Tag: SparkNA

#SparkPlugs || EXCERPT: Simply Joei by Clare Elisabeth Marquez

First things first: Don’t forget to follow #SparkPlugs on Twitter to see the rest of the Spark Books line-up in this blog series!

Do take that trip to your nearest National Bookstore or Powerbooks or go ONLINE to get your print copy of Simply Joei, then add and/or rate it on Goodreads. ♥

Simply Joei by Clare Elisabeth Marquez
Pay -up Time! Or Is it?

One never gives up on true love. So Jake didn’t.

Holding on to the one that shouldn’t have gotten away, gorgeous Jake Calleja – engineer, entrepreneur and all-around hunk of a man – brings up old debt to bring in possibilities of future love with the beautiful and elusive Josephine Telencio. The two had a brief but unforgettable “history” in college, a past that Jake would seek to bring back in order to bring his “Joei” back in his life. To face their “unfinished past” entails a make-believe relationship for the sake of an ailing matriarch, an unforgettable country drive into the heart of the storm, a family drama of the queen mother and the wicked sisters, the inevitable supermodel ex, and lots of sparks in between.

A story of second chances and risking it all for a journey to a lifetime love – Jake and Josephine will take you to laughs and tears, to the highs and lows, to knowing when to hold on … or to let go.

Are things better left in the past? Or will true love prevail in the future?

Excerpt:
Continue reading #SparkPlugs || EXCERPT: Simply Joei by Clare Elisabeth Marquez

#SparkPlugs || EXCERPT: Midnights in Bali by Carla de Guzman

First things first: Don’t forget to follow #SparkPlugs on Twitter to see the rest of the Spark Books line-up in this blog series!

Do take that trip to your nearest National Bookstore or Powerbooks or go ONLINE to get your print copy of Midnights in Bali, then add and/or rate it on Goodreads. ♥

Midnights in Bali by Carla de Guzman
Ava Bonifacio has always been the girl with The Plan —a life plan that would give her everything she’s ever wanted, including becoming a lawyer, a role she was sure she was born into. Sure, her determination may be seen as heartlessness, but Ava doesn’t care. What she does care about is getting into law school —but she doesn’t. She cares about her boyfriend Matteo—who breaks up with her.

In an act of desperation, Ava books herself a ticket to Bali and tries to get over her own failures. In Bali she meets Scott McLeod, a rude and grumpy Scottish traveler who thinks there’s a lot more to Ava than meets the eye.

But as Ava reveals more about herself, she finds Scott slowly pulling away from her. He was never part of The Plan, but Ava is determined to make sure he doesn’t slip away.

Excerpt:

Continue reading #SparkPlugs || EXCERPT: Midnights in Bali by Carla de Guzman

#SparkPlugs || EXCERPT: Sounds Like Summer by Six de los Reyes

First things first: Don’t forget to follow #SparkPlugs on Twitter to see the rest of the Spark Books line-up in this blog series!

Do take that trip to your nearest National Bookstore or Powerbooks or go ONLINE to get your print copy of Sounds Like Summer, then add and/or rate it on Goodreads. ♥

Sounds Like Summer by Six de los Reyes
It’s not just a weekend for Lux Castelo. She has a plan, of course.

Phase One: Escape to the beach for a music festival.
Phase Two: Deal with what she can’t control.
Phase Three: Return to reality whole and ready.

Nowhere in that plan is Micah Jacinto, self-proclaimed adventurer and the kind of boy with his head stuck in the clouds and the moon inked on his arm—everything her rational sense tells her to stay away from. And yet Lux finds herself welcoming the distraction. As they spend the entire weekend together, Micah leads her to rediscover the lost pieces of herself amidst the excitement and the confusion of a raving mosh pit.

But all weekends come to an end and Lux needs to return to the dreaded reality she’s running away from. Does being brave enough to leave summer behind mean being brave enough to ask Micah to stay?

Excerpt:

Continue reading #SparkPlugs || EXCERPT: Sounds Like Summer by Six de los Reyes

Ain’t No Party Like a #SparkNA Party

June 6. National Bookstore Super Store, Cubao. SparkNA: Last Day.

[ cue orchestra music with matching flashing lights and creepy humming ]

Me, being dramatic: While SparkNA classes were ongoing, it felt like the days were going by so quickly, that two months was way too short to finish a novella. When it was over, I felt as if we’ve all been doing this together for years. And it felt like I was saying goodbye to a bunch of long time friends.

Me, being spazzy: I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE IT, BUT I FINISHED! 31,000+ words. How even?

Congratulations to all my other classmates who finished, and to those who kept going even when things were going wrong and it was getting difficult to write. Finish it! You can still submit. This isn’t the end. Let’s get that thing out there no matter what! ♥

Me, being sentimental: I took photos, like the stalker that I am. Mostly for those who didn’t come, because reasons.

Me, being realistic: StrangeLit is coming soon, and HeistClub after. No one knows exactly what 2016 has in store for us (except maybe Ms. Mina). But I bet we’ll all be waiting with bated breath, too excited for whatever the next class may be.

And then we’ll be alive on twitter again, stress out again, go nuts again, create another monster out of a hashtag again–it’s going to be EPIC.

For now, let’s chill. Because we can finally get some sleep!

Yeah, no. Who am I kidding? It’s time to plot.

Introducing: The Month-old #SparkNA Monster

March 17. I got my first official e-mail from Ms. Mina with information on what I’m supposed to do to be able to proceed.

This is what it opened with: Thanks for signing up to join SparkNA! We will be writing a New Adult novella together, from April 6 to June 6. Anvil’s Spark Books imprint is sponsoring this online class and they may make an offer to publish and distribute the stories they like. I hope we give them a lot of wonderful books!

I was terrified. I think I said this in my Activity 1 entry, too, how scared I was–and still am.

But thanks to the very supportive #SparkNA tag on twitter (which is also right over there on the right side of the page :p), I discovered that I was not alone in this. Even previously published authors felt the fear, the uncertainty; heard that small voice telling them that going into this might not have been the best idea ever.

I’m pretty sure we’ve all come to the conclusion though that yes, Best. Idea. Ever.

I mean, I never thought I would meet newRunning Word Total (actual, real people) friends, but I did. The friends I went into this with in the beginning, we’ve all learned so much about writing and each other as writers, it’s insane. The thought of writing 20,000 words in 2 months seemed impossible (like, seriously dude, stop playin’), and yet I’m already past the 12,000-word mark in a month!

Great things have happened since I decided to sign-up for SparkNA, and they continue to happen. And it’s amazing.

We all want to finish. I’m sure we all want to get published, too. But after everything that has happened, I don’t think any of us will come out of this experience as losers. We’ve gained more than we expected already.

And no matter what, by June 6, we will all be better (and braver) writers than we were before. ♥