For Season Three of the #RomanceClass podcast, we’re bringing you the full, unabridged audio narration of Keep the Faith by Ana Tejano , one chapter a week. The narrator for Chapter 21 is Jade Albert.
Calinda met Ramirez when she was 20 and he was 22. She was the rising star of women’s skating, and he was the superstar forward of men’s hockey. Her parents and coach were against their relationship, and because Calinda wanted to prove that no hot guy would ever distract her from her dream, she chose skating over him–and also avoided him all together.
Ten years later, they meet again as gold medalists and prominent sports advocates, still single and undeniably attracted to each other. It’s still not a good time for them, because Ramirez is retiring from hockey and moving back to the United States. Calinda doesn’t do relationships, really, and proposes they use his final three weeks in Manila to explore what might have been, and do all the things they wish they’d done (there’s a list!). Then he can leave for good, and they can both move on with their lives without this one regret.
For Season Three of the #RomanceClass podcast, we’ll be bringing you the full, unabridged audio narration of Keep the Faith by Ana Tejano , one chapter a week.
Ana Tejano has been in love with words and writing ever since she met Elizabeth Wakefield when she was in Grade 3. She has contributed several non-fiction pieces in print and online publications, and has been blogging for years. When she’s not writing, she works as a communications manager for a payroll outsourcing firm, and serves in CFC Singles for Christ in every other time that she doesn’t spend reading or sleeping. She lives in Metro Manila and is also known by another name in her other circles (but it’s not a secret identity, really).
When Faith’s five-year relationship ends right before she leaves for a typhoon-stricken town in Iloilo, she chooses not to make a big deal out of it. She’s not a stranger to heartbreak after all – she deals with it everyday with her disaster relief work. How can she be broken up about her lost love life when she’s surrounded by people who literally lost everything?
All she wants now is for her life to go back to normal. Never mind her unanswered questions about the breakup, or that (not so) tiny ache in her heart whenever she sees her ex. She’s okay now and maybe she’s even starting to like Nico Tamayo, the attractive new guy at work.
With new possibilities in the horizon, Faith thinks she is well on her way to moving on. But when her past comes calling back to her, will all the good things in her present be enough to keep her on the path? Or will she finally learn that there’s more to heartbreak and recovery than what she knows?
Passionate, dedicated, and enthusiastic are just some words one could use to describe Jade Albert. Her social media activity will tell you she is a dog person, a social justice advocate, a binge-watcher, a casual tarot card reader, and a lover of sunsets, roller coasters, makeup, food, Disney, astrology, film, music, and theater―among others (although those are already plenty!). Not unlike many aspiring artists, she has a day job in digital marketing. During her free time, Jade is a passionate supporter and avid consumer of the arts and the many other things she enjoys, as well as an actress and singer on the side.
Calinda met Ramirez when she was 20 and he was 22. She was the rising star of women’s skating, and he was the superstar forward of men’s hockey. Her parents and coach were against their relationship, and because Calinda wanted to prove that no hot guy would ever distract her from her dream, she chose skating over him–and also avoided him all together.
Ten years later, they meet again as gold medalists and prominent sports advocates, still single and undeniably attracted to each other. It’s still not a good time for them, because Ramirez is retiring from hockey and moving back to the United States. Calinda doesn’t do relationships, really, and proposes they use his final three weeks in Manila to explore what might have been, and do all the things they wish they’d done (there’s a list!). Then he can leave for good, and they can both move on with their lives without this one regret.
The #RomanceClass Podcast is produced by Tania Arpa and Mina V. Esguerra. Sponsorships are open. If you’re interested, please email us at mina@romancepodcast.com .
Because you seemed to enjoy the first chapter of the audiobook Iris After the Incident by Mina V. Esguerra so much, we’re sharing chapter 2 with you this week. Narration is provided by the amazing Rachel Coates.
Book description: [yellow_box]Which moment has defined your life so far?
Whether she likes it or not, Iris’s life has been divided into two: Before the Incident, and After the Incident. Something very private was made very public, and since then life has been about recovering from being shamed, discovering her true friends, and struggling to find a new normal.
Two years into this new life and she finally connects with a guy again. He lives in the apartment down the hall, he’s hot, and he doesn’t look at her that way. He doesn’t know what happened. But he also won’t give her his name, not right away—which has to mean he’s got something to hide too.
Iris wants to start over. Should she do that with the only person who will understand, or is this the same idiotic decision that got her in trouble in the first place?[/yellow_box]
Here’s the first chapter of the audiobook Iris After the Incident by Mina V. Esguerra. Narration is provided by the talented Rachel Coates.
Book description:
[yellow_box]Which moment has defined your life so far?
Whether she likes it or not, Iris’s life has been divided into two: Before the Incident, and After the Incident. Something very private was made very public, and since then life has been about recovering from being shamed, discovering her true friends, and struggling to find a new normal.
Two years into this new life and she finally connects with a guy again. He lives in the apartment down the hall, he’s hot, and he doesn’t look at her that way. He doesn’t know what happened. But he also won’t give her his name, not right away—which has to mean he’s got something to hide too.
Iris wants to start over. Should she do that with the only person who will understand, or is this the same idiotic decision that got her in trouble in the first place?[/yellow_box]
Dawn Lanuza started writing stories when she was just a kid (they weren’t good or even finished). She works for the music industry by day and writes meet cutes and snappy comebacks by night. ‘The Boyfriend Backtrack’ is her first book. She currently lives with her family and an adopted dog.
Chris’ work has appeared in The Philippines Free Press, TAYO Literary Magazine, Ideomancer, Plural Online Journal, and the Philippine Speculative Fiction Anthology Vol. 7. Her short story “A Kind of Flotsam” won 1st Place in the 3rd Philippine Graphic/Fiction Awards. She was a fellow for Poetry in English at the 34th UP National Writers Workshop in Baguio. Cover (Story) Girl, her first contemporary romance novella, was released recently as part of Visprint’s #romanceclass line. She also co-authored two romance short stories, “All I Want for Christmas” and “Hot Like This”, with Chrissie Peria and Miles Tan.
Book description:
[yellow_box]All she wants is to get even…
Erika Apostol’s quiet and unassuming life gets disrupted when she learns that Richard Javier, the very same person who broke her heart many years ago, is now back in the country. Her world is turned upside down as old feelings she thought were buried resurface to haunt her once more.
Determined to give Richard a dose of his own medicine, Erika finds herself involved in an outrageous plan devised by her friends. They enlist the help of Jerome Gonzales, an attractive and charismatic DJ (with a playboy reputation), to pose as her significant other.
As the plan goes in full swing, Erika discovers Richard’s jealous side, and that there’s something more to Jerome than meets the eye. Will this grand charade work out the way it should, or will she be left with nothing in the end?[/yellow_box]
