filipino authors – Tara Tries To Write

Cover Reveal, Featured, The Writing Community, Writing

New anthology alert: Pawfect For You!

April 16, 2023 No Comments

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.

Yes, please I’d like my own copy of Pawfect For You!

The Writing Community

New #romanceclass releases: Flipping the Script and Kiss and Cry!

March 9, 2019 No Comments

Last Saturday, March 2, #romanceclass had a “double-feature” book launch for Danice Mae P. Sison’s Flipping the Script (#romanceclassFlicker #2) and Mina V. Esguerra’s Kiss and Cry (#Six32Central #2).

Instagram will load in the frontend.

As always, it was a fun ~~morning~~ day, filled with stories and good food (and tea, lots of it). I don’t know about you, but I like #romanceclass book launches. Apart from the fact that I like seeing our books being displayed and photographed in various venues, they’re always so casual and fun, and we usually play a lot of musical chairs — as in people transferring from one seat to another to socialize or simply to say hello.

For last Saturday’s launch, we were treated to brunch (braunch, anyone?) at Kanto Freestyle in Annapolis, Greenhills. There was Chocnut Champorado (yes, it’s A Thing!) and Pulled Beef Pares Nachos for everyone, while I ordered some Chili Garlic Longganisa and coffee for myself. In the middle of brunching and chatting, people bought books, asked for them to be signed, took pictures, and Instagrammed the day away. Very chill. ^_^

If you don’t already know, here’s what Flipping the Script and Kiss and Cry are about.

The Writing Community

Your #RomanceClass Christmas Shopping Guide! (Part 2)

November 28, 2016 No Comments

Hey everyone! Hope you were able to find new books to give your family and friends this coming holiday season OR add to your growing TBR list with the first #romanceclass Christmas shopping guide. In case you’re still looking for something in particular, here’s another set of books, sorted by the profession their characters have.

Ready? Click on the Continue Reading button for the entire list! Happy shopping!

The Writing Community

Your #RomanceClass Christmas Shopping Guide! (Part 1)

November 26, 2016 No Comments

I’ve always thought books are the best gifts. (There’s also food, but that’s not the point.) Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve been excited by the prospect of receiving books as gifts for any occasion, and I know there are people in your life who would squee at the thought of unwrapping their presents and finding brand spanking new books for them to read and treasure.

Which is why I put together this very special shopping guide for those of you who are looking to buy your family members or friends new, Filipino-authored romance books in English for Christmas. Or maybe you want to create your own wishlist, that’s cool too!

Take a look at these #romanceclass titles I’ve sorted according to different categories. And as you window shop, please take note of the following:

MC = main character
LI = love interest

Click on the Continue Reading button to view the first part of the shopping guide. Buy links are provided.

Peripherals, The Writing Community

Deleted Scenes | “FIVE: Time Out” from Hustle Play

November 19, 2016 No Comments

In time for the Emerald Pep Rally (Settle the Score/Hustle Play blog tour) happening this weekend, I’m sharing a scene that didn’t make it to the final version of Hustle Play.

Settle the Score/Hustle Play

SETTLE THE SCORE

College senior Garnet Figueroa lives and breathes basketball. A reliable asset to her varsity team, she is equipped with the skills and smarts to get the De La Sierra Lady Hunters closer to this year’s championship title. But Garnet soon finds out that her good friend (and long-time crush), cheerdancer Charles Crisostomo, is being cheated on by his girl, and she lets her emotions get the best of her.

Will she be able to come up with a game plan to save herself from heartbreak before the buzzer signals Game Over?

HUSTLE PLAY

Running on pure adrenaline and working with game strategies is something a basketball player like Garnet Figueroa is trained for. On the court, she is unbeatable. Off the court… that’s a completely different story.

Because falling in love is trickier than a ball game, and Garnet finds herself fumbling over her feelings for Charles Crisostomo. The fact that her attention gets divided between him and rival school hard-court hottie Chris Barcelo doesn’t help.

Or does it?

Buy Settle the Score/Hustle Play on Amazon
Order paperback
Add it on Goodreads

Click on the Continue Reading button to read the deleted scene, and why I decided to do away with it.

Review, The Writing Community

Review | Cover (Story) Girl by Chris Mariano

November 18, 2016 No Comments

1) She has amnesia.
2) She’s on the run from her father’s creditors.
3) She’s enjoying her last days on earth.

Ever since Jang Min Hee walked into Gio’s small museum, she’s given him one excuse after another about why she’s vacationing at scenic Boracay Island. Rarely has Gio’s neat and organized world been shaken like this. Soon he finds himself scrambling over rocks, hiding in dressing rooms, and dragging her out of bars. But how can Gio tell what’s true from what isn’t? Their worlds are getting unraveled — one story at a time.

Buy it on Amazon | Smashwords
Paperback versions available at National Bookstore branches
Add it on Goodreads

What Drew Me In

I think that by now, it’s no secret to anyone who knows me that I am a bit of a koreaboo. Just a bit now, because I’m nowhere near the fangirl I was several years ago, when Dong Bang Shin Ki were THE hottest boys on the block. (I still enjoy my Korean dramas every once in a while, but now I’m a little more choosy as to which ones I watch. So many things to do, so little time, after all.) So of course, when I saw that one of the characters in Chris Mariano’s Cover (Story) Girl was Korean, I knew I had to read it. It took me a while to get to it–the book had been sitting on my TBR pile for a good couple of months before I started reading it–but I did, and boy, I was so happy I did. ^_^

Click on the Continue Reading button for the rest of the review. May contain spoilers–y’all have been warned.

Cover Reveal, The Writing Community

Title + Cover Reveal | Make My Wish Come True

November 15, 2016 No Comments

make my wish come true full cover

Get ready for feels this holiday season with Make My Wish Come True, a Christmas anthology by #romanceclass authors. Join a Kris Kringle and receive the perfect gift, or learn how to survive your first Christmas in Manila and the steps you need to take to be with the one you love. Go to parties that will not go according to plan, feel the cold (and probably humid) December air as you explore city streets, and count down to five minutes to Christmas. Meet kind strangers and friends that remind you of home, and discover that the one who’ll make your holidays better has been beside you all along.

With seventeen stories, there’s something for you here no matter what feels you want and need. Fall in love this Christmas with #romanceclass!

Featuring stories from:

Ysa Arcangel * Ines Bautista-Yao * Racquel Sarah A. Castro * Suzette de Borja * Carla de Guzman * Six de los Reyes * Mina V. Esguerra * Tara Frejas * Dawn Lanuza * Chris Mariano * Bianca Mori * Chrissie Peria * Chi Yu Rodriguez * C.P. Santi * Kate Sebastian * Miles Tan * Ana Tejano * Jay E. Tria * Celestine Trinidad

Cover by Miles Tan
Edited by Rix Forto

PRE-ORDER ON GUMROAD!

Add this book on Goodreads

About #RomanceClass

#romanceclass is a community of authors who attended various writing workshops organized by Mina V. Esguerra, readers of books by those authors, and readers of English-language romance books by Filipino authors. Visit romanceclassbooks.com to see the full catalog of books!

Like #romanceclass on Facebook and follow us on Instagram!

Peripherals, The Writing Community

Deleted Scenes | “Chapter Fourteen – Max” from If the Dress Fits

November 12, 2016 No Comments

Carla de Guzman’s latest book, If the Dress Fits is featured in this week’s Deleted Scenes.

If the Dress Fits

Martha Aguas kind of has it all–she’s an accountant who loves numbers, an accident-prone puppy that loves her, and the perfect wardrobe.

Yes, she wears a dress size 24, her bras don’t fit and she’s never had a boyfriend, but so what?

It becomes a big deal when her perfect cousin Regina announces her engagement to Enzo, the only boy she’s ever loved (he doesn’t know, so don’t tell him!) Suddenly Aguases from all corners of the globe are coming for the event, and the last thing Martha wants is to be asked why she still prefers her lattes with a waffle on the side.

Thank god for Max. Goofy, funny, dependable Max, who finds himself playing the fake boyfriend at the family festivities. But why does it feel like only one of them is pretending?

Buy If the Dress Fits on Amazon
Add it on Goodreads

Click on the Continue Reading button to read Carla’s message and the rest of the deleted scene.

Peripherals, The Writing Community

Deleted Scenes | “Payday” Trip from Keep the Faith

November 5, 2016 No Comments

For this week’s Deleted Scenes, author Ana Tejano shares a snippet she removed from her latest book, Keep the Faith.

Keep the Faith

As a community development worker, Faith was quite familiar with heartbreak and recovery after all the time she spent on disaster relief missions. So when her five-year relationship ends right before she left for a mission trip to a typhoon-stricken town in Iloilo, she tries not to make a big deal out of it. How can she be broken up about a breakup when she’s with people who literally lost everything?

Buy Keep the Faith on Amazon | Smashwords | B&N | iBooks | Kobo | Paperback (PH only)
Add it on Goodreads.

Click on the Continue Reading button to read “Payday” Trip, by Ana Tejano.

Review

Review | The Bye-Bye Bouquet by Chi Yu Rodriguez

November 4, 2016 No Comments

Every month for the past year, like clockwork, Meile Simon has gotten orders at her shop for the same type of bouquet, from the same guy, delivered to twelve different girls. By the third month, she starts to take note.

Warren Leigh likes women. He does. He knows there are too many beautiful women out there just waiting to be plucked by the right guy. But he firmly believes that personal relationships with them must have an expiration date.

When the girl who likes to watch flowers bloom encounters the guy who’s only in it while the fragrance lasts, curiosity gets the best of both of them.

In the midst of intermittent weather, will their connection blossom or wilt?

Buy it on Amazon | Paperback (print-on-demand, PH only)
Add it on Goodreads

What Drew Me In

Two things:

First, Chi Yu Rodriguez has been my friend since IDK 2007 (?) and we’ve been kind of writing buddies for a bit before I dragged her into this beautiful mess (haha!) called #romanceclass. So of course I knew I was going to read this book, especially since she used my Broadway bias, Aaron Tveit, as a character peg!

Second, isn’t that cover just gorgeous? It’s so out of character for the author, though, but perfect for the story. (Don’t kill me!) Another equally beautiful version of the cover exists, by the way, lovingly created by Carla de Guzman.

Click on the Continue Reading button for the rest of the review. May include spoilers. You have been warned.