Category: Blog
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Manila Mango Bride’s Book Tour in Pictures
Good morning, Manila! I hit the ground running last Thursday after landing on home turf. Scant hours after settling into a luxurious suite at the Fairmont Makati, an old college friend messaged me on Facebook: Are you at the Fairmont? Come join us for lunch! I hadn’t seen Carol D. since we were undergrads at […]
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Sweeter by the Dozen
Manny Tagle was kind enough to host two coffee clatsches or kapihan sessions for The Mango Bride at his bakery, Sweet City Desserts in Vienna, Virginia. A dozen people braved torrential rains and flood warnings on Friday night to listen to a second reading of my novel. A lively discussion ensued. On a much sunnier Saturday […]
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The Embassy of the Philippines Hosts The Mango Bride
Someone once said that Washington D.C. was Hollywood for unattractive people, but I beg to disagree. The book event held last night at the Embassy of the Philippines was just about as glamorous as it gets. A hundred some people showed up to listen – not only Filipinos or Filipino Americans, but World Bank and […]
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Tribal Baroque Performs at The Mango Bride Book Party!
When I first saw them years ago busking at Balboa Park,Tribal Baroque’s electrifying songs compelled me to write them into a scene in The Mango Bride. Our paths crossed again at Balboa Park, shortly before Penguin published my debut novel, and I invited Thoth and Lila’Angelique to the book party, intending only to give […]
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Here Comes the Bride
There are girls who begin planning their weddings the day they receive their first Barbie. Being the nerd-version of such women, I started planning the book party the day I signed my novel over to Penguin Books. While proofreading copyedits and galleys, I online-shopped for author appropriate dresses (more Jackie O, less Jackie C.); tested […]
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Surviving the Bi-Polar Week
Did you hear what happened to Nolet? He had a stroke this morning… the call came from my Ria, my sister-in-law in Louisiana, as we were finishing dinner at a restaurant last Wednesday night. As we rushed home so that I could call the family in Manila on Skype, I tried to make sense of […]
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Heebie Jeebies
I knew all this book tour planning was getting of control the day we ran out of soap. There was barely a sliver left and the only way to get the family off to school and work on time was to find another bar quick, before my husband came home from early yoga class to […]
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Hummus Famous
I am not a fan of Kim Kardashian. I am vain, true, but my primping has always been more on the crunchy side: no Botox, no hair dyes, no creams made from the embryos of small animals. In all my eco-conscious vanity, I am the hummus version of caviar. But last August, I went full […]
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Talking Turkey
I am not a fan of the big bird. I don’t care for that oversized breast, find the legs too large and tough, and given a choice would rather roast some good, honest pork belly than turkey for Thanksgiving. But when in Rome… In the 17 -odd years that I’ve lived in the United […]
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Middle Aged Giddy
As we enter this season of grace and gratitude, I find myself feeling especially grateful this year. Grateful for having found a community of writers who helped me birth this first novel. Grateful for having secured a publishing contract with Penguin Books. Grateful for having the great good luck of having been sent to a […]
Marivi Soliven 