Last June 25 was the launch of #HeistClub which features crime fiction novellas available in Buqo and Amazon for the story bundles and standalones respectively. Being part of the vibrant indie author community means supporting author friends who release their books into the world, and I couldn’t be more proud and happy for my friends who are trailblazing in this fiction category. We don’t have that much Filipino-authored crime fiction stories, but thanks to Mina V. Esguerra, the people behind Bronze Age Media, and Buqo, Filipinos can now read more stories in this genre.
The Philippine Speculative Fiction X Book Launch

Not only is the summer season turning out to be scorching, but so is our recently concluded national elections. Let me just take a break from the political hoopla to relive my amazing weekend when I attended the book launch for the Philippine Speculative Fiction X last May 7th at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf in Edsa Shangri-La.
The event was also cause for celebrating a decade (!!!) of the literature of the fantastic with this latest installment. Each year there are calls for submission and each year we have amazing anthologies showcasing the best of the best stories of the fantastic. I’m grateful I was able to attend this year’s launch and what fun it was!
Let’s Talk About Sports Romance

I had every intention to skip the sports romance discussion organized by Mina V. Esguerra simply because I don’t read a lot of sports romances. It’s not that I avoid reading it, but the list of books that I’ve read with that kind of “theme” was pretty dismal. And because I’m not really into sports so it’s not something I actively look for in the romances I read. But I showed up anyway because I had other reasons to be there.
The 5th Filipino ReaderCon: Fun, Friends, Feels
I attended almost every ReaderCon (with the exception of last year’s as it fell on a weekday), but this year’s event was special to me because of a lot of things.
1. Selling books & being part of a writing community

Being part of #romanceclass and the Romance Writers of the Philippines opened up my world to a lot of new friends, opportunities, and other fun things I wouldn’t have accomplished on my own. It was also a thrilling experience to be able to sell my books, meet new readers, and just hang out with fellow indie authors. Just look at our lovely booth! Who would’ve thought we were all running under less than 5 hours of sleep with all that energy?
Bookish Things + Reader Con 2015
I’ve been on a two-week long vacation from Singapore and I’m still trying to re-adjust back to the beehive of activity as Reader Con approaches. There’s just so many things to do! But this kind of busyness is something I thoroughly enjoy as it involves everything bookish. Here’s what’s been happening so far:
Luna East Anthology is out in book stores!
Sometime last year, I wrote a short story set in a fictional prep school called Luna East Arts Academy. Together with fellow authors, we collaborated to bring about an anthology set in this imagined universe reminiscent of our experiences in high school. We even had a book launch! And now it’s in book stores! How awesome is that? Hope you can get your copies at your nearest Powerbooks branches. I’ll keep tabs if Fully Booked and National Book Store carries them already.