Anyhow, I saw these books. And since I’m not a fan of hers, I didn’t know that she’d already used two of my titles hehe

Oh, well.

Sentinels ( Book 7 ) Midnight Sun
Elise Estrella

“I hate being helpless,” sabi ni Kate bago pa napigilan ang sarili. Nahihiya man siya, na-appreciate niya ang tulong ni Gage sa kanya. Kita rin niya ang pag-aalala sa mukha ng lalaki.

At naisip niya, may kidnapper, mamamatay-tao, o kontrabida bang magpapakita ng concern sa biktima nito?

Sa pagkakaalam ng dalaga, kung normal ang isang tao at walang Stockholm Syndrome, hindi dapat matuwa ang isang hostage sa kanyang hostage-taker.

Puwera na lamang siguro kung ang kagaya ng sa sitwasyon niya ngayon ang kalagayan ng hostage….

Sentinels ( Book 8 ) Uncharted Heart
Elise Estrella

Hindi alam ni Baste kung ano ang mararamdaman nang unang makita sa personal si Capt. Bettina Santander. Para itong masungit na old maid teacher mula sa ayos nito hanggang sa tila iced water na nananalaytay sa dugo nito. Kahit ganoon, hindi niya maalis sa sarili ang maging protective sa dalaga. He cares for her at kung pagbabasehan ang napapadalas na niyang pagtitig dito, mukhang attracted na rin siya rito physically.

Pero hanggang doon lang siguro iyon. Uncharted area ang puso niya pagdating sa pag-ibig.

Isa pa, malalagot siya kay Boss Mac kapag nalamang isa nilang kliyente ang ‘nilalandi’ niya….

Please click here for the rest of the release!

Now available! Woohoo! Click on the pic for teasers ^^

After lunch, I took the MRT to North Ave. to go to SM North. I haven’t been to SM North EDSA in about fifteen years so I was scared of being lost. Although only someone mentally challenged would get lost on the MRT with the mall in sight. I got off at Trinoma and was proud of myself when I found the easiest way to SM North in under ten minutes. And don’t snort at that. I once got lost for an hour going from the Ayala MRT station to Glorietta 5 which is right along frakking Ayala Avenue.

I found a guard within two minutes of entering the mall and asked for directions to National Bookstore where Jette and I agreed to meet. We went bookshopping before she had merienda at Barrio Fiesta. And since I was still stuffed with pizza and pasta from Sbarro, I declined. I was also too sleepy to consume any more food. I was sure that my body would pull all the energy reserves I have to digest the food so I didn’t get anything to eat. We went to Precious Pages at the 3rd floor to wait for Katrin, a reader that we agreed to meet so we could sign some of her books. She came with her parents which I thought was incredibly sweet. Then, Queng arrived and man, I really missed her. I miss Harrieth too but then she’s in Cebu so… :p

We hang out for a bit, talking, laughing, catching up, before we said good bye because they needed to go to the grocery and I needed to… well, crash. So I retraced my steps to the MRT to go back to SM Megamall. I had a quick dinner (President’s Tea House at the food court for sweet and spicy fish fillet) before I went home. I didn’t immediately crash. Not as soon as I got into the house, but I happily perused my new book haul

1. Judith McNaught’s Perfect
Booksale, P125.00
I used to have a complete Judth McNaught collection back in high school before I loaned the books out to friends and people who hadn’t bothered to return them so I had to rebuild my collection. I couldn’t pass this one up as this is the second JM book that I’ve ever read ^^ Besides, seeing a JM book at Booksale is pretty rare as opposed to, say, Nora Roberts?

2. Nora Roberts’ Black Hills
Booksale, P135.00
I haven’t read an NR book in a while, and I’ve been waiting for The Search to hit Booksale but when I saw this, I figured I had to get it. I was also having second thoughts because they had a complete collection of one of JoAnn Ross‘ series.

3. Suzanne Brockmann’s Hot Pursuit
NBS SM North EDSA, P99.00
I’m slowly and surely collecting Suzanne Brockmann’s Troubleshooters series. I think I’m only missing a couple. Cosmo’s, and Jones’ and Max’s. Hmmm. I’m so enjoying the series. I also wasn’t expecting to really like this book but I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed it a lot. I love Patrick Lawlor. I also just finished listening to All Through the Night: A Troubleshooter Christmas and THAT was a surprise. I’m not really into m/m stories but Jules and Robin’s story is just so…. *sigh*. I think they have a better love story than any of SB’s hero/heroine pairings. I’m now looking for that book. I already saw a couple the last time I was at Booksale but since I wasn’t into the m/m thing, I let it go. And now I’m hitting my own forehead.

4. MSV Duets
NBS SM Megamall, P65.00
I finally got my paws on the MSV Duets that I’m sharing with Mari Calingayan! I love the cover, seriously. I also got a copy of the Desire Duets where my friend, Erynn Anne’s book gets paired up with Queen of MSV Desire, Dior Madrigal.

5. The Angel Bautista Collection: Kailan Kita Puwedeng Mahalin?
NBS SM Megamall, Precious Pages, P65.00
I got a copy from NBS but mistakenly left it with the back I asked my sister to bring home for me so I bought another copy at Precious Pages so I could ask THE Angel Bautista to sign it ^^ I also have a copy with the original cover.

6. Edith Joaquin’s Tulungan Mo Akong Lumimot
Jette found an online store that still had a copy of her first book so she got it for me. Whee!!!

There ya go! Happiness ^^

(P.S. Saburday is Sabado and Saturday smooshed into one work so before you tell me to edit…)

Then we crossed over to Market! Market! to watch Transformers : Dark of the Moon. I saw a tarp for a book fair earlier but didn’t pay it any (or that much) attention because I was running late and I still needed to pass by the ATM. So when Jette and I went back inside and after a few minutes of looking for an Om Nom stuffed toy, I noticed that there were shelves and shelves and shelves of books at the activity center.

And all of them were on sale.

We didn’t really linger but I got myself a copy of Suzanne Brockmann’s Force of Nature for P50. Yay! I saw a copy earlier and it’s P150. Buti na lang ‘di ko pa binili ^^

Jette and I watched Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon which is another entry altogether kung sipagin ako mamaya. This is a list of my haul. Bilang hindi naman ako mayaman at mababaw lang ako, haping-happy na ako sa mga napamili ko.

1. Suzanne Brockmann’s Force of Nature (Troubleshooters, Book 11)

Chapters and Pages Stall at Mad about Books, P50.00
I’m determined to collect all of the Troubleshooters books. Inisnab ko pa dati ‘yong book ni Vinh Murphy kasi hindi siya SEAL. I just understood, after reading The Reluctant Hero (which was given to me by Leira Carlos) and Into the Storm na Troubleshooters, Inc. pala is like Sentinels Securities, Inc. Anyway, I saw the book earlier at a different book store for P150. Buti hindi ko siya binili.

2. A VCD (yes, VCD) copy of Star Trek
Odyssey, P78.00
Yes, P78.00 kaya ko siya binili. I’ve always wanted to watch it and seeing the price, I figured sige na nga, bilin ko na. Kuripot Practical ako eh.

3. Bath and Body Works PocketBac
Fashion Market stall, 2 for P150.00
May logo siya ng Bath and Body Works and smells like the real thing kaya lang hindi ko alam kung peke ba ito. Found them at Fashion Market. Eh adik ako sa ganito, plus I love, love, love the scents. Sea Island Cotton is my favorite ever pero mabango rin ‘yong Warm Vanilla Sugar. It smells… warm. Parang hindi mahihiya si Mac na ito ang antibacterial gel niya. Masyado kasing matapang ‘yong Vanilla Bean Noel (which is a gift from my tita).

4. Hard-bound copy of Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Acheron
NBS Stall at Mad about Books, P250.00
I found out that the new terminal was on the other side of the mall from where it used to be so I had to go back in and cross the activity area. Eh black hole siya ngayon kasi andoon ‘yong book fair. So I browsed ulit and okay, so Kat can probably find me a copy of this for P99.00 but when I saw the book on the shelf, sabi ko “kung P300 ka bibilin na kita.” Then I find out na P250 na lang siya, and they had to put the original price tag pa showing that it used to be P1,119.00. I grabbed it and made my way to the cashier. Only I saw the next book.

5. Hard-bound copy of Suzanne Brockmann’s Flashpoint
NBS Stall at Mad about Books, P50.00
see item number one )

6. Earphones
Swell Stuff, P90.00
Mukhang magreretiro na ang earphones ko so I got an extra pair. I don’t like the earbuds type kasi parang galing sa banga ‘yong tunog. And this is the same type I got a while back. In fairness, tumagal siya ng higit sa isang buwan na gamit. Cheap earphones usually only last that long.

See? Mababaw lang ako. As a matter of fact, if I only got one book, I’d still be happy.

Whenever you pick up and read a My Special Valentine book, does it fill you with the desire to write your very own romance story, but you don’t know where to start? Do you very much want to submit a manuscript, but feel like you’re not doing enough?

Worry no more: From one of our esteemed editors comes a new book that answers your questions… and more! In How To Write A Tagalog Romance Novel, Apple Masallo delivers a very thorough and straightforward guide to writing your own Tagalog romance novel. In it, she explains the very intricate process of crafting memorable characters and an equally memorable plot, handling the intricacies of grammar, and dealing with writer’s block among other things.

So, what are you waiting for? Buy a copy at your favourite bookstores today or at our online bookshop! Only P74.75!

Currently, it’s only available at Bookware, but hopefully will ship out to NBS branches very soon.

UPDATE: You can find the book at the REFERENCE Sections of NBS, not the Tagalog Romance section You can also ask the friendly attendants if you can’t find the reference section. Thank you!

Cindy Dees is one of my favorite, if not my most favorite, Harlequin authors. She used to be in the Air Force and writes kick ass military romance books. I love that she’s also writing a second batch of Medusas. Can’t wait to read the others.

The Medusa Proposition, Cindy Dees

Linda Howard’s Mackenzie family as well as this book were the books that I’d been reading while I was writing Mac’s story. His name, John Mackenzie, came from Zane Mackenzie from MacKenzie’s Pleasure and John Medina from All the Queen’s Men. I so love this book and had been looking for it for the longest time.

All the Queen's Men, Linda Howard

I’m now looking for the rest of Cindy Dees’ books and the rest of Suzanne Brockmann’s Troubleshooter series books. #simplejoys