Mina V. Esguerra's Blog, page 69

Filipinos on my reading list

This year is shaping up to be the year of the Filipino author, at least as far as my reading list is concerned.So far I've read...Marla Miniano: Every Girl's Guide to Flings and Table for TwoMelissa Dela Cruz: Blue Bloods and MasqueradeVince O. Teves: Getting Over Andrea and The WeddingMiguel Syjuco: IlustradoAndrea Pasion: Have Baby, Will DateMaya O. Calica: Undercover Tai TaiClaire Betita: No

Proof!

So this was in the mail for me today! It's the proof of Fairy Tale Fail from CreateSpace, the company that's helping me work out the print publishing side of this experiment.The cover (photographed by Bianca Pascual and designed by Michael Co) came out as pretty as I imagined it to be. There's a slight color mismatch but that's my fault, and it's a consequence of using a gradient for the

A hundred hugs

Recently, I mentioned on a Goodreads discussion thread what I discovered once I had something published: Pinoys read, but they don't talk or write about it as much.I post nearly every review of my books I can find, and to this day there aren't a lot. There are a few new ones, like the reviews from Laura, Janine and Cienne of My Imaginary Ex on Goodreads. But it's always been a quiet thing, and I

And that makes four

I just put the draft of Love Your Frenemies to bed. It's the one about Kimmy (from My Imaginary Ex) and the act of finalizing it gave me a bit of deja vu.Eleven months ago, LYF was a complete draft ready for review -- until I asked my editor not to work on it. It's been a difficult story from the start (because Kimmy is hateful and I needed to keep her that way) but even when I finished it,

Works in progress

So now I'm learning that if I want to reach out to new audiences for my work, I have to really put myself out there as a writer. I mean, really out there. This led to the creation of the Facebook page, the Multiply site, the Twitter account, the Goodreads page (the latest one, by the way -- add me!), and the Amazon author page. Because of all this online real estate, I have to now talk about

A good year

My Imaginary Ex was reviewed at Sumthinblue's blog, including other Summit chick lit books. Feedback from readers feels great every time, but it's a tiny bit cooler when they hit on something I totally intended, or point out something that I didn't even realize. Her review has a bit of both.Also, a shoutout to Chessie, who sent a lovely text message this week after reading the book. Will consider

The Indie Spotlight

Fairy Tale Fail is being featured on The Indie Spotlight, like right now. My thanks to them for all they're doing to get the word out for indie authors and publishers.A snippet:What inspired you to write the book?The book's plot and characters were inspired by stories my friends and I would share about dating. I think the tendency for some women is to hold on too tightly to someone they think is

Now in editing

Finally finished the draft for what I've been calling the "FF Project." It's called Fling Flop, and it's about a 29-year-old girl who goes out with a 24-year-old guy.The idea for it came from a friend. I wish her the best. :)

Fairy Tale Fail's Google Books page

Oh look! A way to browse pages of Fairy Tale Fail in case Amazon and Smashwords aren't enough for you. Google Books has made the book entirely searchable (handy if you want to know if I used your name in a good/bad way), but not all pages can be read online.The "Buy this book" link is a bit wonky, though. The only link that really works is the one with Mina V. Esguerra on it, which leads to

Consider me persuaded

I have to admit, I was going through the motions while reading Jane Austen's Persuasion. I've read Pride and Prejudice and Emma recently, and because I tend to see them occurring in the same universe, I became lazy when I read the latest one.So I was ho-humming through maybe 80% of this novel... and then I got to THAT SCENE. (You know, when Anne and Harville were talking about men and women and