Your professional background, whatever it may be, does not limit creativity. Florante Coronel’s journey is a true example of this belief. With formal training in marketing, business management, and accounting, he spent many years working in the corporate sector in the Philippines. After moving to the United States, he built a long and meaningful career in the family and senior care industry, for more than two decades. Florance is the current Board Chair and CEO of United Federation of Filipino-American Educators (UNIFFIED) Cooperative, Inc,  and serving as Public Relations Director of the National Board and Membership Ambassador of the New Jersey Chapter.

More recently, Flo, that’s how you call him, has shifted his focus toward nonprofit leadership and management. Today, he brings another dimension of his talent by writing a novel inspired by his own life experiences and background.

When I first met him at the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) New York friends’ year-end gathering, I never imagined he had just released a book. When I finally got a copy and read it, I was genuinely surprised by how good it was, especially since it was his first book. His storytelling flows like a river, gradually building in depth and strength toward the end.

Flo’s story is a powerful reminder that creativity and fiction writing have no boundaries, no matter where you come from or what professional path you’ve followed. That experience inspired me to invite Flo to TheCreativeTalk.com. Let’s follow and explore my conversation with a story writer, Florante Coronel.

Q: Hi Flo, how are you? I finally read your book. 

A: Hello Naratama, I am good thank you. Glad you have read my book. What do you think?

Q: It’s really good. I’m really impressed with your background from being a college professor, to founding and owning a family care senior service, and now releasing The Jaguar’s Pact novel. You’re clearly a busy person. How did you find the time to start and finish writing this novel? and why?

A: I taught in college, only for a year, while filling in time in my professional marketing job. My educational training is in Marketing & Management, with some studies in Accounting. I founded and operated a home care business when I came to the US in 2002. My work experiences with pharmaceutical & medical marketing inspired me to venture in the elderly care field. Even from the Phils., many years back, I was already writing the manuscript for The Jaguar’s Pact,when I was still in my 30’s. It had undergone multiple revisions as I progressed in my professional and family life. I was able to complete it lately when I retired from active employment and was enticed by the ease with which we can do self-publication at present, thanks to the advance book publication technology and methods.

Q: How did you create the main character, Diwa Xaviera? When you chose the other characters, was there any particular moment or experience that inspired them?

A: A very interesting question. DIWA XAVIERA is the Filipino equivalent of the leading character in Harold Robbins’ novel, The Adventurers. His name is DAX or Diogenes Alejandro Xenos. I dropped the “A”. As for the other characters, although fictional, the names are real and I had interactions with those people in real life, in my youth. To a certain degree, this betrayal aspect was influenced by a lot of Harold Robbins’ novels. He was my favorite writer during my teenage years. Conflicts are essential parts of life, and betrayals are the deeper sources of conflicts.

Q: By reading your novel, I learned part of Mindanao’s history. Even though I’ve never been there, your novel explores the betrayal behind the Jaguar’s Pact while portraying Mindanao’s history and setting. Why did you choose Mindanao as the background story? What challenges did you face while writing this story?

A: First and foremost, it is the place of my birth. I was born in Cotabato, in a town called Pigcawayan. I spent my pre-teens in Muslim Cotabato City and neighboring municipalities. It was a lot more peaceful in the late 60’s. My family moved to Davao City when I was approaching my teenage years. I spent some memorable summers in the mountains of Davao City at the foot of Mt. Apo, bordering on Bukidnon province, the setting for my novel. I did extensive travels in that area, both in my pre-teens and years after the martial law era in the late 80‘s and onwards. I want my readers to feel or think that this part of Mindanao, the areas bounded by Davao City, Bukidnon province and parts of Lanao del Sur, has a very unique situation. There are conflicting beliefs and practices by different residents: the indigenous peoples, the Muslims, Christians, the communist insurgents and the military settlers. And yet, they seem to co-exist peacefully with one another, and learn to set aside their fear, and anxiety, believing that the other groups are also human beings. That’s why, they didn’t abandon the place.

Q: I noticed that your writing style uses imaginative, poetic, and literary language, making every sentence beautifully crafted. Reading your work requires limitless imagination, which made me have to reread a couple times. How are you able to write such creative literary prose? Do you have any literary references or inspirations?  

A: You think that? well. Modesty aside, that’s how I was influenced to write by my mother who was a Teacher by education. She majored in Literature, and since she devoted her teaching skills to us nine children as a single parent most of the time, we got a ton of exposure to prose & poetry, notably the works of Shakespeare, with a generous serving of The Iliad and The Odyssey. Graduating from poetry and English literature in my teenage years, I got hooked with almost all the novels of Harold Robbins.

Q: What simple creative tips would you give to new or aspiring novelists?

A:  Nowadays, seldom are the writers who compose stories that are not in any way influenced or affected by something they had read, unless they are sci-fi themed, just like JK Rowling. So, I’d say to those aspiring writers & novelists, read a variety of materials, watch movies, videos, daydream a lot. From all of these, just let your imagination run wild. There’s really no sure-fire formula.

Q: Where can readers buy and read your novel? And where can they contact or follow you (social media or website)?

A: The Jaguar’s Pact is available in Amazon, in Paperback or E-book edition. Someone was suggesting for me to think of an Audiobook. I have not given it serious thought yet. You can also reach me on my social media: FB: flo coronel, IG @flocornell, X@flocornell928 and Linkedln: flo-coronel

Q: Thank you for your time, Flo. Let me know if you write another book I’d love to buy and read it.

A: You are very welcome. Sure, I will let you know when the next book is ready. Thanks for having me on thecreativetalk.com.

That’s the end of my interview with Flo. This seems like the perfect book to kick off 2026 with.

Written by Naratama / New York / Dec, 2025 Photo by Florante (documentation).