#FeelsRushIn at Trinoma

In case you missed it, this happened last Saturday.

We love telling the story of how we were asked to do this event only TEN DAYS BEFORE, and we were all like, yes, let's do this! Good to know that we can do this like this in 'emergencies.' I put myself in charge of the selling table again, which is always fun, if I didn't have to do math after, gah.

There were a lot of things going on at TriNoma on that day. There were youths literally running around and screaming, we didn't know what we were expecting, and our usual faves (wink wink) weren't there.

Thankfully, it didn't stop people from coming! We had a lot of people coming in and ready to donate books for Ayala's Little Free Library (donating got them free ebooks from us). Some passed by our selling booth to check out the list. Some questions included, 'what's going on here?' 'Are these ALL by Filipino authors?' 'Can I get these at bookstores?'

A photo posted by Jay E. Tria (@jayetria) on Jul 23, 2016 at 8:55am PDT

I love being able to explain what #romanceclass is to people, and of course, encourage them to stay for the readings. Even if they don't end up buying books, just the fact that they were brave enough to ask (as a social coward I feel them) is already a lot.

One of the downsides of being in the selling booth is that I am always facing away from the readings, and I don't really get to see the reactions and the facial expressions of the readers. But this time I made it a point to really turn round and look. I am SO glad that I did. Hearing a book is completely different from reading it, and we've learned that lesson here. The kilig factor of the actors saying certain lines in a different way from how you 'heard' it in your head is completely indescribable.

And yeah, if you happen to share the same name as the main character, it tends to make you crazy.

A video posted by Mina V. Esguerra (@minavesguerra) on Jul 26, 2016 at 2:16am PDT

Things You Miss When You Do Not Attend #romanceclass Events (continued) 3. Hanging out with the wonderful authors behind the wonderful books performed by the wonderful actors. And getting signed copies of said books right then and there too! #FeelsRushIn #books #filipinoauthors #vscocam #livereading #bookstagram

A photo posted by Jay E. Tria (@jayetria) on Jul 23, 2016 at 6:58pm PDT

The readers with the authors of the books they read! From L to R: CP Santi writer of 'When Cocoy Became Kikay', Ines Bautista Yao writer of 'Only A Kiss', Migs Almendras, a #romanceclass live reading newbie and book cover model (yes we're claiming him), Salve Villarosa, who read for #FeelsDay and runs her own book vlog, Cuckoo for Books, Mina V. Esguerra, mastermind and kilig-maker and writer of 'No Strings Attached', Chi Yu Rodriguez writer of 'The Bye Bye Bouquet' and Dawn Lanuza writer of 'What About Today.' I seriously recommend you check out all of these books, look up the readings and the podcasts, because feels abound, man.

Sad that you missed all of this fun? Don't worry! This was actually just 'practice' for a bigger event! We're planning another feels day extravaganza with more events, readers and a new titles for October! Stay tuned for the announcement!