Events – Tara Tries To Write

Tara na’t kiligin sa Kilig Cafe 2026!

February 11, 2026 No Comments

Filipino romance enthusiasts, rejoice and take a look at what #RomanceClass has in store for you this month of love!

On Sunday, February 22, #RomanceClass together with other Filipino romance authors from different writing communities and publishing backgrounds will come together in a mini romance convention called Kilig Cafe. Does the name sound familiar? Yes, if you’ve followed #RomanceClass for a while now, you’ll remember that Kilig Cafe was what we called our online hangout during the pandemic. We did everything from book launches to talk show-like streams to readalongs!

Now we’re bringing Kilig Cafe to the real world—and we’d like you all to come!

This event is for you if you:

Love to read romance books. It doesn’t matter if you like Tagalog romance, serialized fiction on Wattpad, or romance written in English, we’ve got all of this for you at Kilig Cafe! #RomanceClass is launching four new books (My Usual and You by Mina V. Esguerra, Comeback to Me by Carla de Guzman, Step One by Angeli E. Dumatol, and Win Meah Over by Ana Tejano), while the authors from Whimsical Books are bringing Tagalog romance to the table. Leng de Chavez and the authors of Guilty Reads will be bringing some titles that were originally published on Wattpad, and the BRU Multiverse authors are showcasing the work they’ve produced over the past few years. You’re definitely going to be spoiled for choice!
Want to meet our local romance authors. The event will run from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm, so there’s plenty of time for you to go around and meet all of the authors we’ve invited to participate in this event. I’m pretty sure I’m going to be busy on that day, but I’ll do my very best to say hi to all of them too. It’s not every day we get to have all of them in one venue in a day!
Want to meet readers with similar tastes. We’ve invited a couple of bookish communities to attend the event as well, and this is a great opportunity to get to know some of them, especially if you’re looking for a book club to join. These readers have very varied tastes in books, and I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to find a kindred spirit or two in the crowd.
Like getting free stuff. Our exhibitors are preparing lots of freebies for the attendees, and here are some of the ways for you to be able to get them:
1. Arrive at the venue early. The first 150 attendees get freebies upon registering!
2. Join the games. Don’t be shy, it’ll be fun!
3. Participate in the activities at an exhibitor’s table.
Like attending bookish events. If you’re the type to go to the big bookish events like Philippine Book Festival, Manila International Book Festival, or even Fully Booked events, I urge you to give this one a try, especially if it’s your first #RomanceClass event. I think you’ll find it a very refreshing experience.

So ano, game? Ready ka na bang kiligin?

Hope to see you there!

Kilig Cafe is happening on Sunday, February 22 at Ayala Malls the 30th in Pasig City. Admission is FREE.

This event is brought to you by #RomanceClass and Komiket.

Events, The Writing Community

That Market! Market! moment (My self-publishing talk at Komiket BGC)

January 25, 2026 No Comments

Last weekend, I gave a short talk about self-publishing at Komiket BGC as a representative of #RomanceClass. Yes, I had my Market! Market! moment. I’ve made it!

Anyway, thought I’d share the three quick self-publishing tips I mentioned during this talk. But first, an important note:

A lot of people still seem confused about the term self-publishing. I’ve seen people on the internet say “I’m a self-published author” and in the next sentence, say, “So-and-so is my publisher.” This is incorrect. When you SELF publish a book, that means YOU are The Boss of things. YOU are the publish. YOU have the power to make all the decisions regarding the publishing of your book.

Of course this doesn’t necessarily mean you have to do EVERYTHING from editing to book cover design to marketing. You can hire people (or a company) to do that for you. These are services, and if you hire people or a company to do these things, they are simply providing a service. They are NOT your publisher.

Remember: You never have to pay a publisher to get your book published. An actual publisher pays you so they could acquire the rights to publish your book.

Now that that’s (hopefully) clear, here are my three tips!

Events, Music, Personal

Everything I loved about SB19’s Simula at Wakas World Tour Kickoff

June 10, 2025 No Comments

“Dam, ano’ng pakiramdam?”

—was the question SB19 posed at the beginning of the show, with a cloaked ensemble of 70 or so dancers and singers on stage, chanting as the live band made the music swell to fever pitch. In front of them, a 55,000-strong crowd roared enthusiastically back at them. And if Pablo’s words were a battlecry, we made sure we were all heard: We’re all in this together, Pins. Let’s fucking go!

On May 31 and June 1, SB19 mounted their most ambitious concert yet: The Simula at Wakas World Tour Kickoff at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan. Expectations were off the charts for this one because it’s the group’s first time doing their own show at the venue. A’Tin were so hyped they sold out first day tickets in less than seven hours, and 1Z Entertainment decided a few weeks later to add a second concert date.

I was one of those people who initially said they won’t go because getting to the venue was too inconvenient, but as the day of the ticket sale grew closer, my co-A’Tin titas and I decided we COULD NOT miss this for the world.

So ayun na nga, nag-concert ang mga tita. And even though I know I cannot encapsulate the entirety of my Simula at Wakas World Tour Kickoff in words, it won’t hurt to try. Right?

Events, The Writing Community

On safe spaces and success: My post-#PBF2025 musings

March 21, 2025 No Comments

We had a favorite TikTok meme last week as we were manning the #RomanceClass booth at the Philippine Book Festival: “Bigla kang sumakses eh, pero istep by the step pala bago ka sumakses.”

We used it to tease H. Bentham, who, after 8 years, was finally able to finish and publish his first full-length novella in time for PBF. And he didn’t just publish it, mind you — his book, Kiss Away the Goodbye was picked up by Blush Books for its Philippine print edition, and so many people came to the booth looking to buy it! The very definition of success!

Just H. Bentham and his adoring public. Congratulations on the release of your book, Ben!

But we also kept repeating it whenever another author had their moment. Either someone bought their book at the event, or someone brought copies of their books bought elsewhere to get them signed + their photos taken. We must have said the words a hundred times a day, coupled with giggles and silent wishes that more books fly off the shelves as the hours went on.

Spoiler alert: Our wishes came true.

Events, The Writing Community

It’s time for #PBF2025!

March 6, 2025 No Comments

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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