My weekend with Pawssion Project

I don’t remember now how exactly I discovered Pawssion Project, but I do know it was before the pandemic happened, and I’d had aspirations of becoming a volunteer even back then. Fast forward to 2023, and I saw a call for volunteers on their Instagram page; I signed up and that was it! I became a Pawssion Project volunteer!

I initially signed up as one of their content creators, but immediately realized I couldn’t contribute as much because of my day job and other author-related activities. Even volunteering at events became a bit tricky schedule-wise, because my weekends were always busy. And when they’re not, I’m almost always catching up on sleep.

Anyway, I was able to volunteer at the Bobba’s Backyard Pet Expo event this weekend, and it was a lot of fun. We got to raise over P100,000 for the shelter and new rescues in need of urgent care! It was amazing to meet people who share the same love and compassion for strays and abandoned animals, and I truly hope to see a world where every stray and homeless dog and cat find their furever homes.

For more information about Pawssion Project, visit their website: pawssionproject.org.ph. You may also follow them on Instagram or Facebook for updates on rescues and details of upcoming events. There are upcoming events where you can participate and help us out, so please watch out for those, and we hope to see you there!

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I’m launching a book at #MIBF2024 this Saturday!

Yes, folks—it’s finally happening! But first…

Look at these beauties! These are the new Blush Books edition covers for Six de los Reyes’ Beginner’s Guide: Love and Other Chemical Reactions, Mina V. Esguerra’s Better at Weddings Than You, and my book, Scandalized! Aren’t they amazing? Many thanks to talented local artists Enid Din, Ren Bit, and Shai San Jose for giving our books a glow-up!

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Tara’s Thoughts On: SB19’s Pagtatag Finale Concert

05/18/2024

Dear Diary,

SB19 finished their first day of the Pagtatag Finale concert today. They were soooooo cute! Sabi nila, A’Tin were so instrumental to their success, kaya lang, we’re OA. React much sa lahat ng bagay kasi eh!

Mula ngayon…

Goodbye—teka, ano’ng goodbye? *Maricel Soriano voice* WALANG MAGGU-GOODBYE!!!

We might have said our farewell to the Pagtatag era, but just like Pablo said, this is not the end. And honestly, for someone like me who’s just attended her FIRST SB19 concert, this is just the beginning.

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Love Languages: Notes from the 2024 Philippine Book Festival

After the January KOMIKET event at Market! Market! a few months ago, I wrote a blog post about Why I like hand selling books. Now, here I am again, about to share with you some nakakakilig moments of the time we hand sold #RomanceClass books at the 2024 Philippine Book Festival.

Organized by the National Book Development Board, the Philippine Book Festival is a free event that aims to showcase Filipino talent through various types of published work. Just like last year, the World Trade Center (official venue of #PBF2024) was divided into four “realms”: Booktopia (fiction and non-fiction books), Komiks (comic books, graphic novels, zines, and art), Aral Aklat (textbooks), and KidLit (children’s books). Book and publishing industry-related balks and workshops also happen throughout the day, divided among the different spaces such as the Main Stage and the Creators’ Lab.

This year we were given the chance to represent Filipino romance the #RomanceClass way at our very own booth, and boy, was it fun!

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#RomanceClass x The Ateneo National Writers Workshop

The 21st Ateneo National Writers Workshop + RomanceClass

Exciting news!

The Ateneo Institute of Literary Arts and Practices (AILAP) is working with #RomanceClass to bring you the 21st Ateneo National Writers Workshop (21ANWW)! This year, AILAP aims to explore romance writing that challenges current conventions, as well as contribute to the direction and future of the genre.

This is amazing to me in many different levels, but mainly because as a young aspiring writer who had an inclination toward writing love stories, I was never encouraged to write romance by the academe. Perhaps it was not conveyed directly to me that the romance genre wasn’t welcome in the literary sphere, but the way literature was being taught at the time and the type of short stories and poetry that the school’s publication put out made it seem so. To have an actual academic entity promote the exploration of the romance genre is refreshing to me, and I am looking forward to the stories we’re going to be seeing through this program.

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