Events, The Writing Community

It’s time for #PBF2025!

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Hey hey, book lovers — the 2025 Philippine Book Festival is in A WEEK and I’m very excited! Why, you ask? Well, my friends, it’s because the Philippine Book Festival is the ONE big bookish event in the country that has Filipino-authored publications as its focus. So if you wanna get into Filipino authors and their works, this is THE event you should be at.

This year, the Philippine Book Festival is happening on March 13-16 (Thursday to Sunday) at the Megatrade Halls of SM Megamall Building B. As always, the event is FREE for the public — you can pre-register using the QR code on the poster below, or just simply show up on the day of the event and register at the door.

Every year at the Philippine Book Festival, the venue is divided into four realms: Booktopia (trade books), Kid Lit (children’s literature), Aral Aklat (educational books), and Komiks (comics and graphic novels). This year, #RomanceClass will be having its very own booth at Booktopia, and we are inviting you all to check us out at Booth BO11! Your favorite #RomanceClass books will be there, as well as some authors who’ll be hanging out and signing books as well.

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Musical/Play, Review, Theatre

Tara’s Thoughts On: The Sandbox Co.’s Next to Normal

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Me when The Sandbox Co. first announced that they were staging Next to Normal.

Since discovering the musical in 2012 (Thanks, Aaron Tveit!) and falling in love with the material, I’ve dreamt of seeing the musical live — so of course I wouldn’t have missed this for the world. (I’m even watching a second time, duh.)

Next to Normal is a rock musical that explores the effects of repressed grief and a crumbling mental state on an individual as well as the people around them. Created by Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt, the story revolves around Diana Goodman, a wife and mother struggling with bipolar disorder and depression. With the help of her hopeful husband Dan, she cycles through several rounds of treatment that mess with her system in various ways. Fed up with it all, Diana decides to ditch her meds, and the consequences of that decision sends her and whole family into a spiral.

Apart from the outstanding lyricism and score, I really appreciated the way Next to Normal conveyed the interconnected stories of Diana, Dan, their daughter Natalie (and her suitor Henry), and their son, Gabe. The messages the show sent across were so necessary, the most notable for me being that grief need not be repressed. It had to be properly acknowledged. Felt. Embraced.

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My Work, The Writing Community

Connect The Hearts is now available for digital pre-order!

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That’s right, friends! You may now pre-order your digital copy of my upcoming book, Connect the Hearts on Amazon!

In case you missed it, Connect the Hearts is a collection of four short stories about the ways we find, forge, and foster our relationships using the technology available to us. Some of you who are familiar with my work will be able to meet familiar characters in these stories! And if you’re new to my work, don’t worry—I’m sure you’ll be able to enjoy these stories too.

The ebook comes out on March 13, just in time for the 2025 Philippine Book Festival happening at the Megatrade Hall of SM MegaMall in Ortigas. If you happen to attend the event, drop by the #RomanceClass booth and show me your ebook for a little gift! Hope to see you there! <3

I’m looking for a street team!

Do you wanna be part of my Connect the Hearts street team? I’m looking for at least three more people to complete the lineup — sign up here! Thank you so much in advance!

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My Work, The Writing Community

I have a new book coming out!

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Yep, you read that right! I’m working on a new short story collection which I’m planning to release in March, and here’s a sneak peek of the cover that I’ve commissioned Filipino artist Lori Rebluna to create:

Tara, what’s the new book about?

It’s a collection of short stories, kind of similar with What If We Fall In Love?, but some of them are in epistolary form. If you have been following my publishing journey closely, you may have consumed some of these short stories in some shape or form in the last 4-5 years. These are previously published somewhere on the internet, and I felt that they needed a “container” of some sort, so I’ve compiled them in this one book.

When’s it coming out?

The target date of release for digital is the second week of March, just in time for the 2025 Philippine Book Festival. The print release will hopefully come in time for #RomanceClass April Feels Day 2025.

If you’d like early updates about this book, please consider signing up for my newsletter! Click here to subscribe.

Cover reveal and pre-order link coming in February!

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