Maria Teresa "Tessa" Cruz San Diego is a prolific and bestselling

Bestseller

A bestseller is a book that is identified as extremely popular by its inclusion on lists of currently top selling titles that are based on publishing industry and book trade figures and published by newspapers, magazines, or bookstore chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and...

 author

Filipino women writers

The history of Filipino women writers is an account of how Philippine women became literary “mistresses of the ink” and “lady pen-pushers” who created works of fiction or factual and historical storybooks, poetry, novels, short stories, essays, biographies, autobiographies and other known writing...

 of Tagalog

Tagalog language

Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...

 popular romance novels in the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

. As a writer for the Tagalog pocketbooks

Tagalog pocketbooks

Tagalog romance novels, sometimes collectively referred to as Tagalog pocketbooks, Tagalog paperbacks, Tagalog romance paperbacks, Tagalog romance pocketbooks, Philippine romance novels, Filipino romance novels, Pinoy pocketbooks, Tagalog popular novels, or Tagalog popular romance literature are...

 industry, San Diego used the noms de plume such as Maia Jose and Tisha Nicole.

Career

San Diego's first Tagalog romance novel was published in 1992 by Books for Pleasure, Inc. under the Valentine Romances line of paperback

Paperback

Paperback, softback or softcover describe and refer to a book by the nature of its binding. The covers of such books are usually made of paper or paperboard, and are usually held together with glue rather than stitches or staples...

s. San Diego's romantic novels included plots that are within the scope of fantasy romance and issues that are political, ecological, and gender-related. San Diego has already written around a hundred Tagalog romance novels in a span of two decades Apart from writing romances, San Diego was a mentor and trainer for the Basic Film Scriptwriting course sponsored by Star Cinema

Star Cinema

ABS-CBN Film Productions, Inc. , is the wholly owned film production subsidiary of ABS-CBN Corporation. It is the Philippines' largest film production, producing most of the highest grossing films in the Philippines.-1994:...

. San Diego also freelances as writer and editor for non-governmental organization

Non-governmental organization

A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...

s in the Philippines and abroad.

External links

• Maia Jose: Writer, Filipina, Published Author of Philippine/Filipino/Tagalog Romance Novels Since 1992, A Video Interview on Writing Filipino Romance Novels