Interview with Almira Jose

Ms. Almira Jose gave me permission to repost this interview from her blog: http://naniniwalaako.blogspot.com

 1. When did you start writing Tagalog romance novels? 2003

2. When were you first published? Aug 2003
What genre or title - was your first published work? Modern Category Romance written in Popular Tagalog

3. How did you become a Tagalog romance novel writer? My own initiative
Who or what influenced you? I have long since been a fan of the genre and writing felt like a natural progression

4. Do you use any pen names? If yes, what is/are these? Yes, Almira Jose

5. How many novels have you written so far (If forgotten, approximate no.)? Twenty four

6. Are all of these published? If not why? No, 18 have been published already, the rest are still waiting their turn/schedule

7. How do you come up with your plots/stories? How do you choose your characters? My psychology background plays a part. I'd like to think I have a rudimentary understanding of human behavior.

7. What are the usual themes of your novels (aside from having a central love story)? Why do you use such themes? I'm partial to 'coming of age' 'comedy of errors' and 'rekindling old flames' but I try not to indulge myself and write these themes. Why? I want to push and challenge myself.

8. Do you follow a formula/process in writing your manuscript? If yes, what is/are these? Romance fiction by nature is formulaic. Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl in the end.

9. What do you consider as ideal writing conditions (place, almosphere, mood, etc.)? Place - my room...Atmosphere - as long as there's no distraction...Mood - when I don't have pressing problems to think about. In short, when I'm relaxed

10. Where do you get your ideas on what to write in your novels? Decades of reading, watching films, observing strangers, interacting with others etc...

11. What/who are your inspiration/s in writing? I'm a fan of the genre and that inspires me to write.

12. Do you accept inputs suggested by your publisher? Editors? Production Designers or Marketing Directors? Yes. I take their suggestions into consideration.

13. What suggestions do you retain/remove? What I love about PHR is that they give us writers leeway in our stories. We can write 'out of the box' as long as we are able to give justice to our plots

14. Who has the final say as to what gets published? The editor

15. Does/do your publisher/s have memos/ guidelines on how and what to write? No. But they do have book imprints for example, my love my hero (where the heroine's safety is compromised and the hero saves the day), my lovely bride (the story leads to the altar), blue (the male protagonist is a blue collar worker), working girl (most of the scenes take place in the work environment).. they don't obligate us to write under these imprints but they do encourage us

16. Are there any restrictions? If yes, what are they? Who sets these rules? As I've mentioned, the very nature of the genre is formulaic. Boy meets girl, conflict keeps them apart, this conflict is later on resolved and both end up together. Conflicts are vast and varied and it is up to the writer to think of, build up, and resolve this conflict. You can't write a story without these elements and still call it romance.

One rule that can't be broken though is that the hero and heroine together must have a happily ever after ending. This has been a long established requirement of the genre.

For clarification purposes, I'd like to make clear that we are talking about modern romance fiction here. The happily ever after part is a requirement that sets this genre apart from a love story... one example, Love Story by Erich Segal. Although containing elements of romance, this book cannot be categorized under modern romance fiction since the heroine dies in the end.