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Wednesdays are the new Fry-day – Keep the Faith audio podcast

I’m writing this as I sit here at home, working and fretting over the typhoon that’s currently moving through our country and I think it’s kind of the right timing to finally blog about this. Because if you’ve read my second book, you’d know how much typhoons and weather watching is part of Keep the Faith.

A few months ago, Mina sent me a message about a new #romanceclass project: season 3 of the #romanceclass podcast, which is basically an audiobook project but done in a more ~relaxed way. One chapter a week, recorded at home with podcasting equipment, cake and tea after the session optional. She selected Keep the Faith to go first and of course, my answer was YES.

It’s one thing to hear a scene being live read at an event, it’s another thing to hear your first chapter read out loud, then the next, and the next and the next. Keep the Faith was written and published when live readings were already being a thing in #romanceclass, but of course authors only really visualize one or two parts that’s is for live reading. I never thought of those chapters that didn’t really have much happening except conversations being acted out loud, or hearing someone read those looong chapters where I sort of enjoyed writing a little too much. I still stand by what I said the first time I heard the Fall Like Rain live reading audio — it feels like someone’s reading my diary.

Then there’s the part where hearing it out loud makes all your little grammar boo-boos jump out at you and make you cringe. Like, oh you used the same sentence structure too many times, or oops that’s a typo you and your editor and your proofreader missed, and oh, you could’ve written that part better, right? And then there are those words that you just write in then later you realize that you have been pronouncing it wrong all this time (I’m looking at you, tarpaulin).

At the first recording session with #romanceclass podcast producers Mina V. Esguerra and Tania Arpa, and audiobook narrator Jade Albert.

I guess the more interesting bit in Keep the Faith is how I decided to write this character who knows Hiligaynon when I know nothing of that language. If you’ve read the book, that chapter where Nico speaks an entire line/Bible verse in Hiligaynon was only because of a little challenge that came up at the first AprilFeelsDay because I wanted Gio to read something in a different language. How was I supposed to know I’d be subjecting someone else to a new learning curve?

But I think the best thing about this is having a chance to see this book in a new light. With my WIPs taking their sweet, sweet time (aka forever), it can get be easy to dismiss whatever past work I’ve done, and a bit of a struggle to remember that I can actually still do this. I remember that week when Episode/Chapter 6 came out and I finally listened to an episode (I don’t listen to it all the time because hello, my diary) and ended up reading through the rest of the book and feeling all the feelings I had when I first wrote it.

We’re almost down to the last third of the book–in fact, my favorite chapter releases (part 1) today! If you haven’t read the book yet, then you have a lot of chapters to binge on! Or if you’ve read the book, then maybe it’s time to reconnect with our favorite boy Nico? 😉

Subscribe to the #RomanceClass Podcast to get notified of new chapters as soon as they’re available – Apple Podcasts/iTunes download it automatically to your phone, while Spotify is below! Other links to subscribe are at romancepodcast.com.

 

If you like what you hear, please rate and review so other people will find the podcast, too? The unabridged audio version of Keep the Faith is narrated by Jade Albert and produced by Tania Arpa and Mina V. Esguerra. Sponsorships are open – if you’re interested, send an email to mina @ romancepodcast.com.

Happy listening!

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