COVER REVEAL: The “Forget You” Brew

November 19, 2015 No Comments

*sings* Isn’t she lovely~

Back in September, I finished what was to become my second published manuscript, The “Forget You” Brew. It was part of a five-week long online workshop called #StrangeLit, in which we were taught the basics of writing in the paranormal/urban fantasy genre.

At the beginning of the workshop, a shiny perk was dangled in front of us: the promise of a pretty book cover, IF! 1) we finish a novella length manuscript (15K words and above), and 2) our story meets artist Tania Arpa’s standards. Only one story was to be chosen as the lucky winner of a book cover, and I remember feeling pretty competitive after the announcement.

Personal, Writing

The Paper Plane Tour Has Begun!

October 26, 2015 No Comments

Word of warning: I am struggling with an annoying headache as I write this. Possible incoherence ahead.
Oh who am I kidding? I could be incoherent without this headache.

My very first blog tour for Paper Planes Back Home officially began last Saturday (October 24), and I’m having mixed feelings about it. For one, the reviewers have so far been very generous (thank you so much!), which makes me even more excited and anxious to read the rest. Secondly, I did this interview with author Chi Rodriguez yesterday, and one of her questions reminded me of a certain second-hand sadness I thought I’d forgotten. I know I have another Q&A coming up but I’m not sure how that’d go . . . so I’m just going to brace myself for it. And the rest of the reviews the book will be getting by the end of the week, of course.

When I started writing Paper Planes Back Home in 2013, it never occurred to me that it’d go this far. This meaning making it available on Amazon, getting it printed in pretty paperback, and asking people to read it in exchange of an honest review. I didn’t think then that I was ready for something like this, and I can’t say that’s changed either. I can’t confidently say “I’m ready!” to receive praise or criticism for the work I’ve done, but went through with it anyway because I wanted to learn how to be.

Because aside from the technical aspect of writing, I also wanted to learn how to accept the bad with the good, and to see my work through another person’s perspective. Writing fiction is something I’ve wanted to do (and have been doing) for a long time, and now that I’m finding more opportunities, more targeted readership, it makes me want to hone my craft even more. It’s a journey to self-improvement, and for the enjoyment of readers who are now looking forward to getting their hands on my future work.

Personal, The Writing Community

Our #StrangeLit Game is Strong!

October 4, 2015 No Comments

They are here! Forty-one paranormal/urban fantasy pieces from forty-one Filipino authors, bundled into four collections–Killer Seasons, Darkest Dreams, Fateful Turns, and Incredible Truths–are now available on Buqo for only P90/$1.99 each! I’ve yet to purchase all the bundles (I bought Killer Seasons the other day to check the formatting and everything, and I’m not even done yet), but please, please, please help indie Filipino writers get their works read and noticed. With this awesome introductory price, I’m pretty sure you won’t get shortchanged!

Bundle 1: #KillerSeasons

A werewolf chef, a cursed family, a spell to forget. You’ll meet these and more in the ten stories of the KILLER SEASONS installment of #StrangeLit, featuring:

Resto Rescue by Maita Rue
The Last Night of Her Wake by Chrissie Peria
House of Silver: A Cursebreaker Novel by C.P. Perez
The Myth Menagerie by Lana Garcia
Vengeance: The Awakening by Arlene Manocot
At The Wishing Well by Amae Dechavez
Intersection by Den Lim
Disappearing Act by Roselle De Guzman
The “Forget You” Brew by Tara Frejas
Aurelia by Japonicus

CLICK HERE TO BUY THE BUNDLE.

Follow #KillerSeasons on Facebook and get to know more about the ten stories in this collection! Feel free to interact with us, authors, too! ^_^ We might have a werewolf in our midst, but promise . . . we won’t bite! 😛

My novella, The “Forget You” Brew is part of Killer Seasons. Here’s a quick look:

GIVEAWAY ALERT!!!

Shall I make this fun? If you’ve already bought the Killer Seasons bundle and read The “Forget You” Brew, follow me on Twitter (@tarafrejas) and I shall be posting giveaways starting tomorrow, October 5th. Metro Manila only–so sorry to those who are living somewhere else, but I can’t do overseas giveaways for now.

I’m preparing little gifts as giveaways and will be posting photos of them on Twitter very soon. JOIN JOIN JOIN! ^_^ (I might really go overboard with this because I won’t be at the launch, so . . . might as well create some noise before then, right?)

Click the Read More button for introductions to the other three bundles, as well as buy links.

Personal, The Writing Community

When The Voices In Your Head Escape (AKA My First #RomanceClass Experience)

October 3, 2015 No Comments

I forgot when exactly it was that Mina tagged me in a #romanceclass discussion thread on Facebook, saying because of certain things she knows about me, she’s inviting me to tag along to this little gathering. Of course I would have loved to join them, but I was new to the group and didn’t know the “rules” yet, if there were any, so getting that little invite made me happy. I asked Mina what those things were, and she gave me only one hint:

Rak of Aegis

Oh she got me. She got me good. 😛

Instagram will load in the frontend.

Personal, The Writing Community

Them MIBF Shenanigans

September 23, 2015 No Comments

I attended the MIBF twice this year; first on Thursday (9/17), and then on Sunday (9/20). It wasn't a surprise how SMX was crowded during the weekend, what with a cosplay event happening simultaneously on the second floor. — I attended the MIBF twice this year; first on Thursday (9/17), and then on Sunday (9/20). It wasn’t a surprise how SMX was crowded during the weekend, what with a cosplay event happening simultaneously on the second floor.

MIBF, or the Manila International Book Fair, is the country’s biggest and longest running book fair that usually happens in mid-September. As per usual, I am a relative n00b to this, and only attended it for the first time in 2013. A sort-of mistake, because I didn’t bring a lot of moolah with me so I failed buying more books. (Then again, that might have been a very wise move.) I did come home with three new books and I was happy and content with them. If I have read all three is another matter altogether.

This year, I got to attend the 36th MIBF as an author. No, really. I had to sit down and read those words from a friend’s Facebook post and realized it was true for me too, and the feeling is unbelievable. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t get a book signing session or people following me around asking to take pictures. I didn’t even actually sell books in the traditional sense, nor did I participate in any talk or seminar about writing. Nope. None of that . . . BUT!!! those are my future goals.

So what did I do, you ask? Well, I . . .

Reacquainted myself with Filipino publications, especially those outside my genre, by walking through the different booths and browsing their selections.
Donated a couple of old books for a library and exchanged them for #BuqoYA bundles I haven’t read yet.
- SIDENOTE: A total of 489 books (novels, textbooks, even comic books) were donated. These books will be distributed to different libraries in Mariveles and Binondo.
Hung out at the Buqo booth for long stretches of time, which was really convenient because all the walking can really take its toll on you, especially when you’re lugging a bag of books.
Bought new books by fellow Filipina writers and got some of them signed too! (Thank you Agay, Mina, and Edith!) It was just too bad I wasn’t there when Kate Evangelista signed her books!)
Met other Buqo workshoppers and got to take pictures and chat with them, if only for a little while.
“Gave away” freebies to any book donors who chose the Buqo bundle I belong to (#StrangeLit #KillerSeasons REPRESENT!)
Gave away promo codes to my book Paper Planes Back Home too, in the form of cute little bookmarks.
Had lively, oftentimes non-sequitur chats with author friends, new or otherwise. (We have set goals, people. Just watch out for them! :P)