Get! Vol 2 -- The Confident vs Arrogant Seme

Get! Volume 2

by Akiro Kanazawa

Hino Ryosuke is on top of the world. Class president Kaonji Kyo, the most beautiful student in school, is his lover! Each day brings them closer. Each time they make love, Kyo shares more of himself. Their growing intimacy makes Ryosuke think about their lives beyond college. But then, there is a campaign of threatening letters and blackmail photos. It seems that Ryosuke just gets a handle on that when rumors spread at school that he is making extra money as a gigolo! Even Kyo seems to think there is something to those stories. It seems that things can't to get any worse for Ryosuke. That's when Kyo's handsome and accomplished cousin returns from studying abroad determined to come between the two. Enough is enough! No one who wants to take Kyo away has reckoned on a determined Ryosuke in love!

This 'Too Hot for Kindle' title is available in most formats HERE: http://www.emanga.com/detail?itemid=981.
See Some Sexy sample pages HERE:  http://www.sybpressyaoi.com/p/blog-page_11.html .

The Confident vs Arrogant Seme  

I've gone on and on about the arrogant Seme, but Get!'s Seme, Ryosuke, brings me to the topic of the confident Seme. Well, how are they different? A Seme like Usami Akihiko from Junjou Romanitca or Masamune Takano from Sekai-Ichi Hatsukoi are as arrogant as all get out but they are not completely confident about their holds on their respective ukes. Part of the reason for this is that siad ukes can be a bit vague when declaring their love, but a large part comes from the scars left from broken hearts of long ago. Hino Ryosuke is an arrogant Seme who is also very confident that he has Kaonji Kyo's heart and beautiful body – no matter who is after him or how many there are.

It isn't easy to be Kyo's lover. While he is incredibly beautiful, Kyo does not have an easy personality. He is strict and exacting in following school rules while Ryosuke is far more carefree. Kyo's pride in his high standing in school makes him vulnerable to blackmail. His lack of experience with sex makes him oblivious to people who are predators. While he does feel strongly for Ryosuke, he is reluctant about going public with their relationship. These factors often put Kyo in compromsing positions. However, Ryosuke never, ever doubts his lover's commitment to him. He always sees through the predators' plans and finds a way to thwart them. Kyo may not always be pleased with his methods, but he remains by Ryosuke's side. Their love life does not move nearly as smoothly as this sounds. There is often a lot of mayhem involved before the potential tresspassor's intent is uncovered and the danger is averted. This makes for a lot of crazy comedy. What is amazing about the ever confident Ryosuke is that no matter what craziness is swirling around them or even how mad Kyo is at him at any given moment, he always finds a way to coax his uke to a secluded place for some very hot, intense sexual escapades. Rysosuke is such a seductive Seme, it is entirely possible that he could get Kyo to have sex with him while they are involved in a car chase!

Ryosuke's confidence in Kyo's commitment does not mean that Get! Volume 2 is without suspense. There is a lot of mayhem coming at them in that book that could tear apart the strongest relationship. It's not clear that this confident Seme will succeed even with his confidence and determination.

I find Get! To be a refreshing change of pace. I adore arrogant Semes. And I really love insane, arrogant semes. However, I sometimes get tired of the trope that always has the Seme wondering if the uke really cares about him. It always rings a little false with these guys who seem to have all they need in life to get anything they want. This doubt gets really annoying if it continues over many volumes. I've always maintained (and I write that way) that you can still have suspense even when it's clear that the Seme has absolute faith in his uke. Get! Volumes One and Two prove this can be true.

 

Realism and Food and Yaoi

More about this below.

I had some very nice comments on my work this week and last week. On the site, All Romance, where I am a bestseller (yes, I like saying that), a reader wrote that she enjoyed all of my work. On a different site, a reader said 'just read all of her work.' That was mighty nice. Yet the most fascinating and fun comments have been about the realism I've managed to put into my books. A reader who went to see Zero Dark Thirty  said that the Seal Team Six in that film reminded her of Falcon Squad from the Soldiers' books. I had done some research on special forces units in general. We worked with one on Demon Under Glass. He came to our attention after commenting that it took longer to strangle a man than we shot in one scene. This formidable crew guy found film far more peaceful than the military (geez, he must have had a hard time as a soldier to think that). Yet, he was really affable, laid back and funny in a very twisted way. The actor who played Rik in the short film version of the Soldiers' book actually was in such a unit as well. Why do they drift toward film. Beyond that, I interview others who were in a unit or were close to people who were. The freedom about hairstyles and operating outside of protocol were not made from whole cloth. I was very pleased that someone saw my guys in characters that were even closer to the real thing. I was asked by a different reader if the menu I go into loving detail about in Ensnared is real. The answer is yes. All food I mention in my books are dishes I've had. Often times, I've made them as well. Food is an excellent way to ground even the most far flung of fantasies in reality. There is a cookbook 'written by' Vincent Greven that covers almost ever dish I mention in the Soldiers' books. The current release date is in time for the Writers Romance and Rainbows 2013 Book Fair. We'll see.

This week, I received a lovely note about a yaoi story I wrote for the e-zine, Full Metal Orgasm, called The Companion. This incredible anthology of really good and sexy prose is only $3.99! There is a large sample of the story on this site. My story starts on page 18. The story was inspired, in part, by a character in the web comic, Teahouse, that I fell in love with. Gilder is big and likely dangerous while being romantic, tender and highly sexy. The reader turned out to be a very talented writer who thought highly of the story. He also sensed the tension and danger to the main characters and that their was a great deal to the society that created their dire situation. I revealed that the civilization in The Companion is a past society from the Ensnared universe. It is one of The Time That Was. He encouraged me to write more from that civilization and the others. I do plan on doing that when I get the time. I was very proud of that story. It was difficult to put all that back story, erotica an nuance in less than 20,000 words. It was a lovely thing to take the time to do for a writer, and I really enjoyed the interaction with him. So, gentle readers, I'm here and willing to chat about writing and my work any time – even if you don't absolutely love my work. I'll be writing a really hardcore yaoi story for an upcoming edition of Full Metal Orgasm. I'll reveal more about that when it gets closer to publication.The Companion manages to have some food references as well. In fact, it took everything in me to not get carried away with talking about food and food preparation.

He is the Wild Boyfriend!

I love that yaoi is full of food in the manga and anime. Since I love writing about food, it was great to know that it wouldn't look weird in the yoai novels. And I really loved that all the dishes are real. I've had this whole ongoing adventure with cooking Japanese food, because I decided to look up octopus wieners after an episode of Junjou Romantica. I thought it would be fun to do a video blog on food seen in yaoi anime. Later, I decided to include the foods in the manga I was editing for Digital Manga in the video blogs. Ironically, the video that I saw as the first one of the Cook Like a Uke with actual ukes is only getting edited this coming week. I shot it almost a year ago! It's Tonjiru and features a real like Misaki from Junjou Romantica. So, next week's blog will be all about the two new Cook Like A Uke videos. One will cover the long overdue Tonjiru. The other will be based on a story in Sakira's 'Too Hot for Kindle' yaoi manga, Wild Boyfriend. They will both be worth the wait!

Get! Vol One and the Return of the Insane Seme

GET! Volume One by Ariko Kanazawa

Student council president Kyo seems to have it all – looks (he's prettier than most of the girls), intellect, and power. He doesn't even care that he is hated by many students, he has everything under control. But then super popular and incorrigible Ryosuke upends his life like a tornado, professing his undying love, kissing him, and turning up everywhere he shouldn't be! Why won't he leave Kyo alone? Why can't Kyo push him away? Can Ryosuke's devotion save Kyo from a ruthless plan of revenge at the hands of school bullies?

Return of the Insane Seme

I have written on this topic before and with great glee. I think the addition of a bit of wackiness to a Seme's personality is always a good thing. That trait adds dramatic tension and a great deal of humor to the story lines. A crazy Seme is never predictable or boring. Underclassman, Ryosuke Hino, is certainly a bit crazy along with being gorgeous, at the top of his grade academically, an unsurpassed athlete and wildly popular student. His carefree nature causes him to grab a nap in the student government offices where class president, Kyo Kaonji, discovers him. While trying to wake Ryosuke, Kyo finds himself in the young man's arms being passionately kissed. Ryosuke is delighted that the angel he was kissing in his dreams is a real person despite being smacked about by said angel. He vows to make Kyo his lover. Ryosuke does not even care that Kyo is a man.

Thus begins a very funny and suspenseful story. The suspense comes from the danger Kyo has gotten himself into by putting all the worst students on report for infraction of the rules. They've decided that they would teach him a lesson by gang raping and beating him while filming the attack. Later, they would blackmail him into allowing them to go about their business. Only Ryosuke's constant presence keeps them from going through with their plans. Kyo doesn't realize that he is putting his own safety in peril by constantly trying to push away the unwanted suitor.

Get! Volume One was a lot of fun to edit. Ryosuke is a delightfully funny and crazy Seme. Through his antics, the reader begins to see what he sees in the arrogant Kyo aside from his beauty. This uke is actually a young man of considerable integrity, and he is emotionally as well as figuratively vulnerable. Kyo is very deserving of a lover who will protect him and make him happy. Hino Ryosuke is the man for that job. Did I mention that Get! Is also white hot?! It is very much Too Hot for Kindle! And even that hot hot sex is very funny!

Get! Volume One is available as an ebook in most formats here: http://www.emanga.com/detail?itemid=950

See Sample manga mpages HERE:  http://www.sybpressyaoi.com/p/blog-page.html

Preaching Yaoi at Bent-con and New Book Review

I'll be at Bent-con  next weekend. I have three panels, so far. One of them is a repeat of the panel I did at this year's Yaoicon on localizing manga for the Digital Manga Guild (DMG). It's a fun panel about the process of translating, editing and lettering a manga goes through before it's released in the US. There is a lot of controversy on the internet about the guild and how its workers are treated. There is also some debate about DMG titles and how much the original mangaka have to do with it. I take on all of those issues. In the end, I hope to attract talented people who love manga into joining the Guild.

The other panel is Yaoi 101 and It's Impact on Japanese Pop Culture. That's a long and lofty title for what will likely be one really naughty panel. I've got lots of bishie images and even some video clips. This panel will introduce yoai and its history to a room full of gay men who look at the genre sideways. I'll also discuss how it has evolved from its 'plot what plot' origins and how it is having a real impact on pop culture in Japan. I will have lots of snippets of the rampant fanservice offered in current anime. It will be a fun panel that is also quite flame war worthy. If it wasn't, I wouldn't have found it interesting. I'll share all the images and snippets I use in the blog next week. If any of my gentle readers are in town, come on by. It's a very cool convention with a lot of great guests. Check it out on the web page.

Book Review

Saying Goodbye at Ocean Isle  by Kimberly Hunter
 

What would you do if you lost the love of your life?
What would you do when you finally had to let them go?
And what would you do if you were given a second chance at love?
For Laine Abernathy and Sean Pike, losing their lovers in tragic accidents was devastating. But over a year later, Laine has realized that holding on to the past is futile. Sean’s not ready yet to say goodbye. Deep inside, he knows he should. Unfortunately, the mind is willing but the heart isn’t.
Through grief and sadness, the two form a bond that develops into much more over the course of a month long stay at Ocean Isle Beach.
Then a night of passion sends Sean running. Thinking he’d pushed too hard, Laine returns to his life, disappointed and down. He’d shared something with Sean he never thought to have again.
Three months later, Laine receives a text. “Meet me at Ocean Isle. Need to say goodbye.”
Is his chance for happiness gone before it even begins? Or will two broken hearts finally be mended? There’s only one way to find out...

I must confess that I read this book with grave misgivings. I'm not one for romantic tragedy. I don't read for catharsis. After I've had that 'good cry,' I end up ticked off for being made to cry. However, Saying Goodbye at Ocean Isle is far more complex than the typical tear jerker and more brave. This book looks at what happens after a perfect union of soul mates is brutally ended when the survivor has to choose whether to go on with life or follow into death. Kimberly Hunter manages to take on a potentially depressing topic with a deft touch. She manages to economically render and fully realize two very different couples complete with family histories early in the book. Blaine and Sean's love stories with their partners are miraculous. The loss of their life mates is incredibly poignant and painful. It's hard to believe that either man is willing or able to really move on. That journey is intense and wrought with suspense and really, really hot. Talk about sexual tension! As a reader, I felt guilty about the lusty thoughts about men who've endured such tragedy. Not that those feelings kept me from wanting to read more. That conflict was nerve wracking. And then there was the question of whether the intense, mutual longing would be acted upon. Would either man be able to grab that second chance at real happiness? Saying Goodbye at Ocean Isle is an amazing ride that manages a great deal of moving and exciting drama in a very short span. And that was a good thing. I don't think I could have survived a longer roller coaster ride.

Next week – The Con report and a Manga review!

Happy Yaoi Day Part Two!

Have a taste of the second yaoi manga I edited for the Digital Manga Guild. This one was really crazy!

Wild Boyfriend

Tough guy Ran thought Keitatsu was shy and vulnerable as he longed for him from afar. Then, when a brutal act brings them together, Ran discovers that he’s the one in need of a rescue and Keitatsu is more than he or anyone else can handle! Sakira’s long awaited debut collection features hot couples in the wildest first encounters ever! [localized by L.W. Hubbard, D.L. Warner, and Hentai Tenshi]

 “Wild Boyfriend – Bousou Kareshi © Sakira. All rights reserved. Original Japanese edition published in 2009 by JUNET Co.,Ltd” This title is available for Nook here http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wild-boyfriend-sakira/1111509456?ean=2940014800266 or to read online via EManga here: http://www.emanga.com/books/Wild_Boyfriend .

Read about all the most recent TOO HOT titles here: http://www.digitalmanga.com/blog/2583/steamy-weekend-yaoi-vol-3

Happy Yaoi Day Part One!

Have a taste of the first yaoi manga I edited for the Digital Manga Guild.

Again Tomorrow

Shunya’s office is buzzing with wild rumors. Vice President Yuusei Saotome, son of the President and heir to the company, is missing! Most believe he ran off to escape an arranged marriage that would benefit his father’s company. Only Shunya knows that the VP has amnesia and is staying with him in his apartment. The Yuu that Shunya knows is not the coldly handsome VP who barely noticed his underlings. This Yuu is easygoing and likes to cook for Shunya. Yuu even seems to want Shunya in his arms as much as Shunya wants to be there. For a while, Shunya lives in a dream with Yuu. But doubts nag at his conscience. What if Yuu has another love who is searching for him? What will happen when his memory returns? Would Shunya be forgotten or hated by Yuu?

Nabako Kamo's Again Tomorrow is available on Kindle, Nook and Emanga :
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007FN03L6/ref=tsm_1_fb_lk
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/again-tomorrow-nabako-kamo/1109212837
http://www.emanga.com/books/Again_Tomorrow

(Again Tomorrow - Ashita Kara Mouichido © Nabako Kamo. All rights reserved. Original Japanese edition published in 2010 by Taiyoh Tosho Publishing Co., Ltd.)

Sakira's White Hot Wild Boyfriend is Available Now!

Find out just what is UP with the bud vase or, for that matter,  the blood pressure cup or that cotton swab. And then, there are the hot encounters in daring places or mundane places. Oh, let's not kid around, they happen everywhere - the emergency stairwell (very popular), the school nurse's office, a flower shop, a dojo. I think there was a rodeo and a space ship. There's a reason this title is TOO HOT for Amazon Kindle!!

Here's the skinny on Sakira's Wild Boyfriend:

 Tough guy Ran thought Keitatsu was shy and vulnerable as he longed for him from afar. Then, when a brutal act brings them together, Ran discovers that he’s the one in need of a rescue and Keitatsu is more than he or anyone else can handle! Sakira’s long awaited debut collection features hot couples in the wildest first encounters ever! [localized by L.W. Hubbard, D.L. Warner, and Hentai Tenshi]

 “Wild Boyfriend – Bousou Kareshi © Sakira. All rights reserved. Original Japanese edition published in 2009 by JUNET Co.,Ltd” This title is available for Nook here http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wild-boyfriend-sakira/1111509456?ean=2940014800266 or to read online via EManga here: http://www.emanga.com/books/Wild_Boyfriend .

Read about all the most recent TOO HOT titles here: http://www.digitalmanga.com/blog/2583/steamy-weekend-yaoi-vol-3

Andreas Comes Alive, Naughty Freebies and Protective Ukes

I have to preempt my planned blog to have a flailing fit over a photo I spied in a web magazine called Gaytwogether.com. This image appeared on Friday. Maddeningly, there is no name for the model. There is no listing even for an agency!! Anyway, feast your eyes on the embodiment of Andreas Hesper from Ensnared. He would have no beard or mustache, but that's him! I was distracted most of the day trying to find out who represents this dreamboat. I was hoping to hire him to do some photos for posters and the like. Alas, there was no info on him to be had from the website or the photo. At any rate, it isn't often that I've seen an near perfect representation of a character in real life. I thought my readers might enjoy looking at that face as much as I did.

Now, where was I?

Naughty Freebies

I'm planning on doing a few convention appearances this year. Thus far, there is The West Hollywood Book Fair in September, Yaoicon in October and Bent Con in December. For those occasions, I am planning on giving away some fun merchandise that is in keeping with the themes of my yaoi books. This has made for some entertaining things turning up in my search history. I'll bet you never thought about how many kinds of key words it took to find novelty packets of mini lube. The right word is pillows. Pillows??!! I found them on Amazon, believe it or not. Little did I know that putting them on my wish list or favoriting something on Etsy like the 'Pocket Sadist' mini flogger would end up on my Facebook page. Not that I hide my interests or the nature of my writing, but an image of a big bucket o' lube (really, amazon?) or an image of a mini flogger is waaaay more 'in your face' than I ever am. Ah, well. On the plus side, I did find a lot of really cool things to give away at these events. And no worries if you aren't planning on attending any of them1 I'm planning on contests that will coincide with the events where my readers can get a chance to win some or all of these items. Along with the naughty things, there will be fun stuff like illustrated short stories featuring my yaoi men and an illustrated cookbook by Vincent Greven and a Dami ear tag and collar from Ensnared. I'll have more details and images of all of the freebies closer to the events.

Onto my original topic of the day!

Protective Ukes

I've talked a lot about possessive Semes, because I adore them. What's the point of being a Seme if it isn't to be crazy possessive? I've also talked about the headstrong uke. There is another type of uke that I adore reading and watching and writing. I really adore the protective uke. That trait seems to be counter-intuitive. The definition of being a uke is being submissive to a dominant partner. Such dominants are powerful people. How could a uke think his Seme would need protecting? The Seme's I like the best are very complicated. As powerful as they really are, there is always some vulnerability in the Semes I like to follow and most definitely in the ones I like. Let's take one my very favorite yaoi couples, Akihiko Usami and Takahashi Misaki of Junjuo Romantica. Usami or Usagi is a very powerful man. He is wealthy and successful and well regarded. His confidence is so absolute that it often drifts into arrogance. Yet, from the beginning of their relationship and before they were really lovers, Misaki sensed that Usagi was fragile emotionally. He is protective of him even from his own brother's insensitivity. Later, he is vehement in defending Usagi against anyone who had a bad word against him – even if those words were true. I adore the complex interplay between these two adorable men.

My own ukes are very protective of their Semes. Darius Galatea of Ensnared Volumes 1&2 is literally the most powerful being on the planet. Yet even he is vulnerable if he has a perceived weakness or eccentricity. His choice of Andreas Hesper as a lover alone could endanger his life. Andreas is sensitive to this concern from the start of their relationship. He is very protective of the image Darius presents while they are together. Though Andreas cannot bear the thought of being apart from Darius, he is consumed with the concern that their relationship will cause his lover's downfall or even his death. Many of his actions during Volume Two, including cutting himself off from his oldest friend, are about protecting Darius from forces that are almost as powerful as he is seeking to take his position and his life. In the Soldiers books (A Soldier's Choice and A Soldier's Fate), The physically powerful Colonel Rik Heron is vulnerable from forces in the military that helped create him and he is emotionally fragile. Upon his return from oblivion Vincent has two purposes in life – loving Rik Heron and protecting him from all threats. Vincent is also willing to protect his lover from even those closest to them. In both cases, the ukes biggest fight in protecting their respective Semes is with the Semes themselves. Often, it is their own behavior that causes the biggest problems. For Andreas, this is a very delicate dance he must do with his Seme. Darius was literally bred to lead. His words are like laws – they must be obeyed. It is difficult to get him to accept that he even needs protecting let alone allow others to act on his behalf. Vincent, on the other hand, can be much more direct. He makes sure his lover eats and rests. And everyone knows that to cross Rik means that Vincent's powerful anger and his dangerous abilities will be aimed squarely at the threat. This facet to these love stories makes them more compelling for me as a reader and a writer. Hopefully my readers will feel the same. For links to excerpts from these books or links on where to purchase the books, see the MENU to the right.

Next time, an exciting preview to the next yaoi manga I worked on for DMG. It's Sakira's white hot Wild Boyfriend!

NEW Cook Like a Uke - Featuring 'Again Tomorrow's' Hot Seme!

 

Yuusei isn't exactly a Uke. And he is up to something! But what?

Nabako Kamo's Again Tomorrow is available on Kindle, Nook and Emanga :

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007FN03L6/ref=tsm_1_fb_lk

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/again-tomorrow-nabako-kamo/1109212837

http://www.emanga.com/books/Again_Tomorrow

(Again Tomorrow - Ashita Kara Mouichido © Nabako Kamo. All rights reserved. Original Japanese edition published in 2010 by Taiyoh Tosho Publishing Co., Ltd.)

For the behind the scenes story -- read this blog tomorrow! 

Big Change for Cook Like a Uke -- Hot Actor Ukes!

I've been very pleased with the support I've received for Cook Like a Uke. One of the few criticisms – aside from the criticisms based on foreign Japan-o-files thinking that yaoi is something that the Japanese found offensive – is that there aren't actual Ukes cooking the food. I gave that some thought, and realized that this was a fair criticism. And there were things I could do about it. I am a filmmaker, after all. And I live in the land of hot actor boys. Thus, I've decided to use the itsy-bitsy marketing budget I have for the yaoi titles to do some shoots with actors cooking like a uke.And I had a logo done for some new aprons!

I had a casting call last week. It's the first one I've had in a number of years, and I worried that the low budget would limit the choices for the parts. I needed actors who were hot, had a presence on camera AND had credible cooking skills who were willing to work on such a modest budget. I was not very hopeful. Thus, I was very pleasantly surprised when I found four such actors to fill the roles of the various kinds of ukes. At lest, they looked good in their photos and had some very nice reels. But there is more to casting this sort of part than those basic requirements. I had to meet with them to see if they actually looked as good in person (I've been unpleasantly surprised during casting sessions when actors turned out to be a lot older than the photos and reels they post or they've had a few years of hard, hard living since their last head shot and reel was shot). Then, I had to find out if they were truly credible in the kitchen. There are many stories from beleaguered directors about actors who claim they can roller blade or ride a motorcycle only to end up in the hospital and markedly set back en entire film or TV shoot. I didn't want to have an actor or me in the ER from a knife wound, nor did I want my kitchen or me set on fire. The last thing I had could only gauge in a a face to face meeting is how comfortable the actors would be with the subject matter. That meant, explaining what yaoi is and why it has a rabid, mostly female audience. I basically gave them the history I wrote in a blog last November, Kitchen Supplies, Bromances and Other PicturePostcards. Just scroll down the middle of the blog for the Bromance part. Later, I sent links to episodes to Junjou Romantica and Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi that relate to cooking food.It was funny explaining all of this if the passers by were any indication. Ah well, it wasn't the weirdest casting meeting I've ever had.

The four actors chosen fit the requirements for the roles, and they embraced the spirit of the webseries. I have four different types of guys who will cover some of the various types of ukes, or, in some cases, the very serious, buttoned down Semes who are cooking for ukes. The plan is to make dishes from yaoi anime and manga (this includes a dish from Nabako Kamo's Again Tomorrow that I worked on with a team of localizers for the Digital Manga Guild). The first shoot is scheduled for April 2^nd. I'll post behind the scenes photos of the shoot that day. The first video from that shoot are slated to be posted on April 6^th. The actors who will appear during the run of the series are:

Ryohei Watanabe

Ryohei Watanabe, a Japanese actor/dancer/director who has been in the US for five years. He is an avid cook who has his own recipes for many of the dishes on the schedule. You can find out more about him at ryoheiwatanabe.com.

Kyle  Valle

Kyle Valle, an actor who is also an avid anime fan and foodie who is a talented, self taught cook.

Donal Thoms-Cappello

Donal Thoms-Cappello, an actor/comedian who is a trained cook.

Edward Swimgler

Edward Swingler, an actor/dancer/cinematographer who loves to cook.










As you can see, they are very easy on the eyes. I can't wait to see what they will bring to this fun and irreverent little series.

Banned for Yaoi Content and Working as a Yaoi Editor

 A book I edited was banned this week. It was only banned for 24 hours, but it was banned in Boston and everywhere else Amazon.com services. It was a sudden kerfuffle with Digital Manga Publishing over explicit content that was quickly resolved after a whole lot of hell was raised from all quarters of the manga community. This comes on the heels of Paypal demanding that certain erotic content be pulled from Smashwords.com. This, too, was reversed when the policy ignited a firestorm of protest. I am not a fan of rape, incest or bestiality as content. However, the wording of the policy would have affected classic literature like Lolita or any shape shifting fantasy that involved werewolves. It was also loudly pointed out that Paypal had no problems accepting money from Craigslist and other sites that sell porn and facilitate prostitution. Likewise, Amazon is in a glass house where content is concerned selling everything to 'inflatable friends' to toys that even I've never heard of before. I'm not going to link them here. Just search the site for any sort of kink, and there is a book, DVD and/or product that caters to it. I always thought I'd be banned or stoned by Trek fans because of The Secret Logs of Mistress Janeway, not for a sweetly sexy and funny collection like Again Tomorrow [Now available on Amazon Kindle at  http://amzn.com/B007FN03L6;
On Barnes and Noble Nook at:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/again-tomorrow-nabako-kamo/1109212837 and And On EManga at: http://www.emanga.com/books/Again_Tomorrow]  that was legally published in another country and properly licensed here. I'm glad that the issue is resolved for DMP. I'm really glad that I didn't have to battle to keep my books widely distributed. It would be hard for Sylvia Beach to champion banned authors in an era where one or two companies control so much of either online payment processing or actual content distribution.

Manga Editing – What DO You Do?

The book banning brings up the question of what does this company do and what do I do for it. I know my gentle and curious readers. Digital Manga Publishing is a US distributor of manga, light novels and soon literature from Japan. The Digital Manga Guild is a group of translators, editors and typesetters who work in teams called localizer to convert Japanese title into English. My team consists of LW Hubbard, an ex-pat professional translator who lives in Japan, Hentai Tenshi, an independent music producer who lives in the LA area and little ol' me. Our team works under the name Haven's Blade. I thought that we would be working largely independently of each other save for proofing the final pages. It has been far more collaborative, and it calls on skills and knowledge that are far beyond the manga stories on the pages. There needs to be a broad knowledge of past and current Japanese culture and pop culture. We've had instances where we've had to figure out what to call a product mentioned that is a parody of a wildly popular snack food in Japan. In the last week, we've come across popular TV shows and a catching hit song that had to be factored into the translations. Then we had to figure out what would be a stateside equivalent for those things while not making them too American. The author or mangaka http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangaka has to recognize the work. That was why I was listening to the RubberDucky Song earlier this week. What's been more challenging is making the dialogue sound natural and realistic when the characters are 20-something guys. Though the audience is certainly not 20-something guys, the characters have to sound as real as their Japanese counterparts. Since none of us are members of this demographic, that takes a bit of effort and all three of our brains. Among this weeks puzzlers was whether or not young punks would use the term German aphrodisiac and what could be used in its place. I couldn't find any reason for the substance coming from Germany, and I really looked hard.

The other thing we had to be really careful of was trying to be too current with the slang. The readership has a really wide range in age, and dialog that is too set in a particular time gets dated and looks sill in just a few years. The slang has to be something that has passed into the general lexicon of speech. My rule of thumb is whether or not the Hubs uses the slang. He is so square, he's a cube (that's his description of himself). If he uses it, the term has been around for some time and is likely to stay in use. Overall, the team is aiming at a loose, informal way for the characters to speak that reads as natural to anyone that may pick up the book. I'll talk about the joys of sound FX translation and proof reading on another day. This is just a taste to show that our work is challenging but above board despite the occasional banning. It's also cool to work with some really interesting people that I wouldn't have known otherwise. We all enjoy sharing creative energy and solving each new and often amusing puzzle.

If you haven't yet, consider buying some of my yaoi fiction before it faces threat again! :)

  Ensnared Volume One, the Paperback is now  on Amazon.com HERE

 Ensnared Volume Two is LIVE on Kindle HERE
The paperback is available HERE
Ebooks for all types of players available on Smashwords HERE  
Ensnared Volume One Kindle Ebook Available HERE 
Check out full chapter excerpts for Volume One and Volume Two under Hot Links in the Menu on the right side of this page!

My First Yaoi Manga Title!

As reported in recent blogs, I've been working for the Digital Manga Guild. Well, here is the first tile I've edited. It's called Again Tomorrow. Here's the synopsis:

Shunya’s office is buzzing with wild rumors. Vice President Yuusei Saotome, son of the President and heir to the company, is missing! Most believe he ran off to escape an arranged marriage that would benefit his father’s company. Only Shunya knows that the VP has amnesia and is staying with him in his apartment. The Yuu that Shunya knows is not the coldly handsome VP who barely noticed his underlings. This Yuu is easygoing and likes to cook for Shunya. Yuu even seems to want Shunya in his arms as much as Shunya wants to be there. For a while, Shunya lives in a dream with Yuu. But doubts nag at his conscience. What if Yuu has another love who is searching for him? What will happen when his memory returns? Would Shunya be forgotten or hated by Yuu?

Translated by Vincent Ho; Edited by D.L. Warner; Lettered by Hentai Tenshi

You can buy it on Amazon Kindle at  http://amzn.com/B007FN03L6
On Barnes and Noble Nook at:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/again-tomorrow-nabako-kamo/1109212837
And On EManga at: http://www.emanga.com/books/Again_Tomorrow


Read my spoiler free blog about it! Go to:  http://www.sybpressyaoi.com/2012/02/secret-side-of-seme.html

Cook Like a Uke February Update

The next Cook Like a Uke episode will be up early next week. I've been delayed again by my various real life obligations. One of them, as I mentioned last week, is an editor for Digital Manga. My localizing team, Heaven's Blade, was putting our first title to bed. Again Tomorrow by Nabako Kamo was as fun to do as it was challenging. I wrote a brief blog about the Semes in the book and their tendency toward really public and explicit public displays of affection HERE.

I have managed to shoot most of the video while juggling my other work. I just have one scene to re-shoot. I'm doing my version of the perfect breakfast from Junjou Romantica episode 2. I've added and deleted some dishes. I'll explain that more fully when I post the video. The one after that will be the Pork Tonjiu recipe from episode 1 of Junjou Romantica. What can I say? Misaki Takahashi is adorable, and he really loves to cook for his Seme, Akhiko Usami or Usagi. I should have a more consistent shooting schedule now that I have a stable routine for the rest of my work. Meanwhile, I'll be posting a regular cooking video that is a response to video posted by one of my favorite Japanese chef's online, Ochikeron. If you're interested in Kara Age Style Buffalo Wings, subscribe to my channel or just check in there early next week.

Thank you for your patience and encouragement. 

 Ensnared Volume One, the Paperback is now  on Amazon.com HERE

 Ensnared Volume Two is LIVE on Kindle HERE
The paperback is available HERE
Ebooks for all types of players available on Smashwords HERE  
Ensnared Volume One Kindle Ebook Available HERE 
Check out full chapter excerpts for Volume One and Volume Two under Hot Links in the Menu on the right side of this page!

The Secret Side of a Seme

One of my alter egos is an Editor at Digital Manga. This past week, my team and I finished the first pass on Again Tomorrow. I've written a blog for the manga about a characteristic common to the Semes in the three stories. Then, I realized that they had something in common with my Semes. You can read the Again Tomorrow blog HERE before continuing onward. Don't worry, it's not very long, and it is pertinent.

No real spoilers here.

I realized that along with the secret lives these Semes, Yuu and Ryou lead with their lovers, they had a secret side to themselves that only their ukes saw. I also realized that this was true of the Semes in my books, Darius and Rik. Given how naked the Semes are in these books and manga, I'm sure it raises the question of whether it is even possible for them to have a secret side that doesn't involve an x-ray. It's a side to their personalities that they only allow their lovers to see. It's basically vulnerability. All four characters appear aloof – even cold to the outside world. In the case of Darius from Ensnared and Rik from A Soldier's Choice and A Soldier's Fate, they are also rightly viewed as dangerous to outsiders. In Darius' case, he is absolutely and justifiably frightening to the public. These public faces are essential for these Semes to maintain their standing in their social circles. For Yuu, he is a Vice President and heir to his father's company. He must be stoic and focused solely on business. Ryou has his campus image to maintain. In Rik's case, he needs to be perceived as a hard-assed special forces Colonel in order to be taken seriously as a trainer and commanding officer. Darius' rule over a region of space as well as his life hinges on being seen as unyielding and lethal.

Somehow, these ukes see through these carefully constructed images to the hidden personality. Andreas sees a glimpse of something beyond the iron fisted ruler in Darius before they even speak to each other. Vincent sees hints of something more tender in Rik long before they become lovers. All facets of this gentler side to these Semes is revealed when they realize that the only way to keep their uke's by their sides and in their beds is to truly show how they feel about everything. These ukes are very smart along with being incredibly beautiful and extremely sexy. They know what a gift they were given in being able to see the true nature of their Semes. Thus, each is protective of their lovers and make sure that side is only seen by them in as much privacy as these impulsive, headstrong men allow.

To learn more, you'll have to read these titles. Again Tomorrow is coming soon on Digital Manga's page linked in the first paragraph.

 Ensnared Volume One, the Paperback is now  on Amazon.com HERE

 Ensnared Volume Two is LIVE on Kindle HERE
The paperback is available HERE
Ebooks for all types of players available on Smashwords HERE  
Ensnared Volume One Kindle Ebook Available HERE 
Check out full chapter excerpts for Volume One and Volume Two under Hot Links in the Menu on the right side of this page!

The next Cook Like a Uke video is being shot this very day (Friday, February 17^th). I should be online sometime this weekend. It will be earlier if I can manage it.