Brewed Thoughts: Once Upon A Player Blog Tour (Interview with Agay Llanera)

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Once Upon A Player Blog Tour (Interview with Agay Llanera)

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In today's book tour stop, I get to ask Agay a few questions about sports, anti-heroines, and her thoughts about love teams. Read her answers after the jump!



What can you say about volleyball rising to the same (or perhaps even more) exposure/recognition in media due to collegiate sports leagues? How has this shaped your story and characters?

I've been following collegiate volleyball even before it became this huge hit among the mainstream audience. My husband actually got me into it and ever since, I've always looked forward to watching theUAAP volleyball season each year. Watching the athletes live inspired me to create the story, especially when I would see them off-camera, giggling like teenagers and slapping each other playfully. But when they got back on court, they would have their game faces on, looking every bit like warriors. I wanted to write about that--what their real life was like. I even followed some players on Twitter so I'd know what they did when they weren't playing.

There were so many facets to Val that were truly relatable. What particular characteristic of hers do you identify with the most? Was Val derived from a single real-life person you know or is it a collective makeup of various individuals?

I just have to tell you: I am so unlike Val. But I do enjoy reading or watching anti-heroines (Cher in Clueless) that I wanted to create one. She's a combo of people I've encountered both in real life and in thebook/movie world.

What's your take on Team (insert LI name here)? How does it shape the romance narrative in terms of the main character arriving at an epiphany in her life?

I think it was essential that she fell in love with Jake because that's when we see Val in her most vulnerable (and desperate) moments. Jake was her Kryptonite, and she needed to go through that so would discover the depths of her weaknesses.

Author Profile:


Agay Llanera is a freelance writer for television and a published writer of children’s books. She is a member of KUTING, a private, non-stock, non-profit organization, which aims to be the Philippines’ foremost writers’ organization for children.

Her first romance novella, Vintage Love is available on e-bookstores (Amazon, Kobo, Buqo, Smashwords).




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