I had a very bookish Saturday. Weekends for my family already include a trip to the bookstore and other such activities, but this time I was able to take my husband and daughter out to an event that celebrated readers and books.
The wonderful people behind the Filipino ReaderCon asked me to be part of a panel that started at 1 PM, but all of the sessions were interesting and I was hoping I could catch some of them as well. Traveling with a toddler though makes things a bit unpredictable, but we at least made it there by 11 AM. Just enough time to catch a bit of the session on publishers, where I was surprised with the news that one of my books, That Kind of Guy, has been selling well in local bookstores this year. (#3 -- behind bestseller Bob Ong, and former teacher/superstar Ricky Lee!) I scrambled to take a picture of that slide but my phone camera couldn't handle it. :(
At the Authors as Readers session, I spoke for a bit about the three books that influenced my writing life. (FYI: Wrong Way Romance by Sheri Cobb South, Witch by Christopher Pike, and Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman.) I also showed the crowd a wedding photo, since the panel was taking place right in the room where Mike and I tied the knot.
They gave me this after. Yay! I was seriously thinking of buying this.
My daughter needed to nap after, so I missed most of the book discussions. But she was wide awake in time for the Filipino Readers' Choice Awards, and managed to make it to the front with me as I got this wonderful award, for Fairy Tale Fail.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. Did I say thank you?
It was so nice to finally meet you, Mina! Kainis lang kasi I forgot to bring your books for me to have you sign them! Fanboy!
ReplyDeletePeter, congrats! :) :) :) I hope you're all rested now!
DeleteI didn't get to introduce myself, since I was one of the volunteers running around that day (and I was assigned to the other room during the Authors as Readers session), but I did buy Fairy Tale Fail that night, on getting home from the Readercon, and read it in an evening. It was delightful! I look forward to reading your other books.
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I wanted to tie the FHL too! But it wasn't available on our preferred date, so we had to pick another place. :(
Thank you for getting the book! :)
DeleteAnd I have our cake supplier for the venue decision. It was either FHL or just another events place, and she said FHL would be the more memorable choice. So true!
Ever since you said you got married in FHL, I've added that in the list of possible venues when the time comes. No idea when it will be, of course. :))
ReplyDeleteBUT ANYWAY. Congratulations again! So, so happy that FTF won! I couldn't campaign for it in public because I was a part of the committee, but I was definitely one of its silent supporters. :D
See you again soon, Mina! And virtual gigil face to Little Boss! :D
Thank you for the silent good vibes! Congrats too on everything, so much fun was had.
DeleteAlso, to add to your list: Our souvenirs were bookmarks - extreme close up pages of certain books. Most didn't bother to figure it out, but a few actually guessed which books they were from! Haha sudden game.
Congrats, Mina! FTF totally deserves to win. :P I hope you end up loving The Scorpio Races, it was one of my favorite reads last year.
ReplyDeleteThank you! :) Yay Lucas and Ellie. :)
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