Come and tambay with us next Saturday at #KiligCafe!

I’m back with a cool update—I’m going to be part of a Writing Celebrity/Showbiz Romance panel at the next stop of Kilig Cafe’s Tambay Tour! <3

The Kilig Cafe Tambay Tour is a mix between a casual writing/reading hangout and an intimate discussion with authors and other special guest speakers. We kicked off this fun new project last June 6 at Hygge Book Apothecary, a Pride Month edition with authors Brigitte Bautista and Chi Yu Rodriguez. We also invited our live readers Migs Almendras, Teetin Villanueva, and Hessa Palma to do a mini live reading of excerpts from Brij’s and Chi’s books.

On July 4, I will be one of the panelists together with fellow #RomanceClass author Danice Mae P. Sison and industry friends Celeste Lumasac-Santiago and Katherine Visconti.

Celeste Lumasac-Santiago is the program manager of “Magpakailanman,” the longest running and most awarded drama anthology on GMA and “Kamao,” the newest afternoon prime drama program on GMA.

Katherine Visconti is a professional writer with over a decade of experience. She began her career as a journalist in the Philippines, then went to Hollywood to write for popular U.S. television series, “Chicago P.D.” and “FBI.” She has also produced streaming shows across Southeast Asia, including the award-winning romantic series “K-Love” and “Secret Ingredient.” Katherine holds a bachelor’s degree from Johns Hopkins University with a double major in Writing Seminars and East Asian Studies.

This Tambay Tour is happening at the 2nd floor of Communé Cafe in Poblacion, Makati, from 1:00 – 4:00 pm. If you’d like to join us next week, please sign up for a slot here! The entrance fee is P500, inclusive of a drink, pastry, and a small gift. Walk-ins are also welcome, with an entrance fee of P600.

We hope to see you there!

Continue Reading

Get your kilig for FREE!!!

Yes, friends—we are giving away a bunch of free books and short stories by some of your favorite #RomanceClass authors! KILIG FOR FREE is happening now until Sunday, June 29th!

Here are the books and short stories you can download for free:

  • Fake Date Number Three – Mina V. Esguerra (short story)
  • Tame the Kitten – Bianca Mori
  • Love at First Run – Angel C. Aquino
  • Home at Last – Angel C. Aquino (short story)
  • If the Dress Fits – Carla de Guzman
  • Your Heart, To Go – Tara Frejas (short story)
  • Love to Meet You – Jay E. Tria
  • The Billionaire’s Game – Ansela Corsino
  • Until You – Ana Tejano (short story)
  • Take Two – Kaith C. Cimafranca
  • Comfortable and Familiar – H. Bentham (short story collection)
  • Pameowmanhikan: The Propawsal – Danice Mae P. Sison (short story)
  • Another Word For Happy – Agay Llanera
  • Alter Christus – Catherine Dellosa (short story)

If you have always wanted to read a #RomanceClass book or more romance books written by Filipino authors, here’s your chance to find a new book/author to love! And if you have always been here (thank you so much!), please continue sharing the love by letting your other bookish friends know about this giveaway.

Ready?

Yes, I’m ready to add new books to my TBR!

Happy downloading and happy reading!

Continue Reading

#AprilFeelsDay2023 was a blast!

So #AprilFeelsDay2023 was two Saturdays ago, and it was a fun time, as always, seeing old faces, meeting new friends, celebrating the release of new books, and squealing in kilig hearing scenes from our books being read back to us. This is the SEVENTH #AprilFeelsDay we’ve had (the first one was in 2017! Imagine that!) and the first in-person one since 2020, so it felt like the first time all over again (yes, even if we got to do an in-person #FeelsFest event in October last year).

Here are some highlights from #AprilFeelsDay2023:

Continue Reading

Five years in the making…

Five years ago, I tweeted this:

I don’t remember anymore how exactly I came up with the plunny, although it’s possible that it’s mostly because I had Daniel Henney in mind as the love interest. He loves dogs, and so do I…and I’d never really written a story yet where the characters had pets, so I wanted to give it a try.

I’ve kept the idea for the story in my growing list of plunnies to explore, but only got around to writing it until sometime in late 2021, when I decided to put together an anthology of short stories that eventually became What If We Fall In Love? I shelved this story and instead included my NomCom submission, Your Heart, To Go, to complete the lineup. I thought it would take a while before I got to revisit the manuscript, but an opportunity to finish it came when submissions for Pawfect For You (then simply called Tropetastic 3) came along.

Continue Reading

New anthology alert: Pawfect For You!

Friends and lovers, listen up! #RomanceClass is back with another charity anthology, and this year, we are helping cats and dogs in need!

On National Pet Day (April 11), we did a cover reveal+ pre-order link drop for Pawfect For You: Tropetastic Kindness Bundle 3. It’s a collection of six all-new nakakakilig stories where the main characters are pet owners/pet lovers falling in love. Check out the wonderful cover below, illustrated by Liza S. dela Cruz.

We met Liza last year when she worked with #romanceclass authors Carla de Guzman and Celestine Trinidad for their KILIG anthology entries, and it was so lovely getting to work with her for this cover. Don’t you think it’s pretty? ^_^

Included in the anthology are stories by Danice Mae P. Sison, Ines Bautista-Yao, Tara Frejas (that’s me!), Celestine Trinidad, Angel C. Aquino, and Jay E. Tria. You may pre-order a copy of the book at US$7 (or the price you want) at kilig.pub/pawfect4u. Just like our previous charity anthologies, Pawfect For You is available for a limited time only (until June 29, 2023), so please make sure you grab this opportunity to get the book while it lasts.

Pawfect For You will be released on April 29, 2023. ALL PROCEEDS will go to Pawssion Project, a non-government organization dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation, and rehoming of cats and dogs in distress.

Continue Reading