A Review from One More Page

Special thanks to writer and book blogger Tina of One More Page. You can find her review of Angelica’s Daughters right here. Here’s an excerpt:

As I was thinking of how I was going to review this book, I realized one thing: Angelica’s Daughters could pass as a perfect comfort read. It’s like the local version of a Sarah Addison Allen novel, but maybe even a bit better because it hits closer to home for me. There’s a certain grace and lyricism in the prose that makes me immediately sink into it, and marvel at the familiar feelings it evoked. There’s really something about a well-written Filipino work that just hits the right spot, like how a perfectly cooked dish can satisfy the strongest craving.

Happy new year, all!

~ Veronica

 

Nadine Live From Greenbelt!

Well, okay, maybe not live, since this post is woefully late. Let’s just say there is an alder tree outside my house, and it has been using its vast stores of horrible pollen as a way to prevent me from any sort of productivity. All of which is to say: wow, my allergies are super bad.

But on to the main event! Last month, Powerbooks hosted “Celebrating Women Writers,” and our own Nadine Sarreal was on-hand to represent Angelica’s Daughters. She reports that readers continue to be interested in the concept of dugtungan, and that folks were curious about everything from our process to how we met each other. Booksigning followed the panel talk, of course, and Nadine was so pleased to meet Sister Lorenza of Heart of Mary Villa, a shelter for unwed mothers—exactly the kind of place Angelica could have used during her time! Here’s Nadine with Sister Lorenza:

Karina Bolasco (right) from Anvil, and author Cris Yabes (left):

Yes, people, buy books! Books are good for you:

Oh! Oh! Is he about to pick up a copy of our novel? We’ll never know…

Thanks for reading! Check back soon!

~Veronica

Women’s Month @ Powerbooks, Greenbelt 4

Angelica’s Daughters co-author Nadine Sarreal will be on-hand to support our novel at this upcoming event on March 15th at Powerbooks, Greenbelt 4. She promises pictures and tsismis soon after, so check back here soon!

Cecilia Brainard and I will also be attending some event in Los Angeles at the end of April. More on that to come…

Thanks for reading! Check back soon!

~Veronica

With Apologies For My Tardiness

First of all, look at this crazy color-coded bookshelf. An interesting way to go, I guess, especially if you’re a super visual person. I tend to group mine according to genre and/or topic. I can’t remember where I found this photo, so I apologize profusely to its mystery owner, and I thank him or her for its use:

Now, back to the topic at hand. It’s twenty days into the new year, and I have failed to update this space. In an attempt to make up for this breach in blog etiquette, I present you with a brief report on what’s going on in the world of Angelica’s Daughters:

More events! Cecilia lives in Santa Monica, California, so she’s currently setting up a few events for us to tackle down (down because I am “up” in Northern California) there. Truth be told, I love doing readings and such because as writers we spend a lot of time alone (I, for one, am thankful for Facebook!). It’s ever-so-pleasant to meet real people. Once upon a time we dreamed of launching the book together in Manila or Cebu, and who knows? Maybe that’s still to come.

More Stories! During the holidays, our little group started writing sketches, scenes, etc. featuring characters from Angelica’s Daughters. And just like old times, we sent them to each other! If any of these little seeds come to fruition, maybe we’ll share them with you here.

A Review! I have to admit I didn’t realize that there’s a whole world of Filipino book bloggers out there! Nina B. is one such, and I am in serious shock and awe at how many books she reads. Her tastes are wide-ranging, it seems, and it’s just fun to run across someone who reads purely for the joy of reading. Anyways, I saw her review of Angelica’s Daughters on Good Reads, and I followed my way to her blog (Brush Up On Your Reading—how cute is that?), where she also posted it. Here’s a little of what she has to say:

And now for the story.  It’s a historical novel that tells the romance of two women from different times – past and present – which involves their families and their own romantic lives.  I love the seamless transition of the story despite five different authors writing it.  The deft handling of the narration, the characters, and the setting makes for an exciting and insightful tale of two women across time and the men and women in their lives.

You can read the rest here at Nina B.’s blog. Thanks for reading our book, Nina!

And thank you for reading this post. Check back soon!

~Veronica

 

 

A Goodreader Gives Us a Thumbs Up!

We’re excited and grateful to see that Anvil has provided Filipino book bloggers with review copies of Angelica’s Daughters. A young reader recently posted his review over at Goodreads, and it was so fun read his description of our book as “well-written…unique…half chick lit, half historical fiction.” And he even reminded everyone to try out Angelica’s recipe for tsokolate! Thank you, Goodreads reviewer!

Just yesterday I was reading the new “Tsinoy” (Chinese-Filipino) issue of the wonderful Our Own Voice, and I noticed they’ve included Angelica’s Daughters on their December 2010 Bookshelf. Thank you, Our Own Voice! I’m intrigued by many of the books on the Bookshelf: Jon Pineda’s Sleep In Me and Peter Bachco’s Leaving Yesler, among many others, caught my eye.

Finally, I wanted to congratulate Angelica’s Daughters co-author Cecilia Brainard on her new book—also just published by Anvil—called Vigan & Other Stories. This is another book I’m very much looking forward to reading! You can order it from Anvil here, or if you have an e-reader, the Kindle edition is available via Amazon here.

Thanks for reading! Check back soon!

~Veronica

Bits & Pieces

Image borrowed from the Walker Art Center

Well, hello there. I’m mortified to find that this blog became utterly lost in the lengthy shuffle that began with the build-up to Thanksgiving. My family and I traveled several hours by car, feasted non-stop for three days, and then dove headfirst into the onset of holiday shopping. But life has settled down for the time being, and I can finally mention a few bits and pieces relating to Angelica’s Daughters.

 

Bits & Pieces #1: Cecilia was pleased to hear recently from Professor Oscar V. Campomanes, who had many a kind word for our novel. *dramatic pause* Oh, I’ll stop being coy: Professor Campomanes, who teaches critical theory and literary/cultural studies at Ateneo de Manila University (and whose essays I’ve admired in the excellent anthologies Positively No Filipinos Allowed and Vestiges of War) said, “It is fabulous—I love it! Very avant-garde and a singular innovation in our context. I mentioned it as an example of the most exciting developments in my panel on “Writing the Diaspora” at the…Manila International Literary Festival…organized by the National Book Development Board.”

Bits & Pieces #2: Marie Romero of Arkipelago Books has Angelica’s Daughters on her splash page as the “Book Feature of the Month.” We appreciate her support, and we encourage you to fill at least some of your shopping bags with Filipino and Filipino-American titles this holiday! They make the best gifts EVER.

Bits & Pieces #3: Tony Robles was the videographer extraordinaire at our recent PAWA event, and Cecilia has posted a clip over at YouTube. Thanks Tony!

Bits & Pieces #4: Anvil, our publisher, shared the news that an online book club has requested copies of Angelica’s Daughters for review and discussion. How fun is that?! Whether they give us a thumbs up or a thumbs down or a thumb somewhere-in-between, I know the five of us will be happy knowing that the book was engaged with out there. Thanks mystery readers!

And thank you for reading! Check back soon!

~ Veronica

Angelica’s Daughters – Bay Area Launch

Multiple thank yous to the excellent and ever-supportive PAWA for hosting the Bay Area book launch of Angelica’s Daughters.

Cecilia is venturing north to be here, which is super exciting—it’s been several years since I’ve seen her in person! I’m personally hoping to meet more of the many Bay Area contributors to Cecilia’s Growing Up Filipino I and II and Contemporary Fiction by Filipino Americans anthologies. Do come out, all you locals! We’d love to say hello.

When: Saturday, November 6, 2010, 5:30 – 7:00
Where: Bayanihan Community Center, 1010 Mission St., San Francisco
What: Reading (Cecilia and Veronica), book signing, and light refreshments

And bonus: Arkipelago Books is also located in the Bayanihan Community Center, so you can shop for those hard-to-find Filipino and Fil-Am titles before or after (um, not during, ‘kay?) the event! Hope to see you there.

Thanks for reading! Check back soon!

~ Veronica