Tara Tries To Write

Join Buqo’s Book for an eBook Campaign!

September 14, 2015 No Comments

As a child, there were weeks wherein I’d collect stacks and stacks of old newspapers from neighbors and sari-sari stores near our house for the annual newspaper drive at school. Competition was really fierce. You could sense it in the way students would try to sneak a peek inside your homeroom classroom to see how huge of a “lead” or “deficit” their class has over the others.

I don’t know if the schools these days still do this, but that was a fond memory to look back on, especially when our class would win. There isn’t even any tangible prize; it’s just being hailed champions for bringing the most newspapers that mattered. (The thought of raising funds through drives like these didn’t even enter my system until I was much older, but it seemed like a good idea. You bring in newspapers for recycling, and you get cash in return. Not too shabby.)

Ah, childhood.

So I’m not sure this story is connected to what I really wanted to talk about, but let me try.

Personal, Writing

My Paper Planes are touring!

September 11, 2015 No Comments

One year ago, I never would have though blog tours were a thing, but now I’m having my very own blog tour! How cool is that?

The Bookish Diaries is hosting a blog tour for my debut novel Paper Planes Back Home, and it is happening on October 24-30, 2015! Sign-ups are now open, and I’d like to humbly invite you to come join the tour by clicking THIS LINK. I am still putting together something wonderful and worthwhile as giveaways to lucky participants and bloggers who will be joining in, so maybe we can announce something because the actual tour commences.

Hope you can give this ride a try, and thank you very much in advance! <3

Paper Planes Back Home is a new adult urban fantasy with a dash of contemporary romance set in New York City. It tells the story of two coma patients who find themselves in some sort of limbo where paper planes are currency for how much you are loved and remembered by people “back home.”

Available on Amazon, Smashwords, and Buqo.

Reading, Review

{ Book Review } Songs of Our Breakup | Jay E. Tria

September 9, 2015 3 Comments

A version of this line appears in the book twice, but I’m going to tweak it a bit and use it anyway: This book should come with a warning.

About what? you ask, and I would say, Everything. Around summer this year, my friends Chi and Therese chose Six de los Reyes’s Just For The Record (JFtR) as one reading piece in preparation for #SparkNA, and they were quickly overcome with so much feels it flooded our Viber chats every so often. The other day I told them, “Guys, I think I found my JFtR.” And it came with a seafoam green Les Paul.

Songs of Our Breakup
Jay E. Tria

Every breakup has its playlist.

How do you get over a seven-year relationship? 21-year-old Jill is trying to find out. But moving on is a harder job when Kim, her ex-boyfriend, is the lead guitarist of the band, and Jill is the vocalist. Every song they play together feels like slicing open a barely healed tattoo.

Jill’s best friend Miki says she will be out of this gloom soon. Breakups have a probation period, he says. Jill is on the last month of hers and Miki is patiently keeping her company.

But the real silver lining is Shinta. Having a hot Japanese actor friend in times like these is a welcome distraction. This gorgeous celebrity has been defying time zones and distance through the years to be there for Jill. Now he is here, physically present, and together he and Jill go through old lyrics, vivid memories, walks in the rain, and bottles of beer. Together they try to answer the question: what do you do when forever ends?

BUY A COPY OF SONGS OF OUR BREAKUP!
Amazon

Click the Read More link below for my review of Songs of Our Breakup. Word of warning: I’m not even going to kid myself and say I’m going to try my best to be spoiler-free. I’m really just going to spazz and might not be able to help myself. So, read at your own risk!

Personal, Writing

A #SparkNA Update: We’re on Wattpad!

September 8, 2015 No Comments

So . . . remember that online writing workshop I took from April to June of this year? Yep, the one for which I wrote a (gasp!) novel about a KPop band and their road manager? Nope, no publishing deals have been handed out yet, but we’re given bite-sized #SparkNA treats–AKA short, kilig, snippets from everyone else’s works–on Wattpad!

There are currently eight different scenes from eight different stories (mine included) up right now, each of them promising, with varying degrees of kilig . . . because hey, when you’re writing romance, that’s what we’re looking for, right? The compilation is updated every few days so you won’t have to tear your hair out waiting for the next one. Simply click on the cover to your right and read to your heart’s content.

My #SparkNA novel is entitled Scandalized, and if you ever find yourself interested in taking a sneak peek at it, I have the first four chapters up on my Wattpad account too.

And now, a quick (and shameless) intro before we segue to a Read More link.

Scandalized
Tara Frejas

Somewhere in Apgujeong, Fi Legaspi’s heart is racing wildly.

No, not because the universe has compelled bright-eyed East Genesis Project band leader Jo Yihwan—the personification of her silent heartbreak—to see her as more than just their group’s reliable Girl Friday. It’s because one good deed unexpectedly backfired overnight, and now she is in the middle of a hostile fangirl witch hunt, one she elects to ignore in favor of professionalism.

But even as PR representative Gabriel Park holds her hand while taking careful steps away from the glaring limelight, the bullying continues to worsen, affecting Fi and the band members as well. When Amethyst Entertainment decides it is not willing to sacrifice EG Project’s marketability for a mere roadie, Fi is clueless on how to proceed. Does she fight for the job (and the people) she has come to love, or concede to a force more powerful than the dictates of her own heart? [ Click here to read Scandalized ]

Of course you are more than welcome to leave me comments on Wattpad, or here. Whatever floats your boat. ^_^

And thank you in advance! <3

Reading, Review

{ Book Review } Choco Chip Hips | Agay Llanera

September 8, 2015 No Comments

The thing about high school is it’s never easy. Ever. Anyone who’s gone past that phase will remember how we struggled with a number of things: puberty, algebra, the whole fitting in business, being cool/uncool and suffering the consequences, and the constant bickering with our parents because they can’t seem to understand us, among others. High school is rough, and Choco Chip Hips takes us back to that time–the time when we were awkward teens trying to find our place in the world– through the eyes of Jessie, an overweight girl who decides to turn her life around one summer.

Choco Chip Hips
Agay Llanera

Sixteen-year-old Jessie, a baking aficionado, is shy, overweight, and worries too much about what people think. But one summer, a family emergency makes her realize that life is too short to live it on autopilot. Taking her life by the reins, she embarks on a journey that involves ditching the apron for her tank top, as she hip-hop dances her way to new friendships, stronger family ties, and into her school’s most elite club.

BUY A COPY OF CHOCO CHIP HIPS!
Amazon | Smashwords

My review of Choco Chip Hips is right under the cut! Word of warning: I will try my best to be as spoiler-free as possible but THERE MAY BE SPOILERS. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!