Roxanne San Jose’s young adult novel on time travel is out now
Angelie Thompson is a time machine inventor. When her boyfriend accidentally travels back in 1970, she searches for him and meets a slew of odd characters. Twists happen along the way and lead her to change the world.
“The story highlights love, dedication and friendship with a lot of excitement,” said author Roxanne San Jose, 29. “Time Travel” is her second novel and her favorite because in writing it, she was able to explore her creativity to the fullest.
Born in the Philippines, Roxanne now resides in Las Vegas, Nevada. She self-published her first book, “Annagram,” in 2015 about three countries fighting over an ancient island. Her fiction was inspired by current developments over the Spratly Islands where the Philippines, China, and Vietnam have overlapping claims. She graduated in Clark High School with an Advance Diploma and graduated with a degree in Political Science from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Her parents migrated to the United States when she was 13 years old to seek “greener pasture.” She came to Nevada because her father’s enterprise was related to the gaming industry. He owns a slot machine business where she and her brother currently work as she continues to write her novels.
“I learned to multi-task two jobs at once,” she said. “I usually have interviews in the late afternoon or early morning in order to work in the slot machine business or write in the evening.”
Roxanne has been interviewed on podcasts and blogs. In a blog tour with Goddess Fish Promotions she engaged bloggers in a discussion about her “Time Travel,” for one month. “I enjoy doing blog tours.”
She got interested in writing books through reading. Her favorite authors are Dan Brown and Paulo Coelho. “I love Dan’s thriller stories such as the Robert Langdon series while with Paulo, I love how he was able to connect characters in one story as in ‘Time Travel.’”
Roxanne shared in an interview how it took her two years to write “Time Travel.”
“I went to the Philippines briefly,” she reflected. “Upon my return to the United States, I started to write again and brainstormed with the help of my creativity. I immediately sent it to publishers without editing it which was the greatest mistake I did.”
She got rejected by some publishers and accepted by others. On the advice of her mother she chose the publisher that would not break the bank. “Best decision ever because I am the kind of person who lives saving money.”
She gave her manuscript a second look and sent it out again to publishers.
“I was over the moon when I got an acceptance letter from Avid Publishing LLC,” she said.
“In order to write my books, I had to study and learn grammar. I understand the importance of education because without it, I will not be able to write.”
Her family is her biggest inspiration.
“It feels great having a support system because it makes me feel loved and want to continue to my work,” she said. Her father bought copies of her books to give to friends and business colleagues. Her relatives Liked and commented on her Facebook fan page.
Her third book, a romance novel, is in progress. – With Cristina DC Pastor
© The FilAm 2019
