Happy Chinese New Year! + Luna East Cover!

From Rappler.com

Happy Chinese New Year of the Wooden Horse! Hope you guys spend this holiday to be with friends and family or just take the time to relax and do something you love. :)

I just took this screenshot of my horoscope so I can backtrack and check this out (if any of it will come true) by the end of the year. Hehe.

*****

I just got word that we have a cover for our YA anthology! 

Two of my awesome artist friends have illustrations in this edition. You can still order your paperback copy! See you guys on Feb. 8!

We're having a par-teeey! (And you're invited!)

Last year, I signed up to join Mina V. Esguerra's call for a romance novella writing class. After more than six  months, I finished writing and self-published my first contemporary romance novella, met new friends, and jump-started 2014 with more writing projects. A year after this amazing experience, me and my fellow #romanceclass writers are celebrating the anniversary of our writing adventure with the book launch of our YA anthology, #LunaEast!

I can't say enough how excited I am when we first started talking about doing a short story anthology of a fictional high school ala Sweet Valley High. What used to be just fun-filled discussions of our experiences and (mis)adventures in our yester-years yielded stories after stories of teenagers attending high school at this "co-ed non-sectarian private school, somewhere in the metro, a bit upscale but with a growing percentage of scholarship students".

The first volume of the anthology features the following stories:

Be Creative by Stella Torres

Senpai's #1 Fan by Anne Plaza

Love Lies A'Bleeding by Alyssa Ashley Lucas

Picture Me Naked by D. R. Lee

Something Real by Miles Tan

Wouldn't Change A Thing by Jayen San Diego

You Are the Apple of My Eye by Addie Lynn Co

The Letter by M. Protacio-De Guzman

Where Do We Go From Here by Jen Carpio

The Rumor About Me by Kristel S. Villar

He Loves Me...Not? by Athena Claire Duenas

Sitting in a Tree by Chrissie Peria

Yours Is the First Face That I Saw by Ron Lim

Fifty-Two Weeks by Mina V. Esguerra 

Join us on February 8, 6pm at the Ayala Museum and meet the writers behind #romanceclass and #lunaeast. We've got books, freebies, and stories to give away. See you there!

2014: The Year to Write More

Image from Natasha Ngan

Wow, it's been a while since I last blogged, but I just gave myself a few days to get things settled so I could get back to my groove. Anyway, 2014 is already proving to be a busy year for me, which is always good. I hate to take it easy after last year's NaNoWriMo, but now that I've recharged (somewhat), it's time to hit the ground running!

Here are some great things to anticipate this first half of 2014:

• Luna East Arts Academy (vol. 1) - Me and my fellow writers from #romanceclass are coming out with a YA anthology set in high school. We'll have print and digital editions and dig this...a book launch! I'll update you with deets about the event and how to get your copies of the anthology, so stay tuned!

•  I've finished writing my second novel, Forever Sisters, and I'm currently in the process of editing and revising the manuscript. I'm hoping to get things done and release it by Q2, so I hope this works out for the best!

• A short story anthology is up in the works with two of my #romanceclass classmates. I'm very excited about this project and we hope to get this done in Q1 to release  sometime within Q2.

• #buqosteamyreads - I've joined yet another writing class, and hopefully this will take my contemporary romance work another notch. This is a short story writing class with author Mina V. Esguerra, sponsored by Buqo.

Just by looking at my list of to-dos, I just realize that wow, I really have a lot of things going for me. I guess the universe is telling me to stop procrastinating and start working. :) And yes, I will get these done!

Transitions

See you in the next life, buddy. You will be missed.

I learned today that Coco, one of the stray cats I take care of, has passed away. The last time I saw him was a few days after Christmas, and he was lounging around near one of the neighbors' houses watching people pass by. Being a stray and an un-fixed cat, he would usually acquire a few wounds, but it was nothing fatal that he couldn't handle. I usually fed him, along with Scrappy and Momma Cat, in the afternoons, but I found it odd that I hadn't seen him around for the past couple of days. I thought it was probably that time of the day when he's in heat and he goes around the neighborhood looking for female cats. I thought it was just one of those things. But I was already feeling anxious.

My mom informed me today that the neighbors saw the body of a dead orange cat a few blocks away from our house. They thought it was a dead rat because of the bad smell, but found the body when they tracked it down. I'm not sure whether they threw the body away or buried it. What makes me sad is the thought that they may have thrown Coco to the trash instead of burying him; I know I would've if only I was there when they found him.

I've never felt a loss like this. We didn't have any pets growing up, and it was only until I was earning my own keep that I got to have pets around the house. I know they will eventually pass on, as all living things do, but I just feel bad not knowing what happened why Coco died so suddenly. I will miss the times he would look up and ask me to pet his head, or the times when I'd call the cats and he'd be the first to come running. He was the first stray who warmed up to me after giving them snacks and treats on occasion until I finally took to feeding them on a regular basis. I miss him already and I know his passing will leave a hole in my heart. I don't think I'd be able to look at a ginger cat and not think about Coco, but I hope wherever he is right now, he's also thinking about me. 

Safe travels and see you on the other side, buddy. I'll take better care of Scrappy and Momma for you.