Fun Times at the MIBF 2015

Where did the weekend go?

But seriously, I had an awesome weekend attending the 36th Manila International Book Fair. Most of my friends were there on the first day, and I had to sit through endless tweets about how awesome the place was with few attendees and spacious hallways. But when the weekend came, I was raring to go. I arrived early at the venue and was surprised to find a long line as early as 8am. Good thing it was the queue for the international authors' book signings, so I was able to get inside without having to wait that long. 

Saturday was the busiest day for me at the book fair as I took it upon myself to be quick and shop for the books I already planned to get. It was good thinking because when Sunday came, it was hard to navigate around the hall with so many people jostling for space as they browsed and lined up at the cashier. Sunday was more laid back, and thankfully I was able to curb my impulse to buy more books. 

Here are a few photos documenting my awesome MIBF experience:

Stacks of Soul Books at the Bookmark booth.
It looks like they had a lot of copies as they replenished as soon as the pile was depleted.

Filipino Friday: Intro Post & New Discoveries

It's that time of the year again, folks! The Filipino Reader Con is happening again this November and I just know it's going to be even more awesome than last year's. And as per tradition, the weeks leading to the big day would include a weekly meme every Friday. Here's the first Filipino Friday meme for the week:

Surprise, Reader! Hello, it’s the first week of Filipino Fridays 2014! Whether it’s your first time to participate or not, tell us a bit about yourself. More specifically, tell us about your favorite book discoveries for this year. Any author you started reading this year that you can’t get enough of? A book you didn’t think you’d like, but you ended up liking/loving? Any book series that you just have to get your hands on? Have you discovered anything new from Filipino authors this year?

My Wallet Post-MIBF

Cool graffiti art at the convention lobby

Thank you again, life (and work), for making me such a delinquent when it comes to updating my blog. But even so, allow me to say that the MIBF this year was such a great experience. I had my friends come along, not to mention there were just so many books I wanted to buy. In terms of books and stuff I wanted to get my hands on, I could've easily burned all the money I had in my wallet. But of course, I still managed to reel myself from doing that. 

And because I am a lazy bum, I'm going to enumerate the highlights of my MIBF experience. Luckily, I took pics as well.

September is MIBF season!

It is officially the start of the Christmas season here in the good 'ol Philippine Islands. But before Christmas (and my birthday..hehe) comes around, one huge event I'm looking forward to is the Manila International Book Fair (MIBF). As usual, it's going to be at the other end of the world, a.k.a. Pasay City, but this is one event I'm prepared to storm the ends of the earth (I just hope it doesn't rain).

Updates (and then some)

So here's what's been happening lately:

• I hit an all-time low last May. Still feeling the aftershocks and dealing with the consequences. As a result, I slowed down in editing my manuscript and I barely wrote anything. I'm still hoping for good news, but until then, I'm trying to get back on my feet. But it's a slow crawl. Well, at least I'm showing signs of life.

• In order to deal with this unexpected bump on the road, I signed up for Camp NaNoWrimo. I figured a good push (i.e., a caffeine-induced-cram-on-writing-til-you-break-your-fingers month) would get me back on track. Not making any great strides word count-wise, but I'm meeting my daily quota. I'd like to think that's a good sign. 

• One of my sources of comfort during the past weeks is reading. And this month, I signed up for not one, but TWO book tours! It's already a tall order for a lazy bum like me, but hey, I can't say no to books (and supporting local authors).

• There may be a family trip in the works this month. *fingers crossed*

Anyway, I'm going back to reading, and later on, writing. Here's to a productive month ahead!

Announcement from Entangled Publishing

Embrace said there was some exciting news to share and we can finally share that The Next Forever by Lisa Burstein is free for one week only! Be sure to pick up your copy and get ready to fall in love with Lisa Burstein's writing.

 

Pick up your copy:

Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iTunes

Once you finish The Next Forever be sure to keep an eye out for Lisa's upcoming release, The Possibility of Us, available July 1 for just $.99.

 

Amazon | B&N | Goodreads 

Fangirl Moment at the Til Death Book Launch

Chloe reads an excerpt from chapter 2 of Til Death.

I first encountered Kate Evangelista's books through the Pinoywrimo FB page last year and I've been reading her work since then. When she announced there was going to be a local launch for her latest book, I jumped at the chance to attend and finally meet her.

The Til Death Book Launch was held at the National Book Store in Glorietta 1 last March 15 and it was truly exciting to meet the author behind the books I've been reading. I'm a staunch supporter of local authors and Kate's success in the publishing world is truly an inspiration. At the launch, I got to see fellow author Mina V. Esguerra (who hosted the event), along with a few of my classmates from #romanceclass. Book bloggers were also there to show support as well as Kate's friends and family.

Supporters from Kate's alma mater

One of the event highlights was an excerpt reading of Til Death by Chloe, a ninth grader from Southville International Schools and Colleges (Kate's alma mater). I was amazed by how the school supported their alumna...complete with a streamer! There was also a raffle portion where Kate gave away swag bags of Taste and Savor.

The Real Score Blog Tour: Excerpt Reveal

Welcome to today's blog stop (and my first time to join a blog tour) for The Real Score!

Just a brief note: The author and I were classmates from Mina V. Esguerra's #romanceclass (and we have a common friend...small world indeed!).

About The Book

 The Real Score by Kesh Tanglao

Goodreads

Amazon

Smashwords

Kobo

Paperback Order (PHL only)

Caitlin's friendship with Marcus, the de facto frontman of the world's biggest boy band, Gezellig, has long been an object of scrutiny by almost everyone--their friends and families, the media, and his fans--ever since they "went public" a couple of years back. Who wouldn't be interested? She was a nobody, catapulted into the limelight of his fame when he struck an unusual friendship with her.

To both Caitlin and Marcus, what they have is a "perfect little thing." But then something comes along and threatens it.

In a no-holds-barred interview, will they finally be forced to settle the score?

Order In Over Her Head Paperback Edition!

Awesome news! I'll be receiving print copies of my book next week and this means you can already pre-order from me! :) I'm including a cute bookmark to go with your book copy, but wait, there's more! The first five people to pre-order and pay for their copies will get something special from me. Fill up the order form and let's get started!

In Over Her Head: How to Download

Hey, folks! Today is the big day! You can now download my book, In Over Her Head, in your e-reader, smartphones, and tablets. Here are the links:

Amazon (for Kindle and the Kindle app)
Smashwords (for other e-readers and e-reading apps)

Hope you can take the time to download, read the story, and tell me what you think! The print edition is coming up soon! I'll post more deets once I have it in my hands (and once I start chanting "my precioussssss").

Enjoy! :)

[Week 2] Filipino Friday: Kids and Books

Week 2 of the Filipino Friday meme is here!

What were your favorite books as a kid or while you were growing up? Do you still read children’s books? If you could give your younger self a book to read, what would it be?

Plug: Pre-order Welcome to Envy Park

Plugging this amazing news from the awesome Mina V. Esguerra about the upcoming launch of her new, self-published contemporary romance novella, Welcome to Envy Park.

Cover photo from author's blog

Moira Vasquez is a doer. A planner. A get-up-and-goer. At twenty-two, she left her hometown to work in Singapore, to satisfy a need to travel as well as give her savings account a boost. Five years later and she's back in Manila, with a shiny new apartment to her name, but no job, no career, no boyfriend. She meets Ethan Lorenzo, the quiet hunk of an IT consultant on the ninth floor of her condo building, and he's a welcome distraction during this period of having absolutely nothing going on in her life.

But she has a plan -- of course she does -- and this is just a short layover on the way to the next country, the next job, the next big thing. Or will she be missing out on something great that's already there?

Pre-order the ebook on Kobo (P43.15!)
Pre-order the paperback (P325). Regular price of P350 starts on November 5, 2013
Pre-order links for Barnes & Noble and Apple iBooks coming soon* Amazon price will be $0.99 on release day, October 30.

Read the preview on Wattpad

I'm always excited to know when Mina comes out with a new story, and this is no exception. The cover alone piques the curiosity and knowing Mina's storytelling skills, this one is going to be a great read. I'm already looking forward to October 30!

Note: Mina spearheaded the #romanceclass group with which I'm part of. Prior to joining the group, I've always been a huge fan of her work and have read all her books.

[Week 1] Filipino Friday: Hello, Reader

The Filipino ReaderCon's Filipino Fridays meme is back! Here's this week's topic:

Hello, Reader! Let’s get to know you, and more importantly, what kind of reader are you? Laura E. Kelly released an infographic about Reader species — under what Domain/Class/Family/Genus/Species do you fall under? Give examples, and feel free to talk about why you belong to that species. Who knows, you may find readers in your own genus. ;)

Book Sale Alert: Reaping Me Softly

More book sales! Yay!

I've always been a staunch supporter of Filipino authors, and Kate Evangelista is no exception. I can't remember exactly how I got to know about this gem of an author, but I was thrilled to know that she's been making waves in the international scene as a writer of paranormal romance.

Here's the good news: the ebook version of Reaping Me Softly is on sale for only $0.99 in Amazon and Barnes & Noble. This is all in preparation for the sequel release of Unreap My Heart on September 17. Talk about a steal! I'm excited for book 2 as well (along with other upcoming releases of Kate's work).

Go grab a copy now!

Goodbye Money, Hello New Books!

Photo from NBS Facebook page

Since I had a Kindle, I rarely bought physical books (except for those written by Filipino authors) due to storage reasons. In as much as I love holding and reading hard copies of books, the Kindle has helped me discover more fun reads, not to mention that I can store hundreds in just one device. But all practicality reasons flew out the window when National Book Store announced a massive sale in all its branches. 

So what's an avid reader supposed to do? Hoard books, of course! 

ReaderCon 2013 in November

Logo from the ReaderCon website

I had a blast in last years Filipino ReaderCon and I'm so psyched it's happening again this year!
 
I can't say enough that we need to have more book/reader-centric conventions aside from the MIBF. What's great about the ReaderCon is that it's organized by avid bookworms gathering publishers and the reading public in one venue to celebrate and support reading communities. Talking about books makes my heart giddy and there's nothing like spending an entire day with books, writers, readers, and publishers.

One of my favorite parts in the program is the Filipino Reader's Choice Awards. I've nominated some of my favorite titles and I do hope they win this year! If you haven't voted yet, do it right now because the polls will be open until September 6 only.

See you in November and I hope this year's ReaderCon will be even more amazing than last year's.

Filipino Friday: Introductions

As with every start of a weekly meme, we need to know a bit about you! Talk about your top 3-5 (or more!) favorite books of all time, the genres you read and would never read, the books that surprised you this year. You can also talk about how you became a reader and why you love it so much! And finally, if you were in the ReaderCon last year, talk about your experience too! If you weren't there, but you?re planning to go this year, then what do you expect for the upcoming ReaderCon?

Friday meme from Filipino ReaderCon

The 2nd Filipino Reader Con

There are far too many weaboo conventions out there, and it's about time us bookworms have something to look forward to. I got this tip from Kat about The 2nd Filipino Reader Con, and I'm so stoked to attend! 

And while we're at it, let's nominate some great Philippine-published titles for The Filipino Reader's Choice Awards! Here are some of my nominees:

Alternative Alamat - Short Story Anthology

Trese - Comics / Graphic Novel

Naermyth - Novel in English

Tragic Theater - Novel in English

I still have yet to think who to nominate for the Chick Lit category.

I really do believe Filipinos should patronize local books and authors because there's such a wealth of awesome stories that no one else could tell except a fellow Pinoy. Local myths, for one, have been a recurring theme for some recent novels/comics/anthologies that deserve to be read and shared to the world. And while owning a digital e-book reader has its perks, I still make sure to buy print versions of our local publications to support our publishers and authors. You should, too!

Books, books, books

I'm just gonna say this plain and simple:

Going through the book list

So...I've been at my book backlog list and I've ticked two off the list. It feels a bit rewarding knowing that I've been getting back in the reading habit and I just want to share my thoughts on some of them.

Game of Thrones

I made a good decision of reading the book while tuning in to the series because my mind can't get a grip on the boatloads of characters mentioned. I'm glad that HBO stayed true to the story and whatever diversions made complemented the book in so many ways. I've already bought book 2 and I can't wait to finish it before season 2 starts.

Twenties Girl

I've always liked Sophie Kinsella's light, tongue-in-cheek humor to her stories, but I guess if you've read one Kinsella book, you've read them all. Seriously. I keep getting glimpses of Rebecca Bloomwood even if her main character has a different name and a different profession. The fact that the story has a meddling, pushover ghost for a supporting character threw the believable factor out the window. I read the entire thing in just one day, and thank God it was a fast read otherwise, it would've been like getting a tooth extraction just to get over reading the damn thing.

My Name is Memory

I haven't finished this one and it already feels like I've been reading this book for months. Honestly, I'm not even interested to find out if the girl will ever remember the guy. The story is too dragging and I find myself gagging every time the male character goes off in his monologues of self pity. It's like reading Twilight in slow mo.

I just hope the other books in my list have something better to offer, otherwise it will just be one long list after the other.

Or maybe I just need a Kindle. Hehehe.

Book images from respective sites in link