Photos / Thea Guanzon
The Filipino book community is abuzz with Thea Guanzon’s debut novel, The Hurricane Wars, which was released by HarperCollins earlier this October. It’s made waves because it was already named a New York Times bestseller, a badge of honor among writers.
The Hurricane Wars is part of the Hardcover Fiction list, where it is ranked #12. Guanzon joins literary heavyweights like Stephen King (Holly), Danielle Steel (Second Act), Ann Patchett (Tom Lake), Ken Follett (The Armor of Light), Barbara Kingsolver (Demon Copperhead), and Brandon Sanderson (Yumi and the Nightmare Painter).
The rankings for the New York Times bestseller lists reflect sales for the week. Its process remains confidential but its effects are undeniable. Getting on the list is said to drive sales, boost prestige, and even increase the chances of a film deal.
“My editor told me the night before that our sales numbers were within the threshold for the New York Times,” Guanzon told WheninManila.com in an interview.
She notes, however, that there’s never a guarantee that a book will be included because there are so many that are being taken into account. According to the New York Times, “Every week, thousands of diverse selling locations report their actual sales on hundreds of thousands of individual titles.”
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Guanzon joked, “I did not sleep the whole night because she said that they were going to check the list at 5 PM EST. So that’s 5 AM [here].”
She added, “I really tried to sleep but I just couldn’t. And then finally, in the morning, my agent texts me, ‘Hey, are you free for a call?'”
At the time, Guanzon thought that her agent was trying to gently break the news that she didn’t make it.
“But then, as I was about to reply to her, my notifications on Twitter went off and then I looked, and there was one of my followers with a screenshot and she was like, ‘Oh, my God, Thea Guanzon is a New York Times bestseller.’ And I think I screamed. And then I told my agent, ‘Oh, I know why you want to talk to me.’ And then she called me and then we cried.”
It was an emotional moment for both Guanzon and her agent Thao Le, as it was a moment of firsts for them. The Hurricane Wars is Guanzon’s first book and Le’s first bestseller.
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There was also a moment of levity, as the bestseller list was two hours behind their usual schedule. Guanzon told us, “My friend joked, ‘Pati yung Filipino time, nasa New York Times.'”
The Hurricane Wars is set in a nation under siege by the ruthless Night Emperor under the Hurricane Wars. Talasyn is an orphan who found her family among the soldiers fighting for freedom. She also holds a deadly secret: light magic courses through her veins, a blazing power believed to have been wiped out years ago that can cut through the Night Empire’s shadows.
Prince Alaric, the emperor’s only son and heir, has been tasked with obliterating any threats to the Night Empire’s rule with the strength of his armies and mighty shadow magic. He discovers the greatest threat yet in Talasyn: a girl burning brightly on the battlefield with the magic that killed his grandfather, turned his father into a monster, and ignited the Hurricane Wars.
Aside from being a New York Times bestseller, The Hurricane Wars is also a TikTok favorite with over two million views on the #thehurricanewars hashtag. This is quite the achievement, especially when you consider that BookTok, the reading community on TikTok, helped Colleen Hoover sell 14.3 million copies of her books in 2022 alone.
The book is also included in the Best Books of 2023 by Barnes & Noble. It is the largest bookstore chain in the US.
The Hurricane Wars is available in select National Book Store branches, online at nationalbookstore.com, and in their official stores on Lazada and Shopee.
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