The Accidental Bride (2011)

The Accidental Bride

By Camryn Morrell

It was the worst kind of torture. Inaalok si Ella ni Xavier Alejandro, ang lalaking minamahal niya mula pa sa pagkabata, ng kasal—pero sa papel lang.

Pinag-isipan niya for the millionth time ang pros and cons ng magiging desisyon. Kung papayag siyang magpakasal dito, mabibigyan siya ng pagkakataong makasama ito nang matagal at baka mahulog ang loob nito sa kanya. Unfortunately, ang operative word sa sentence na iyon ay ‘baka’. Ngunit hindi maalis sa isip niya na iyon na ang tsansa niya para mapaibig ang binata.

So she grabbed the opportunity. Di bale nang hindi pa ito madly in love sa kanya. Darating din sila sa puntong iyon....

Acknowledgment

To Danielle Parian who has never left my side through all the crap I've gone through and who has even offered to help me find a job. Thanks for everything, Manang.

Extra Info

• I mentioned in a previous post that I choose a theme song for every novel I start, and I listen to that theme song over and over again while writing. My theme song for this book is I Never Dreamed Someone Like You Could Love Someone Like Me by Kate Irving. The song is too literal for my taste, but I think it perfectly captures the relationship between Ella and Xander. She's been in love with him as long as she can remember, and, well, he's always been a bit oblivious.
• This is the most serious and 'dramatic' novel I've ever written, so far. I had a hard time holding back on all the silly moments.

Reel Love (2011)

Reel Love

Camryn Morrell

Si Grace Hernandez ang klase ng babae na nililigawan nang matagal at pinapakasalan. Siya naman, si Dave Silverio ay ni hindi marunong manligaw. She deserved someone normal. Isang lalaki na may ordinaryong trabaho sa isang opisina o sa kung saan; iyong simple lang. At malayo sa deskripsyong iyon ang buhay niya bilang isang sikat na matinee idol. Kaya kahit baligtarin pa niya ang mundo, hindi magiging siya ang lalaking iyon.

Pero si Grace ang gumaganap sa role ng girlfriend niya sa harap ng publiko. At mas nahihirapan na yata si Dave dahil masyado siyang nadadala sa play-acting nila, na ayaw na niyang isipin kung ano ang tunay na sila kapag wala nang camera na nakasunod sa kanila....

Acknowledgment

This novel is dedicated to my USA Publications family. I only spent a year with you guys, but it has been one of the most wonderful years of my life.

Extra Info

• The original title was supposed to be His Saving Grace, but I like Reel Love more. It's more fitting for the premise.
• I choose a "theme song" for every novel I write, and Reel Love's theme song is Smile by Uncle Kracker. I couldn't stop listening to the song while writing.

Save Forever for Me: The Inspiration

I'm obviously becoming more and more forgetful. A couple of days ago, I posted that my second tagalog romance novel, Save Forever for Me, had been released. I babbled on about it, but somehow I forgot to mention the main inspiration for the novel.

It's a song.

To be specific, it's Nina's version of Saving Forever for You.

I loved it, and listened to it over and over while writing Save Forever for Me. I even culled the title from the song. The song, basically, captures the way Warren and Lia, my main characters, feel about each other.

Here it is:

I've never been so sure

About anything before

But this loving feeling

Gonna be a feeling I feel forever more

Looking in your eyes

Tomorrow's all I see

Long as there's forever, baby

I will always be

Saving forever for you, oh oh oh

You are the only one

I'll ever give forever to

Love for a lifetime won't do, oh oh oh

Wanna always stay together

So I'm saving forever for you

You'll be my world

As long as there's a world turning 'round

And you'll be my heaven

Baby, till the heavens all come falling down

Look inside my heart [Oh, yeah]

Love is all you'll see

Loving you forever,

Living just to be

Saving forever for you, oh oh oh

You are the only one

I'll ever give forever to

Love for a lifetime won't do, oh oh oh

[ From: http://www.metrolyrics.com/saving-forever-for-you-lyrics-nina.html ]

Wanna always stay together

So I'm saving forever for you

Forever I'll be loving you

Long as time passes by

I'll be there beside you, ho

Through it all, I'll be standing by you

Saving forever for you, oh oh oh

You are the only one

I'll ever give forever to

Love for a lifetime won't do, oh oh oh

Wanna always stay together

So I'm saving forever, saving forever for you

Saving forever for you (Hoo…ooh…ooh…)

You are the only one

I'll ever give forever to (You are the only one)

Love for a lifetime won't do, (oh oh oh)

Wanna always stay together

So I'm saving forever for you, for you

Saving forever

Saving forever for you

Saving forever, (Saving forever)

Saving forever for you

Saving forever, (Saving forever)

Saving forever for you

Saving forever, (Saving forever)

Saving forever for you..

Save Forever for Me (2010)

Save Forever for Me

Camryn Morrell

Hindi makapaniwala si Lia sa ginawa niya: Nilayasan niya ang ama at tinakasan ang kasal niya sa lalaking pinili nito para sa kanya. Okay na sana dahil sa wakas ay nakalaya siya mula sa manipulasyon ng papa niya, kung bakit naman si Warren Alcantara pa ang kailangang makasama niya sa bahay na pagtataguan niya gayong puwede namang ang ina na lang nito. Pero dahil wala siyang gaanong choice at siya ang nakikituloy lang sa pamamahay nito, minabuti niyang pagtiisan ang company ng lalaking reincarnation yata ni Hitler. And then he did what Lia thought was the worst—he denied falling for her, matapos niyang umamin na mahal na niya ito….

Acknowledgement

Thanks to my mother who tries to understand my obsession with writing, and why I have to be wrenched away from my computer.

I would also like to thank my various college friends, namely Kera, Dianne, Edgelyn, Jeffrey, and Elaine. Thank you for taking the time to buy my books, and actually forcing me to sign them in public.

My heartfelt thanks also go to Nang Danielle, Ma'am Arlene and Sir Elsed for promoting my work! Literature majors stick together, yeah?

Of course, I thank everyone who bought copies of my first novel, His Secondhand Heart. God bless you all.

Extra Info:

• While writing, I imagined Alfred Vargas as Warren Alcantara and Anne Curtis as Lia Olivares.
• As of this writing, the story of Warren's friend, Dave Silverio, has been accepted for publication. So, please stay tuned for that one.

His Secondhand Heart (2010)

His Secondhand Heart

Camryn Morrell

Hindi puwedeng basta na lamang kalimutan ni Devin ang motto niya: Smart people stay single. Sa loob ng dalawang taon, matapos ang isang matinding heartache mula sa one great love niya, iyon na ang definition niya sa relationships: isang malaking sakit ng ulo. Pangako niya sa sarili, hindi na siya muling papayag na kontrolin ng isang babae ang emosyon niya. Pero mukhang kailangan niyang bawiin ang mga ipangako sa sarili nang makilala niya si Vivienne. He thought she was one of a kind. Hindi niya maitanggi na masaya siya kapag kasama ito—ecstatic pa nga, actually. And he was in big trouble.

Ang hindi niya lang maintindihan, parang excited pa siya sa pagkakataong ito, na magpakatanga at sumugal sa pag-ibig….

Acknowledgement

This book is dedicated to the people who helped me on my quest to get published. To Ms. Elise Estrella, a fellow MSV writer, for answering all my questions about formatting and submitting a manuscript.
To my Engineering friends for inspiring me to write this story. I might not be one of you anymore, but I'm still here if you need advice or a shoulder to cry on. :)

Extra Info:

• It took me eight months to write His Secondhand Heart.
• This is the first Tagalog romance novel I’ve ever written and the first piece of writing I ever got paid for.