WiP [Work in Progress]

Thoughts and ramblings of a Filipino author

How Busy People Are Finding Time to Care

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The trick is to make it a part of your busy-ness.

By night, DJs Sunny Bonner and PJ Paradise of the Las Vegas-based duo WeRWolvz are making clubs come alive with their powerful music. But once in a while, they find themselves in Manila not just to energize the local club scene but also to help children by volunteering their time and talents. The current editor-in-chief of Good Vibes PH, Kai Magsanoc, established her own start-up to spread positive news amidst today’s sea of dismal messages. Brian Bantugan, an educator, artist, and nature builder, is in the best position to spread progressive ideas and concepts among his numerous students in St. Paul University. EJ Miranda, Red Bull marketing executive, shared his time and musical abilities to teach children how to play the piano. While independent music and visual artist Amiya Velayo, who sings for and about children, expressed the importance of sharing her own time and that of her future child to help these underprivileged children.

They are some of the people who spent an entire morning with Virlanie Foundation’s young beneficiaries on June 20, 2015 in Makati City, Philippines. They are busy, highly-creative, jet-setting individuals who are finding time to care for others by making helping not just a one-time activity, but a part of their hectic lifestyle. They have realized that a strong culture of caring is worth more than fame or money.

Virlanie Foundation, Inc. wishes to thank friends who supported the event: Paris Delice, Wasabi Warriors, Taters, Good Vibes PH, Glaiza of www.moomymusings.com, Shalene of www.purplepieces.com, Lani of www.kamikazeegirl.com, and Red Bull Philippines.

Supporting Virlanie’s #HelpOurBabies campaign

Last June 1, Virlanie launched a fundraising drive to raise support for its Babies and Toddlers Home, the residence for its child beneficiaries aged 0-5 years old. As part of the Foundation’s strategy, Virlanie organized an open-house activity for bloggers, members of the media, and artists. The 3-hour event was made memorable with musical performances from the artists and Virlanie’s very own French volunteers. The guests also picked books to read to the young listeners. And right before meal time, they spent some time outdoors playing with the children.

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Virlanie Foundation continues its call for support for #HelpOurBabies. This campaign will run until June 30, 2015 as it aims to gather more financial donations to help the Foundation continue its work with the babies and toddlers. All donations will go towards providing the children with three square meals a day, milk and snacks, healthcare, clothing, shelter and other basic needs. For details on how you can help, please visit www.virlanie.org/HelpOurBabies

Virlanie invites everyone to strengthen our culture of caring, not only to raise money for its own programs, but to influence more people to make helping a part of their lifestyle.

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For more information, please get in touch with:

Ime Morales, Head of Communication

info@virlanie.org / 895-3460

Note: I am not simply a romance author and this blog is not simply for my authoring endeavors. Like I mentioned on my home page, I blog about anything and everything. Especially for issues/organizations/groups/causes that I wish to extend help to. If you think you can help, feel free to reblog this post. Thank you.

#MoreLoveInPH: Romance Writers of the Philippines’ 1st Multi-Author Online Bash

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We all talk about supporting local authors, but finding authors we enjoy reading who have books available to us can sometimes be a challenge. The writers behind Romance Writers of the Philippines have recognized the difficulty facing many authors today, whether traditionally or independently published, and they formed the organization with the goal of “working toward better written, better edited, better produced, and better marketed romance novels by Pinoy writers.”
To this end, the org will be hosting a party in honor of some of its member writers, and they’re inviting anyone who wants to read more romance by Filipino authors and discover new authors to follow to come join in the fun!

MoreLoveinPH-MultiAuthorBash-photo

Here are the party details:
What: #MoreLoveInPH: Romance Writers of the Philippines’ 1st Multi-Author Online Bash
When: Saturday, June 27 (10AM-9PM), and Sunday, June 28 (10AM-9PM)
Where: bit.ly/MoreLoveInPH

Here’s what participants can expect to do the bash:

  • Learn about and interact with local romance authors (authors will be doing one-hour takeovers throughout the weekend)
  • Join contests for bookish freebies—one author is giving away a free ebook for every person who comments during her takeover!
  • Support local authors! Writers don’t always get as much love as you should, so it’s great if you just drop by and tell them how intrigued you are by the book you just learned about or even how much you enjoyed a book of theirs that they read! RWP will also be sponsoring random giveaways for participants who invite their friends and who are active during the weekend-long event.

Not sure how to join? It’s easy! Just follow these three steps:

  1. Visit the Facebook event page for #MoreLoveInPH: .
  2. Confirm that you’re going to the event by clicking on “Join”
  3. On the days of the event, drop by the event page—authors will be posting ice breaker games (with giveaways to be raffled off to commenters), info on where to follow them and on their latest books, and more!
  4. Optional: Invite your friends to join the party too! Then on the morning of June 27 or anytime during the course of the event, have them nominate or vote for you for the top inviter on RWP’s post—top inviters will get swag and GCs!

And just to give you an idea of who will be participating in the bash, check out the takeover schedule below:

Saturday, June 27

10AM-11AM Romance Writers of the Philippines (Kick-Off)

11AM-12NN Ines Bautista Yao
Author of One Crazy Summer, What’s in your Heart, Only a Kiss, Flashbacks and Echoes, Plain Vanilla, and A Captured Dream (from Sola Musica: Love Notes from a Festival)

12NN-1PM Cassandra Javier
Author of The Path of Us

1PM-2PM Fay Sebastian
Author of Waiting for Whatever

2PM-3PM Carla de Guzman
Author of Cities and Marry Me, Charlotte B!

3PM-4PM Edith Joaquin
Author of Once Upon A Dream, Heracles Marasigan, Ace Crisostomo, Love In Disguise, A Piece of Heaven, Ikaw Pala Ang Minahal, Patunayan Mong Mahal Mo Ako, and Kuwentong Pag-Ibig Lang

4PM-5PM Bianca Mori
Author of In too Deep, Tame the Kitten, and One Night at the Palace Hotel

5PM-6PM Claire Du
Author of Heart Choices and He Loves Me…Not? from Kids These Days: Luna East Volume 1

6PM-7PM C. P. Santi
Author of Be Careful What You Wish For

7PM-8PM Ana Tejano
Author of Fall Like Rain

8PM-9PM Chrissie Peria
Author of All’s Fair in Blog and War, The Kitchen When It Sizzles, All I Want for Christmas (with Chris Mariano and Miles Tan), Hot Like This (with Chris Mariano and Miles Tan), Sitting in a Tree from Kids These Days: Luna East Volume 1

Sunday, June 28

10AM-11AM Miles Tan
Author of Finding X, All I Want for Christmas (with Chris Mariano and Chrissie Peria), Hot Like This (with Chris Mariano and Chrissie Peria), Something Real from Kids These Days: Luna East Volume 1

11AM-12NN Marian Tee
Author of My Werewolf Professor, the Moretti and Caro novels, the Greek Billionaire Romance serials, the Brimstone & The Master and His Soul Seer Pet series, the Boys with Billion-Dollar Trust Funds (BBFS) series, the Heart Racer Books, and more

12NN-1PM Eve Montelibano (Official)
Author of the Megastar trilogy (Megastar, Stargazer, Written in the Stars), Sweet Downfall (Boxed set including Sex, Lies and Video Tape and Two World Collide), and The Billionaire and the Pop Diva series (Drive Her Crazy, Drive Him Wild)

1PM-2PM Kristel S. Villar
Author of Blast from Two Pasts, The Rumor About Me from Kids These Days: Luna East Volume 1, Barely Even Friends

2PM-3PM Mina V. Esguerra
Author of Playing Autumn, Fairy Tale Fail, Sola Musica, Welcome to Envy Park, Love Your Frenemies, That Kind of Guy, My Imaginary Ex, No Strings Attached, the Interim Goddess of Love trilogy, the Young and Scambitious series, The Harder We Fall, Never Just Friends, and more

3PM-4PM Six de los Reyes
Author of Just for the Record and After the Moment

4PM-5PM A.S. Santos
Author of SPRG (Student Paranormal Research Group) trilogy: Voices in the Theater, Corpse in the Mirror, and Darkness in the World

5PM-6PM Racquel Sarah Castro
Author of When Fate Speaks Big Time and Second Sight to Forever

6PM-7PM Stella Torres
Author of Save the Cake and Be Creative from Kids These Days: Luna East Volume 1

7PM-8PM Angela Pangilinan
Author of The Gift of Love, Hanggang Wakas, The Only Exception, Nang Muling Umibig Ang Puso, and When You Say Nothing at All

8PM-9PM Romance Writers of the Philippines (Last Hurrah)

Blog Tour: BuqoYA presents Finding Fairytales

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Hey hey hey! It’s the buqoYA short story bundles blog tour and it’s time for my stop. Cheers to fellow Filipino authors, here’s bundle number three!

Only on buqo.ph. P45 for the whole bundle!

Buqo YA Bundle 3: Finding Fairytales

We all want the happy ending, the dream come true. But what if it doesn’t happen? How far would you go to get that “ever after?” Would you change who you are? Would you swallow your pride? Is the story really going to be as perfect as you think? Follow the path of these characters and see where they lead.

Fall for Grace by Anne Plaza

Aso’t pusa, away-bati…

Sino sa inyo ang unang aamin?

Meet Grace Almeda—the darling of Luna East Arts Academy—maikukumpara sa isang artista sa hitsura, reputasyon, at katarayan. At heto si Jason Jacinto—the resident school genius—kilala rin sa pagiging go-to person ng mga estudyanteng problemado sa pag-aaral. Nang magkabanggaan ang kanilang maliit at magkaibang mundo, napilitan si Grace na hingin ang tulong ni Jason sa isang mala-life or death na sitwasyon. Mukha ngang pumuti na ang uwak dahil dumating ang araw na kinailangan ni Little Miss Spoiled Brat si Boy Genius. Pero ang hindi alam ni Grace ay may dahilan ang lahat sa likod ng pang-aasar at pambubwisit ni Jason. At sa ‘di inaasahang pangyayari, may isang mahuhulog ang loob para sa isang naghihintay lang ng tamang pagkakataon.

Si Anne Plaza ay mula sa Lungsod Quezon at nakapagsulat ng isang chick lit novella, ang In Over Her Head (2013). Ang Fall for Grace ay ang una niyang kathang YA romance. Nagtatrabaho siya bilang isang marketing associate para sa isang ad agency at malimit siyang nagsusulat kahit hindi pa tapos ang kanyang shift. Nakahiligan na niyang magbasa ng Tagalog romance novels (noong kapanahunan pa nina Helen Meriz, Jo-An Solis, Gilda Olvidado, atbp.) at nakapag- publish na rin ng apat na akda sa ilalim ng My Special Valentine.

Blog | Twitter | Facebook

Just the Way You Are by Kat Sales

Rica Valdez has always been one of the guys, so it was hard for her to find a prom date. When her new friend and crush Joshua Fernandez volunteered to take her to the prom, she wondered if he liked her back too, or was he just being nice?

Writer :: Thinker :: Problem Solver

Blog | Twitter

Love in the Time of Viral Videos by R. Linea

Like. Retweet. Follow. Fall in Love?

They say that that the things we own tend to own us in the long run. Today, at a time when we’re connected 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, social media has helped shaped who we are, how we want to be seen and how we deal with other people. And if that’s the case, then who knows us better than our own social media accounts? This is the story of Patch and Sebastian who met in real life, as told by their digital selves. This is their story in the time of #hashtags, inspiration boards, and viral videos.

The First Time They Met by Ana Valenzuela

What’s making Mayumi anxious on her best friend’s birthday party?

Is it her long time best friend Marie? Marie is now in college, and Mayumi starts to doubt their friendship as Marie meets new people and gets closer to them.

Or is it this basketball player named Micah? A guy she recently met and who has turned into an overnight confidant.

Ana Valenzuela is a graduate of AB Literature from UST. She has written for several magazines and online news blogs.

Blog | Twitter

The Path of Us by Cassandra Javier

Are our paths already laid out for us, or can we make them ourselves?

Can fairytales actually come true?

Clara has always been fond of fairytales and grand gestures. She always had a plan of how she’d like her life to turn out, and that’s why she worked hard to be on top of the class, and make sure that she has her real life Prince Charming to boot.

And then there’s Andrew.

Andrew’s always been the easy go lucky guy, but that doesn’t mean that he’s not smart and appealing; it’s just that he chooses to go through life in a fuss-free, no nonsense way.

When Andrew and Clara’s paths meet, things don’t exactly go easy. They hated each other with a passion, but then they got to share unexpected moments, and end high school with a memory that they’ll never forget. In college, they lose each other, and Clara has to go through the hardest things on her own–until a trip back home sends them to each other’s paths again.

Will they ever be able to understand their role in each other’s lives?

Or will they just get out of each other’s lives for good?

Cass is a cat lady who graduated with a degree in Broadcasting and has worked as a copywriter, a researcher in an IT company, a call center agent and was even a trainee for a time in a television network. She writes articles for a living. When not writing articles, she writes novels, fanfiction, short stories and whatever she may think of. She loves TV series, movies, music, and is a very big bookworm. She’s also addicted to butterflies, faeries and Ice Cream.

Blog | Twitter | Facebook

When Cocoy Became Kikay by C. P. Santi

Cocoy’s not-so-secret dream is to one day become a gun-toting, ass-kicking secret agent. But she has another dream—and this time, even her best friends don’t have a clue—she dreams of being with someone.

Problem is, she finds out that Jaime Arguelles—a.k.a. the guy she’d been secretly crushing on for years—likes girls who . . . well . . . like pink.

To Cocoy’s logical mind, there’s only one solution: it’s time to go girly. After all, how hard can it be?

C.P. Santi is a Filipina author based in Tokyo, Japan. She is a wife to an engineer/musician/jokester and a full-time mom to two energetic boys. She loves cooking and baking, and enjoys feeding people, gorging on chocolate, watching J-doramas, belting it out in the karaoke box, and running around the house playing tickle tag. She also loves dreaming up stories about the people she meets.

In another life, she is also an architect and academic.

Her first book, Be Careful What You Wish For, is a contemporary romance based in Tokyo.

Blog | Twitter | Facebook

There you have it! Want to read more? Here are excerpts for all stories.

Want to participate as a blog host? Click here for details.

Here’s the fun part…

Want to win lovely prizes? Click here. Buqo is giving away one powerbank to a lucky Philippine resident. Isn’t that great?

Support our own. Get your bundles! There are four more bundles from the rest of the YA authors: Taking Chances, Sweet Complications, Heart Choices, and Perfect Moments.

Happy reading!

She from whence I came

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If I were to describe my relationship with my Mom, I would say it was a wild roller coaster ride. A classic telenovela where this kid (me) wanted to do what she wanted to do and her mother would question why she wanted to do what she wanted. Typical, you know. Such Q&A sessions inadvertently ended up with a fight where the rebel kid (yes, I admit I was rebellious) who had trouble communicating would go against the wishes of mother dear and later on, a bigger fight would ensue. Kid thought, we’d end up arguing and I’d end up being reprimanded anyway, better have my bit of fun and deal with the warden later.

Har har!

Of course, no kid wanted to be restricted. And although even then I could understand how the restrictions were for my own good, it takes a good deal of mistakes committed over years of one’s life before I actually appreciated how it was necessary. No mom wants her child to fall into harm. Unless she was… uhm… sick in the head, I guess. But restrictive or no, moms always wanted what’s best for the children.

Now, I’m 42. Almost at the same age she was when she had to deal with a twenty-something fresh out of school irrational young adult and I can say, especially after living apart for more than a decade, that Mom and I have grown from worst enemies to ideal best friends. The absence from each other’s presence made that so as did the realization that she and I was, is and will always stand on different planes. We both just needed to recognize and understand things from each one’s perspective and respect whatever difference there was.

Mom, I don’t think I have ever said it enough, but I thank you for everything. Things may have been harsh, there were years when we may have been too selfish to acknowledge we wronged each other. But all that has helped shape our relationship and we are stronger than ever, right?

One of the things I will always treasure as a lesson from you were our serious mother-daughter talks (habang binubunutan kita ng buhok sa kilikili) and you would tell me, ‘No sayang thoughts (No regrets).’ In our conversations (okay, fine, you blabbed, I just listened), you harped on and on about reaching my goals, going after what I wanted, staying put wasn’t going to help me – these all helped me be the independent, responsible adult I am now (I hope).

I haven’t been a perfect daughter. God knows I will never be one. But that’s by anybody else’s standards. I am perfect for you, you are perfect for me. We are perfect for our family.

Singapore, 2014

Singapore, 2014

Happy Mother’s Day, Filomena! Thank you eternally for keeping this family together. For being the guiding light for all of us.

A Day For Mom

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Like any other celebration invented by a greeting card company, I would say Mother’s Day should be an everyday celebration. After all, our moms don’t stop being moms at any time in their lives. But well, I guess the purpose of a designated day like this is so we can give mom a special treat, a day off from chores and responsibility and stress.

And so I greet all mothers – single moms, surrogate moms, adoptive moms, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, cousins, sisters-in-law, friends and extended family, my friends’ moms who have been a mom to me in one way or another, dads, too, who have been taking the role of mom in their kids’ lives…

Special greetings and much love to my own mom, my lola, my sis-in-law, my sisters from other mothers,

Happy Mother’s Day!

This song is for you…

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