Sunday, September 13, 2015

Out + About: Book Signing with Colleen Hoover, Tarryn Fisher and Christine Brae + Giveaway


Out and about is a feature here on Fragments of Life for events and book launches. Today's post is about #CTCinPH - the Manila leg of Colleen Hoover, Tarryn Fisher and Christine Brae's visit to the Philippines.


Tarryn, Colleen and Christine

Today, Sunday, September 13th 2015, I felt like I went to work (on a positive note) because I just spent seven hours with my blogger friends and amazing bestselling authors and brilliant NBS Staff. Remember all those Colleen Hoover (and of course Tarryn Fisher and Christine Brae) books you have stashed on the most secure, most seen spot of your bookshelf? You were probably out today in the area between Toy Kingdom and the Food Court at the lower ground floor of SM Megamall.

The Q & A with the authors was interesting. It was the first time that I interacted with New Adult (NA) authors. I am primarily a YA girl. The questions more or less revolved around the writing and publishing of books. A lot of aspiring writers would find the information valuable. So, here are the things I learned from Colleen, Tarryn and Christine:



Colleen Hoover

  • Colleen could only see herself writing with Tarryn. She thinks that it might not work for all writers. With Tarryn, they kept sending the draft back and forth until it was finished.
  • Her favorite thing about self-publihing is not having boss. Not having a boss means that there is less stress and it feels less lirk. The hard part of it is that there are thousands of books being released every day. There are countless amazing books that go unnoticed. It is hard to break into it when you're a new author.
  • In Colleen's books, there is always a twist. She mentioned that she just waits for inspiration to hit her. She doesn't necessarily google or researrch stuff for her to be inspired.
  • Back in 2011, the emergent "NA" genre still didn't exist. And yet it was this year when Colleen Hoover's book was published. She mentioned that she doesn't necessarily write a genre. She writes story that she wants to write. She only found out about the term "NA" or New Adult six months after the book was published. Colleen mentions that she is very disorganized when it comes to her writing. She tends to be manic, in which she has to allot consecutive days locked away to work on her book. She can't ever end with a sad scene because then she would feel sad. This is the reason why she puts humor into her books.
  • She is actually experiencing writer's block because she doesn't know the name of the female main character. She has to know the name, in order to proceed to write the story. She also mentioned that the name of the male main character should always be unique and unforgettable because this is what readers remember.
  • Writing is crazy. She feels that she lives more in a fantasy world, in her head, and she visits her house every now and then.

Tarryn Fisher
  • For Tarryn, co-writing a story was enjoyable experience, Colleen and her did it for fun. She can't see herself writing with anybody else.
  • Self-publishing is badass. It's a deviant movement because some people say that there is something wrong with their books and that it can't be published. However, based on Tarryn's experience, self-publishing is successful. The hard part of self-publishing is when people don't take you seriously.
  • Tarryn's writing process: Feel something - anger, etc. Write daily, a few hours or so. Be in her character, to make it authentic (this involves reading books and watching movies that is related to her character).
  • She doesn't think too hard about the character names. Whenever she is writing, and she would then need a name, it just drops into her mind.
  • Good writing is a combination of believable characters, a good story and beautiful words. This can also be related to developing a style and reading a lot. She incorporates pieces of what she loves into her style.
  • "Only you can see the world the way you see it."


Christine Brae
  • Christine can't imagine herself co-writing with anybody, due to her busy schedule.
  • Self-publishing entails doing it all on your own. You need to have your own resources, your own readers, etc. The good thing about it is that you can write whatever you want and when you feel that it is ready to be shared, you can share it with the world (aka self-publish).
  • Christine's writing process: She starts from the ending and move backwards. (In fact, whenever she reads a book, she always reads the last line first. Just like I do.)
  • Every character's name has a meaning in Christine's books. She researches the meaning of names before she uses them.


I have to admit that a big chunk of my book pile was written by Colleen Hoover. After reading Ugly Love and Maybe Someday, I have become a fangirl, indeed. There was something about her writing, something good and addictive. All of the books she wrote were superfluous in the narration. The plot and the story itself and the way in which it was told were all seamless. Enough of my babbling, I'm practically typing all this while I'm still high off of it.

Me, the authors, Maricar from Blackplume and signed pretties!


Bloggers :)

I have an extra copy of Never Never, signed by Tarryn and Colleen, for giveaway. This one is only open for Philippine residents. Sorry, my international lovelies, I will have something super nice for you soon!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


22 comments:

  1. WOW! This is an amazing giveaway! You're so generous. Thanks for the chance! I really want this book!

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    1. Hello Colleen! Thanks for dropping by. Goodluck on the giveaway! :)

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    2. Thank you! I'm sorry I forgot to mention my favorite Colleen Hoover book. So o answer that, my favorite would be Maybe Someday, it was just so realistic and so full of feels. I was crying most of the time when I was reading it.Thanks again for this amazing giveaway! :)

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    3. Aw, Maybe Someday is my favorite so far! So much feels and crying, I agree. :) I'm happy you remembered! :D

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    4. Yes! :) But the ending made up for all the heartache of the book. It was perfect! <3

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  2. Thanks for the amazing giveaway! To answer your question, I love HOPELESS. It has taught me something and no other Colleen Hoover book had that effect on me.

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    1. Hi Carmel! Thanks for sharing. I actually skipped Hopeless, Losing Hope. I started with Colleen's NA books. Goodluck on the giveaway!

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  3. I. LOVE. CoHo! Her Slammed series is my favorite so far among her books! I went to their signing event in Cebu and it was awesome! I didn't actually meet them though. I didn't have their books. I went there with my friend and also to support CTC. Another friend of mine was lucky enough to snag an ARC of November 9! Her birthday is in November 9th and she made a banner with a line that goes, "November 9 is my birthday!" CoHo saw it and the next thing that happened CoHo walked towards her and gave my friend the copy of the book! Imagine the face of my friend! She was tearing up and Coho had to give her a hug! AH THE FEELS! SHE HAS THE LUCKIEST STARS!

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    1. Hey Von! Well, I'm happy that you were at the Cebu leg of their PH visit! Your friend is the luckiest girl in Cebu! I'm really looking forward to November 9 and hope that your friend loves it!

      Thanks for dropping by! <3 <3

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  4. So lucky you met Colleen Hoover! I'm also a big fan of her, I absolutely love all her books but there's one book that stands out for me and it's Ugly Love, been reading it for the nth time! It's also the only book that made me laugh and cry the other minute. Thanks for the giveaway 💕😊

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    1. Hi Kenny! I enjoyed Ugly Love as well. :) Thanks for joining the giveaway - good luck!

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  5. The first book i read from Colleen is Slammed since then i became a fan of her

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    1. I think I need to start that trilogy, very very soon. Goodluck on the giveaway!

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  6. Thanks for the chance! I think Slammed series will always be my favorite CoHo book. I've been reading YA for a long time but when I read Slammed in 2012 for the first time, all the books I read before pale in comparison. Now I'd like to think the book that started my love and addiction to reading is Slammed. I just really related a lot to Layken. Will stole my heart. Amazing side characters. Julia's great advice. The Avett Brothers. Herself. Aside from being an amazing author she's also an amazing person! I had a lot to thank Colleen Hoover for. She's the person I look up to the most. ♡
    (Sorry for the rambling and gushing. Lol. I just love her so much.)

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    1. Hello Yash, awww. Don't worry, I totally understand fangirling in all forms. <3 I'm so happy that one of CoHo's big fans is joining the giveaway! I know that not everyone could grab a copy of Never Never because it was on sale a day or so before the signing. (You could only buy it online before - at least this was what I did) Good luck on the giveaway :)

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  7. I haven't read any books by her so I'm hoping this will be my first. :)

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  8. Maybe Someday! It made me cry, swoon, cry, everything! And the songs sung by Griffin Peterson omg <3 I've read all of her books, too bad I did not get my books signed. :( Thanks for the awesome giveaway! I hope I win :D

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  9. Thank you for this chance! Out of all Colleen Hoover's books, Slammed remains my all time favorite. Ever since I've read it 3 years ago, I fell in love with it and I always look forward for CoHo's upcoming novels. It still made me cry when I've re-read it recently. :)

    Wonderful post!

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  10. You are absolutely lucky to meet such wonderful authors! I sadly have not read any CoHo book yet but she serves as an inspiration for me because she became a success through self-publishing (which I know is really really hard)

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  11. Hi, I'm Goegie.. I accidentally submitted my "supposedly comment" when i haven't typed anything yet. My favorite book by Colleen Hoover is Hopeless. Why? Because I can relate to it. And i won't tell my life story here, but really, I felt like that book was written for me. And I was crying while reading it. So there. :)
    I have all her books in hardcopy except Never Never, so i'm really hoping to get this one! :)

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  12. Hi Precious!

    Thank you so much for this wonderful give-away. So far, I read three books of CoHo and I think the novel which I enjoyed most was Finding Cinderella. I love how short the story is, the twist near the end and I have a huge crush with Daniel. Hihi... :)

    Hoping to win the Never, Never book. *Fingers crossed!*

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  13. Confess is my current favorite from CoHo. I just loooove the concept so much! AND THAT LAST CHAPTER!!!! Hahaha <3 Never Never comes close, though. I love the concept as well and I'm still so intrigued by it!!

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