Trip To Japan Update....

It's a go! I just bought the tickets today! Japan is happening for a month this November, in which I will have a nice vacation AND put together a special REN'AI RENSAI visual guide, which will feature the neighrbohoods, buildings, and general goods and food featured in the series! Of course, more info about that will come later. ;)

If you would like to help donate to the project and/or see the full update, please click here!

Oh, good day is good~

Putting the L in LGBT Music: Denise Ho

Last time I mentioned that the biggest lesbian representation in Asia seems to come from the Chinese related nations.However, the artist I featured then was not a known lesbian. This week is different. Denise Ho, one of the biggest musical celebrities in Cantopop (Hong Kong) is not only the first out lesbian celebrity in Hong Kong but also one of the most famous in Asia.

Denise Ho has been in the business for almost 20 years now. She got her start by winning the New Talent Singing Awards which led her to being mentored by her idol Anita Mui. She's often described as the second coming of Mui. Denise's music  focuses on dark themes, from mental illness to the negative facets of being gay. (One of her earliest songs, "Rosemary," caused quite the stir in Hong Kong by being about a lesbian relationship.) Her music videos are often artistic and surreal.

In 2012 she officially came out as a lesbian at Hong Kong Pride. Until then she was often rumored to be dating fellow Cantopop superstar Joey Yung, although officially they've only been known as friends. (Yung is currently dating a man and has never insinuated any other orientation.)

Below is her popular ballad entitled "Infatuated," highlighting her rich voice.

And here is her more uplifting song, "Initiate," the theme song to a film. (She's also an acclaimed actress, by the way.)

Weekly Writing Check-In: Bunch Of Positivity Coming This Way!

Hot on the heels of the latest book release, I am SO EXCITED to announce two great things coming soon! One thing will be happening this month, and the next will be happening in the coming months! Did I mention I was excited? You should be excited too! (Are you excited? Be excited.)

In writing news, I started a new online job this weekend, and it's going well so far. Hopefully it will take care of some pressing financial matters so I can rest easy with my writing.

Short post is short this week, but that's because I'm just too damn excited to be coherent this week. Stay tuned! First announcement will happen around Wednesday!

OUT NOW: "KOIBUMI," Book 5 of Ren'Ai Rensai

It's finally out! The final installment of REN'AI RENSAI for at least a year! Everything comes together in this book...trust me, that's why it ended up as long as it did. ;)

When Aiko declared her love for Reina twenty years ago, she knew it came with a price. Dreams of motherhood she once set aside, however, come rushing back when she assists her pregnant niece with a shocking secret. Other dreams left dormant surge when an intelligent, attractive man offers her a chance at a “normal” life, complete with a reassessment of her sexuality. If only she could have it all - especially the child!

No one could be less maternal than Reina, and her wife’s conversations about adoption, sperm donors, and other matters do nothing to improve that. Reina is more concerned with the American looking to chronicle her sordid history in the name of academia.

Aiko and Reina have survived a gamut of obstacles determined to keep them apart. Yet nothing scares Reina more than losing her wife to the very things she can’t give her, and nothing torments Aiko more than the emptiness in her life. If these two can’t resolve their separate desires, then not even a heartfelt “koibumi,” or love letter, may keep them together.

“Koibumi.”  takes place from Jul. - Sept., 2013

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"KOIBUMI." Cover Reveal!

No blurb yet, but damn, look at the hot cover! ;)

"KOIBUMI." IS COMING NEXT WEEKEND Y'ALL.

The Difference Between Writing The First Book And The Umpteenth Book

Source

It's no secret that my creative brain works in series. Contained stories? What in the world is that? Over my lifetime I have written a number of fictional series, most you will never see. But one thing always remains the same: the approach, the feeling, and the experience of writing the first book in a series is always much different from writing books later in the series. However, I don't just mean the whole "starting a new series of getting to know all your characters" type of thing. There is a fundamental difference between planning a first book in a series and later books. There is usually a shift in tone and author attitude as well.

I suppose the most relevant example I have for this is my current REN'AI RENSAI series I'm publishing. I'm almost to the one year anniversary of beginning to write "Daisuki.", the first in the series. I remember writing that book (well, novella) well. The scenes were short, poignant, and yes sexy, but also minimized for the reader to digest easily, especially since I'm giving them a culture they may not be too familiar with. I went through great pain wondering if there was any marketability, or if it was even any good. Originally "Daisuki." was meant to be a short (as in less than 12k) story, but became a novella as I realized there was more to say about these characters than I originally thought.

Man, that changed!

I've recently reread parts of that story in paperback, and honestly, it's so bizarre! I wonder if my readers who have read everything in the series has noticed this? I feel like my overall tone and approach to the series has changed. Well, this always happens. Every single series I write is like this. The first book is meticulous, and I go over everything again and again to make sure it's accessible to new readers. I went through something similar with book 2, "Hatsukoi." because it was the first chronologically and I wanted readers to be able to pick up from there too if they wanted to read it like that. Starting with book 3, however, I took a different approach. I no longer took great pains to go over everyone's identity as a refresher or introduction. I figured you weren't reading book 3 unless you had read the previous two. I jumped in with recurring characters and didn't care how many new ones I introduced. (And there were quite a few! Important characters for the rest of the series, no less!) Inside jokes were born and carried over; subplots would carry on from one book to the next. In "Daisuki." I tried to keep things simple and clean - in book 5, coming out at the end of this month, I've gone ~balls out~ nuts with cameos, wrapping up subplots three books old, and some recurring characters only get one scene. I decided I didn't care for this book. This is not a book meant for someone new to the series. This a book for those who have read all the others. See, this is going to be the last RR novel for at LEAST a year. (Sorry fans! You get the spinoffs, though!) I didn't want things left hanging. Picking up the pace, toning down some of the sex in favor of more plot, and if I were George RR Martin I'm sure I'd be killing off half the cast at every other turn. (As it is, I'm just mating them off.) So it was really strange to re-read "Daisuki." The mood and tone are just so different in certain aspects. I could tell that I was writing the first book in a series. Of course I am not disparaging my own work, as I am still very proud of it and what it has accomplished for my career, but as an author it creates a certain dissonance.

Anyone know what I'm talking about, readers and authors alike? I don't mean specifically with my works, but in general. I was thinking of this recently as well as I contemplated re-reading Game of Thrones (the first book.) It's short(er), more compact, and while it has its usual crests and climaxes it also has the air of "this is the first story in a series. You will now be grounded in this world so we can totally GO BUCK WILD starting in book 3!" You can see this same thing in Harry Potter as well.

FREE ALERT! "Shimoneta." A Ren'Ai Rensai Short

"Shimoneta." is free for the next few days, so grab it while it's hot! (And it is!) Link and blurb below!

Roped into teaching a "Lesbian Talk" seminar for the local lesbian populace, Reina is convinced it's going to bomb - even though she is the most talented, experienced, and sexiest woman possible to do the job. Just as she's getting used to the idea, however, her worst nightmare arrives: her wife, Aiko, coming to taunt her with everything she keeps beneath her clothing. Will Reina's seminar head south as she cracks under the sexual pressure, or will this master of "shimoneta," or "dirty talk," end up giving the greatest demonstration of her short career? Whatever happens, Aiko volunteers to help.

"SHIMONETA." takes place on May 18th, 2013.

Download for free here!