2nd PHR Novel : Once & For Always

 Once And For Always
By Yaney Matsumoto

Date Approved: February 22, 2013
Date Released: July 17, 2013

Kahit ilang beses na habol-habulin niya ito, walang problema sa kanya. What was important was that they were going to be together in the end.

Louise hated Jaeden to the core. Ito lang naman kasi ang asshole na dumurog sa puso at pagtitiwala niya six years ago. Dahil sa pagkabigo at pait na naranasan niya rito ay nagtungo siya sa New York upang kalimutan na ang lahat ng nangyari sa pagitan nila. Nang magdesisyon siya na bumalik sa Pilipinas—she was already a successful pastry chef—ay taas-noong sinabi niya sa mga kaibigan niya na matagal na siyang naka-move on sa ex-boyfriend niya.
And then she saw him again…
Seeing him again made her realize something. She lied. Hindi pa pala siya totally naka-get over sa kanyang ex-boyfriend. Pero hindi niya aaminin iyon kahit kanino. Lalo na kay Jaeden. Ngunit nang muling suyuin siya nito ay tinanggap uli niya ito sa buhay niya. Ngunit mukhang nagkamali na naman siya ng desisyon dahil sa pangalawang pagkakataon ay sinaktan na naman siya nito.

After 5 friggin' months, my 2nd PHR novel is finally released! Weee! :D Sobrang tuwa ko lang nung makita ko yung tag sa wall ko sa FB about my newly released novel. Although, ina-anticipate ko na rin na within this month ang release nito since last month pa nag-text yung Editor ko to change the word count of my first page. Masyado raw kasing mahaba kaya pinapabago niya. So, `ayun nga. 

Anyway, I really like the cover. Ang sensual, eh. Mas nagustuhan ko ito kesa ro'n sa book cover ni Shinji. Kita naman na maganda diba ;)? Kaya lang parang di bagay sa story...kasi hindi ko naman masasabi na sensual ang nobelang ito, `noh. Pero salamat pa rin sa gumawa ng book cover! 

Well, to be honest, I love Jaeden's story more than Shinji's ( from my first PHR novel). Haha. Wala lang, mas feel ko ang hero ko dito kasi this is inspired of Kim Jaejoong. And you know naman (if you're a regular reader of my blog) how much I love Jaejoong. Sabi ko kasi sa sarili ko, dapat bago makagawa ang ibang writer ng story na ang peg ay si Jaejoong (I know hindi lang ako ang may bias sa kanya, hehe!), kailangan maunahan ko na sila! Muwahahaha. Kaya kahit hindi talaga siya ang plano kong gawan ng istorya, pinilit ko pa rin ang sarili ko na mag-isip ng plot na babagay sa kanya. Haha! So, I've come up with Jae's story and ito nga `yon. And btw, it took me 2 months to finish the manuscript. Then it took me almost a month to edit it and finally submitted it in November 2012. At oo, two times pinarevised sa akin ng editor ko `yan. I was freakingly frustrated. Ang hirap kaya! LOL. Pero dahil ayokong i-give-up si Jaeden, eh di, gow pa rin until it was finally approved! Yay!

When I bought the book yesterday, siyempre excited ako agad mabasa. Medyo, nagulat lang ako na, binuo ng editor ang pangalan ng hero. He was supposed to be using "JJ" only. Pero naging "Jaeden" na siya. Oh, well, Jaeden James Lagdameo ang buong pangalan ni hero dito. Okay, kaya ko naman palampasin `yun. At least, mukha pa rin namang si Jaejoong. JAE-joong = JAE-den . O, diba? Love ko naman `yung name kaya carry lang saken.  

TRIVIA:

Jaeden Lagdameo: Like I've said before, the peg for the hero is Jaejoong of TVXQ/JYJ. Isipin n'yo na lang `yung mukha ni Jae sa Mirotic or Stand By U era. Iyon ang iniisip kong fez n'ya nung sinusulat ko ito. For me, it was his most gorgeous era. haha! Jaeden, btw is a Chef. Yep, dahil peg lang niya si Jae, hindi siya KPop idol dito. Haha! But if you get to read this novel and you're also a fan of Jaejoong and you know him well, I think mapi-feel mo `yung pagka-"Jaejoong" nung hero na si Jaeden. At dahil sa isip ko si Jae nga si Jaeden, they are the same age, 27. 

Louise Sarrosa: Her name was supposed to be Rachael Leigh. Got it from Rachael Leigh Cook (used to be my fave Hollywood actress back in Highschool). Kaya lang, naisip ko nagamit ko `yung Rachel na name do'n sa Tatta Hitotsu... `yung friend ni Erika (the heroine). That's why I decided to change the name of the heroine here because they are not the same person. Baka ma-associate nang nakabasa ng novel ko na `yun na si Rachael Leigh at Rachel na friend ni Erika (Tatta Hitotsu...) ay iisa. And then I saw Louise Delos Reyes on TV one night. I really like her name. Sabi ko nga, If I were to have a daughter I'd name her "Louise". So yeah, I finally named my Jaeden's partner Louise. She's 26 and a pastry chef. Bakit pastry chef ang napili kong trabaho ni Louise? Wala lang. LOL. Medyo natuwa lang ako sa mga cupcakes at cakes. I have a friend who has a hobby for baking. Siyempre, dahil wala naman akong alam diyan sa tunay na buhay, research ng bongga. Pati `yung best school for culinary arts abroad namili pa ako. Gusto ko sana sa London eh, pero mas sikat `yung nasa New York ayon sa napagtanungan ko at ayon na rin kay pareng Google.

Supporting Characters:

Micky: He's the overprotective stepbrother of Louise and Jaeden's friend. Kung nagkataon na may Pinoy Cassiopeia na makakabasa ng novel na 'to, #alamna kung sino rin ang peg ng Micky na 'to. haha!   

Yuan: Jaeden's best friend and Louise's boss and the owner of Yuan's Coffee Shop (na originally, Yuan's Coffee ang name), my editor changed it. Ok, whatever suits her. At least andun pa rin `yung "Yuan." haha! And like I said, if you're a Cassie, you'd know instantly kung sino ang peg niya. ;) At may peg din ang Yuan's Coffee Shop, Hollys Coffee. I was so fascinated with that coffee shop. I often see it in Korean dramas. Ang pretty pa ng website nila.

Max: Louise's admirer. He's a photographer. Siyempre kelangan ng third party na hindi naman talaga third party in its real sense, well for me, ha. LOL. At kung sino ang Max na insipiration dito? Sino pa, edi si Max Changmin! Since I love him too, siya ang ginawa kong guy na pagseselosan ni Jaeden.

Miranda: the international fashion and commercial model na friend ni Louise. I love Miranda Kerr as you all know. Si Miranda Kerr ang insipiration ng character na `yan.

Lissy: Louise's friend and the manager of Yuan's Coffee Shop. I haven't thought of someone para maging peg niya. Hmmm...wala akong maisip, eh! 

Special participation of : Jiji--- the blue russian cat of Jaejoong. As in Jiji rin ang ginamit ko sa alagang pusa dito ni Louise. Ang cute kasi niya. O diba, ang bongga ni Jiji the cat!

**If my friends would get the chance to read this novel, hindi na nila maia-associate sa'ken si heroine. Louise and I are a different person. I made her character na wala sa character ko. Well, kay Erika, kahit paano ay may nakuha siya sa'ken. Parang nanay lang na may pinagmanahan. LOL. Pero dito kay Louise kahit isa yata wala siyang namana sa'ken. Ayoko naman kasi isipin ng mga kakilala ko na ako na lang lagi ang bida sa mga nobelang sinusulat ko. haha! Kasi hindi ko naman talaga intensiyon iyon. Nagkakataon lang siguro. 

Anyway, hope you'd get a copy of this book! :)

--kung may magtatanong kung kailan ako magkakaroon ng kasunod nito, hindi ko pa alam. I haven't finished a manuscript in effin' months. Gahd, I'm actually frustrated with myself. I have no motivation and drive to write. I don't know what the fuck is wrong with me. Huhu. I wanna cry, actually.

Got It~ Finally!

One Day by David Nicholls

Weeeeeeee! At last I got a copy of this book! I've been looking for this book for the longest months and what I want is the original cover. Glad I did find one. And thanks to my dear friend who bought it for me (but I paid of course, this isn't for free!) when she found it in a bazaare in Makati City. She said, she remembers that I want the book with its original cover. Hihi! Been wanting to read this book. So happy that I finally got my hands on it. :)

La la la-love scenes~

My favorite story so far
by Rose Gordon

I’m not a hypocrite or anything, I love LOVE SCENES / SEX SCENES in a romance novel (especially if it’s done in good taste) but I don’t know why I’m not into reading EROTICA ROMANCE. I’m not into Fifty Shades of Grey and this popular novel Crossfire series I've tried reading Fifty Shades...but It’s not my kind of book. Love scenes are ok for me as long as it’s not over the top. My head hurts with too much of it. LOL. I’d rather read a SMUT fan fiction of Jaejoong or any Arashi fanfics than reading Erotica Romance. Hey, it’s just me.

Right now, I take pleasure in reading HISTORICAL ROMANCE.  Why is it only now that I'm reading this genre? I’m 26 and I only discovered this almost 3 weeks ago.  Well, I’ve known this genre exists but I don’t bother to read this stuff because reading Tagalog romance was more like my type of romance novels before. But I’m still reading it though. Tagalog romance is my first love ♥. I’m also reading CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE but Historical romance is what I enjoy reading more.

And since I started reading this stuff, I got so addicted that I wanted to travel in a time machine to go back in 19^th Century England! I certainly believe that I belong in that place and era. LOL. I just totally love it!

Love, Rosie (Where Rainbows End) by Cecelia Ahern

Rosie and Alex were best friends since they were very young, confiding in each other and telling each other everything. The story is told through the form of instant messages, letters, invitations, e-mails, throughout their teen and senior high school years and into their adult lives.










This work of fiction had given me a lot of emotions while I’m reading it. It made me smile, laugh, sad, fall in love and get so frustrated. I love it and kind of hate it all at the same time. Oh, wait, “hate” seems to be such a strong word, but I cannot think of a more appropriate adjective to describe what I’m feeling about this book. It frustrates me a lot of times that at some point I wanted to throw the book!

I’ve read tons of books in my life and Love, Rosie is one of the books that got me so affected in so many ways. And I want to thank Cecelia Ahern for letting me feel those things. Because of this book, (the very first book I’ve read from her) I now proclaim myself as one of her fans. I found this book quite unique because of the way Ms. Ahern presented this story. It was written in the form of E-mails, letters, post cards, notes, and SMS, in which they called ‘Epistolary’.

I love Rosie Dunne, I think anyone can relate to her. What I like about her is that she remained faithful of her friendship with Alex even if they’re so many miles apart. I felt sad when she got knocked up at such a young age and she cannot continue her dreams of being with Alex in Boston to study. She experienced a lot of hardships in life and I’m really glad that even though she missed a lot of years, she’s never forgot to pursue and chase her dreams to finish her school and get what she always wanted in life. I found that very inspiring.

Alex Stewart, I wish I had a male best friend like Alex. I’m so envious of the friendship he and Rosie had. Alex is the kind of best friend who’d always be there for you, in happy times and in your lowest. Who wouldn’t want a best friend like him? But I was kinda annoyed at him when he chose to ignore and run away from the “silence” he felt together with Rosie when she visited him in Boston. He should have followed what his heart has been telling him for the past years!

What I don’t like a bit about this novel is that it takes a lot of years and missed opportunities for them to have their Happily Ever After. It frustrates me so much, that I was like, why couldn’t they be together? They love each other for like, forever! I hate the fact that it took them 45 years (they’ve been BFFs since they were 5 year old kids) to finally end up together. It was so like…ugh! But I cried when their true feelings were finally revealed to each other. Oh, finally!

All in all, I like this book! I’ve been telling this to my friends and they are currently reading it. I hope they’d get to like it too as much as I like this novel.

I’m giving this book, 4 stars!

Books and more books!

  

These are the books which I bought last February 22. I got a lot of money and I didn't know what to do with it (lol!), so I asked on twitter what should I buy-- Flip-flops, books or bag? Then a friend suggested that I should buy books. So yeah, after office hours I went straight to NBS and bought these books. It was a blissful feeling after. That's how much I love reading :3.

Got this book, "The Gift" by Cecelia Ahern from my BFF Nica.

Weee~ finally got it after 3 months! Good thing I didn't buy this copy `cause if ever I did,

 then I would have got 2 copies of this book :p.