The Writing Community – Page 30 – Tara Tries To Write

NEW RELEASE: Crushingly Close by Stella Torres

July 14, 2016 No Comments

It’s always good news when someone from the Filipino writing community releases something new, and this year’s seen a lot of them so far! (Great job, everyone!) Today, I’m bringing your attention to a new book by friend and author Stella Torres. Crushingly Close is coming out on July 19!

Crushingly Close
by Stella Torres

At twenty-four years old, Agnes Escueta has risen from the ranks to become a producer for Sports Tonight. No one can touch her, it seems—not even crush-worthy anchorman Daniel Ferrer, who she gets to work with every single day. When a road trip to Indonesia throws Agnes and Daniel together, they find themselves working in close quarters. It doesn’t take long before Agnes finds herself being charmed by Daniel, and her defenses start to melt with his touch. With deadlines looming and a big game coming, Agnes must figure out how to let Daniel into her life without risking her professional reputation—and without breaking her own heart.

Pre-order it on Amazon
Add it on Goodreads

Click on the Read More button for an excerpt of Crushingly Close.

The Writing Community

Twitter Chat: #FilipinoBookFriday

July 12, 2016 No Comments

Filipino authors and readers chat about different topics every Friday, and we’d love to hear your voice in this conversation! Join us. Track the #FilipinoBookFriday hashtag and jump into the conversation whenever you’re ready!

I’m hosting this Friday’s chat with Maria Criselda Santos, by the way. Check this out:

On Friday, we’ll be talking about the fantasy genre in Philippine popular literature. We’ll do #FaveFive as well, where we recommend our five favorite fantasy books by Filipino authors. Do you have your own list? Well, get ready with them then, because I’m pretty sure there will be a lot of us looking for great recommendations.

Chat with you on Friday! <3

Events, The Writing Community

#HeistClub: The Launch | Official Trailer

June 18, 2016 No Comments

Check out this cool trailer for the #HeistClub launch happening on June 25, 6-9PM at The Study by Enderun, Podium Mall, Ortigas! Credits to the awesome Chi Yu Rodriguez.

See you all there! ^_^

Music, Projects, The Writing Community

#RomanceClass ❤ OPM | Buena Mano

June 15, 2016 No Comments

Hello and welcome to the first installment of this mini blog project I’m doing–this is #RomanceClass ❤ OPM, where I ask Filipino authors and readers to send in songs they find relevant to the books they wrote or read and I curate them into playlists. The only rule: ALL the songs should be OPM.

Brief background for those of you who just stumbled upon this post:

What is #romanceclass?

#RomanceClass is a thriving community of Filipino authors who write romance in English and publish them (traditionally and independently). It began in 2013, when author Mina V. Esguerra facilitated a writing class wherein the objective was to complete a romance novel in a span of three months. Fast forward to 2016, the community and its body of work has grown immensely, exploring new avenues in order to weave new stories and market them. We have participated in bookish events, had writing workshops, talked about how to write more and market our work better, sold books, held live readings, and recently organized our very first standalone event in April. Just recently, a new batch of authors have typed “The End” to new #romanceclass books which may (hopefully!) come out before the end of the year.

What is OPM?

OPM stands for Original Pilipino Music or Original Philippine Music. It was originally used to only refer to pop songs, but has since included all genres like rock, jazz, hip-hop, and so on. OPM is usually written in Filipino/Tagalog or English, but may, in some cases, also have touches of other foreign languages or local dialects.

Click on the Read More button to get to the first playlist I curated for this project, along with some notes from the authors and readers of the featured books. Links to read more about the featured books as well as buy them are included in the post. Have fun!

Events, The Writing Community

#HeistClub: The Launch

June 6, 2016 No Comments

If you thought the Filipino indie writing community is all about the romance, think again. This coming June 25, sixteen new crime stories penned by Filipino authors will be officially launched as book bundles at The Study by Enderun at the 4th Floor of The Podium, Ortigas Center. Ten of these sixteen will also be releasing standalones in digital and print format!

Exciting, right? Full story below:

In November 2015, author and indie publisher Mina V. Esguerra facilitated an online workshop organized by Bronze Age Media and sponsored by Buqo and Enderun’s The Study.

The challenge for the Filipino author: Write tales of dark pathways and mysterious psyches, misdemeanor and trouble, dread and doubt. The story should be a Case # 1 (there’s a hint of a sequel or better yet, a series), set in the Philippines, and written in English.

#HeistClub came alive with writer-participants being guided by invaluable tips and lessons from mentors Jennifer Hillier (author of Creep and Freak), F.H. Batacan (author of Smaller and Smaller Circles), forensic anthropologist R.J. Taduran, life/non-life insurance executive Kevin Uy, Juliet Grames of Soho Press, and Atty. Andrea Pasion-Flores of Jacaranda Literary Agency.

At the end of the month-long workshop, sixteen crime stories were produced. They were released in three ebook bundles on Buqo in late January this year.

Click on the Read More button for the complete list of titles to be launched on the 25th.