2012 – Page 10 – tinamats.com

Kwentillion

May 28, 2012May 28, 2012 Tina 1 Comment

Also knoan as: A little plug for our latest project

~~Okay, time to end the mushiness!~~ A little plug!

Last weekend was the Summer Komikon and I don’t really go there except if I’m looking for autographs for some of the local series I follow, or if there’s an interesting launch. This time around, it was the latter, and I am very proud to say that it’s the first launch I attended where I actually went onstage because I was a part of the project! :)

From the Summit Media page:

Kwentillion Magazine is the country’s first publication dedicated to young adult literature and media, featuring YA-themed comics and fiction by Filipino creators. The bi-monthly, black and white magazine (with an eight-page colored spread in every issue) features reviews and previews of young adult books, interviews with creators, and articles which tackle a wide variety of topics of interest to the YA community.

I co-wrote an article here with my friend Chachic about YA books in 2012:

Apocalypse Can Wait!

It’s not the first time I saw my name in print (I was in another independent magazine a few years ago :P), and I have been writing for Summit and other places online for a while now, but it’s quite nice to see my name in a project like this, something that I am passionate about. The other comics and articles are all awesome too — it’s always nice to read more local fiction. :)

The first issue is really a test run, and the next issue would depend on how well this first one sells, or how much buzz it generates. So! If you like young adult literature, or you want to read more about Filipino comics and fiction, Kwentillion is the magazine you are looking for! It’s available in National Bookstore and Powerbooks branches (last thing I heard, NBS Bestsellers in Galleria has copies) for Php 150. It has pretty good print quality too — I was surprised at the size of the magazine when I finally got my copy.

This post really fits my book blog more (hence the cross-post), but I’ll probably post a more comprehensive review of the issue in the book blog when I get the time. :D But hey, a project is a project, and I am more than thrilled to see this project come to life. I’m so honored to be a part of it.

Here’s a post from one of our editors about Kwentillion, and why he thinks this project is important. And then, you can also follow Kwentillion on Twitter or like the page on Facebook for more updates (or questions). :)

What’s It Like

May 28, 2012May 28, 2012 Tina 7 Comments

Also known as: Where I admit something I am not really fond of admitting
Can also be known as: Where I embarrass myself for being brutally honest

Now that I’m trying to blog a bit more, one of the things I tend to do is read my past entries in hopes of finding inspiration. It doesn’t always happen, where I write an entry to follow up an old post (I’m usually too lazy to do that), but it can also happen.

Like now.

So it’s been a few months since I wrote my current and favorite Valentine’s Day post. I still read that fondly, and I still believe every single word I wrote there and I still try my best to hold onto every single thing I said with conviction. I still believe that I deserve that much, that I want to be pursued, that I am worth the fight. I know and believe that because my God did so much to fight for my life and my heart and my love, I deserve the love that I dream of having.

But can I be absolutely, brutally honest, just for a moment?

Promise you won’t judge?

beautiful-black-and-white-cute-heart-Favim.com-435476_large — This image seems appropriate.

People With History

May 24, 2012May 24, 2012 Tina 17 Comments

Also known as: This was meant for the book blog, but I realized a post on friendship has a better place here :)
Also, a note: Look, I’m blogging two days in a row!
Photo credit: Ella — Thank you, thank you! :)

Sometimes, I’d like to believe that I have been lucky with my friends.

When I was a kid, I used to dream of writing a book. Not the kind of book I want to write now, but you know a non-fiction book based on friendship. I was big on finding true friends, in keeping friendships, and you know, just having these set of people you can count on whether you need them or not. I don’t know why I was so fascinated with that — maybe it’s because I don’t have a sister (but don’t get me wrong, my brother is awesome)? Maybe I read too many books and watched too many shows about friendship? I don’t really know, but I was in the search for true friends, and once I find them, I intended to keep them.

(On a sidenote, this is also probably why I can be slightly possessive with my friends sometimes. But that’s for another post.)

Anyway, last weekend, I met up with some book club friends to discuss one of my favorite contemporary young adult books ever, On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta. I was excited for this because one, this is my one of my favorite books, and two, my adopted little brother was moderating the discussion. Oh, fine, I was also excited for this because book discussions have been a highlight of my month ever since this year started, but that’s already a given, so there’s really no need to stress that. However, the days leading to the discussion weren’t really my best, with a vacation that didn’t end so well, and having my iPhone sent for repair because of an accident. I wasn’t sure if I could stay for so long there, but I was determined to at least show up and see how it goes — little time is better than no time, yes?