Cover Story – Boracay Vows

Last week, I revealed the cover of my debut novel Boracay Vows and I’m so happy with the response I got from everyone who’s seen it. Some kept asking if that was me in the photo. I wish! I may have looked like the model twenty years ago when I first went to Boracay, but not now.

This has always been my vision of it from the beginning. A girl sitting on the white sand of Boracay facing the sea. When I was writing it during NaNoWriMo2016, this was my working cover.

Renee, my friend from high school, took it in Palawan and although it’s beautiful, it is not Boracay. So I pressed on.

In the past year, every time one of my friends would check in from Boracay, I’d send a message asking them to take a photo and explaining my concept. They were always accommodating. Here are a few samples from the ones I received.

Stunning, right? Whenever I get a photo, I was always envious that I wasn’t there myself.

Although great on their own, I wanted more of the recognizable Boracay icons on the cover. However, I’m not too proficient with photo enhancement softwares, so I consulted with an expert. Lucy Rhodes of Render Compose came to the rescue. After a few email and Facebook Messenger exchanges, we got it done. And it’s done very well indeed.

I really love it. I can’t wait for the readers to meet Krista and go to Boracay through my book. Coming very soon.

Photo credit: Renee, Tiara, Jonathan, and Chippy.

Diversity, Thy Name Is Not Romance Novel

As a writer-of-color, I do appreciate the study recently conducted by The Ripped Bodice. It puts a spotlight on the sad state of racial diversity in romance publishing. Whether it changes anything is the challenge moving forward.

Nielsen did a similar study in the past and presented the report at the Romance Writers of America’s Annual Conference in 2016. The statistics then, as shared by Publishing Perspectives, were even more dismal.

I guess we can rejoice that the 2% non-white writers previously reported has ballooned to 7.8% in 2016. But, different research bodies, different samples, different methodologies make comparisons statistically invalid.

I am happy someone is pursuing the issue. I have long complained about the dearth of representation for Asians in the novels I read. That’s why I’m writing my own. But, I’m not going to sit around waiting for some publishing house to suddenly email after six months telling me that they’ve finally unearthed my manuscript from the depths of query hell and they now need me to increase their diversity numbers.

The truth is I want to control the setting of my novels, the design of my covers, the date of my publication, and the amount of my share of the sales, no matter how minuscule. As I can’t do those things with traditional publishing, I’m going indie. I’m sure many writers of color like me have the same mindset.

That doesn’t help improve future data for The Ripped Bodice’s study, but maybe they could expand it by investigating racial diversity in self-published romance in the future. It is almost a sure thing that it would yield more positive results. Perhaps instead of harping on traditional publishers to improve their inclusion, they should embrace independents more. Just my two cents.

Here’s the full report:

RippedBodiceReportFINAL

Camp NaNo Winner 2017

Winner again!

I wrote and completed the first draft of my debut novel in November 2016 during NaNoWriMo. I started without an outline, without a plot. Nothing but one page of a scene I wrote in 2003 and never finished. I only knew two things that first day of NaNo: 1) I will set it in Boracay 2) It will be a multicultural romance. Yes, I was a Pantser. One month, two titles, three name changes, and 54,000+ words later, I had a complete book. Not finished, only completed. It had a Beginning, a Middle, and an End.

Naturally, first drafts are the worst. It went through four more revisions with Beta readers chiming in and editors turning it down. The verdict is clear: they want more conflict. Fine, I said. This July, I joined CampNaNo and with the support of my Old School Romance Book Club cabin mates, I wrote, rewrote, retitled, and edited my first book. As a result, I now have a 58,000-word sixth draft with a little more drama, a lot more love.

On to more beta reading, more editing, more polishing, and hopefully soon, on to Publishing.

Carpe Diem!

Note: Photo credit to Chippy Ledesma. Location: Boracay Island, Philippines.

Adopt, Adapt

Adopt a positive attitude. Adapt to changes.

These are truisms we try to keep in mind whenever we travel. Heaven knows we needed every bit of flexibility and patience we could muster during our trip to and from Scotland and Ireland. Again, it wasn’t the being there that was the problem, it was the getting there and back here to the US that were stressful.

We had a wonderful time in both countries. All of us enjoyed the rich history, the breathtaking scenery, the refreshing weather, and the fascinating attractions in all the places we visited. The hotels we stayed in–Doubletree in Edinburgh and Fitzwilliam in Belfast–provided our needs well and were conveniently located. We hope to go back someday, especially to the Highlands, which we didn’t see during this visit. I just wish we could just teleport there and won’t have to go through London’s horrible Heathrow or Chicago’s O’Hell, I mean O’Hare.

It started well enough with the flight from Belfast actually leaving on time. Terminal 5 at Heathrow was so poorly constructed, it was a mad dash again to get to our gate for our flight to Chicago. We didn’t have time to get our tax refund at all. And, naturally we arrived late in the States, thereby missing our connection to San Antonio. It is virtually impossible to go through the immigration and security processes for entering the US within two hours, much less the lone hour we had.

Thanks to British Airways, we had an unplanned extended vacation in Chicago. They sponsored our hotel and meals for the night we had to stay until our morning make-up flight to Texas. We actually appreciated the night’s rest for we were simply exhausted. In hindsight, arriving home at daytime instead of midnight turned out to be a better choice for us.

So, if there are lessons I’d always remember from this adventure, they are:

Have a sense of humor. Murphy’s Laws are forever at work, there’s no use flipping out when things go wrong.
It is okay to over-pack. Always keep a fresh set of clothes, especially underwear, in your carry-on bag. Flights will get delayed, luggage will get lost or left behind.
Carry an extra tote/sack in your bag in case you go over the weight limit. Remember: dirty clothes are heavy.
Buy an adapter.

Last, smile. And the world will smile with you. Truth.

Photo credits: Confucius quote – quotesvalley.com, universal adapter – Bing search

Celebrating Loving Day Every Day

On June 12, we commemorate the 50th anniversary of Loving v. Virginia, the landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court which invalidated the state laws prohibiting interracial marriage.

I celebrate because I’m a direct beneficiary of this decision. My husband’s American, I’m Filipino. He’s white, I’m brown. In 2005, we were able to marry legally because we could, because we were allowed. I celebrate not just on June 12, but every day. Thanks to Richard and Mildred Loving. Thanks to the US Supreme Court in 1967.

The Lovings’ story, my own story, and the stories of more than half a million interracial couples are the inspirations for my books. I’m also encouraged by the great multicultural romances I’ve been reading recently. Surely, they too have been inspired by real-life stories of mixed-race pairings. Some of them are: Courtney Milan’s Cyclone series beginning with Trade Me (Chinese-American heroine); Alisha Rai’s upcoming Forbidden Hearts series with its first book Hate to Want You (Japanese-Hawaiian heroine); and Tif Marcelo’s North to You (Filipino-American hero), the first book of her Journey to the Heart series.

All of these books show the love between two people, regardless of race or skin color. All of them prove that love is, indeed, color blind.

Photo credits: Love is Color Blind – quotesgram.com, Loving photos – lovingday.org, book covers – Bing images, and Share the Love – RWA

My Book Boyfriends

When I’m reading a book, especially if it’s a good one, I tend to cast the characters in my head, often using well-known personalities like actors, athletes, and musicians. It helps bring the story to life in my mind. I think many readers do the same, especially romance readers. The tendency, of course, is to choose only the hero and imagine one’s self to be the heroine. Hence, the term Book Boyfriend.

Recently, there have been discussions in a couple of my Facebook reading groups on who we’d cast for specific books if they were ever made into movies.

At Sally Thorne’s Flamethrowers, The Hating Game’s fan group, Joshua Templeman is always Liam Hemsworth. Sally herself said he’s her inspiration for the character and who are we to argue with the author? Josh is supposed to be at least six-four, has dark brown hair, ink-blue eyes, strong masculine jawline, and sulky, pretty mouth. Here he is in Wednesday Dove-Gray. Hmm. Looks about right.

At the Old School Romance Book Club, our Book-of-the-Month for June is Lisa Kleypas’s Dreaming of You. The hero is Derek Craven, described as having blunt, strong and even features; “green eyes, the color of grass on a cool spring morning”; and swarthy skin. I suggested a younger Clive Owen, and a lot of the members agree with me.

Whenever I read about a tall, dark-haired, blue-eyed hero in romance novels, I immediately think of Henry Cavill. It doesn’t matter if he’s Irish, British, or American; whether the book is historical or contemporary, the hero will always be Henry. For me he’s Roarke, my ultimate Book Boyfriend, from J.D. Robb’s In Death series.

He’s also Blake Ryan in my novel, One Week in Boracay. And since I can’t make myself the heroine, I chose Filipina actress Iza Calzado as inspiration for Blake’s love interest, Krista Lopez.

I’m so excited to finish writing about these two and their journey to finding love. I hope to share them with everyone soon. Maybe someday, Blake will be someone’s Book Boyfriend, too. One thing’s for sure, he’s mine right now.

Note: Photos featured here are not my own and were accessed through public sites.

Eating And Reading Are Two Pleasures That Combine Admirably

I love reading. I love food. I love reading books with food in them. I love it so much that all my books will feature local food from their respective setting (Philippines, Singapore, Thailand). Also, the hero of my third book, Craig, is a chef.

I thought of this quote by CS Lewis because I recently read two food-centric romance novels – Sherry Thomas’s Delicious and Laura Florand’s The Chocolate Thief. The food descriptions in both novels were so vivid and sumptuous that the first thing I did after reading was go to a French café and buy madeleines and chocolate tartlets and mini-croissants.

I always give high marks to books that make me react – whether it is to cry, laugh, or think. Those that induce me to go out and buy food deserve no less than five stars. It doesn’t hurt that they are fantastic stories told by talented authors. These were my first books by these two writers and they won’t be the last. I already have their backlists on my Overdrive holds. What are a dozen more books to pile onto my TBR mountain? Why, nothing. Nothing at all.

Mommy, Thank You for Giving Me the Love of Reading

You may have tangible wealth, untold caskets of jewels, and coffers of gold;

Richer than I you can never be, I had a mother who read to me.

~ Strickland Gillilan, The Reading Mother

I also have a mother who used to read to me. And on this Mother’s Day, I’d like to honor her and thank her, not only for giving me life, but also for encouraging my literary pursuits. All my life she has always nurtured my love of reading. Seldom was I scolded for bringing a book to the dining table. My poor eyesight was not blamed on reading in the dark or on reading in a moving vehicle. It was TV’s fault, never books. She could not admonish me for reading too much. After all, she was the one who taught me to read. My mom, Marieta Ruaza, was a teacher – to me and my siblings and to thousands of kids in the Philippines for over forty years.

She was also a short story writer. If writing is a hereditary trait, then I must have gotten it from her. I hope my son will get the writing gene, too. If not, I can only be happy to know that he appreciates my reading to him. Maybe, someday he will write a poem about his Reading Mom, too.

Thank you, Mommy. I love you! Happy Mother’s Day!

Looking for Asian/Pacific-American Heroines in Romance Novels

May is officially the Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month in the US and this month, I’ve decided I’m going to read romance novels featuring heroines of Asian descent. Before today, I’ve only read a few, among them Nalini Singh’s Rock Courtship, Alisha Rai’s Pleasure series, The Bollywood Bride by Sonali Dev, Lora Leigh’s Wicked Pleasure, Jaci Burton’s Midnight Velvet, and Fobolous by my friend Rainne Mendoza.

My Goodreads search proved to be frustrating as there are very few books that answer to the criteria – 190 if you include South Asians. Amazon is not much help either – only 40 are listed and most of the heroines are half something else.

It’s no wonder that 63% of those who answered the Dangerous Books for Girls survey said (they) “…think there is not enough diversity in characters and settings…”. It’s true, there’s not.

In the same study, it was learned that there were over 9,500 Romance ISBNs in 2013. Very likely, that figure went up in 2016. If I would hazard a guess, the number of those books who have Asian/Pacific Islander heroines would be pitifully small, could only be just a handful. Why? Are people not buying them? The Romance genre is a Billion-dollar industry and there’s no market for novels with my kind of protagonists? That’s sad and I refuse to believe that.

According to the 2010 US Census Bureau Statistics, over 3.3 Million American husbands have Asian wives. If only a small fraction of those wives read romance novels, that’s still a substantial number who may want to see their stories told in books. Toni Morrison said, “If there’s a book you really want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” So, that’s what I’m doing, I’m writing their story.

I’m writing MY story.

Read A Lot, Write A Lot

“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around these two things that I’m aware of, no shortcut.”
― Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

I have no problem with reading a lot. Last year, I recorded 465 books on Goodreads. It’s the writing a lot that is hard for me. On January 1, I set my Reading Challenge to 120 in order to give myself more time to write. This was based on my experience in November when I wrote most of my first book, One Week in Boracay. I managed to put together 51K words, but only read a dozen books. So far this year, I’ve already read 80 so I had to increase my goal to 180. However, apart from the title Christmas in New York, I haven’t written a word of my second book yet.

Then I saw Katy Regnery’s blog post and my jaw dropped. From September 2013 until April 2017, she published 31 books. She completes one book every five to six weeks. Talk about prolific! I’m awed and envious.

Can I do that? Possibly. I did put the finishing touches on Boracay five weeks after I started it. Will I do it? Maybe someday. When I don’t take three months to edit, or when I have a team to help me with editing, cover design, formatting, etc. But not yet, not for a long while yet. For now, I’ll read a lot first, then maybe I’ll write a lot of the second book, and the third, and the fourth…

Not maybe. I will. Starting now.