Hi, my name is Tara Frejas, and I am a #romanceclass author. Today I'm going to talk to you about a book of mine called Scandalized.
What is the book about? Scandalized tells the story of Fi Legaspi, a road manager to a South Korean pop rock band called East Genesis Project. Fi is composed, reliable, and competent at her job, but her life turns upside down one day when paparazzi photos of her and the EG Project band leader entering a hotel together go viral overnight. The band's fans start a hostile mission to hunt her down, and this puts her personal and professional life in jeopardy.
Why did you write this book? I have been a KPop fan for quite some time now—for reference, I have been listening to KPop ever since TVXQ's Rising Sun came out—and one of the things that hasn't changed so much over the years is the culture of bullying and shaming idols for getting caught up in dating "scandals." When I wrote this book in 2015, I wanted to express how I felt about that aspect of fandom culture, but instead of focusing on the perspective of the idol, I shifted the lens toward the person on the other side of the rumored relationship. In this case, it's Fi: a non-celebrity whose personal life gets scrutinized online by a group of people who suddenly had opinions about her.
After reading the book, I hope... students who find and read my book learn more about bullying, or cyberbullying, in particular. What is it that constitutes cyberbullying? How does social media amplify negativity and influence a person's opinions of someone or something, regardless of whether or not a piece of information is true? In this day and age when even children have access to social media, what can we do to help prevent incidents of cyberbullying?
Film recommendation: Readers of my book should try watching a Filipino film entitled John Denver Trending. The 2019 film shows the injustices society slaps on a young boy who becomes internet-famous for hitting a classmate after being accused of stealing an iPad. However, because of the film's very sensitive themes, I strongly recommend supervised viewings, especially for very young children. Currently, John Denver Trending is available on the iWant platform.
Try this author next! Finally, for those of you who have read my book and liked the bonus songs and lyrics infused in the narrative, I strongly suggest you check out Jay E. Tria's Playlist Series. The Playlist Series explores the lives and love stories of Filipino college students who comprise an indie band called Trainman. All five books that have already been published are interconnected to a degree, but you may read each book as a standalone.
And that's it for me! I hope you continue supporting more Filipino authors, artists, and creators by consuming their work and sharing your appreciation of it to other people.
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Author Talks: RomanceClass authors talking about their books
Non-FictionSeries of Filipino authors from the #RomanceClass community talking about their books. Read these, or watch the videos, as you study from home this year, or if you just want to know more about our books and authors.
