. I'm excited to release my story! I'm also excited to read what my fellow classmates wrote.

Here's the blurb for my story as well as the tentative cover art.

The Mermaid from Siquijor

Tentative cover art. What do you think?

Lorie Cenas gets invited to go on a diving trip to Siquijor, an island famed for its connection to the supernatural, to heal from a broken heart. She accepts but her friend doesn’t know that Lorie has a secret: she already has a deep connection to the island, the place where her mother died a long time ago.

There, she meets Marceau Egasse, a French diver and marine ecologist, who is passionate about the ocean but skeptical about the island’s mystic powers; and Elena, a mysterious island woman, who has secrets of her own.

Elena wants something from Lorie that she is not willing to give up.  Will Lorie heal wounds from her past in Siquijor? Will she find love and a kindred spirit? Or is the island a maelstrom that will consume her, just like it did her mother?

What's next? Well, there's #HeistClub!  Research the hash tag and find out more about it.

#7 of 36: Receding Hairlines and All: A Review of Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Receding Hairlines and All: A Review of Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

I thought this was a lovely read. I will have to add that I blame my friend, Ines, for pointing out Levi's receding hairline (which prompted me to obsess over it as I read the book). This book was my reward for finishing a romance novella in May. I devoured it like cake. It was a quick read because I loved the story. I loved Cath, of course. I will always picture her in my head as someone jumping on her bed during an emergency dance party. I thought she was named after Willa Cather. I was disappointed to find out otherwise. But I loved Reagan even more. She reminded me of Eleanor (from Eleanor and Park) somehow. I don't know why. Maybe because she was a big girl. I loved how she became friends with Cath out of pity. What a cool girl. I would be scared to have her as my actual roommate, though. I'm a total wimp. But I wouldn't mind having her as a friend!

I have to admit: I am not into fan fiction. I like reading original stuff. Don't think I'm a snob. I am not. I can understand why there's a huge base of fan fiction out there. People don't want a story to end. I have nothing against that. But I find myself in Professor Piper's position. If I were running that creative writing class, I, too, would demand for original work.

All in all, I had fun reading Fangirl. I still like Eleanor and Park more, though. I don't know why. It punched me in the gut, maybe. I will be reading more Rainbow Rowell books soon.

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#6 of 36: Love and Timing: A Review of One Day by David Nicholls

One Day by David Nicholls
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Love and Timing: A Review of One Day by David Nicholls

I read this at a fevered pace during a company outing. It was my pre-reward for having finished a novella manuscript (the actual reward was Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. What is this complex reward system, you might ask. But I digress!). I loved this book. I couldn't put it down. Em, of course, was the one I was rooting for. Dex was always a mess. There are really some people who bring out the best in others. And that's Em.

The story is a catalog of missed opportunities (all the way to the end though I won't say more because I won't put any spoilers here). Life is full of them. But one must go along and make the most of what one has. That's what Em does through and through. She makes a lot of mistakes. She actually make light of them (like that delightful, all too real passage on her job at a dead end Mexican restaurant). But she doesn't drown in them. She goes on. She finds her groove. Add Em to the mix and everything will be fine (or you'll have a laugh, at least). She's the kind of person I'd like to be friends with.

And of course, it's sad, too. But I won't dwell on the sadness. I will, instead, focus on that lovely kiss on St. Swithin's Day which promises a life of sweetness...but not in the way that one expects.

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My #SparkNA Adventure: Chasing Time

A picture I took from Cambugahay Falls, Siquijor (one of the waterfalls in my novella, Chasing Waterfalls)

First of all, what is #SparkNA? Read about it here, from Mina V. Esguerra's website. So, onto my adventure.

When I signed up for the class, I didn't realize what I had gotten myself into. You see, I signed up for an online accounting class and got a new job all around the same time. I wanted everything to work. That was how I realized that I could literally make the time if the stakes were high enough. My mini pep talk to myself: No complaints. You got yourself into this; you finish all of your commitments.

One June 6 (last day of the #SparkNA class), Mina asked us: 1) what worked, 2) what didn't, 3) what's next. For me, what worked was the outline, which was a prerequisite at the start of the class. If I did not have an outline, I would have floundered. Some writers prefer not having an outline at all. However, given the volume of work I had given myself, it was an absolute necessity for me. I have a vague memory of May 2015. It was a haze of deadlines and hard work. It reminds me of the time I was breastfeeding my first child. I was committed to it. That meant I had to pump my breast milk 2-3 times a day during work days. At the time, I was working at a telco (read: dynamic business, crazy work schedule). But somehow I managed to do it (mostly because my boss understood how much it meant to me). But how I did it? I don't remember. I just stuck to the schedule, whatever happened. I could pump my milk anywhere! So, that was what happened last May. I was mostly sleep deprived.

What didn't work was the deadly rush. I wanted my cake and I wanted to eat it, too. Hahaha! I just kept going and going. I have to say that this links back to a second element of what worked: a support group. Beta readers are blessings from heaven. My wonderful friends, Therese, Ines and Liana, all editors, were such a big help during the review phase. Ines was also working on her own #SparkNA novella, mind you. So, I was overwhelmed with gratitude when she agreed to read my work and give me very helpful feedback. I couldn't have finished my manuscript without my beta readers' invaluable support. A big, heartfelt thank you to Therese, Ines, and Liana!

What's next? Apart from waiting for word from Spark Publishing/ Anvil Publishing... I want to publish my novella, Chasing Waterfalls, online, on as many digital distribution platforms as possible. But yes, I'll wait, of course, for the print opportunity. Fingers crossed.

On May 30, 2015, I hit the "send" button and submitted my 28K-word novella to Mina with my query letter to the editors of Spark Publishing. On June 1, 2015, I started at a new job. On June 9, 2015, I received my verified certificate for my Introduction to Financial Accounting Class. It was all possible.

What did I learn from all of this? Somehow, life imitated art. Our challenge for #SparkNA was "to be brave." In particular, this was the instruction from Mina's email: "You don't have to say it in the book, but when we read it, we must be able to describe your MC to our friends as BRAVE." Well, what is bravery? What is courage? One of the dictionary definitions I came across was: the ability to do something that frightens you. Oh boy. That was what happened between April and May. The other half of the equation is: WHY? As I said earlier: it depends on the stakes. For me, the stakes were all high for the things I wanted: to write; to develop; to learn. I realized that time really is the most precious resource. It's even more valuable than money (you can always make more money...but you cannot produce more time...we are all equally given 24 hours a day and every day is a reset). At the beginning of the class I thought I would be chasing time. But it didn't turn out that way. I ended up creatively carving out niches of time. It was an art.

Thank you, Mina, for putting together the class (and for making more classes available! I absolutely love the structure of your classes!). With #SparkNA, I pushed myself like I've never pushed myself before. It was all worth it.

#4 of 36: The Tragedy of Having Gods as Parents: A Review of The Chrysanthemum Palace by Bruce Wagner

The Chrysanthemum Palace by Bruce Wagner
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Tragedy of Having Gods as Parents: A Review of The Chrysanthemum Palace by Bruce Wagner

The main reason I got this book was because one of the main characters is called Clea. Clea is the title of one of the Alexandria Quartet books by Lawrence Durrell (I was named after one of them). I also named my daughter Clea. I was hoping that the Alexandria Quartet might be mentioned somewhere in the book. I mean, Clea is a very rare name. There might be a big chance that the author would refer to it somewhere in his book. I was not disappointed. If only for that, I was satisfied.

It took me more than a few months to start reading the book and it took me a month and a half to finish this book. It was my bathroom reading fare. The story was a bit dragging. Three spoiled brats do not not make very attractive characters. However, I could identify. After all, I grew up in the shadow of a very flamboyant beauty queen mother. I know the insecurities that come with very accomplished/ very beautiful parents.

The novel was full of pathos. However, coming from a third world country put the lives of Bertie, Thad, and Clea in perspective. How could these drug-addicted children of celebrities find despair when they are all well-fed and presented with lots of opportunities despite being has-beens? In that sense, I felt alienated. I did understand that the story revolved around the tragedy of being the progeny of gods and goddesses.

What did I enjoy? I loved the parts when Starwatch became part of the plot. It was a reference to Star Trek, of course. And that's why it was great. The story within the story was equally enthralling (or, in fact, more enthralling). I also liked the character, Miriam (a. k. a. Meerkat), Thad's agent and Bertie's lover. She seems to have been one of the most levelheaded of their bunch.

Overall, this is a reflective and somewhat depressing read. It has entertaining peeks into the glitzy Hollywood life. But don't be fooled. This book is a tragedy. Expect grandiose soliloquies and unforgiving parents who drive their children to suicide.

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Being in a Baker's Shoes: A Review of Save The Cake by Stella Torres

Save the Cake by Stella Torres
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Being in a Baker's Shoes: A Review of Save The Cake by Stella Torres (*spoilers ahead)

My first reaction to the story was: why is everyone talking formally and without contractions (ex. I do not understand why women put on makeup)? Even if most of the characters are Hispanic or half-Hispanic...I'm not sure they talk like that today. Maybe a generation ago. Weirdly enough, there are some contemporary expressions like addressing women in a familiar way by saying "girl." I'm putting this up front because it was a distraction to reading the story.

Now, onto the story. I loved all the descriptions of the baking. Though, I didn't understand why Eloisa and Monica are always worried about their cakes falling apart (also, I'm not sure anyone would pay for a fondant-covered cake that had ribbons to cover cracks). It was nice to be in the kitchen and baking supply warehouse with Eloisa. That was when she was in her element. I had problems with her character, though, when it came to love. I felt that she was either repressed or had double standards. Why was everyone, including Eloisa, judgmental about Hazel getting married legally before getting married in church? This is especially worrisome when I find out what happened to Eloisa in Singapore. Why was she suddenly making out with Sean Alvarez the first chance she gets alone with him? She's 28 years old! Why would she be concerned about her older brother and father getting in the way of her relationship?

I liked how Eloisa changes from kitchen assistant to a woman with her own business. In fact, if the story revolved just around that I think I would have been satisfied. I feel that Eloisa is more inconsistent in her love life. I'm not sure if she's liberated or conservative. She certainly *acts* conservative but when I get to know more about her, she *thinks* in a liberated way. That would have been fine except she also *judges* in a conservative way. Don't get me wrong, I like complex characters. However, Eloisa's choices seem disjointed sometimes. I don't know where she's coming from. There was actually no conflict in the way of love. I just found it weird that she moved so fast with Sean. That was what led me to believe she was repressed. However, her relationship with Gino (flashbacks) made me rethink that. Maybe being far from her family emboldened Eloisa?

Lastly, I didn't think the conflict between Paul (her older brother) and Eloisa is so believable. Paul's concerns about Sean are too superficial. If Sean really had a hidden past, I would understand why he was so protective and unreasonable. But Sean is a perfectly nice guy with no history of fooling around with women. So Paul was overreacting *all* the time. I would have wanted more scenes where Paul was just being a jerk, in general, rather than concerned about Sean, just to bring up the fact that Eloisa and Paul really can't work together. I also found it strange why she would find any reason to blame her friends, Hazel and Denise, for the brouhaha in Singapore. That was her own fault (or Gino's, if you look at it another way). I didn't see how she could distrust her friends over that incident.

Overall, it was nice to be in a pastry chef's shoes. I would have wanted more baking and self-discovery and less fooling around with Sean.

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#3 of 36: Which One Will It Be?: A Review of In Over Her Head by Anne Plaza

In Over Her Head by Anne Plaza
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Which One Will It Be?: A Review of In Over Her Head by Anne Plaza

My first observation: the language was distracting. Mainly, the past tense kept getting in the way of the present tense.

Now that I've gotten that first observation out of the way, let's get to the story. The Jerome vs. Richard mystery did keep me at the edge of my seat. I was wondering who Erika would end up with. I thought it was an effective way of keeping my attention as a reader. Lorra, Erika's best friend, was kind of annoying. However, instead of the main character undergoing a transformation by the end of the story, it was actually Lorra who went through it. It kind of makes me want to see the story from her perspective instead of Erika's.

I also noticed that Jerome is more developed as a character versus Richard. I get to see him transform from possible jerk to a sweet and thoughtful guy. On the other hand, Richard is just a jerk, period. I don't even know why Erika still liked him. The conflict between Erika and Richard was just so well established that I hardly found any reason for Erika to still fall for Richard.

Overall, this was a page-turning read. Read it to find out who Erika ends up with. :-)

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Sugar & Spice: A Review of Only A Kiss by Ines Bautista-Yao

Only A Kiss by Ines Bautista-Yao
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sugar & Spice: A Review of Only A Kiss by Ines Bautista-Yao

This review has been long overdue.

You know that it's a good story because you get lost while reading it. Well, that's what happened to me when I read Only A Kiss. Surprisingly, the most interesting character in OAK is the girl that Chris falls in love with sometime during his high school years. For some reason, I found her more interesting and complex than Katie (or even the girlfriend he ends up with in college). She's a bit of a jerk but I find that I gravitate towards characters who are not that easy to figure out.

Overall, this was a very sweet read. I finished it in exactly a week (and I had a very busy schedule last December!). I really loved how both Chris and Katie get to really develop as individuals (with their own loves and lives) before they start a relationship with each other.

Lastly, and I think a lot of people have already commented on it, OAK's cover is just gorgeous.

Disclosure: I am a friend of the author. :-)

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#buqoYA: Finishing a Portrait of Jade

#buqoYA class pic (not a complete one, though) last Feb. 28, 2015. We had cupcakes!

I am a fan of Mina V. Esguerra's workshops. I've only just completed one in the past: #buqosteamyreads. I came away with two short stories, both over 5,000 words.  I tried joining a #romanceclass and a #flirtsteamyreads class but these two are still in draft and outline mode. I'm not sure when I'll finish them because a) life got in the way (yes, excuses, excuses) and b) I already missed the bus. Deadlines are deadlines, after all.

Okay, first of all, what is #buqoYA? It's an online YA (young adult) story writing class moderated by Mina V. Esguerra (with two optional face-to-face classes) sponsored by buqo (a Pinoy digital bookstore, see more below). It started last January 19 and ended last February 28 2015. The goal: finish a story, not less than 5,000 words, based on an assigned trope (trope = a significant or recurrent theme; a motif. In other words, a familiar theme that one can find in literature).

My number one reason for loving writing classes like #buqoYA: I am a working mom. Huh? What does that have to do with writing a story? It just means I'm busy. I have a regular job* and I have two young kids. I do a lot of balancing acts. I need structure to finish anything. I need to be accountable to someone, too (like Mina, for instance). I also especially like the way Mina gives me an assigned trope. It's like fate dealing me a hand (or like life, pretty much!). This kind of structure doesn't clip my creative wings. It actually gives me flight! It's narrow enough to challenge me and yet broad enough to take on any number of characters I can create. I just love this kind of assignment.

Other things that helped: detailed discussions on each trope (I really appreciated the face-to-face class where we got to interact with screenwriters, Chacha Sawit-Esguerra and Anton Santamaria), having team mates to cheer us on (my good friend, Ines Bautista-Yao was a fellow trope mate!), and (this one is new from Mina) challenges along the way to spur us to really think through our stories (and submit on time!).

The result: a story that reached more than 15,000 words. I've called it A Portrait of Jade. It's gone through a lot of draft titles already, from The Color of Complicated to Semi-Precious to, finally, A Portrait of Jade. I have my beta readers to thank: Liana, an editor I trust, Ricky, a friend who also happens to be an artist, and my fellow trope mate, Ines. With all of their input as beta readers, I think the story improved a lot (it was their input that got me editing the existing story and writing another 2,000 words).

So, how did I finish? Apart from loving my main character, Jade, I really wanted to get to the bottom of the story. I wanted to understand how such a talented artist could be so insecure. I really liked how Mina requires all of us to write about a main character who is "not ordinary." It's easy to start with a blank canvas: a Hello Kitty without a mouth, a character that anyone can insert themselves into. So, I liked how I needed to come up with someone who's both interesting and still developing. I honestly thought I wouldn't be able to finish my #buqoYA story. A fellow #buqoYA classmate and I were joking about how we, married (and older!) women, found it easier to write steamy reads versus YA. Teens are hard to figure out! But then, of course, as we wrote, we remembered that we were teens once, too. So, surprise, surprise. I ended up writing something longer than both my #buqosteamyreads stories combined. It helped that I learned stuff from Mina's other classes: 1) writing in acts and scenes (these gave my outline a fixed structure -- more of the acts, I was a bit more flexible with the scenes) and 2) reading from Mina's reading lists (they really help!). 

I'm excited to see my fellow #buqoYA classmates' stories on buqo over the summer! Congratulations to everyone! Thank you, classmates and beta readers! And thank you, Mina! I'm looking forward to finishing more stories under your classes.

*Disclosure: I work for Hand.Interactive, Inc., the company behind buqo, the Pinoy Digital Bookstore and Reading App. I also happen to be a writer. :-)

#2 of 36: Why I Liked Mindy (And Of Course, Eleanor and Park): A Book Review of Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Why I Liked Mindy (and Of Course, Eleanor and Park)

I loved this book. I didn't expect to like it from the blurb (reminiscent of Jane Eyre, for me. Why cheer on two unlikable and unattractive characters?). Hahaha. What a shallow reader I am. It turns out, Eleanor & Park is something that I should have read long ago. It was so authentic. It sucked me right in. I, somehow, could identify with Eleanor: that home situation where you're always walking on eggshells. I know that. Rowell had that uncanny ability to zero in on a Romeo & Juliet episode in my life and make it literature.

A friend of mine recommended this book. As in, "read it naowww!" she said. According to her, the book combined the passion of first love with bullying and racial discrimination. Yes, on those three points. Plus, I saw in it added dimensions of family dysfunction and identity building. It hurt on so many levels but it fascinated me, too. The shifting POVs definitely helped improve my appreciation of the story. Also, the fact that it was set in 1986 was a bonus. The 80s were my growing up years. There was so much I didn't appreciate based on E and P's playlist.

My favorite character? She was a side character, not one of the main characters. But I very much loved, Mindy, the mom of Park. I especially loved the part when her feelings for E took a turn for the better. It can easily be missed. That's why I loved the subtlety of how Rowell described that scene. It was through Park's eyes: no judgment, no interpretation.

All in all, highly recommended book. The thing is, I feel like the last person on Earth to have read this book because everyone is already on Rowell's third or fourth book. Oh well. Better late than never. I am now a fan.

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