Mina V. Esguerra's Blog, page 24

New from #romanceclass: FLAIR

If you follow me and #romanceclass news on social media, you’ll be seeing a lot of this in the coming months. FLAIR (or #romanceclassFlair) is a new, ongoing project to release steamy contemporary romance (in English) by Filipino authors. There are four new titles from four different #romanceclass authors about to be released, and these books will be unapologetically sexy.

Flair is not a publisher, but there is a single Flair team that is working with the authors on all the books. The team is composed of #romanceclass community authors, readers, editors, designers. We all agreed on what sexy contemporary Filipino romance should be, and the books should show it. What can you expect? Alternating POV. New ways of telling favorite tropes. Filipino characters. Lots of heat.

The first Flair book will be released in November. Follow Romanceclass Books on FB, @romanceclassbooks on IG, and #romanceclass on Twitter to see more details in the coming weeks!

Fairy Tale Fail 2017 edition

Fairy Tale Fail, my second book (and the first that I self-published), has a new edition out! What that means: It’s got a new cover featuring Gio Gahol and Gab Pangilinan, and an epilogue that’s a little bit hotter. Just a little, haha.

If you go back into my blog archives you’ll see that this book was what started “it all” for me. It changed the way I publish, the way I write, and introduced me to readers that I’m in touch with to this day. Thank you for loving Lucas and Ellie!

Ellie Manuel is a hopeless romantic, stuck in a cubicle all day. She’s in her twenties and should be having more fun. But instead of doing what she really wants, like traveling wherever her Philippine passport can take her, she’s hung up on the guy who dumped her for not being “ambitious enough.” Someone should tell her that there are other cool guys — who probably even eat at the same office cafeteria! — who would encourage her just to be her fabulous self.

FAIRY TALE FAIL won the 2012 Filipino Readers’ Choice award for Chick Lit. Part of the Chic Manila series, but can be read as a standalone.

**This 2017 edition has a new cover and a new epilogue that has a bit more heat. (Just a little.)

Cover designed by Tania Arpa, photography by Pach Urrea, styling by Nio Manzano, cuteness by Gio Gahol and Gab Pangilinan

If you have any previous edition, you can get a digital copy free here: https://instafreebie.com/free/3TjtI (code is Lucas’s tita’s name, no caps).

Buy links: Amazon  Smashwords  Print edition (PH)

 

#romanceclasscovers, an update

In 2016, we started a photo project called #romanceclasscovers, so we could start seeing Pinoys on our romance book covers. After that first shoot with Katrice Kierulf and Miguel Almendras, we’ve…decided to do more shoots.

Rachel Coates and Jef Flores (2016, photography by Pach Urrea, styling by Nio Manzano)

Rachel and Jef did a shoot specifically for one of my books, That Kind of Guy, after they performed a reading from the book together. It was also the first re-released edition where we showed our cover models’ faces. (Notice that my editions with Miguel and Katrice used their faces in profile or not at all.) At first I wasn’t sure if recognizable faces would be distracting, but the response to seeing actual Rachel and Jef faces has been so good that we ran with it.

Fred Lo and Vanya Castor (2017, photography by Pach Urrea, styling by Alex Lapa)

Our Fred and Vanya set was the beginning of our “co-sponsored” shoots. We essentially crowdfunded the shoot before we did it, by asking the #romanceclass community if they needed a cover featuring Fred and Vanya. Several authors did, including me, and they’re on the cover of my new edition of My Imaginary Ex. Watch out for photos from this session from upcoming books by Tara Frejas, Ana Tejano, and more. Fred and Vanya were adorable together by the way, and they had a height difference that at the right moment was kilig-inducing ugh. Haha.

Gio Gahol, Gabriela Pangilinan, and Rachel Coates (2017, photography by Pach Urrea, styling by Nio Manzano)

 

I needed Gio (and his tattoos) and Gab specifically for another book I wanted to have redesigned. Several other authors needed him with Gab or with Rachel…and fortunately we found a day where all of them were free. That’s becoming an issue by the way, as the people we work with become busier and busier. On this day we shot a lot and Gio had to be a different guy in every setup. That’s not a bad thing by the way because Gio and Gab and Rachel together are a lot of fun, and none of this seems like work at all. This time we made sure to take a set specifically for the catalogue, so authors who weren’t part of the crowdfunding can still purchase photos.

AJ Olpindo and Coralin Resurreccion (2017, photography by Pach Urrea, styling by Alex Lapa)

Third shoot of the year! It’s like we really enjoy doing this! The AJ and Cora shoot was fascinating because though we did the same process of casting then crowdfunding, I saw that the characters they needed to be on the covers were so different. They almost needed to disappear into their character and take on a totally different look as the next one. In past shoots we didn’t do a lot of makeup and hair stuff — this time we had hair stuff, makeup stuff, shirtlessness even. And guess what? They were exactly who I needed them to be for my book, and I hope the same goes for the other authors. It’s amazing.

Bibo Reyes, Celine Bengzon, Fred Lo, and Miguel Almendras (2017, photography by Pach Urrea, styling by Alex Lapa)

 

Sometime this year, the #romanceclass community is launching a new project. It’s an adult-romance line called Flair (more on this soon) and we needed to shoot a cover for the first Flair book. We sought out Bibo and Celine for this, and they’ll be part of the catalogue too. As well as on the cover of another redesign of one of my books, that I’m really excited about.

Through Flair we’re helping Filipino author H. Bentham release his first M/M romance novel (also a first for our community) and Fred and Miguel made a return appearance to shoot the cover. As of my writing this the shoot happened a week ago and I’m still not over how awesome and sweet and flirty and romantic and fun they were. We were wary of so many things during this particular shoot, that I’m still trying to process, but essentially we wanted romance. I think we got it? Or is that me just feeling all these feelings???

That’s me with Fred and Miguel. (See all my feelings.)

We might need to do just one quick little thing and then wrap it up for the year, but this has been #romanceclasscovers so far. At every shoot we have this many people — authors, cover designers, editors, photographer, stylist, models. It’s noisy and there’s way too much giggling than a photo shoot should have I think, but this is now one of my favorite things to do and I really believe in what we’re doing. Filipinos are writing romance novels and creating these wonderful characters, we know that. If the author wants those characters seen as real people on the book covers, that should be possible. It wasn’t before. Thank you to everyone who has ever helped us out, for making it possible. We’re very happy and grateful.

To purchase a photo or sponsor a shoot, visit instagram.com/romanceclasscovers. Photos here are by me, Pach Urrea, Chachic Fernandez, and Veronica Silagpo.

My sessions at #GoReadWrite2017

I’ll be at three sessions in this year’s Philippine Readers and Writers Festival #GoReadWrite2017. Hope you can drop by?

Friday, 1 PM, The Changing Role of the Writer Today. Will be talking about what I do for author communities like #romanceclass and WOCinRomance.

Friday, 3 PM, The Curse of the Happy Ending: The Challenge of Reinventing Romance. Will be talking about Romance requiring HEA and how romance authors are reinventing romance — by making HEA more inclusive.

Saturday, 3 PM, Clever Hands: How to Write Steamy Scenes in New Adult Lit. Moderating this session, asking the authors to share their tips for writing intimacy, but we’re all really excited for the live readings by Fred, Rachel, and Gio. Attend this!

#FeelsSoHot recap: Thoughts when sex scenes are read out loud

I almost didn’t write this recap. For the tenth version of the #romanceclass live reading events, we did something new: we made it adults-only, so we could have the actors read the steamy stuff. Previous events were held in open, general audience venues and while #romanceclass books (and maybe Filipino romance or “chick lit” in general) are perceived to be sweet and safe for work the number of authors writing more adult themes and scenes is actually growing. We saw it when we began proper categorization for the romanceclassbooks.com site and noticed that nearly half the catalogue could be tagged as Steamy, and I noticed it when I began to edit previous live reading excerpts prior to a performance, to “clean up” the language a little. The fact is, we are starting to accumulate a significant number of titles featuring edgier author voices, sexier situations. Filipino authors of romance in English are writing this. It was time to highlight this, rather than “clean it up.” One of the authors in our community (Kate Sebastian) challenged me to do this and charge an entrance fee for it.

So we did it. Haha.

Not that we made it easy for people, by the way. Past events were conceptualized so we could be discovered by the casual mallgoer or reader, but this wasn’t meant to be that. We held it on a Thursday night, in Makati, at a place that served liquor, and charged P850. If you live here you know that those are multiple layers of difficulty and deciding to go requires commitment and preparation. On the night of, over 60 people made this choice. Thank you!

We couldn’t have been able to pull this off without our actors. I think #romanceclass events became a lot more successful when we got over the idea that it was simply a show of support for authors. Now it’s a thing we look forward to for different reasons  and support for your author friend is secondary and that’s totally okay. I feel that part of the reason the community feeling has grown is that we don’t have to choose to be an author or a reader — we’re all of that, and at events in fact we’re the fans. Of these guys and girls.

 

A post shared by Mina V. Esguerra (@minavesguerra) on May 28, 2017 at 8:10pm PDT

These were the nine books featured at the program. There were reasons! Apart from being sexy.

Other Than Easy by Laney Castro: Alternating POV and the characters were not Filipino, even if the author is. Because we can do that.

The Kitchen When It Sizzles by Chrissie Peria: One of the first full-length, steamy #romanceclass books with Filipino characters. It went there!

An Overdue Adventure by Kate Sebastian, from Summer Feels: Chose this because it was very particular about consent, even among friends, even among friends already somewhat physical.

If the Dress Fits by Carla de Guzman: A sex scene featuring a plus size MC and her body is very much part of the scene instead of forgotten. It’s also sweet as cake damn.

Feels Like Summer by Six de los Reyes: Hot but also hilarious, and so many character elements come together (haha I said that) in a sexy scene that’s quite emotional really.

Three of my books (Better at Weddings Than You, Properly Scandalous, The Harder We Fall) were read from and none of the scenes had actual intercourse, because steaming up a book doesn’t have to require removing clothes or a sex scene where it isn’t needed.

Then we had our first ever live reading from a historical romance novel, Under the Sugar Sun by Jennifer Hallock. Chosen because of that alone, and the author is a friend so I’m thankful that she trusted us with this.

You’ll find photos of the event here on Instagram. As for the program itself? I was…floored. It already took a lot for me to start writing sex into my books. At first I told myself it wasn’t for me, and then I realized that I was holding back because of hang-ups that I thought I had gotten over. As an author you don’t have to do this, and this community will continue to support books that don’t have sex scenes and authors who prefer not to write them. But if you want to? Don’t hold yourself back, friend. No judgment here.

Still, watching your sex scene being read? It’s different. It’s…I couldn’t do it. I mean I was there for two of three but the third was the most explicit and I was there for rehearsal but I had to step out onto the balcony and missed most of it. There’s video but I haven’t watched it. It’s something I need to understand about myself, haha, and I’ll get to it on my own time.

But I was there for the other excerpts and I was so happy for everyone. I’m glad the authors wrote this, and that the readers were there for the books, and that the actors read them so well. Each event has some tweaks to help us learn more about what we like to write and read, and this was a big step.

Apparently we can do this. We can write about sex, and begin to talk about (possibly normalize?) healthier and functional relationships with sex, and we can attend events celebrating precisely this too.

The next event will be on October 14, Saturday afternoon, at Commune in Makati again. Not steamy this time, but we’ll explore something new there too. If you’re into romance in English, or romance, or just anything about this post–you should come! Save the date.

My Imaginary Ex 2017 and a new author’s note

Zack and Jasmine never dated, but no one else knows that. That story started in college, because she was being a good friend, and he needed help with something. The friendship and affection that followed were very real, but the lie kept causing trouble.

Years later, after a falling out and real relationships with other people, the lie resurfaces to bother Jasmine one more time–when Zack’s exes ask her to stop him from marrying someone they think is totally wrong for him. She’s the only one who can help him, they say, because she’s his best friend. They also believe that Zack loved Jasmine the most–and maybe still does.

(This is a revised and expanded edition of My Imaginary Ex, the first book in the Chic Manila series. All books in the series can be read as standalones.)

Get the new edition ebook here, free if you have a previous edition: https://instafreebie.com/free/IR5Bq (code is Zack’s dream directorial project)

Buy: Amazon / Print (Philippines)

Here’s the 2017 author’s note, explaining what’s new in this edition:

I love this book. I’m proud of it. It’s the first one I wrote that was published, I wrote it relatively quickly, and I managed to keep track of all the timelines. I’m almost glad I didn’t stop to ask myself why craft it this way…I just ran with it. Some risks pay off.

When I wrote this, I was figuring out the kind of author I wanted to be, and how to write “chick lit” in English. I made decisions that have stayed with me years later, like writing mostly in English, using recognizable Manila settings. My characters would be sexually active, and responsibly so.

This 2017 edition is different from the first published edition in several ways, because some decisions I wanted to correct. Or adjust. I’d like to discuss some of those updates here.

• If you have any of the previous editions, and enjoyed the book, the story hasn’t changed, okay? But we had to trim several thousand words the first time, and as I went through this again I feel I was able to add back more context. More context, dialogue, and backstory should help make certain things clearer.

• I edited how I described the physical appearance of characters. Some specific descriptions remain, but to be consistent with how I write now, I removed a lot of what I no longer feel is necessary or proper.

• If a thing no longer exists, or the term for it has changed, I removed it or updated it.

• I extended the sex scene. Because I write those now. (I didn’t before.) Thank you, Marian Tee, for telling me to do this.

• And then, the most substantial edit: someone in this book calls Kimmy Domingo a bitch, and I removed that. I edited how other women talked about Kimmy, but tried not to alter Kimmy as she was. In this book she’s the villain, and that can’t be helped—that’s what the premise called for. I kept as much of her personality and her volatile relationships intact because it will matter, all of it, in the book where she’s the main character (Love Your Frenemies, Chic Manila #4). In my mind, she always had that backstory, and the events parallel to the version depicted here were always clear to me. I knew where she was coming from. That meant I understood Kimmy, but I wrote her using the limited POV of people who didn’t, and that led to some readers hating her. I’ve since decided to not be this kind of author, as much as possible. I’ve since tried to “make it up” to Kimmy by writing a full book about her, keeping her character and actions from this book consistent, and not watered down for sympathy.

Thank you for giving this book, and me, a chance. Thank you for the friendships that came into my life because of it.

By the way, Zack and Jasmine are happy right now. And forever.

Mina

How to get a free copy of the #romanceclass textbook

In 2013, I facilitated an online class, and gave them resources to write a chick lit/contemporary romance novella. I collected the “lectures” (posts sent to the group) and made a little textbook out of it. This year, I updated the textbook, because so much about publishing has changed. We also learned a lot from seeing how readers responded to the books from the authors who originally joined the class, and those who joined the community after.

This is not the only way to write contemporary romance, but it’s how #romanceclass has decided to do it. The community was shaped by Filipinos who write in English, the books are in English, and our readers are from all over the world. There are “rules” (for example: HEA only, no sudden deaths) that might take getting used to for Filipino writers (believe me in every new class there’s always someone who pushes for tragedy). We’ve also taken a stand on various things that are meant to make our books more inclusive, and not harmful to others. This is a continuing process but we’re listening to readers and encouraging more writers to do their thing.

The ebook edition of the textbook is available here: gum.co/romanceclass. There is no print edition, but the book is in PDF that you can print, if you need to.

One way to get it free is to show me that you’ve purchased:

5 of my books (ebook or print, list here: amazon.com/author/minavesguerra, bit.ly/mvebooks)

5 books by #romanceclass authors who aren’t me (ebook or print, list here: romanceclassbooks.com)

5 books by WOCinRomance authors who aren’t me, and aren’t #romanceclass authors (ebook or print, list here: wocinromance.com)

All purchases must have been made in 2017 and thereafter. Email receipts or other proof of purchase of these 15 books to minavesguerra@gmail.com.

I do “intro sessions” to #romanceclass in Manila, free for those who already have the textbook. You’ll be able to join this as well if I’m holding one near you.

I also recommend reading all of this, before starting on the textbook. Or maybe read them while working on your book. Our books, when published, join a world of romance books and provide very important and specific context. This matters so much and giving it thought makes the book better!

For those about to teach “Chick Lit” in Senior High School (Philippines)

Originally posted on Facebook, May 4.

In senior high school, they’re required to read “21st century literature” and “Chick Lit” by Filipino authors is part of it.

Chick Lit used to be the term for what I write, but publishing has begun to bury it. It remains a category under fiction in some classifications, but no BISAC, no Amazon category. “Women’s Fiction – Contemporary” would be the closest. Any Filipino author who has published titles that qualify as Chick Lit will also have written Young Adult or Contemporary Romance because these categories are still very much alive in publishing.

Studying Chick Lit may require exploring Contemporary Romance and Young Adult. All these categories, because they center women, are dismissed as “shallow,” not considered “literary.” Notice that women characters outside of Chick Lit/Romance/YA are often sacrificed, placed in danger to motivate a male character, or given male characteristics so they can “earn” their spot as protagonists.

The short explanation of Chick Lit (as we’ve been writing it) is that these are stories where women are main characters and they can live their lives, get what they want, live their potential, without being told to stay home and give up their place for someone else.

When you call these books shallow, you are telling a female author to give up their place for someone else.

When you call them “unrealistic” but give your money to a story of a high school nerd getting both superpowers AND the hottest girl in school, you are telling a woman to give up their place for someone else.

Our books (see romanceclassbooks.com for over 100) cover so many topics: love, dating, faith, children, sex, societal pressures, body issues, relationships, friendships, sexual orientation, so much more. We encourage #ownvoices (person going through it tells the story), but for those that aren’t ownvoices the #romanceclass community provides support, resources, and an emphasis on research. Now we have a few books centering LGBT (well L and G at least so far), because the readership overlaps, and the support system is intact because of a shared experience of being told to not write their characters as successful, happy, self-actualized.

I am used to my own books being dismissed by those who feel that they should be reading “smarter” stuff. Now that these books have a place in the classroom I challenge you to actually know what you’re dismissing. You can have an opinion on something, but you cannot say that an #ownvoices story is wrong, just because you never experienced it. Just because you never identified with these characters. Be a better reader than that. (Be a better educator than that.) Readers of romance and women’s fiction read 20, 30, 40, 50…100 new books a year. They will know more than you. Maybe that’s not a bad thing; ask them why they like what they like. Why they hate what they hate. I learn so much from young readers. I’m learning still.

There, I said it. Please stand up for us and our fiction in classrooms too. Thanks.

Giveaway: Bucket List to Love, The Art of Shifting Gears, Amazon GC

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#AprilFeelsDay2017 recap

A post shared by Mina V. Esguerra (@minavesguerra) on May 3, 2017 at 7:40am PDT

(Photo from Veronica.)

I experience #romanceclass events in a different way. For maybe the past 3 events we merged live reading rehearsal day with actual event day (they used to be separate), so that means a few hours before the actors do their thing I’m with them somewhere else as they rehearse. This means I don’t see or experience half of what’s going on at the event. I read the recaps and see the posts though and I’m glad people are having fun? Haha. Thank you, everyone, for making #romanceclass what it is.

A post shared by Mina V. Esguerra (@minavesguerra) on May 3, 2017 at 7:56am PDT

Rehearsal is somewhere else and it’s paper and highlighters, eyewear, looking up how words are pronounced, summarizing novels, suggesting how to say certain things, figuring out the order like a playlist. It’s fun work. It’s still amazing to me how it goes from this, to the actual performance. Educators, let me just say — this exercise has taught me so much about writing and connecting to readers. Plus fun. I already said that.

#aprilfeelsday2017 #romanceclass So guess what: We can’t do tables anymore. There are just THAT MANY books. We need shelves. (Unicorns not for sale) Photo from @thebiancamori

A post shared by Mina V. Esguerra (@minavesguerra) on May 3, 2017 at 8:00am PDT

 

#aprilfeelsday2017 #romanceclass Thanks for welcoming people to the event @dementedchris