A Book entitled "Love and Other Firsts"
August 10, 2011
"Love & Other Firsts" is a book that brings you down memory lane set in Cebu during the 1970's. It recounts the life of Ligaya and her relationships with family, confidence and trust with girlfriends, her first love. As the narrative progresses, the reader relives the author's vivid description of fashion, music, and lifestyle in the 70's. This is a fun and lovely book about "firsts" most remembered during adolescence. May T. Mediano, BisayaBulletin.com
The middle of nine children (eight girls and one boy), Tilay was born in Cebu City, Philippines. Her love for the written word started at age three when she read her first book, the Fun with Dick & Jane primer. At eight, inspired by Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “Little House” series, she wrote her first novella, an account of frontier life. While in grade school at Colegio de la Inmaculada Concepcion, she wrote and directed skits and mini-musicals for her school’s programs, and started a neighborhood group called the “Young Guides’ Recreational Club.” Tilay was also a staff member of her high school yearbook at Sacred Heart School for Girls, and a contributing editor of the University of the Philippines’ school organ. Before graduating with a BA in Mass Communication at the University of the Philippines College Cebu, she did her writing internship at The Freeman, Cebu’s largest newspaper.
As a member of a musical family, Tilay often performed with her siblings on stage and on TV. After placing first in a KB national singing contest, she, her siblings, and other members of the choir attended a presidential reception given by the Marcos family at the Malacanang Palace. At twenty-two, Tilay toured worldwide with “Up with People,” as a goodwill ambassador, lead dancer, singer, and P.R. team member in the international cast. After completing her full-year tour, Tilay moved to New York City, where she worked in the fashion industry and was the Vice President of Gifted Hands, a non-profit, all-volunteer organization that reaches out to the homeless, HIV/AIDS victims, youth at risk, children in foster care, abused single mothers, and seniors in nursing homes, through forty different art and empowerment programs. In her spare time, she wrote for the Filipino Examiner newspaper, The Philippine Dance Company’s newsletter, and The Mustard Seed (St. Patrick’s Cathedral Young Adult Ministry’s newsletter). She joined the SCBWI and New York Writers’ Circle, and attended writing conferences and workshops at Barnard College, Marymount Manhattan College, and Gotham Writers’ Workshop.
Tilay now lives in San Diego, where she is pursuing her four great passions: writing, photography, travel, and food. As a freelance writer and photographer, she continues to travel extensively throughout Europe, Southeast Asia, and the U.S.
LOVE & OTHER FIRSTS, Tilay’s coming-of-age novel set in Cebu City, Philippines is now available online in hardcover, paperback, and for the Kindle. Please visit her Web site www.tilayangbetic.com for more details. Her current projects include an MG novel, a literary novel for adults, and a collection of short stories.
