Authors Katie Cotugno, Melissa Kantor and Robyn Schneider were recently here to sign books for National Book Store (NBS). While most authors who’ve done the NBS experience here already prepare “newbie” authors on what to expect here in Manila, Cotugno was still shocked at the treatment she received from her Filipino fans.

“In Cebu they walked us through the mall and we had a police detail, and all of a sudden I heard this screaming like I was One Direction or something. Authors I know who had been here before were like, ‘Expect to be totally blown away,’ but I don’t think I was quite prepared for that feeling,” says Cotugno.

She adds, “It was incredible. Signings for an author like me in the States are never like that. If I sign 30 or 45 books, that’s already a great signing for me, and here I signed like 700. I felt it in my hand! It was such an honor, it was so exciting, everyone was so enthusiastic and lovely. I feel very lucky.”

Cotugno’s books will resonate with anyone who went to Catholic school and fell for the bad boy, i.e., majority of Filipino women. In “How To Love,” straight arrow Reena Montero falls for the dark and brooding Sawyer.

In “99 Days,” Molly Barlow is tempted by her boyfriend’s mysterious older brother, and both girls make choices that make them unpopular with family and friends.

Inquirer Super talks to Cotugno about choosing between her three boys, marrying her high school sweetheart, teenage pregnancies and getting over your first heartbreak.

Sawyer, Patrick or Gabe?

That’s tough. I love them all, but I wrote “How To Love” over the course of 10 years. I started when I was 16. So Sawyer is, for all of his flaws—I know a lot of people find him unlikable—but for me he was that guy I had a big crush on when I was 16, you know what I mean?

Your first book deals with teenage pregnancy; how did you put yourself in that mindset when you were writing “How To Love”?

Obviously it’s not an autobiographical story, I don’t have any firsthand experience of what Reena went through. There were a lot of girls in my high school, always—I went to Catholic school, like I said—and every year there would be one or two girls who would disappear for a period of time to “stay with family” and they would turn up again, and I was always curious about that. It was hard.

I always want to be true and honest as possible and not glamorize it at all, ’cause it’s not glamorous, it’s really hard. But I also wanted to treat her with empathy and not shame her because her life’s not over, it’s just different.

The book “99 Days” was very polarizing for your fans; are you likely to write a sequel to this?

There are no plans for a sequel to “99 Days” now, but I would never say never. Although if I were to write a companion book, I would want to write something about Tess or Julia, like find out what happened to everybody else, but I think I would want to take the focus off the love triangle if I were ever to do it.

Are you the type to pull a “Diana Barlow” and mine someone’s heartache for a story?

I would never go quite as far as Diana did. She definitely cannibalizes her own daughter in a way that is horrifying. She has her reasons, but they’re not great reasons.

I think authors who say they don’t pull from real life are lying. I think if you’re a writer, you’re constantly noticing things, filing them away and you’ll translate them a little bit. I don’t think I’ve pulled someone or something wholesale from my real life, but I get inspired by people and things and experiences around me all the time. I keep a notebook in my purse and always write things down.

What advice would you have for teenagers going through their first heartbreak?

It is so hard. It’s something that everyone goes through, but I would not wish on anyone. The only thing that cures heartbreak when you’re a teenager or as an adult is to give it time. You can’t go around it, you gotta go through it. If you can’t fix it, you just have to bear it.

Are you a firm believer that first love lasts?

I met my husband when I was 16, so for me, personally, yes. It’s funny, when we met, I think I bought into that “Of course you’re never going to be with the person that you meet when you’re 16” attitude.

In senior year, I didn’t even put his name in my yearbook because I was like, “We’re totally going to be broken up by the end of the year and then I’m going to feel embarrassed.” And now we’ve been together for almost 15 years. I think the trick is finding somebody that can grow alongside you, and you have to give each other the right amount of space to do that.

What are you working on next?

My third book will come out next spring. It doesn’t have a title yet, but it’s a tragic love story that takes place in the 1990s in Orlando, which is where Backstreet Boys, N’Sync happened.

There was a teen pop factory down there and this is about two young pop stars, sort of like a Justin-Britney type of star-crossed love affair, and they meet and fall in love and it’s about their rise to fame, like all hell breaking loose. I’m very excited about it.

Katie Cotugno’s books are available at National Book Store. Visit https://nationalbookstore.com.ph, www.facebook bit.ly/nationalbookstore; follow @nbsalert on Twitter and Instagram.