Welcome!

Mabuhay! Welcome to my blog as writer of Rom-rom stories. Well.. one story for now... the 2nd book is in the works as we speak :) So stay tuned.

The story of "Rom-rom and Lola" came about when I was a brand-new mom searching for books to buy for my baby. I bought him classic English ones and we also received some Spanglish ones during our baby shower. Seeing the Spanglish ones made me search for Tagalog/English ones. Even though we already speak Tagalog at home, I also wanted to provide some visuals for my son.

So, as an Amazon Prime Member, I went on to search for some Tagalog/English books. I did find a few which was great! BUT... I also felt like there should be more options. That is when I truly first came up with the idea to create my own book.

I wrote the story inspired by my son's interaction w/ his Lola (my mom). I find it very common in the US to have the same lifestyle as we do... having grandparents around to help take care of children while the parents work during the day. We consider ourselves very lucky to have my mom around to help us. But originally, my dad was also supposed to be around to help out and spend time with my son. Unfortunately, we just have to go with the cards of life we are dealt with.

My parents and I were still coping with the loss of my older sister when I found out I was pregnant. And during my gender reveal party (4 months into my pregnancy), my Dad started becoming very ill. For months, we didn't know exactly what was going on. Long story short, it turned out to be cancer. So while I was on Maternity leave, I was also driving my Dad to his different appointments. My water broke the same day my Dad had a procedure called Thorascenthesis done.

So... I finally wrote the story around May of 2018. I sort of sat on it until this year. I had been searching for someone who can illustrate my story. It wasn't until the Pandemic when I finally connected with an illustrator. Because I really wanted a Filipino illustrator to convey my message, I was able to find a Philippines-based artist. I really enjoyed working with him... he was very thorough and had the right amount of input. Check out Jhucel A. Del Rosario's Facebook Page. You may also visit my Home Page to read more about him.

Anyways... this book is my way of honoring my mother. At the same time, I wanted to help my son and other children learn some words in Tagalog. I am hoping this inspires other parents to explore the Filipino culture with their children. And perhaps, this book will also encourage children to explore other cultures out there.