Giveaway: Signed copy of “The Five People You Meet In Heaven” by Mitch Albom

This contest is now CLOSED. Please check back soon for the announcement of the winner.
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It’s almost Holy Week, so I thought it would be a good time to finally post this giveaway. 🙂

If you missed Mitch Albom’s blockbuster-movie-level book signings here in the Philippines, here’s your chance to win a signed paperback copy of “The Five People You Meet In Heaven,” Albom’s first novel. There is a Filipino character in the novel named Tala, and the protagonist was based on Albom’s uncle, who served in the U.S. military and was deployed here to fight against the Japanese occupation during World War II.

MECHANICS: To join, just go to the Rafflecopter page for this giveaway and follow the instructions there.
⇨⇨⇨ Portkey to Rafflecopter (whoosh!)

REMINDER: When you comment here, please don’t forget to answer the contest question: Name 5 people you would like to meet in Heaven; they should be real people who have passed away, whether they are famous people or your relatives. Your points for this entry will be rendered invalid if you don’t post a comment.

The contest is open only to residents of the Philippines. If you are not a resident but know someone with a Philippine mailing address who is willing to mail you the prize if you win, then you are welcome to join the contest. Contest ends 20 April 2014 (Easter Sunday)..

Spread the word, and May the Odds Be Ever In Your Favor!

[Audio] Interview with Mitch Albom – 2014-02-20

As I promised in a previous post, here’s the audio of my interview (almost in its entirety) with Mitch Albom last February 20th.

I was in a panel with 2 reporters from other websites. We were the last batch of interviewers, scheduled just before Mitch had to leave for a live appearance in a TV program, so we didn’t have a lot of time. And I had a very different set of questions for the article that I conceptualized compared to the other ladies, so the topics are noticeably…all over the place (and so fluffeh!) ^_^

At times like these, though, you just roll with the punches. We did get some good answers from Mitch, who was very accommodating and open. This was during the second straight day of his media blitz, and he must have been tired and jetlagged, but he never really showed it.

 
Highlights:

• His charity project for typhoon-devastated school libraries.
• The book that resonated with him when he was young: “The Royal Road to Romance (1925)” by Richard Halliburton
• A glimpse into his creative process
• Anecdotes about his travels around the world
• The inspiration for “The First Phone Call From Heaven”
• How his uncle inspired “The Five People You Meet In Heaven”
• A glimpse into his “Happy” playlist…and he actually whipped out his tablet to let us listen to some songs!
• His next project.

The article I eventually wrote about Mitch Albom has been published here —
★ Mitch Albom: ‘Giving is living’ and the healing power of stories

[Audio] Mitch Albom Book Signing Tour in Manila, Philippines – 2014-02-22

Here is my recording of the Q&A with Mitch Albom and Ms. Xandra Ramos-Padilla of National Book Store during the Mitch Albom Book Signing Tour stop here in Manila last February 22. I know a lot of people who didn’t make it to the event, and some people said that audio wasn’t too good from the far edges of the activity center, so I decided to upload and share this.

Photo courtesy of National Book Store

Click the Play button:

Download Links (right-click on link, save file as):

• mp3, 13.6MB, 30 minutes
• torrent file

Highlights:

• Lots of screaming fans! 😉 Mitch is a legit rock star.
• “Outside of the United States, apparently, the biggest group of readers that I have in the world is right here in the Philippines.”
• “Tuesdays With Morrie” was rejected by at least 10 publishers before it was finally sold.
• “I didn’t know what Tala meant when I wrote the name.”
• Mitch talks about his charity project for typhoon-devastated schools and affected fishermen
• Mitch impersonates Elvis Presley, live!
• One of Morrie’s greatest lessons: “Taking just makes me feel more like I’m dying; giving makes me feel like I’m living.”

After my article on Mitch and his visit here is published, I will also share snippets from my actual interview with him. I interviewed him together with 2 other ladies from other local news websites, and a lot of fun and “fluffy” stuff was talked about! 😉 And also, I will give away a signed copy of “The Five People You Meet In Heaven”! Stay tuned.