You’ve read these first from the #HeistClub story bundles released on Buqo early this year. Now get to enjoy them on their own!
THE GUNG HO LADY by Arlene Manocot
DARKNESS is buried within the deepest part of her soul. A blurry past unceasingly haunts her passive and calm universe and her distorted mind is a burden she can’t get over with. Involved in a murder case, will she be able to prove her innocence?
Margaux Dela Cruz has always viewed the world as a place for repentance. A place to pay the debt of sins, a place where humans pay the price of being alive. The price that can never be sufficed by anyone in this world and while praying for the permanency of her everlasting solitude, men, creatures from another herd, appears and bedlam begins to ensue in her once placid life.
A story of Sins. Repentance. And Love.
Complete excerpt here.
Arlene Manocot is a fiction writer and poet. She writes stories in English and 
Filipino with a fusion of fantasy, mystery, thriller and romance. Writing stories keeps her going.
The Gung Ho Lady is her second published book.
Blogsite: writinganddlovinit.blogspot.com
Facebook: facebook.com/manocot.arlene
Twitter: @arlenemanocot
THE FLAME SQUAD: SLY PRINCE by Jessica E. Larsen
Blaze Romano’s life has gone exactly according to plan. He managed to get away from his miserable life on the streets of Manila. He won the heart and married Luella, a wealthy heiress of the Mondragon family from Cebu City. There’s just one thing left, kill Luella, and get all that wealth for himself.
Things were going smoothly, but Luella’s half-brother, Cidro’s unexpected return from Spain ruined years of planning. Everything went downhill for Blaze, and he soon found himself in a sticky situation. But as his life flashes before his eyes, someone he least expected appeared in his mind. Luella, the woman who changed his life and started it all.
Read the excerpt here.
Jessica is an author of contemporary romance, YA, NA and Paranormal stories. She’s a hopeless romantic, who will forever be young at heart. She enjoys traveling a lot, drawing inspiration from places she visits and interesting people she encounters. She loves to read and writes in different genres and spends hours arguing with her characters. At times, she likes playing the villain and gives them a taste of hell when they refused to listen to her demands.
http://www.jessicaelarsen.com/
https://www.facebook.com/authorJessicaELarsen/
https://twitter.com/jessicaelarsen
THE FRAUD HUNTER BOOK 1: CHASING AN ATM SCAMMER
by Racquel Sarah A. Castro
Gabe Jacinto is assigned to capture a lady ATM Schemer, Teri Francisco. When Teri heard that he was dating the beautiful Carrie Rios, she plots on using her to trap the fraud hunter. Will Gabe risk his life and money to save Carrie even though he knows her true identity?
Excerpt here.
Racquel Sarah A. Castro is living with Cerebral Palsy. She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology in AMA Computer College-Binan Campus. She wrote When Fate Speaks Big Time, Second Sight to Forever, and Encyclopedia Mystique. Racquel is a geek, a math tutor, a food addict, a web designer, and a free lance programmer. You can email her: racquelcastro2884@gmail.com Mobile number: +639325724801
THE RETREAT by Yeyet Soriano
THE WRITERS’ RETREAT
What would you be willing to do to secure a publication deal of a lifetime from the biggest publisher in the country?
The challenge: You have to write a true-to-life crime story set in the Philippines. The case should not be completely resolved. At least 75 percent of the manuscript needs to be completed within thirty days. You have to be willing to go on a week-long writers’ retreat in an undisclosed location to discuss your manuscript and be critiqued by the other participants. Afterward, you have to be ready to revise and edit the manuscript for final publication.
The prize: Enough money to retire and just write with a guaranteed platform for release locally and internationally.
The catch: You can’t breathe a word to anyone. Post anything on social media and you are out. You will be asked to sign a nondisclosure agreement and a release that removes any responsibility from the organizers should anything untoward happens to you. You will not be allowed to bring any gadgets to the retreat. You will be completely cut off.
So . . . are you game?
Read more here.
Yeyet Soriano has been writing her entire life. Though the themes of her written works have changed over the years, she held on to one truth—she needed to write to keep the voices in her head at bay. Her day job is that of an IT manager in charge of the Asia-Pacific region for a multinational corporation. She is married to a man who reads only to fall asleep, and they have three wonderful kids—two of whom love to read and one, only starting to learn how to read.
List of published works: Turning Points, In My Dreams, The Retreat, Until . . . Whenever.
She has also contributed the following stories to published anthologies: Yeyet (Life in the Middle, A Discovery, 2011); Fairy Queen-In-Waiting (Talecraft Presents Master Story Creators’ Anthology 1, 2016); He Loves Me . . . Not (FLESH, Fixi Novo, 2016).
Contact Yeyet:
yeyetms@gmail.com
http://twitter.com/ysrealm
http://facebook.com/Yeyetsorianowrites
http://www.ysrealm.com
TIL DEATH DO US PART by Irene Nicolas-Recio
They say it takes a lifetime to really really know somebody….
Everything in Nikki’s life is picture perfect: her photography has taken off and is now a thriving business, she is reconnecting with old friends, and her husband is nothing but devoted. What more can she ask for? Life is good.
That is, until she discovers a shocking truth, putting her and her family in danger.
Full excerpt here.
Irene is a stay-at-home mom with a degree in BS Applied Economics and BS Business Management. She found her happiness teaching pre-nursery children and was taking her Masters in Education when she had to put her career on pause to focus on her amazing daughter. She used to do freelance writing for a parenting website and magazines. Earlier this year, she finished her first romance novella, Breakfast with Brie. She has always been fascinated with mystery and crime fiction, and her love for the genre started with Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys.
HIGH STAKES by Chris Nava
Growing up to be the son of a celebrated jeweller, Jose Aguirre and his sister were used to the frivolities of the high society. But, when their mother passed away and their dad on his death bed, Jose can no longer afford the once affluent lifestyle—-more of gambling—-that he once led.
Read more here.
Ana Valenzuela graduated with a degree in AB Literature from UST. She has written for several media outlets. She is currently taking her Master’s from UP.
SAMPAGUITA by Mark Manalang
Japanese expat Keniichi Daimon has conflicting emotions for Manila, his second home. Despite his attraction to its beauty and charm, the crime and corruption seeping deeply into the city has left him nearly apathetic of its future.
When a young flower vendor is kidnapped before his eyes, he decides not to intervene. It was then that his indifference would lead to circumstances that would take away the person he holds dear.
Driven by remorse, Keniichi enters a world where the innocent fall prey to the wiles of the corrupt, privileged, and sinister few. Belittled by the police and spurned by the apathy of the people around him – the same apathy he once showed – he realizes the only way to atone and seek justice is to take matters into his own hands.
“Sampaguita” was first published as part of the #HeistClub 2015 anthology.
Excerpt here.
Mark Manalang describes himself as a “news writer by day, amateur novelist by night, food writer on call, foodie by calling.” He maintains a food blog called “Unlimited Grub Grabs”, and writes on Wattpad under the pen name “Tenkouken”. He also writes news stories for TV5. His dream is to dine at the Shin Yokohama Raumen Museum in Japan, and to write a romance series and a crime series.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MTJManalang
WordPress: https://unlimitedgrubgrabs.wordpress.com/
Twitter: @mtjmanalang
Instagram: @unlimitedgrubgrabs
CLASSIFIED [A PROLOGUE TO LES DAMES DES FLEURS] by Georgette S. Gonzales
Danilo Halili was not an investigative journalist. He was simply a photographer who accompanied the news publication’s events reporter to cover the province-wide festivities. But his curiosity was piqued when he overheard something he was not supposed to hear… and we all know what they say about curiosity killing the cat.
Ramon Tanchangco had no doubt in his mind and in his gut that the victim of the gruesome murder in Quezon was his brother Danilo who had been unable to get back to Manila from his assignment. Angered and aggrieved, all he wanted was to find out who the killers were and why Danilo died the way he did.
He had a vague inkling that there was more to the crime than met the eye and he was ready to expose what that conspiracy could be. If only the French nun would refrain from detaining him at the Couvent du Sacré-Coeur with her hospitality.
Read the excerpt here.
Georgette S. Gonzales is a full time author, residing in a small house somewhere in the Visayas. She has been writing for 12 years now under the pseudonym Edith Joaquin for My Special Valentine (Bookware Publishing, Corp.). This is her first English story to be published online.
Contact her through:
Email jette1013@yahoo.com
Website http://pinaynobelista.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/georgette.pinaynobelista
Twitter @Gette_aka_EJmsv
Instagram @neferjetjet
CORPUS DELICTI by Porcupine Strongwill
Her mum has warned her not to meddle with other people’s business, but thirteen-year-old Miranda just can’t help it. When Aunt Emily confides that her husband has not been at the “military operations” where he said he would be, Miranda proposes to get at the bottom of things. With her witty thinking and the aid of technology and Aunt Emily, Miranda surreptitiously monitors Uncle Trevor’s whereabouts, and what she finds out might actually put the major behind bars.
Read the excerpt.
Porcupine Strongwill is a Messiahn artist from Manila, who adores cats, milk-coffee, and the sound of heels clacking on wooden floor. She is currently the editor of and a contributing writer for PSICOM Publishing’s bestselling series Heartbreakers: Season 2. Her debut book, a poetry collection called “Forgotten Things To Say,” was released in 2014.
“Corpus Delicti” is her first published crime fiction.
SOULMAKERS by J. Guibone
Set in the urban streets of Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines:
Sabrina told Bart not to do it, but he had. Now Bart is missing. And there’s a corpse in his apartment. Sabrina has no other choice but to solve all the clues he left behind, without getting arrested for trespassing, while keeping her OCD under control.
Newly minted NBI Special Investigator Lyla Dixon doesn’t expect to meet her old flame, now private investigator, Hans Blanco at the crime scene. But when the crime reveals more questions than answers, they both have to put aside old hurts and work with someone they’re not even sure they should trust, the enigmatic Sabrina Eugenio, if they’re to have a shot at finding a killer they never thought they’d ever encounter.
Excerpt here.
After teaching for three years as a high school English teacher, Jee Ann decided to pursue her lifelong goal of writing stories for a living. She is currently busy with obtaining a Master’s Degree, running a book blog called The Book Tales, and working on more of her stories.
COME WITH ME by Michael Recto
My name is Moira. I just turned 10. And I also want to turn 11, 12, and 13 too if I can. I couldn’t wish for anything more. I don’t want to meet Nanay yet. She already left us. It made Tatay and me lonely. I don’t want him to be lonely anymore. I don’t want to leave him yet. It makes him sad that I am always in pain. I don’t want him to be sad anymore. I don’t want to cry anymore. Tito Ador and Tita Mena also love me. I don’t want them to be afraid anymore whenever my chest hurts and I vomit blood. They all want to help me get well. I want to help them too so that I can get well. They help me convince my friends to come with me so that I can live. They are such nice friends. They give me their organs so that I don’t have to be sick anymore. My friends are the best.
It’s ok my friends. You can go on ahead to Heaven. Say hi to Nanay for me when you see her.
Can you help me?
I’m not a bad person. I just want to live.
Come with me.
Read the excerpt here.
Michael Recto is a lover of stories, no matter what medium they came from. His ultimate dream is to be able to tell a great story someday. That is why he toils, he sweats, he loses sleep, he bangs his head against a wall, and he jumps over cliffs, just to write the best story he can think of. And so the next time you see Michael Recto talking to himself, gazing up at the sky, dancing to a tune only he can hear, and smiling out of the blue, just approach him and say “hi”. Don’t worry, he doesn’t bite (yet).
email: mogerus@hotmail.com
mobile number: 0929-796-9466
BAYAWAK’S TRAIL by Justine Camacho Tajonera
Marian Malabanan is an anthropology graduate student who just wants to study Manuvu folklore when she becomes embroiled in a murder, or what she considers an assassination, and with the Manuvus’ struggle with a paramilitary group in the hinterlands of Bislig, Surigao del Sur. Far away from friends and family, she can only rely on two people: Nanette Mamaril, her host and a local congresswoman; and the mysterious Gregoire Durant, a photographer and fellow anthropologist, who helps her navigate the dangerous minefield of Lumad ancestral lands and who advises her to keep quiet. Far away from friends and family, she can only rely on a few people: her host, a local congresswoman Nanette Mamaril;, and the mysterious Gregoire Durant, a photographer and fellow anthropologist, who helps her navigate the dangerous minefield of Lumad ancestral lands and who advisesing her to keep quiet. Can Marian figure out who was really behind the murder and would she live to tell her story? Or will her headstrong nature get her buried alongside the murder victims?
Read the excerpt here.
Justine Camacho-Tajonera was born and grew up in Cebu City, Philippines. Despite starting a corporate career in telecommunications, she pursued her masters in Literary and Cultural Studies to keep her close to her first love of writing.
She has had her poetry published in several anthologies and local publications and she has published three books: Artemis Lets Go (novella), A Portrait of Jade (novella) and Gift: Poems, her first collection of poetry. She maintains a blog, Claiming Alexandria.
She works full time at a corporate job in the Philippines, is married, and has two children whom she homeschools with her husband.
justine.tajonera@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Justine-Camacho-Tajonera-Author-Page-144071125674206/
Twitter: @justine_tajo
SNAKEHEAD by Bianca Mori
Where do you run when blood cannot be trusted?
A retired investigator. A single mother. A rebellious son. A murder that rocks the uneasy peace between an informal settlement and a crowded, urban street. The race is on to find the killer – and to protect a small community’s most vulnerable members from harm.
Bianca Mori is the author of “One Night at the Palace Hotel” and “Tame The Kitten.” She is interested in exploring power in romance and enjoys reading about demimondaines, pin-up girls and Jazz Age personalities and hopes to reinterpret these in her stories. She lives with her family and a hyperactive pug.
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