Something was brewed and has now come a-creeping...

So Mina V. Esguerra put up a Paranormal Fantasy, and I took a deep breath and signed up. Time to break out of my comfort zone and see if I can do this. I'm sure other classmates of mine went through that too.

And the result was this:

A Moment Like This (short story) is finally out!

I'm so excited to announce that my first short story, A Moment Like This, has been published along with five other stories for the affordable price of P135 from Buqo.

This wasn't actually the story I expected I'd get published first, as I've been working on several (longer) stories, but I'm just happy to share it with the world!

Kris Mercado and Noel Abad are trapped in a posh resort hotel in Davao City during a particularly bad flood. After spending almost everyday together, they realize that they are undeniably attracted to each other. But reality bites as usual, and they now have to decide whether to chalk their romance up to forced circumstances or to explore what could be the sweetest love they've been looking for...

Excerpt

A few minutes later, Noel came out wearing shorts and a snug shirt. His legs were quite hairy, and she caught a glimpse of his trim stomach when his t-shirt lifted as he dried his hair. Kris told herself to quit staring or he might think she’s the maniac.

He laid down on the bed, made himself comfortable, and closed his eyes before acknowledging her statement. “Okay, what do you want?” he said tiredly.

“That’s it, what do I want?” she asked incredulously.

He looked at her and raised both eyebrows. “It’s not as if I don’t know what to not do such as not stare at your legs if you wear shorts,” he said innocently, but his eyes held a teasing gleam.

Kris flushed. “Touché. Okay, no staring. No going to each other's beds. No undressing in front of each other, no leaving dirty clothes on the floor. I don’t want to see your underwear!”

“What makes you think I wear any?” he said, closing his eyes again.

A novella, a short story and an even shorter one

I've been keeping busy with writing lately!

I joined the #buqosteamyreads class (read about my experience in the link!) to learn more about writing and romance tropes and for experience. I am proud to say I hit the 5000 minimum word requirement (my word count is about 10,000 now) but of course I can't objectively say that it is a stellar, budding best-seller short story that will soon be sold in the Buqo store. I am just glad I reached my goal, and I really tried to make it the best I could. However, I can't think of a title yet, and I'm still unsure as to who can and will make my cover for the cost of, let's say, peanuts.

The experience was beyond my comfort zone. Writing an adult story with a heat of level 3 was beyond my norm. Honestly, I never even imagined that I'll be writing something smutty! But I told myself it's a challenge, and I wanted to rise up to it. My journey towards my finishing my story was made enjoyable by my #buqosteamyreads classmates on Twitter, as well as our face to face classes. The whole thing was a very memorable experience, and probably something I'll tell my kids about in the very far, far future.

But watch out for that, and hopefully I can announce the title, the selling price, and the cover in this blog! I'm really excited for this, and I am super grateful to Mina V. Esguerra, our mentor, and the Buqo team for sponsoring our venture.

Aside from the #buqosteamyreads class, I am also aiming to join the Luna East Arts Academy Volume 2 anthology. I have so far written a short story somewhere over 2,200 words, and I am hoping it will be included in the Volume 2, which is still up in the air at the moment, actually. I'm just...excited.