Spotlight on one of our #romanceclass authors whose story Flying with You is featured in SUMMER FEELS Anthology 2017.
Here's a sneak peek of her short story:
“Flying with You” by Rachelle Belaro
All that Arci ever wanted was to visit Lake Sebu with her friends. When they backed out at the last minute, she was forced to continue her trip alone. Then she met Blue Shirt Guy, and she kept bumping into him. He became her impromptu travel buddy . . . and maybe a summer fling.
Will the way he holds her hand tight be enough to turn this something into a real relationship? Or is it just a fleeting summer encounter?
We interviewed Rachelle and she shared with us some interesting facts about herself.
Author Rachelle Belaro
Name three of your favorite authors when you were growing up.
Hmm. This is a tough question since I really like a lot of authors. But if I have to name just three, they would be Meg Cabot, Jennifer E. Smith and Mina V. Esguerra.
Why did you become a writer?
Honestly, it wasn’t a part of my plans in life. It sort of just happened. I started writing stories (which were not required in school) way back when I was in first year college. I didn’t have a block back then and my schedule was a mess. I had super long breaks and I didn’t get to meet my high school friends that often because they have different break times. When the freshie fair (I totally forgot how it was called. Lol.) happened, some sort of inspiration popped out of my mind and I tried to write a story and posted it on candymag.com's forum called Teentalk (where I read stories as well).
Who in your family inspired you to write?
None? Haha. Actually, my family didn’t know that I write not until one of my stories got a publishing deal.
How do you work as a writer?
I just write whenever and wherever I like. Sometimes, I write my chapters down through pen and paper but most of the times, I use my laptop. I don’t force myself to write and I don’t use outlines (Yeah. It’s a crime, I know.) Usually, I face writer’s block a lot or maybe I just procrastinate a little bit too much. Haha. So yeah, I really don’t take writing that seriously but things do change when I need to work on a deadline.
Describe your working space.
I really don’t have a definite working space. I write wherever I’m comfortable but most of the time, I write while sitting on my bed with my laptop placed on my lap. And oh, music helps me a lot! I usually write while listening to music (mostly Kpop even if I can’t understand the lyrics).
Where would you like to live someday?
If I were in an alternate universe, I would love to live in South Korea and maybe find my own source of inspiration. Haha. But in reality, I would still live in the city and travel to different places.
As a writer, it is a big plus to keep fit in between marathon writing. How do you keep fit?
I’m not sure if I could really be considered fit. Haha. My only exercise is walking from our house up to the tricycle terminal (around 5 minutes) and from the unloading area of the UV Express up to our office (around 10 minutes). By the time summer ends, I promise to use the stationary bike in our house religiously.
What have you learned so far as an author that you wish to impart to newbies?
There’s always room for improvement and success isn’t an overnight thing. If I were to compare my first story to my latest one, I could say that I really improved a lot. But that doesn’t mean that I will stop at that level. I want to continue growing as a writer and explore more things. The same thing goes for everyone. As long as we continue writing, we could eventually improve. Writing and publishing takes a lot of effort, patience and practice. So don’t lose hope and keep on going!
So there you have it. Here's looking forward to reading more stories from this statuesque beauty.
Rachelle is a published author of Pop Fiction, an imprint of Summit Books. She chooses watching Kdramas over writing stories, which makes it difficult for her to finish a chapter. If daydreaming were a profession, she could have made a great career in it.
To learn more about this author and for updates on new releases, please
Visit her blog, rachellebelaro.wordpress.com
Follow her on Twitter @areysieyts
Like her Facebook page, facebook.com/rachbelaro
Follow her on Amazon at amazon.com/author/rachellebelaro