This Ilocano phrase, when literally translated, asks for the Lord’s grace in saying “thank you,” with a prayer that the person being thanked...

It’s a common belief that students who have the money—and therefore have access to better schools, gadgets, expensive books and activities s...

People, people, people everywhere. Old and young, toddlers and retirees, students and teachers lined up for hours to enter the MIBF venue on...

Avid readers went gaga over the smorgasbord of book resources offered and served by CSM (Church Strengthening Ministry) Publishing all throu...

Three-toed sloths are the slowest animals in the world, moving only with a maximum speed of 0.003 miles per hour. That’s how I felt on the...

One of the things I terribly miss about working in advertising is diarrhea—of ideas.    In the creative and accounts departments, all yo...

That is an axiom in advertising. Packaging plays a big role in product choice.   In like manner, readers do judge a book by its cover. In ...

It’s the end of the first school term. I have just said goodbye to my students. Last days are sort of sentimental. They say “thank you” an...

Several days before the Manila International Book Fair (MIBF), the heavens cried. The heavy rainfall flooded the streets, stalled vehicles, ...

Attending a Palanca Awards Night, often held on September 1, has always been an exceptional grace for me. There I get to chat with fellow wr...

Silence was all I could hear while writing in the last two years. It began when my CD player, which I played all day, conked out on me. Fi...

“Would you consider writing a book on brokenness?” Joy, Editorial Manager of Church Strengthening Ministry ( CSM ), asked me as she held her...

The idea for this book, which was inspired by my friend Cherry, has roosted on the back burner for three years. One day, another friend, Lui...

I had barely breathed enough Philippine air—jet-lagged to the bone—when I rushed to facilitate what was dubbed as “Tea Party and Writing Wor...

“What is your greatest fear?” That was the question asked us in our Sunday school class (women’s group).  I have actually too many tiny ...

Every restaurant to where Tony and I were treated in the US had servings so big, we always had to request for a take-home box. On our thir...

This card game for one, which my grandmother taught me to play when I was a little girl, seemed like my only option between short dozes up o...

B is for beautiful. That’s how Auntie Hedy was called by everyone in our household and in the household of my late mother-in-law ( Amah o...

For one whole month, I missed worshiping in our home church. But one does not have to be starved with spiritual food just because she is a...

My friends in church know that my favorite part of the chicken is the neck. Each time we have a potluck fellowship, which is often, they wou...

“They call me a tiger because I am strict, a disciplinarian,” laughed Auntie Lily, in her self-deprecating humor. She is not really my a...

What motivates one to commit a crime? Whenever I read about hardened convicts who commit crimes and are sent to jail, unmindful of the har...