Author's Friday | Ana Tejano

Our first salvo for 2015 Author's Friday is someone from home and a good friend of mine. Ana Tejano just recently released her debut, Fall Like Rain. I have not given any YA book with a GP rating in a long time, until this one. It has all the feels and love jitters people can relate to in clean details.

Interview: 

The Page Walker: Hello,  Ana! Finally, I get to welcome you here. For my first question, when did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

Ana Tejano: I was in Grade 3. I “met” Elizabeth Wakefield for the first time that year, after I borrowed some Sweet Valley Kids book from a classmate. I think it was the book Jessica’s Big Mistake where I told myself that I could be a writer just like Elizabeth. How hard could it be, right? (Heh) I can’t remember if I started writing stories by that time but I am pretty sure I wrote my first ones by Grade 4. J

TPW: Do you read much, and if so, who are your favorite authors?

AT: Yes! I read even more than I write, I think. :D  My favorite author depends on the genres I read - for YA/Contemporary, I love Sarah Dessen, Sara Zarr, Melina Marchetta, and Sarah Addision Allen. For the non-contemporary/speculative fiction (fantasy, science fiction, etc), I like Jasper Fforde, Mira Grant, Patrick Ness, Ilona Andrews, and Maggie Stiefvater. As for the ones I read for fun and research when writing, my staples are Kristan Higgins, Stephanie Perkins, and Mina V. Esguerra.

TPW: What made you decide to sit down and actually start something?

AT: As far as “starting” is concerned, I suppose I have started writing for a long time, ever since I joined National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) in 2004. But that was really just all “starting” because I never tried to have anything edited or submitted. I told myself that one day, I will finally send something out into the world. Then 2013 came, which I called my “Year of the Brave,” and just in time, Mina V. Esguerra started a free contemporary romance writing class. What’s there to lose, right? I joined, with full intention of really letting something out, and the rest fell into place. J

TPW: What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

AT: I don’t know how interesting this is, but when I write, I need to talk it out with someone, especially when I run into plot holes. I think the act of verbalizing things help me to see it all in other angles that I miss when I keep it to myself. I have three friends who serve as my sounding board when I hammer these things out. They don’t even have to say anything - they just have to listen, and then a few minutes later, I know what to do.

TPW: Where do your ideas come from?

AT: Here’s a secret: some of the things that happened in Fall Like Rain (and in the next few books) were patterned after real life experiences. Some of them are mine, but as they go through the writing and editing process, they changed so much that they don’t resemble its source at all. Some ideas I get from conversations with friends, or stories from my brother and his wedding clients, while others were from books, and Pinoy romance movies. :D

TPW: What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your book?

AT: That it really wasn't so easy. I mean, it seems like it is, especially after some friends did it but really, the middle of the story slayed me a bit. Everything just felt so blah, and even after I have written it, it was hard to revise after my editor sent some comments. Another surprise came after the book was released - apparently, a lot of people could relate to the story. I didn't expect that at all. Must be the friend zone, haha.

TPW: Give us an insight into your main character. What does he/she do that is so special?

AT: Haha, the first thing that came to mind with this question is to say that Rain is a workaholic! But taking it from there, I think I can say that Rain is dedicated and loyal. She’s a bit stubborn and self-absorbed, and she keeps to herself and her closest friends a lot, but she’s loyal to this close circle, and the people she cares for. It would take a while for her to really warm up to people, but once she does, then she’ll be your friend for life (until you give her reasons not to be your friend, but that’s another thing).

TPW: Tell us about the cover/s and how it came about.

AT: I love, love, love this cover. Initially, a friend was supposed to make it, but she got busy, so I thought I’d make it myself since I do some graphics stuff for work. Then I realized that I can’t make it because it will look like something I made for work, so I looked for some artists online. Then I remembered Aia, who I met at one workshop, and remembered that she mentioned building her portfolio on her blog (www.aiaaa.net). I sent her an email, asked if she was interested in making a book cover, and then we started working on it. 
I’m not a cover person, really, so it was kind of hard to come up with a cover idea. I just knew that I wanted one particular scene in the story on the cover, but I didn't know how to interpret it visually. I gave Aia the scene, and some ideas of what that scene was like, and then the colors I wanted. It took us about two iterations before I settled for one, and it was all color adjustments and text after that. I love how it all turned out, and it seems like a lot of people like it, too!

TPW: What draws you to this genre? And do you see yourself writing from a different one (genre)?

AT: I've always called myself a “fluffy” writer, even when I was writing NaNoWriMo novels. This genre is just easier for me to write, especially since I read and enjoy books from that genre as well. I would like to write in a different genre eventually - I still have a fantasy novel idea somewhere in my hard drive, and that dystopia one that I never got to figure out. Perhaps after I've finished the three more contemporary romance novels I have playing in my head. :D

Find Ana Tejano here.

About Fall Like Rain:

Rain De Castro has been in love with her best friend, Mark Velasco, for almost the entire time she has known him, but she’s clearly in the friend zone because he’s happily in a relationship. Or so she thought until the news of his break-up reaches her. Now that Mark’s single again, she decides that it’s time to get out of the zone. But when her cousin Lissa comes into the picture and sets her eyes on Mark, Rain feels troubled when he gets a little too friendly with her. Rain is determined to fight for what she feels this time, but is it worth the effort if it's a losing battle from the start? Will she back off to give way for her best friend's happiness, even if it means losing him to someone else again? 

You may get your digital copy of Fall Like Rain from Amazon, Smashwords, Kobo, B&N, iBooks, and Scribd. For print copies, please click here.

Read more →

2015 Reading Challenge: January

Hi there! Let's welcome the 2015 Reading Challenge Banner. Not that we did not have one last year; but I thought it best to have another one this year for the sake of uniformity.

Last December was hectic, but I managed to squeeze some reading. Although most of them were short stories, two of them were among the best reads I had last year.

Books:

• Close to Famous by Joan Bauer - 4/5⋆  
• Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell - 5/5⋆
• Fall like Rain by Ana Tejano - 3.5/5⋆
• Navigating Early by Clare Vanderpool - a reread

Short Stories:

•  A Faraway Smell of Lemon by Rachel Joyce - 5/5⋆
• The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami - 3.5/5⋆
• The Witch & the Writer by Robin Sloan - 4/5⋆
• The Museum of Literary Souls by John Connolly - 5/5⋆
• The Door to Lost Pages by  Claude Lalumière - 3.5/5 stars

For January, I've chosen:

• The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
• Rest Area: Stories by Clay McLeod Chapman

I am rereading Navigating Early for the 3rd time in preparation for the TFG-F2F this January. You are welcome to join the discussion and the activities.

So, how about you, how are you going to welcome your 2015 Reading Challenge?

Read more →

My Year 2014 in Blogging

2nd Bloggy Birthday

Was it not just yesterday that The Page Walker celebrated its 1st birthday? I believe this calls for some looking back...

In 2014, we interviewed six (6) authors via Author's Friday. We had first dibs on six (6) cover reveals through the First Glimpse. And, Wednesday Spotlight highlighted twelve (12) books from independent authors. While Say It With A Book featured six (6) awesome guest book reviewers with a book of their choice.

I didn't manage to write some book thoughts from last year's reading list. I will do my best to jot them down even though January is going to be very busy for me since I am moderating this month's TFG book.

Last year, I tried to cross-link my blog posts to Facebook, Google+, and Twitter.  It was sort of experimental trying out Twitter. I realized that I can't advise people to use or not to use twitter if I haven't tried it myself. I rarely go there and even rarely post or leave a comment. I believe it works for most people, but I guess I am not up to that sort of social networking, in spite of all the interesting people there. So after a year, I will close my Twitter account. Thank you to those who indulged and added me on their list of friends there.

I'm thinking of changing the blog layout, and I don't have any changes in mind other than that. 

BTW, I am giving away a Kindle copy of Station Eleven: A novel by Emily St. John Mandel. I've viewed a summary of my blog visitors, so raffle will be available for the top 5 followers: Ukraine, US, Canada, Philippines, and Germany. Winners will receive the gift via email.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations, Meliza!

Read more →

My Year 2014 in Reading

Year-ends, as per usual, is always a frenzy. Besides the fact that we have to make a list of gifts and check it twice, we also have to do the same thing with the Media Noche list and book list. And these lists have one thing in common. They symbolize hope for the coming year.

Read more →

SOUP REVIEWS | 4

Short Stories.

  

For days, I have been contemplating how to post these short stories I've read recently. Then, I remember that I have this feature. It had been idle for such a long time, more than a year in fact. So for Nochebuena, we will have some soup... Soup Reviews, that is.

***

The Writer & the Witch by Robin Sloan

   There was this bridge, many tales have crossed it. A curse, a house, a library, a father, and a sacrifice were among them.

He had carved out a strange little kingdom,
there where the river met the road, just beyond the bridge.

When I was young, I enjoyed listening to my mom’s old aboriginal tales. When the night is due, she would stop and I would ask, “What happened next?” She would reply, “That’s for tomorrow night.” And so, it was.

This short story is something like that. A tale weaved intricately, best told before bedtime, or over a campfire. The storyteller will wait for the question, “What happened next?” before she/he will go on. The story deserves to be heard in full- in all its astonishing points, in its saddest moment, and in its fortitude.

Rating: ★★★★

The Door to Lost Pages by Claude Lalumière

   This is a collection of short stories loosely weaved together with one common factor, a bookshop named Lost Pages. Stepping through is like walking into a nightmare, and I meant that both in a good way and a bad way.

Clearly, this book is a spin-off of Paul Di Filippo’s Lost Pages, who also wrote the foreword. I enjoyed Lalumière’s prose and plot. He was able to create an atmosphere fully charged with phantasmagoria, but left enough room to squeeze in some tenderness in the midst of it. I was touched by Aydee’s plight

When the weather was like this,
she felt the world reflected hers sense of place in life:
neither this nor that; neither here nor there;
perpetually on the brink of transformation;
unwilling to settle for just one potentiality.

My biggest issue, I guess, is the sex scenes. I never mind sexual content for as long as they are exquisitely done. I've read American Gods by Neil Gaiman; I was never bothered by the Queen of Sheba’s man-eating vulva. But Lalumière’s sex scenes were tasteless, in my opinion. I know that it is unfair to make comparisons, and the scenes were necessary for the story to move forward, yes, but I cannot shake off the feeling that it was forcibly written in that manner for the sake of adding some spice.

Rating: ★★★½

The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami

   Fushigina Toshokan is the original title for this short story, first printed in 2005. As the title implies, the story is very strange indeed. Told in a dream-like fashion, the protagonist was able to relate his experiences from the bowels of an unidentified city library.

As far as the story goes, a boy had the most terrifying misadventure while borrowing books from a library. There is nothing far special other than how the strangeness was won by the boy with some help from newly earned friends. But like any Murakami books, nothing is as it would seem in his theme of surrealism and loneliness. The full impact of this strange tale comes at the ending. 

The tricky thing about mazes is that you don't know
if you've chosen the right path until the very end.

All of us, young and adults alike, have different ways of coping with loss. The process is sometimes nightmarish. And our boy protagonist is teaching us that no matter how deep and labyrinthine the bowels of loss is, with a bit of hope and bravery, there’s always a way to survive.

Rating: ★★★½

A Faraway Smell of Lemon by Rachel Joyce

   This is a short Christmas story and not a cheery read for the season, but in Joyce’s few words it conveyed a profound understanding of life’s ups and downs.

Everyone around Binny is on the rush, doing their best to finish their last Christmas shopping. Meanwhile, Binny’s feelings are debating whether to succumb to heartbreak or keep a strong front and celebrate Christmas with her children.

No matter how much she rails,
there are some things that are gone forever…
It is enough to have tiptoed to that space beyond the skin,
beyond our nerve endings,
and to have glimpsed things that beforehand we only half knew.

What started as an unpremeditated meeting with a shop girl, tending a small store for household products, turned out to be a compassionate encounter. As much as good things happen, we cannot simply shoo away the bad ones. Such is life. It is never easy, but sometimes it is the small menial things that may help us pull through by reminding us how something worn and dirty can still be revived. 

Rating: ★★★★★

The Museum of Literary Souls by John Connolly

   If only all book lovers may be granted such an opportunity, it is more than awesome.

Mr. Berger was leading a quiet life when he witnessed a woman commit suicide by the train tracks, in the small town of Glossom. No one believed him, especially the police. But a few days later, he saw the same woman again by the train tracks. This time, he was able to stop her and follow her back home… to the library.

It's a natural consequence of the capacity of a bookstore
or library to contain entire worlds, whole universes,
and all contained between the covers of books.
In that sense, every library or bookstore is practically infinite.

John Connolly magically stretched the mystery of bookshelves into doors and rooms of unimagined possibilities. His words are like a web of spells, spinning a tale I don’t want to end. The story was so beautiful and fulfilling, a true delight for a book lover like myself.

Rating: ★★★★★

Read more →

First Glimpse | Shifter's Heart by Desiree Williams

Author Desiree Williams is back with her new book, Shifter's Heart, the sequel to Heart Song, coming January 15, 2015. And as promised, The Page Walker gets to have first peek on the book cover. 

About the book: 

As the flames of Varkadon spread, war rips through the Shifter Territory…

With the Aldonnian kingdom celebrating the news of her brother’s soul-bonding, Laelynn seizes every opportunity to drive herself to the brink of exhaustion. If her body is worn, then her brain would be too tired to dream. Laelynn knew the men who’d captured her were gone from this world, but that didn’t stop the haunting images from plaguing her mind. Not even the pesky thorn-in-her-side Shifter Prince could keep the dreams at bay. Though Dustan’s commentary through their mental bond had kept a lingering smile on her lips, despite the battles that rage within her.

Yet when Dustan distances himself Laelynn questions the connection between them. Those fears rise when her own talents begin to morph and grow into the unexpected. Torn between love and faith, Laelynn strives to find the purpose behind the evolving gifts. What she discovers is far more than she ever imagined.

As tragedy befalls the Shifter Territory and brother battles against brother, Laelynn knows what must be done. Face her demons and triumph, or she’ll never claim the song of her heart. 

Excerpt: 

Dustan stretched as he stood, knocking off the dirt and dried foliage that clung to his pants. The wind picked up speed around him and Dustan stiffened as the hairs on his neck rose. His eyes swept the Clan’s burial site, evaluating the shadows of the nearby woods and memorial monuments. Creaks of branches and the rustling of leaves met Dustan’s ears as the wind whistled through the trees. He breathed deeply, sniffing the air to catch any passing scents. Nothing. Balling his fist, Dustan stepped into a battle stance. Preparing. 

What he hadn’t expected was a bright, blinding light to burst a few feet in front of him. Shielding his eyes with his forearm, Dustan attempted to see beyond the light for a form or bodily outline. His heart skipped a beat when a voice spoke from within it. 

“Dustan, High Prince of the Shifters, mate and heart song to Laelynn, Princess of Aldonnia. The Lord of Heaven has heard your declaration. Do you also vow to love her above all others?” 

The voice, powerful and slightly musical, filled Dustan’s ears and mind. He stood gaping at what was before him. He’d heard stories about Messengers from the Lord of Heaven, but he never believed any of them. The stories were always so farfetched. Too fantastical to be true. 

“Warrior,” the voice sang again, “the princess of Aldonnia will face many things as darkness tries to overcome her. Do you vow to not only protect her, but to love her above all others? To be her light?” The musical voice boomed, and Dustan shook himself from his state of shock. He was Laelynn’s heart song? How? They hadn’t shared a kiss. That he would’ve remembered. Regardless, soul bonded or not, Dustan’s answer would be the same. 

“Yes. I vow myself to Laelynn. I pledge to ensure that she is protected and loved above all others.” As the last words fell from Dustan’s lips the light sped forward, stabbing its way into his chest. Dustan clawed and yelled in vain. Intense pressure built as the Messenger invaded every cell of his being. 

Dustan dropped to the ground. A cry tore from his mouth as searing pain radiated from his back; as though duel blades were cutting a jagged pattern down his spine. Light shone from his eyes and limbs, illuminating the burial site. His chest heaved with labored breaths and a mangled cry passed his lips as he watched his hands form into the impossible. Dustan’s feet and legs following behind them, his entire body morphed into a vision that would haunt him. 

The Messenger slowly detached itself from Dustan, leaving his body to crumble to the ground. Dustan staggered to his feet, tossing his head to clear his mind. As the fog lifted he was again faced with the horrors of his new body. His mind raced to find the logic behind what his eyes were seeing, screaming that it wasn’t possible. That it wasn’t fair. The dreams of life he held just moments ago, gone in an instant. 

A roar of agony ripped through the air. It was no longer a roar of a man, but of a monster. 

Read more about Desiree Williams here.

   

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Raffle winners will be announced on December 19,

 at 9 am EST, 

via Desiree's blog, Facebook and Twitter account.

Read more →

Wednesday Spotlight | The Many Lives of Ruby Iyer by Laxmi Hariharan

About the book:

A girl desperate to rescue her best friend.
A cop willing to do anything to save the city he serves.
A delusional doctor bent on Bombay's annihilation.

When Ruby Iyer's best friend is kidnapped by the despotic Dr. Kamini Braganza, she will do anything to rescue him. Anything, including taking the help of the unpleasant Vikram Roy, a cop on a mission to save Bombay.

The city needs all the help it can get, and these two are the only thing standing between Bombay and its complete annihilation by Doctor Braganza’s teen army.

As Bombay falls apart around them, will Ruby be able to save her friend and the city? Will she finally discover her place in a city where she has never managed to fit in? And what about her growing feelings for Vikram?

Preorder The Many Lives of Ruby Iyer on Amazon.

Read The Ruby Iyer Diaries, the Ruby Iyer prelude, on Wattpad.

About the author:

A near life experience told Laxmi Hariharan to write. She never stopped.

Laxmi is the creator of Ruby Iyer, and the Amazon bestselling, eLit Gold winner The Destiny of Shaitan (Bombay Chronicles, 1). She has been a journalist and a global marketer with NBCU and MTV. Laxmi also blogs for Huffington Post, among others.

London is where she writes. Bombay is what fires her imagination.

*Content sent by the author for this blog's publication. This is a free ad.

Read more →