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maehustisya · 7 years ago

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Meeting Pierce Brown

08/27/17 @ Raffles Makati for The Philippine Readers and Writers Festival #GoReadWrite2017 by National Bookstore

Hello! I’m really inactive on tumblr but I want to make a crappy visual (doodle) report/diary thing so that I can preserve this memory forever...or at least until this site exists. I dra—invited my biffle Gabby (@gabbyganchie on twitter) to come with me to Piece Brown’s Author Spotlight and Book Signing so that I won’t be a total awkward scarecrow, not to mention that it might be a once in a lifetime chance to meet Pierce Brown in the Philippines. She became a howler after I lend her my Red Rising trilogy books over a year ago and now, we’re lowkey crazy about this man’s books...

Gabby and I planned to meet at Raffles Makati at 6 AM even though the registration will start at 8:30 AM because the line for Pierce’s signing will be crazy with only 300 slots.

I arrived at Raffles at 6:15 AM with a line of over 30 people, including my buddies on Red Rising Philippines (a.k.a. The Philippine Howlers.) My first agenda is to meet Chai, the one who organized to buy members a cute Howler hat and claim mine. However, I didn’t went straight due to my awkward/shy tendencies and waited for over 30 minutes to go when we’re seated to wait for the registrations to open.

After I got my hat, Chai also gave me a paper to raise up when Pierce makes his entrance for the Discussion later. I got to my seat and waited a bit more until they finally open the registration as early as 7:30 AM due to the growing crowd. We are asked to go outside again to form a line. I got my book signing ticket which is 40 out of 300 with a sampler of Pierce Brown’s Iron Gold and ID as an attendee of The Philippine Readers and Writers Festival almost around 8:15 AM. They also gave away free entrance pass for the upcoming 2017 Manila International Book Fair.

My friend Gabby still hasn’t arrived yet so I waited for her until she arrived around 9:45 AM. Apparently, she got lost b̶̶̶u̶̶̶t̶̶̶ ̶̶̶I̶̶̶ ̶̶̶w̶̶̶o̶̶̶n̶̶̶’̶̶̶t̶̶̶ ̶̶̶g̶̶̶o̶̶̶ ̶̶̶i̶̶̶n̶̶̶t̶̶̶o̶̶̶ ̶̶̶t̶̶̶o̶̶̶ ̶̶̶d̶̶̶e̶̶̶t̶̶̶a̶̶̶i̶̶̶l̶̶̶ ̶̶̶b̶̶̶e̶̶̶c̶̶̶a̶̶̶u̶̶̶s̶̶̶e̶̶̶ ̶̶̶s̶̶̶h̶̶̶e̶̶̶ ̶̶̶m̶̶̶i̶̶̶g̶̶̶h̶̶̶t̶̶̶ ̶̶̶s̶̶̶m̶̶̶a̶̶̶c̶̶̶k̶̶̶ ̶̶̶m̶̶̶e̶̶̶ ̶̶̶s̶̶̶o̶̶̶ ̶̶̶I̶̶̶’̶̶̶l̶̶̶l̶̶̶ ̶̶̶l̶e̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶t̶̶̶h̶̶̶i̶̶̶s̶̶̶ ̶̶̶a̶̶̶s̶̶̶ ̶̶̶i̶̶̶t̶̶̶ ̶̶̶i̶̶̶s̶̶̶.

We ate our brunch at Tim Ho Wan. Both of us were really sleepy and hungry but our conversations about the trilogy and Iron Gold is full of enthusiasm because we’re so pumped to see Pierce Brown later. Afterwards, we strolled around nearby malls until we decided to go back at 1:30 PM to wait on Ballroom 2 of the hotel where the discussion and signing will be held.

We arrived to Ballroom 2 past 1:30 PM and the seats are almost 90% full! We hurried to find at least a decent seat and we did find out somewhere 4-5 away from the last row. Gabby and I also reserved one more seat for two of our friends that’ll be coming later.

It’s a very interesting sight. People of different walks of life and age are attending. As a fan, it made me smile a lot. Few minutes later, the venue is full and there are no seats available anymore but the organizers added more seats at the corner rows a̶s̶ ̶f̶a̶s̶t̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶s̶a̶n̶i̶c̶. Because I’m seated on a corner row, adding new seats made me have new seatmates. They’re very chill middle-aged women that didn’t know much about Pierce but very interested to listen on the discussion.

Gabby and I just talk about random stuff like on how I said that Pierce’s display picture on the projector looks like he escaped some room and is about to expose the antagonist of some story. Gabby defended him and told me that he looks really handsome on the picture which I agreed 100%

The discussion started 5 minutes earlier than scheduled (2 PM) and when Pierce stepped inside the room, I’d never been so drown with screams and howling a̶n̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶s̶a̶y̶s̶ ̶a̶ ̶l̶o̶t̶ ̶b̶e̶c̶a̶u̶s̶e̶ ̶I̶ ̶w̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶a̶ ̶l̶o̶t̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶c̶o̶s̶p̶l̶a̶y̶e̶r̶s̶/̶a̶r̶t̶i̶s̶t̶ ̶s̶i̶g̶n̶i̶n̶g̶.̶ Even the boys are screaming. Is this really a discussion and book signing event or J-Pop/K-Pop idol fan meeting? Despite saying this, I was also howling while making a heart sign at one point after I got tired of raising the printed wolf picture I got from Chai so I’m not the one to talk. LOL. The charisma of the man that’s been labeled as the “Hottest ‘Young Adult’ Author in the World” is a force to reckon with.

As soon I’d witness this sight, I know that it’ll be a different book discussion than anything I’d ever attended in my lifetime. You know, the formal clapping and the stuffy professional air on discussions? You know what I’m talking about. I didn’t feel anything like that and I’m very happy that I didn’t feel something similar to that ‘cause it means Pierce doesn’t put invisible barriers within himself and us fans.

The discussion started and it was an amazing one. It opened on the steps of Red Rising Trilogy as a successful book and what are the elements inspired the theme of the book + Iron Gold. Like seriously. I want to talk about it point by point but I haven’t written it down and my brain is still in post #PierceBrowninPH blues so I’ll just list down the highlights/left the lasting impression to me:

- Pierce has a love affair going on with adobo. - He’s also loving bagoong. - He thanked his girlfriend for the support (which most girls answered you’re welcome. LMAO.) - He’s going to Palawan tomorrow (August 28, 2017) - Pierce’s mom didn’t read the first book he finished but pretended that she did. - He tried to write 4k words a day like Stephen King but it made his family stressed by the pressure he puts on himself. - He writes once day without any time/goal set but tries to make at least 4 hrs. a day. - Pierce wanted to talk more about the red Rising movie that is in development but Hollywood wants to keep it shut for now so he didn’t say much. - For aspiring writers: Keep writing and keep trying. (He said a lot of very inspiring stuff before he said this so...yeah.)

Pierce Brown’s discussion is a success and the crowd gave a loud yet sophisticated applause with howls. It’s time for the awaited Q & A. The majority is itching to ask questions but only less than 10 people are entertained. It was a very intense Q & A. The questions are directly related to the series which the host is very surprised with as I observed. Pierce answered every question in detail which is totally satisfying. To Eriele who cosplayed Eo and asked about Roque and Tactus’ possible relationship to Pierce, I salute you! I’m so happy to know that there’s a PH howler passionate about Roque and Tactus’ possible relationship like me.

I really want to ask him about Lysander’s character inspiration and thought process while making him + his future characteristics after all the shit happened in the trilogy and how it will affect his actions at Iron Gold. I’m quite salty not being picked because I’m raising my hand with my whole might without standing or making a scene and the host still didn’t notice me. ̶I̶’̶M̶ ̶V̶E̶R̶Y̶ ̶S̶A̶L̶T̶Y.

Gabby comforted me that there’ll be next time if Pierce’ll return to Philippines again to promote Iron Gold while the middle-aged women beside me roasted the host to cheer me up because they observed that the host is only calling the one’s on their left side. I thanked them and told that I’ll try to bring up my question on the book signing instead.

The time for the book signing has finally arrived and the first 20 people are called. Pierce is seated and has a long black table in front of him. I observed that the first batch took pictures while Pierce is still seated with the long table blocking fans apart so at some point, Pierce encouraged the fans to go at his side. I want to call them the lucky ones because Pierce talked to them for quite a long time. After that, he disappeared (to probably take a break) for almost 15 minutes. He returned not wearing his suit anymore and changed his orange shirt with a black one with some organizers bringing a circle high table and have the long black table moved slightly at the back.

What an amazing man. He could leave that as it is but he wanted a closer interaction to fans so he decided that he’ll sign the books standing. Take note that he needs to interact with 280 more people and sign over 300 books. I saw posts of people who waited until the end of the signing that he stood for over 3 hours without taking a break. With that arranged, the second batch is called. It’s finally my turn. Hallelujah! My friend Kris who arrived at the middle of the discussion offered to document the moment of my signing which I’m very thankful for. The turns are a lot quicker compared to the first batch (most likely due to a schedule) so I didn’t wait really long until it’s my turn and get to see him up close.

We looked each other on the eye and while almost everyone says that he’s hot, can we also talk about his eyes? It’s a different genre. It’s hypnotizing. I now get why Sevro collects people’s eyeballs because eyes like Pierce Brown exist.

I also need to mention that we smoothly shook hand. Like...ho—how? I never had a smooth handshake when meeting someone new. I’m a bit scared with handshakes because I know that it’ll end up awkward but on some miracle, it didn’t happen with Pierce. Here’s how our conversation went after the handshake — Pierce: Mae? Have we talked before? Me: Yeah. Back when Morning Star was released. I asked you when will the paperback will come out and you said it’ll be out six months later. I told you that I couldn’t wait that long so I pre-ordered the hardbound because our bookstore don’t have it yet. There’s also that one time at goodreads. Also, I replied to your tweet days ago regarding #GoReadWrite2017. P: I saw your tweet and liked it. Thank you for coming! And yes, I remember that! I find it strange that it wasn’t out on the bookstore when it’s a worldwide release. M: My cousin borrowed my copy of the trilogy w/c includes my hardbound Morning Star and hasn’t returned it since so I bought your books again. P: Your cousin is a cheeky book thief...! *signs my books* M: Yeah. I asked for my books a lot of times but they never returned it. [National Bookstore official gesturing to take my phone for the photo] M̶e̶ ̶(̶t̶h̶o̶u̶g̶h̶t̶s̶)̶:̶ Oh crap. I haven’t told him my inner geek -ings about Lysander. What to do?! M: *glances on my phone* Before I forgot, I drew Victra! I was supposed to give you a print but I haven’t finished on time so this drawing is still incomplete. *shows drawing* P: Oh wow, she looks lovely with that dress. Make sure to tweet it to me once you finished it. M: Sure thing! (̶I̶ ̶r̶e̶g̶r̶e̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶I̶ ̶s̶a̶i̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶T̶B̶H̶.̶ ̶I̶ ̶a̶l̶s̶o̶ ̶r̶e̶g̶r̶e̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶I̶ ̶s̶h̶o̶w̶e̶d̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶h̶i̶m̶.̶ ̶N̶o̶w̶,̶ ̶I̶ ̶n̶e̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶f̶i̶n̶i̶s̶h̶ ̶i̶t̶.̶ ̶L̶M̶A̶O̶.̶)̶

Pierce then pointed at the official. He got really antsy because I talked more and my phone hanged when I’m about to set the camera. My friend Kris also took some pictures when the official tried to stop him because the policy said that only the official is the one that’s allowed to take a picture but Pierce being so smooth to this signing told the official that it’s fine.

I haven’t told a pose to do so Pierce settled on holding my shoulder while I shakily hold his waist because of the height difference. I think he felt my hand shaking so he gave a light squeeze to the shoulder before he told that we’re ready to take a picture.

After the picture is taken, Pierce handed me my books and added before we parted— Thank you for supporting my books...twice! Also, tell your cousin that they need to return your books or the reaper will come to them.

I feel like my brain melted a bit after talking to him to the point when Gabby asked me almost instantly on how is it, my sentences are pretty incoherent. When I recovered, I told her that I forgot to ask Pierce for a hug so I’m hoping that she’ll avenge for me. Gabby did ask Pierce for a hug but Pierce told her that “You’re free to hug me even if you didn’t ask.” (If you want her story on what happened to their meeting, bug her on twitter). I hugged Gabby tightly as soon as she returned and said that she avenged for me. I have such awesome friends.

Once we went out on the venue, me together with Gabby, Kris & Nat (that arrived 3 turns before my turn on the signing) strolled around the floor and took pictures before we decided to eat dinner at Kenny Rogers. We conversed and strolled more until we decided to travel back home.

Writing all what happened still feels surreal to me that I’m having a post-signing withdrawal. I’m thankful for National Bookstore that they invited Pierce to come over in the Philippines. I PM -ed them over a year ago about Pierce and when NBS announced that they’ll have him at #GoReadWrite2017, I’m beyond ecstatic and searched for a local Red Rising FB group. Joining the Red Rising Philippines, I discovered that there are a lot of PH Howlers that requested Pierce to visit Philippines too. I’m really glad that NBS reciprocated to our feelings.

Finally, Thank you Pierce Brown for coming in the Philippines. We Filipino howlers appreciate it so much! I hope that you’ll enjoy your last few days here and hopefully, visit us again soon.

Audentes fortuna juvat and live for more, my fellow howlers!

- Mae

#pierce brown #piercebrowninph #author spotlight #book signing #red rising #golden son #red rising trilogy #iron gold #long post #long text post #mae speaks random stuff

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