Just One Afternoon

About five years ago, I was running through titles at a bookshop, looking for the perfect novel to read while waiting for a rock concert to start later that afternoon, and there it was: "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman. The blurb (giving hints of death, love, and music) was enough to draw the 15-year-old me in to buying it, so I did, and I loved it.

Little did I know that some years later, I will be sitting next to Ms. Forman herself at a five-star hotel bar for a one-on-one interview for Candy Magazine. It's probably the best 30 minutes of my life yet. I just couldn't believe that there I was chatting with this person I look up to a lot, and not just that. She's already very accomplished in the field I chose to pursue as my career.

Despite being an award-winning and international best-selling young adult author, Gayle was so down to earth. She was so calm and patient with a nervous and jittery budding journalist like me. She would make me laugh, share some "secrets", and tell me these amazing things about writing that I've never heard someone else say before.

Talking to her was simply a pleasure, and I loved how chatting with her feels like I was simply talking with a slightly older friend of mine. I was able to show her my 1 Czech Koruna (one of the elements in her book "Just One Day") and we also talked a lot about travelling, particularly about Utrecht (we share the same love for the lesser-known Dutch city) and India (which she finds fascinating and frustrating at the same time - it's one of her favourite places).

Towards the end of our scheduled slot together, she signed all the copies of her books that I have, had our photos taken, and guess what? She loved my outfit (especially my rose-print tights from Forever 21 - haha!) so much that she took an #OOTD picture of me with her mobile. HER MOBILE. Oh my God, Gayle Forman has a photo of me in her mobile phone. *squeal*

I don't know what she'd do with it, but the merest fact that someone who wrote for Seventeen loved my outfit is quite something. Nobody ever asked to take a photo of me and what I'm wearing before, so Gayle would be the remarkable first.

Ms. Forman will be signing books in Manila tomorrow and in Cebu on Sunday. For more information about her book tour's Philippine stop, head on to National Bookstore's official Facebook page.

♥Andz