Smart Podcast, Trashy Books Podcast

217. Self Publishing, Happy Ever Afters, and Performing Romances: An Interview with Mina V. Esguerra

This week, Sarah chats with author Mina V. Esguerra, a romance writer in the Philippines. They talk about how self-publishing has changed her career immeasurably, and her experience writing characters who endure sexual shaming to reach their happily ever afters. They also discuss the reading series she hosts wherein scenes from romance novels by local authors are performed by actors – and of course what books she’s reading and loving.

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Here are the books we discuss in this podcast:

So many links! You ready?

And of course you can find Mina on her website, on Facebook, and on Twitter.

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This Episode's Music

Sketch - shed life - close up of a yakThe music you’re listening to was provided by Sassy Outwater, and you can find her on Twitter @Sassyoutwater. This is a band called Sketch, and this is “Eiggbound” from their album “ShedLife.”

You can find it on Amazon, iTunes, or wherever you buy your most excellent music.

Transcript

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This podcast transcript was handcrafted with meticulous skill by Garlic Knitter. Many thanks.

Transcript Sponsor

When a Marquis Chooses a Bride

The podcast transcript this month is sponsored by Kensington, publishers of WHEN A MARQUIS CHOOSES A BRIDE by Ella Quinn – part of the new Zebra Shout imprint featuring the Rising Stars of Romance at an affordable price of $4.99.

This large Regency family saga is infused with humor, lively characters, surprising adventures, and Ella Quinn’s signature fast-paced plotting. Spicy, witty and brimming with interesting historical details, When a Marquis Chooses a Bride reintroduces readers to the Worthingtons, a family who has seen their share of scandal and excitement. But nothing has prepared them for this…. Perfect for fans of Julia Quinn, Tessa Dare, and Mary Jo Putney, WHEN A MARQUIS CHOOSES A BRIDE is available where books are sold!

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  1. Vivi12 says:

    Such an interesting interview, I would love to be there for a live romance reading! I’ve been thinking about Iris after the Incident and now I’m convinced.

  2. SQ says:

    General comment on the podcasts – does anyone else use Stitcher and and have all the SBTB episodes except #163 disappear recently?

    I miss listening to SBTB on my bus commute 🙁

  3. SB Sarah says:

    @SQ: That is really weird! I don’t have Stitcher but I can look into it. Is the problem still happening?

  4. SQ says:

    Hi Sarah! Thanks for responding. It seems like all it took was me griping about the problem publicly to fix it. All episodes are loading now. Yay!

  5. Hazel says:

    Thank you for this interview. What a thoughtful writer. I was interested to hear about some of the technical issues revealed in the actors’ performances. And I appreciate her thoughts on historical romance writing. Now I’m off to look for her books.

  6. @Hazel Thank you for commenting! I can go really geeky about the technical “lessons” we’ve been picking up when the actors read, I just never really know who wants to hear it haha. Just in case this is the place where someone will be interested…

    1. Usually the first thing is pronunciation. “Infuriatingly” “gerbera” “hotelier” have tripped up the actors on first pass. Then there are foreign words, or food words like one excerpt included a list of specialty sausages and we weren’t sure if we got everything right. Or quirky phrases like “freshly squeezed orange juice” that reads OK but when said can twist the tongue.

    2. I personally learned from directing the reading of my own work that I don’t have satisfying chapter endings. It’s not something that I noticed when reviewing my books as a whole, but when you take a chapter out of context and end it there, I usually have to cut it earlier at a more satisfying dialogue or narration point.

    And more. 🙂 I usually pick up something new with each excerpt read. Or sometimes I choose an excerpt precisely because it contains something different, and then we’ll discover how it’s received.

  7. Sonia says:

    Thank you so much for this episode. It’s really really interesting. I’m a listener from East Asia so it’s pleasant surprise to hear from a romance author from Asia. And I have to say, people who say Filipinos aren’t keen about reading are SO wrong. Filipinos are frequent users of the library system in my city. I think they read way more than locals….

  8. chacha1 says:

    Really enjoyed this, and love the idea of having actors do scenes from a book. I plan to steal that idea.

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