About Me
 
Thank you for visiting my website. I’m a Philippine-born, Swiss writer, writing as Angelica Hopes. Angelica Hopes as my chosen nom de plume came to mind while I was roaming around in Noto, Sicily, summer of 2004. Reflecting about life, just a month after Papa’s motor accident and trying to accept his tragic death. I thought of a name that would carry the theme of what I love to write: to give hope and motivation to many people of all ages, from all walks of life. As I’m so passionate about writing, I do love reading! Reading nostalgic lane When I was a child, I love Grimm brothers tales and some Chinese tales as most weekends I and my favourite cousin, Emy, shared summary of stories we read. When we didn’t like the ending, we would think of an alternative denouement. I liked reading comics in late 70’s and early 80’s. During summer vacation, I was grateful that my grandmother’s sister gave me Papa’s old Greek mythology classic comics printed in 1945-50’s. During my high school and college days, I read two to three novels a day. Buying paperback novels was a luxury so I borrowed books from the library, rented from the town newspaper distributor and I was lucky to have my half-Chinese cousins next door where I borrowed novels of Sidney Sheldon, Danielle Steel, Janet Dailey, Anne Mather, Carole Mortimer, Jude Deveraux, Judith McNaught and other Mills and Boons books I swapped with my schoolmates. My high school term paper and long extensive reading coupled with research in three libraries was Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy. Two decades after high school graduation, while living in Switzerland, having fluently learned the Italian language while living in Lugano and grateful to have read La Divina Commedia in its original version and visited Casa di Dante in Florence, Italy; brought back memories of my love for poetry with philosophical, values and wit writing content. I read works of Ugo Foscolo and Mariannina Coffa, the latter of who inspired me to write my own Italian poems. Writing awakening path During my childhood, teenage years and until now, I do love to pen my thoughts, reflections, unforgettable moments in my diaries. I often joined the Science Fair and Quiz Essay writing contests which I never won but was grateful to represent my school and happy of the early exposures in writing. At 14 years old, after a summer journalism workshop with girls scouts, that was when I wished to pursue something on Journalism or writing field when I grow up but that became elusive because there was no creative writing course offered in my province. It was only in my university days that I won in some essay writing contests during Linggo ng Wika (Language Week). In college, I contributed to the school Gazette, on articles related to environmental awareness and humanity after being a student volunteer to distribute relief goods to survivors of typhoon Uring/Thelma - Ormoc, Leyte, 1991 flash flood tragedy and earthquake victims in Cabanatuan and Gabaldon, Nueva Ecija prior Mt. Pinatubo erupted. In my high school English literature class, works of Ernest Hemingway, Edgar Allan Poe, Dante Alighieri and Thomas Wolfe, Wolfe and Alighieri who are my favourite classic authors whose works have woven artistic awakening towards creative writing. My experiences as a divorcee, a mother raising my two daughters in Switzerland and my personal struggles as a migrant, an expat and various literary travels influenced my writing of poems, reflections, aphorisms, essays, articles and plots. In February 2003, to hone my writing craft, as a member of Romance Writers of America, I crossed the Atlantic, attended for the first time a local conference of FRW and SWFRW in Fort Lauderdale. I was so lucky to have met Suzanne Brockmann, Leslie Kelly, Patricia Waddell, Nancy Cohen, other American novelists and Sherry Weddle who linked me to Cindy Gerard. I value and treasure a lot the friendship with writers, sharing their support and advice in writing. On the same year, I joined an international poetry competition in Washington, DC and won an award as one of the outstanding poets of the year with my acrostic poems: Desert Rose and Single Mom. I’m grateful of having met a journalist, magazine publisher, Dheza Marie Aguilar Kuijs, who interviewed me on what inspired me to write my poetry book, Rhythm of a Heart, Music of a Soul, as part of her TFC Balitang Europe news and happy to have written various articles for The Filipino Expat magazine. Thank you, Ms. Hannah Beech, for having quoted my article in TIME after the Haiyan disaster in the Philippines. To improve further my writing style and gain more confidence prior publishing my first novel, I studied creative writing in University of Oxford and was grateful of my professor and our critiquing group of writers for their valuable advice and constructive literary criticisms on my novel work-in-progress. Living for fourteen years in canton Tessin of Switzerland, made me learn to read, write, speak very fluently the Italian language as well as learning other foreign languages: French and German, all of which enrich my writing, voice and style. Having moved to The Netherlands, I’m self-studying the Dutch language and blessed to be near the annual Writers Winternacten Festival in The Hague where it made me possible to meet and listen to the lectures of Amos Oz, Alberto Manguel, Hannan Al Shaykh, Aminatta Forna, Mohammad Hanif, Peter Buwalda, Petra Stienen, Amin Maalouf and Andres Neuman. Writing inspirations My worst and most bitter life experiences giving me hard earned life wisdom, my immersion during the Community Extension Services during my student years, my being a counselor to domestic violence abuse/battered spouse/battered children, being a my funniest, loving, joyful moments, counseling battered or abused women, the various hearts who knock on my door to ask my views, advice about love, migration, divorce, child rearing, sickness, death and other life situations, my family root in the Philippines, the moral support of the relatives of my my ever patient, supportive husband, Camiel, who let me professionally write full time and my dedicated role as Mammina of my three daughters, Teresa, Giulia and Elisa: all of them give me various, unique, enriching inspiration in my poems, short stories, reflections, prose, essays, articles and different genre I write. My past jobs: flights dispatcher and coordinator, research analyst, loans and credit analyst, legal assistant, shipping insurance employee, piano and English tutor, all contribute to my exposure on diverse fields that affect my writing topics, maturity and plots. I love to travel and learn foreign languages. All the places I have lived and visited, the peculiar, unforgettable experiences in various countries I have been will all be part of the upcoming cross genre novels work-in-progress manuscripts. I’m currently working on the book 2 and book 3 of Speranza Odyssey Trilogy, doing an English-Italian book translation, ghost writing a memoir of a Filipino OFW-artist in UK and a crime fiction novel trilogy and writing multiple cross-genre novel pentalogy series. No matter how heavy the challenges we face in our life, embrace optimism, perseverance, tenacity and courage. Never lose faith and hope and a generous heart who lives and breathes with a timeless love. Bloom through the cutting edges of life. best regards, Angelica
Angelica Hopes  Swiss - Filipino author, Essayist, Novelist, Poet, Italian-English translator Featured In Rappler Quoted in TIME The Filipino Expat Magazine ABS CBN Global Filipino Twilight Musings, 2005 Colours of the Heart, 2005 A Surrender to the Moon, 2005 Honey of the Soul, 2004 Current Events Book Release: Life Issues Twitter Angelica Hopes Youtube Angelica Hopes Facebook Angelica Hopes Goodreads Angelica Hopes Instagram Angelica Hopes Author Pinterest Heart of Hopes Google + Ana Angelica Abaya van Doorn Wordpress Landscapes of Inspirational Thoughts Live. Love. Travel. Write. Inspire. Reach Out Films and Books Reviews Odyssey of a Heart  Organization Writers Unlimited Romance Writers of America She Writes Women Writers, Women’s Books Birthday: February 23rd, Age: 40 + blessed witty mystery  Education: St. Paul Academy, graduated high school valedictorian. Universidad de Santa Isabel, Bachelor of Arts Major in Economics, graduated cum laude and outstanding in religious education. Ateneo de Naga University, Methods of Teaching. International Correspondence School, Singapore - On-line Freelance Journalism and Short Story Writing. One year of studies in Masters in Accountancy at Polytechnic University of the Philippines prior migrating to Switzerland One year of on-line studies in Flights Dispatch & Introduction to PPL -U.K. & Florida prior migrating to The Netherlands. Creative Writing, Department of Continuing Education, University of Oxford. Forensic Psychology, class of Milton Keynes Novel Writing, Post Graduate Writing Workshop: The Write Stuff, Fun in the Sun Conference with Suzanne Brockmann Florida Romance Writers Writing Workshop: Novel Structure, Novel Plotting Organised by CTRWA Words of Feather Writing Retreat, Venice Writing Masterclass with Roz Morris Re: Nail your Novel and the Key to Success Is Good Editing Organised by Janys Hyde, Words of a Feather Ghost Writing Class by Roz Morris, The Guardian Masterclasses Languages/Dialects: English, Italian, German, French, Dutch, Spanish, Filipino, Bicol, Ilocano My top 10 favourite books that made me reflect on life with added global awareness of other culture, the books I have read at least more than 2x are as follows: 1. One - Richard Bach
2. Storia di un’anima (Italian version of Story of a Soul) - St. Therese of Lysieux
3. Un cuore grande (Italian version of A Mighty Heart) - Mariane Pearl
4. Mom Has Fun - Nicole McKenzie
5. In Search of Hope - Mariane Pearl
6. You Can Heal Your Life - Louise L. Hay
7. La sposa ribelle (Italian version of The Locus and The Bird) - Hannan Al Shaykh
8. O Lost (unabridged version of Look Homeward, Angel) - Thomas Wolfe
9. Knight in Shining Armour - Jude Deveraux
10. If Tomorrow Comes - Sidney Sheldon I admire each author’s unique narrative style picking on wit, wisdom, humour , inspiring lessons and philosophical light, moreover, the strength and arch of characters. Each books significantly touched me as it coincided directly or indirectly proportional to my various personal life experiences.  Live. Love. Travel. Write. Inspire. Reach outhttp://www.rappler.com/move-ph/issues/gender-issues/90404-divorce-filipino-switzerlandhttp://world.time.com/2013/11/12/for-filipinos-overseas-a-desperate-wait-for-news-of-typhoons-wrath/http://thefilipinoexpat.com/bridging-cultural-gap-with-intercultural-children/http://thefilipinoexpat.com/bridging-cultural-gap-with-intercultural-children/http://world.time.com/2013/11/12/for-filipinos-overseas-a-desperate-wait-for-news-of-typhoons-wrath/http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/global-filipino/06/22/13/how-pinay-coped-discrimination-switzerlandhttps://twitter.com/angelicahopeshttps://www.youtube.com/user/angelicahopeshttps://www.facebook.com/Angelica.Hopes.Official.Fanpagehttps://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4491745.Angelica_Hopeshttps://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4491745.Angelica_Hopeshttps://www.instagram.com/angelicahopesauthor/https://www.instagram.com/angelicahopesauthor/http://www.pinterest.com/heartofhopes/https://plus.google.com/112345926969381822906/postshttps://plus.google.com/112345926969381822906/postshttp://landscapesofinspirationalthoughts.wordpress.comhttp://landscapesofinspirationalthoughts.wordpress.comhttp://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/https://filmsandbooksreviews.wordpress.comhttps://filmsandbooksreviews.wordpress.comhttp://www.odysseyofaheart.comshapeimage_5_link_0shapeimage_5_link_1shapeimage_5_link_2shapeimage_5_link_3shapeimage_5_link_4shapeimage_5_link_5shapeimage_5_link_6shapeimage_5_link_7shapeimage_5_link_8shapeimage_5_link_9shapeimage_5_link_10shapeimage_5_link_11shapeimage_5_link_12shapeimage_5_link_13shapeimage_5_link_14shapeimage_5_link_15shapeimage_5_link_16shapeimage_5_link_17shapeimage_5_link_18shapeimage_5_link_19shapeimage_5_link_20shapeimage_5_link_21shapeimage_5_link_22shapeimage_5_link_23

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