I give you, SHINE, the Philippine edition!
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FIRST REVIEW
Shine's already had its first review in the Philippine papers - thanks to Ruel de Vera for liking it!
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Thanks to my classmate, Carmen Montano for sending me this photo. You can also read the review online |
COVER REVEALED
I'm extra proud of Shine's cover because the artwork was created by one of my best buddies from university, Ricky Villabona. Here is what Ricky looked like when he was a baby.
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Ricky is on the right. |
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As teenagers working as 'gophers' for the American network news during the turbulent events that led up to a revolution in 1986 Philippines |
When we graduated, I went off to become a journalist and Ricky became a fashion photographer and then a director of TV commercials like this one:
Today, Ricky is an artist and thanks to Facebook, we're still great friends -- I can ask him to make art for my cover and he doesn't get upset when I post his baby picture on my blog.
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Ricky V |
BOOK LAUNCH
So if you haven't unfriended me yet on Facebook, you should have seen this invite:![]() |
I couldn't resist Photoshopping this cover from a 1930s Liwayway magazine. The translation: Candy - "Come to the launch of my new book!" Boy - "As long as I don't have to make a book report." |
So ... are you coming?
HERE'S MY SCHEDULE
13 Sept Saturday Afternoon HK | SCBWI Hong Kong | Part One - A Writer is Just a Rabbit Staring at Rabbit Holes. Writers are like rabbits staring at rabbit holes that represent character, story and setting. We must dive in, go as far as we can go, in order for our stories to reveal themselves. Candy will talk about how there are no half measures in unfolding a story and how we are all better authors for the journey we have to take. Part Two - If Everyone's Now Got a Platform, How are You Going to Stand Out? We are all wise to the internet now, all tweeting, blogging, Facebooking. But is anybody listening? Candy Gourlay was an early adopter of the Internet, blogging before Blogger was invented, learning web design before content management systems became ubiquitous, and trying out every new thing that came along from MySpace to Tumblr. She will be discussing the author's biggest challenge: being discovered by readers. There will be tips and tricks and strategies. But be warned. Ultimately, it will be about writing a good book. |
15 Sept Monday Morning HK 8.35 am | Bradbury School | School Visit |
15 Sept Monday Afternoon HK 12 pm | Glenealy School | School Visit |
16 Sept Tuesday HK 8.30 am | Peak School | School Visit |
20 Sept Saturday Pasay City 8 am | Manila International Book Fair - Mall of Asia: Meeting Room 8, SMX Convention Centre | Why I Write for Young Readers. I will be speaking to an audience of educators - librarians and teachers who are already at the frontline of the reading battle. They already know the value of fostering a love of reading in their students. I will argue that that is not enough. Our educators must not only seek to create readers, they must also empower their pupils to become writers. |
22 Sept Monday Biñan, Laguna 8 am | The Beacon Academy | School visit |
22 Sept Monday Calamba, Laguna 12pm | Xavier Nuvali | School visit |
22 Sep Monday Biñan, Laguna 2 pm | Alpha Angelicum Academy | School Visit |
23 Sept Tuesday Mandaluyong 1 pm | Poveda | School Visit |
23 Sept Tuesday Quezon City 1 pm | Ateneo de Manila | School Visit |
24 Sept Wednesday Makati 11am | The Beacon Academy | School Visit |
25 Sept Thursday Makati 8 am | Colegio de San Agustin | School Visit |
25 Sept Thursday Sampaloc 2 pm | University of the East | Lecture |
26 Sept Friday Quezon City 8 am | Miriam College | School Visit |
26 Sept Friday Quezon City 3.30 pm | St Theresa's College | School Visit - my alma mater! |
27 Sept Saturday Makati 9.30 am to 1.30 pm | Write Away Event (Where the Write Things Are, ) | Workshop |
27 Sept Saturday Makati 4 pm | National Book Store, Glorietta I | SHINE BOOK LAUNCH and signing. Yehey! |
1 October Wednesday Tanauan, Batangas | Ambulong Elementary School and Janopol Elementary School | I will be fulfilling pledges I made to the Authors for the Philippines auction, delivering signed copies of my books, one CD set of Tall Story, and a school visit care of the Sambat Trust. I will also be opening one of the Sambat Trust's school libraries! |
... and now some brazen promotion for my favourite charity:
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Your old car can pay for someone's education. |