About the Author

Marla believes heartbreak always leads to bigger and better things, such as this book you're holding right now. She doesn't need much to be happy—just quiet weekends with her family, people who let her think she's funny even when she's not (which is most of the time), and friends who stay up all night with her during intense, slightly-panicked writing sessions.

She likes curling up with a David Levithan novel, typing the very last word to a story, and baby-sitting her two little boys, Macu and Cisco. She thinks being Candy Magazine's Assistant Lifestyle Editor is pretty cool, and loves the fact that she gets paid to watch chick flicks, listen to her fave bands, and stalk her celebrity crushes.

In the following Q & A, Marla tells us more about the Every Girl's Guide books. Read on to see how she, too, learned about these rules from her own experiences, and what advice she gives teenage girls who want to move on and look forward to better relationships.

Tell us about the Every Girl's Guide series.
Every Girl's Guide to Heartache is composed of ten rules for girls after a breakup. Some of the rules are followed, some are not. As a more creative way to tell the story, we start each chapter with a rule. It's actually the first in a series of three. The three friends (Anna, Chrissy, and Rickie) get to tell their story a book each, and some characters keep resurfacing. Miguel will still be in the other books. Jaime and Olivia are coming back for the third. Gabriel will still be around, too, and he's going to have a love interest. Book three sort of puts everything together. The second book is more about Chrissy and her boys, plus the two girls.

Did you go through those breakup phases?
The main stage—like denial—yes. I think everyone goes through that. The stages aren't clear-cut for everyone, I think.

Did you break any of those rules?
I think I followed most naman. But for most people I would say it's hard not to break rule number four—cutting all communications with the Ex. You can delete the other person's number, but you've already memorized it! Or you see the updates in Facebook and Multiply, and you can't help but wonder how the other person is doing.

Do you have your own Miguel?
Right now, there's no Miguel, but the Jaimes have popped up once or twice! The thing with Jaime in this book, it's just a joke for him and he doesn't know what to do. He's a one-dimensional jerk. Even guys in real life who tend to act like jerks, especially the younger ones, they're just confused and don't know what they want. Even if they know what they want, they don't know they can actually do something about what they want. My Jaimes are a bit less evil (laughs) but more of the confused type nga. I don't think they meant to hurt me. That's what I think every time.

Miguel is sort of patterned after me because he was the one who was sure about what he wants. Sometimes, it's really possible to feel that everything is really over, even though some people don't think that can really happen. When you break up, sometimes it's really over.

Are Anna's friends patterned after your own friends?
Chrissy is sort of patterned after my close friend in college. She was good, she followed all the rules; very mature and very responsible. When Anna and Rickie are up to something, she's the level-headed one. It's good to have a friend like that especially when you're younger. A mature friend can keep you on your toes.

I love Rickie, she's so funny. She's actually a bit similar to my sister. I have friends who have lots of boys, but they have their reasons. Rickie has her reasons, too. In the third book, you'll get to understand her more. You'll understand why she needs all that attention, why she's self-absorbed.

How about Anna's family?
Her mom is super pakialamera. My mom's not like that (laughs) but Anna's dad and Chrissy's dad are like my dad: they're super cool. Among the three girls, si Rickie lang actually ang may problem. Anna and Chrissy have good, functional families. For the first two, I didn't want to blame the family for everything that was happening. Anna is actually my sister's name. My brother's name is Timothy, when he was younger my aunts called him Timmy. You'll get to see him more in the third book.

I'm curious: where did you get the inspiration for Gabriel?
He was supposed to be straight, but in the end I thought, what if he's gay—that was actually funnier. Plus, you didn't see it coming! One of my friends said Gabriel reminds him of Yael [Yuzon], but I wasn't thinking about him consciously. When I read it again, I realized there were similarities. They're both very mysterious, with a rock star vibe and all.

What kind of books do you read and who are your literary influences?
David Levithan actually has a diverse body of work. When you read him, you can't pinpoint his exact style because it's never the same with another book. I love his work. I like Melissa Bank, who wrote The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing and The Wonder Spot. In terms of influence, I can't really pinpoint one particular person. I try my best to make it a bit deeper but fun and entertaining. But there always has to be something beneath the surface.

I really love teen lit. When they were asking me to pitch ideas, I admitted I really can't write for older audiences. I write for a teen magazine, so that's what I really like. My gauge for pleasing a younger audience is actually my sister—kasi minsan 'yung ibang young adult books hindi pa talaga appropriate e. When she buys books, I screen the book before she reads them. Would I let my little sister read this? There's something about teen lit that you can relate to, but there's still something deep about it. It's more fun, too.

What advice would you give girls with problems like Anna's?
Channel all energy into something more productive. Don't bash your ex online or anywhere. When you read that much later and look back at it months or years after, it's actually quite pointless. You could have left each other alone and somewhere down the line you could have been friends again. Kasi if you do, you just ruin the relationship and friendship; you both lose in the end. Be productive and keep yourself busy, ang dami namang distractions available. You can write, read books, listen to music, [and] go out with your family. If you really want to get over someone, you can. Be willing to let go first, from there it'll all work out.

If ever a movie version of your book was done, who would portray the main characters and why?
Ellen Page for Anna and Michael Cera for Miguel. Alexis Bledel for Chrissy. For Rickie, she's a bit younger than them—but the girl in Privilege—Lucy Hale—she’s malandi but lovable and charming. For Rickie you need someone you won't hate. For Jaime, Joe Jonas (laughs)!

Will the third be the last?
Yes, the third book wraps everything up already. But publishing more books is a good option! They'll go to college, meet more people...we'll see what happens.

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