New Ensnared Story in New Yaoi Magazine!

Has Darius become a brutal Seme like so many others? If he hasn't, why does everyone think so? What does Andreas think? If you want to know, read the NEW STORY from Ensnared in YGG Mgazine http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/570718 a free digital magazine by Yaoi fans for Yaoi fans!

Here's a sample:

Darius considered releasing Andreas from the shackles, but his Dami didn't seem to mind them. He was, in fact, soundly and contentedly asleep. His face had the same blissful expression it would when he dropped into sleep after being well used. He only sighed as Darius gently cleansed him.

“What were you up to, exquisite one?” Darius murmured as he moved the warm, damp cloth lower between those beautifully formed cheeks.

Andreas gasped then as if he were in some discomfort. Darius frowned. He then noticed how angry some of the love bites looked.

“Did I harm you?” Darius asked aloud softly. “Would you tell me if I had?”

The Cosi pressed the button along the headboard without giving it a second thought. A moment later, after covering Andreas with a warmed bath sheet, he beckoned Yannis to enter.

“Yannis, I'd like you to summon Dr. Heller at his earliest convenience,” Darius said quietly.

The Major Domo hid his surprise and concern quickly behind his usual professionalism.

“Yes, milord,” he said. “Lord Estevan is en route.”

“Is he?”

“Yes, milord. He told me that I need not interrupt you, but he did wish to speak to you as soon as you were free,” Yannis replied. “Shall I see to some refreshment for him?”

“Please. I shall be out shortly. Thank you.”

“Very good, milord.”

Darius smiled to himself as he finished drying Andreas. He then unhooked the shackles. His endearingly cheeky Dami seemed to have caused a protective streak in everyone, including his frosty Second.

“Darius,” Andreas murmured as the Cosi gently rubbed his wrists. They were red already.

“Shh,” Darius said softly. “All is well. Rest...”

Andreas smiled again and turned onto his side facing Darius. His hair had grown longer since the collar had been replaced. It suited him, especially with the gold comb Darius gifted him with to pull the soft, dark hair up and away from his ear. He seemed to want to show the Dami tag at all times of late. He was revealing the collar more and more as well, according to Lexo. Darius removed the comb then smoothed his hair.

“I wonder if that has anything to do with your behavior today?” Darius murmured, rising to dress for the arrival of Mykos and the doctor.

Andreas hadn't been afraid when Darius came storming into Lady Santorini's solarium. Were Darius about to take on an opponent in a fight, he could have taken Andreas' reaction as the appraisal of an adversary. His green-gold eyes were alert and wary. Darius knew he was seeing the underworld Crew Leader in those eyes just then. However, for an instant before Darius reached for him, he could have sworn there was concern in his expression before the wariness returned. Yet he didn't resist in the least when he was pulled hard against Darius and kissed senseless. It was as if he expected all of it to happen.

Battles Not Joined - AX 2013

In the end, I was not allowed to fight any of the battles I had planned to fight at Anime Expo 2013 (AX2013). That wasn't because anyone tried to stop me. No one would dare try to do that. The Hubs was unsure how I could pull off establishing a magazine while picking fights. I had one angle figured out really nicely – I made my beefs part of the interview questions for the first quarry, Crunchyroll.com. I had just joined their subscription service last month when I needed to follow a new anime that this service was simulcasting. I got really irritated to find that they didn't carry Junjou Romantica, one of my favorite yaoi anime. I assumed that they didn't carry yaoi after I tried to find a couple of series on the site. Well, I got steamed at the idea that they didn't run some mild yaoi erotica but were running some terrifying, blood spewing horror and supernatural stuff. Since I had just done an essay about that very type of hypocracy in books, I was ready to take on the entire company over the issue during the interview. Well, the first thing I see is a banner for the spinoff series to Junjou Romantica. While I was getting information on how to set up an interview from the helpful young man at the counter, he had me sign into my account. There I found the spinoff series on the banner. So, no fight there, but I am setting up an interview with a cool company.

The next battle hadn't been planned until I saw the list of vendors. Among them was SmithMicro, creators of

Manga Studio, a comic drawing program I've been experimenting with. Or, I'd been trying to. It's been giving me a devil of a time despite many distress calls to customer service. The last problem was so vexing that I had abandoned it entirely in favor of pencils and inks and manual work. And while I have found that productive and satisfying, I had paid for the program. Well, when I saw they had a booth at AX2013, I thought I'd confront them about this so-called user friendly program and get some answers. Well, the very nice young people at the booth asked me if I had left on the beginners tutorial feature that turned off many of the typical aspects of the program. I had heard that at some point before, so I conceded that may be the problem. They were so nice and earnest, I just had to. Thus, another battle was thwarted.

The last battle was over before I got to say anything. I was thus left to enjoy the convention, make my magazine connections and do my interview. It was a relief, frankly. I hate being openly combative despite owning a whip and other such implements. Those, however, are never used in anger. And what about all of those internet rows I start? They aren't anger fueled. They are more intellectual or philosophical disputes. There is no heat behind them. I was glad that baggage was cleared and cleared quickly. We had a lot of ground to cover – two football fields of ground to cover.

Our mission was three fold. First, take photos of the cosplayers for my Facebook page, Yaoi a GoGo. It has

a weekly feature called Cosplay Friday. Since the cosplayers can turn up anywhere we might be, I had to point out the ones my page fans would be interested in seeing so Jon could snap them. Then, I was recruiting subjects for interviews for upcoming issues of YGG Magazine, the publication from the Facebook page. All of this is to promote my novels and the books I edit. They are a lot of work with the upkeep, luckily, I do enjoy the content quite a bit. Third, was to enjoy the convention with our friend and publishing partner, Marie. She is fluent in many forms of geekiness and really enjoys the weird. There are few that I can think of whose company we enjoy more.

On all accounts, the day was a smashing success. We got to re-connect with some of my favorite writers and publishers. We made introductions with some established and popular publishers we hadn't seen at Anime Expo before. And we found some brand new to the yaoi scene whose work looks amazing. I can't wait to include them in upcoming issues. I really want to read everything they've done. I felt so jazzed by their talent that I was thrilled to be a part of the genre. All of this work was being produced in the US, and it had the same quality of what I was seeing in Japan. It was awesome and lots of fun to interact with. Of course we dropped in on all of the many booths under Digital Manga to say hello to the lovely ladies who supervise our localizing gigs. We usually only see them in a twice monthly web conference. Most of our communication day to day is via email. I think it's always good to occasionally see people in person to forge a good working relationship. We also brought them cookies. Jon and I gave them to most everyone we interacted with. It was inadvertently Japanese of us to give a little gift to the people we either do business with or wish to do business with.

The interview was with a Japanese manga artist named Toshi Maeda who was a special guest of the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toshio_Maeda . He was a fascinating and charming individual that I really enjoyed spending time with. I will save the specifics of the interview for the magazine article. However, I can say that he was very thoughtful about his work and his legacy. He was also very appreciative of the fans of his work. I spent nearly an hour watching him do custom pieces of art for fans while he talked to them about the art of drawing manga. Since I have taken up drawing once again, I was very interested in his techniques. I've even been trying them on some of my sketches.

convention. He also happened to be friends with Brent Millis, a translator on the localizing team and one of my favorite indie publishers. Maeda-sensei is the father of a manga genre called Tentacle Hentai . He was a fascinating and charming individual that I really enjoyed spending time with. I will save the specifics of the interview for the magazine article. However, I can say that he was very thoughtful about his work and his legacy. He was also very appreciative of the fans of his work. I spent nearly an hour watching him do custom pieces of art for fans while he talked to them about the art of drawing manga. Since I have taken up drawing once again, I was very interested in his techniques. I've even been trying them on some of my sketches.

In the midst of all of this, there was a lot of fun to be had. There are two football fields worth of vendor

booths with all kinds of merchandise. This stuff is far more sophisticated than the pins with characters from the shows we like. All manner of crafts are used to make geeky collectibles of all types. And then there are all kinds of combinations of genres or shows. These mashups provided some of the most interesting merchandise at the convention. Luckily, Jon and I didn't have a lot of money to spend on such things, because we also don't have enough room for all this stuff. It was a very pleasant outing. I even made a real Parisian style lunch of a jambon et fromage sandwich on a baguette with some lovely white wine. That gave us a great respite from all that walking (four miles inside the building). A very good and productive time was had by us all!

To see what we saw at AX2013 go to:
 http://dlwarner.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_2814.html
 http://dlwarner.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_10.html
 http://dlwarner.blogspot.com/p/cosplay-at-ax-2013.html

Kinky Seme Games - An Ensnared Short Story Series Preview

As a Dominatrix, I truly enjoy it when one of my pets feels free enough and safe enough to truly unleash their sensuality. I so enjoy taking a shy girl or boy who blushes when I demand that they tell me what they want from me to a point where they are comfy being completely naked for me and my guests. And when I say safe, that does not mean that I softly cuddle with them while they are in my care. I have brought fourth tears from them shortly before they come like crazy.

Despite my objection to non-con and rape in yaoi, I do think the tears of a uke pushed to his limits are beautiful. But that kind of tears comes from an experience both Seme and uke agreed upon. And there is a lot of care afterward. Are these relationships lacking in tension or dull when they reach that level? Hardly. A uke who trusts his Seme enough to be completely exposed and vulnerable, blossoms like the subs I've seen. Their sexuality runs free and they are willing to try more an more daring things for the pleasure of the Seme and himself.

I've begun to explore that aspect of uke's life with his Seme in Ensnared through a series of illustrated short stories. [Haven't read Ensnared? Chapter excerpts are in the menu on the right.] Andreas Hesper never really showed his sensual side when he was living in the frightening no man's land in the city of Eris. And even when he was an underworld crew leader in Kacia, he kept that side of his personality locked up tight. In the back of his head, such displays invited unwanted attention that could end in a knife fight. He also believed that he wouldn't be taken seriously in his position if he let his sexuality show in anyway. Perhaps he also sensed that his Second, Viktor Stamos wanted more from him than he was willing to give. In any event, Andreas was well known for being beautiful and compelling, but he kept his sensuality firmly in check until Darius put that collar on him for the second time. By then, he also has considerably more power to surrender to his lover. Between that and being at the side of the most powerful being on the planet, Andreas is safe to act any way he wants act.

Beyond, the power and protection Darius offers, he is an irresistibly seductive lover. The uke in Andreas loves the way Darius overwhelms him physically. He doesn't have to be strong the way he does in the rest of his roles (Underworld Crew leader and a Lord with several businesses to manage). When Darius seizes him by the hair for a kiss, Andreas can let his mind shut down and focus only on the needs of the big, beautiful body claiming him. Sex with a master at seduction like Darius is addictive. Darius is beautiful and powerful in and out of the bedroom. It is a point of pride for Andreas that his surrender makes such a man come so strongly. He wants to do and see more. He wants to make his Owner come. Andreas knows that what will drive Darius' passion more than anything is his surrender.

Thus, this series of shorts is about how Andres slips further and further into the role of Darius' Dami or plaything. Andreas is subtly changing his look and how he wears the collar and tag of ownership. There will be a lot of kinky scenes that push the Seme/uke dynamic to it's farthest edge. All of the artwork is mine, so be kind. I'm posting a work in progress of Andreas with this blog. The shorts will be free. I'll do a collection of them at some point for purchase, but they are free for now. Look for them in the next couple of weeks. I plan to show the joys of ownership of a pet that does NOT include non-con! Yes, I will beat that horse until it moves no more.

Hurt/Comfort, Big Announcements and Best Sellers

A few weeks ago I wrote a not so popular diatribe about why I didn't think most of the Shizuo x Izaya pairings I've read worked. Now, I'd like to talk about the ways they could without coercion of either character or substantially changing who they are. In fact, these methods involve using their most famous traits to bring them together. After all, it's not like Izaya doesn't stand a hope in hell in getting Shizuo. Despite the many friendships the bartender has with women, he's never been known to be interested in a woman beyond protecting one that may be in distress. He's a very healthy guy. If he was interested in a woman, he'd find a way to be with one no matter what was going on in his crazy life. Also, despite many protestations to the contrary, there are times when he goes after an otherwise pre-occupied Izaya to chase him around. The interest is not one sided.

Shizuo's Personal Honor

Despite the violence that surrounds Shizuo, there are some things that he has managed to hold onto in his life. Shizuo has a strong personal code of honor. He won't stand for an unfair fight, and he always protects women and children. Also, once he has given his word to someone, he will keep it no matter the cost. I think under the right circumstances that kind of pledge could even apply to an enemy like Izaya. Meanwhile, Izaya courts many kinds of battles, but given the kind of life he leads, it is easy to believe that a battle could come to him that he isn't anticipating or can't handle on his own. There are certainly many who might be willing to betray him. Without changing a thing about Izaya or how Durarara is set up, it is easy to see him running into a rival that could overwhelm him and leave him completely vulnerable. The problem is getting past Shizuo's fury at Izaya on any given day long enough to make him realize or care that he is in an unfair fight not of his own making. Shizuo's justified fury will be the biggest obstacle in any pairing of these characters. But there is a way around it, and it is one of the oldest tropes in fanfiction.

Hurt/Comfort

And when I say hurt, I don't mean the rape/torture scenarios common in yaoi. In this tried and true fanfiction trope, the usually strong willed hero or seme gets injured in accordance to what may happen to their character in an actual story. If that character is in the military or law enforcement, it's a bullet or knife wound that takes them down. If they are the outdoor type, it could be a fall off a cliff or a snakebite that does the trick. All others may come down with pneumonia. The object is that this typically nearly unapproachable character is rendered helpless in a believable way for a while giving the uke a chance to get to know him in a way that wouldn't normally happen. Meanwhile, the Seme gets to see the uke in a whole new light as he is being cared for. I used this device in A Soldier's Choice to give my younger character, Vincent, a chance to take care of the man who had been his military trainer and then commanding officer in an intimate way. He had to depend on his uke in a way he'd never imagined while Vincent got to play the role of protector for the first time in their personal history. This leveled the playing field between the two characters and deepened their relationship.

Shizuo is supernaturally strong, but he also spends a lot of time injured. The challenge becomes making him

completely vulnerable to Izaya physically in a scenario that would not only keep him from permanently harming Shizuo but actually force him to tend to his needs. Despite his sadistic tendencies, I think that Izaya has a strong enough survival instinct that he could set aside his pathological desire to hurt Shizuo if he needed the man to keep him alive. Then, the comedy can begin! Imagine Shizuo's reaction to having to allow Izaya touch him. Of course, they would have to be holed up somewhere alone with one bed (Izaya would never sleep on the floor). It's all very sexy having to bandage (needs to put arms around him to wrap the torso). There might even be a sponge bath! The hurt/comfort scenario is a great device for building trust and sexual tension between the characters while not changing who they are. It gives these enemies a chance to trust each other when they are most vulnerable. Trust leads to intimacy and that leads to sexy time!

Of course, this does not magically change them into calm individuals around each other. Even if they discover they like being in bed together, Izaya and Shizuo would still find ways to make each other crazy. And then there are the people of Ikebukuro that inhabit their world. How will Celty or Shinra or Kyohei or Tom react to this new intimacy between those two? Often, I use the reaction of those outside of the pair as the main source of tension for the new lovers. This is how I operate. Once my pairs are together, that's it. They stay together. The danger comes from outside of the pairing where the world is trying tear them apart.

Thus, Hurt/Comfort gets a difficult couple together long enough to build trust and allow that sexual tension to build to the point where it must be acted upon. Best of all, this can happen while keeping the pair in character. I hope more Yaoi fanfiction writers will give that device a try with this pair. I'm about to put my money where my mouth is and post such a story myself!

Big Book Announcements and Bestsellers

I've been tooting my own horn all over the net, but I have neglected to share this with my official yaoi blog! I'm shameful. I am extremely pleased and proud to announce that Digital Manga's eManga division will be distributing all four of my Yaoi titles: A Soldier's Choice, A Soldier's Fate and Ensnared Volumes 1 &2! I was thrilled to open the company's newsletter http://www.akadot.com/news_letters.php to find this image:

I'm sure you will recognize one of those pairs from the banner above. This is a dream come true for me to be a part of such a company! I hope my lovely readers here will spread the word and get others to try my work. Here is the link for the eManga page: https://www.emanga.com/detail?itemid=1187 . From this page, you can find the rest of the books.

Meanwhile, the manga titles my team and I have localized are doing very well. Our fist book, Again

Tomorrow, is in the top 20 on the Amazon Bestseller list for Manga Erotica http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/6391519011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kstore_1_5_last . Meanwhile, Get! Volumes 1& 2 are in the top 50! I'm so stoked!

This would not have happened without your support. Thank you! Some really hot smut is in the works to tide you all over between novels!

Otome's Way - Yaoi Manga with Interactive Audio!

There has been a great deal of curiosity about Yaoi Publisher Otome's Way http://otomesway.com and the purported game changing difference it will bring to ebooks. Recently, the people behind the company kindly agreed to an interview on how it will all work.

1. How is Otome's Way different from companies like Digital Manga and SuBLime?

Otome's Way is similar to other BL/Yaoi online publishers with a few key differences. Instead of translating already published manga and marketing it overseas like the previously mentioned companies, we're starting fresh with new faces, new talent, and new stories. Rather than trying to get our hands on what's already popular, we're helping unpublished artists get their creations out to the whole BL-loving world with bilingual, online releases.
In addition, we've got some fundamental differences in the digital releases themselves. Instead of just offering simple images and stories, we've also got interactive animation, audio, and color embedded in some of our manga files to make reading itself an all-encompassing experience. We figure that if we've got all this great technology at our fingertips, why not use it to make digital manga live up to its cutting-edge name?

2. How many titles per year will you be offering?

We have plans to release at least one new title every month, with potential for a greater amount as we gain more popularity and resources. To start with, we're featuring some works from each of our new artists every month. Our goal is between 12-15 titles per year at least.

3. Will readers be able to download these titles or will they be able to read them only from the website?

Both! Using our partner site, Tigris+Reader, users can access and read our titles online from their PC or smartphone. Some titles are also available for download, depending on the wishes of the artist and whether they want to allow downloads. Those are coded as EPUB files and can be read with iBooks or other comic reader apps.

4. How did you get the idea to have audio and visual elements to your manga?

We saw how so few online manga sites took advantage of the whole fact that their manga isn't printed on paper. It seemed a shame that such interactive potential was going to waste with simple digital copies of manga, so we decided to make some of the manga titles that we had to offer extra special. Not all of our titles include these special effects, but we intend to continue to release more of these truly digital creations in the future. We hope that the readers will enjoy a chance to have a unique manga-reading experience, too.

5. Will you make appearances in North America or Europe at conventions?

Plans are in the works! As of right now, we don't have any concrete schedule, but we definitely intend to visit both North American and European conventions in the future.

6. Can you tell us about the first title Otome's Way will be releasing?

Our first releases at Otome's Way are going to be these 3 titles:
・A Fujoshi's Guide to Japanese: An interactive Japanese study guide.
・Rensou: A love story set within the traditional Japanese performing art, kabuki.
・Yusura Ai Anthology 1: Short stories by our featured artist, Yusura Ai.

Otome's Way looks forward to hearing readers' reactions to this interview and to

Voice Over Actor Interview #1 Jamie McGonnigal

Jamie McGonnigal https://www.facebook.com/JamieEqualityMcGonnigal is an organizer and founder of TalkAboutEquality.com. He is also a contributor to Huffington Post and LGBTQNation. He currently works as the Community Engagement Manager for the New Organizing Institute.

As an award-winning producer and director and as a founding producer of the New York Musical Theatre Festival, Jamie has created some of New York’s most important theatrical events over the last decade, raising funds for victims of floods, earthquakes, tsunami and inequality. His World AIDS Day Concerts were named the best theatrical events of the year from 2003-2007 and his concerts have featured performances from Rosie O'Donnell, Ben Vereen, Chita Rivera, Betty Buckley, Laura Benanti, Jai Rodriquez, Mike Nichols, Cheyenne Jackson, Michael Urie, Gavin Creel and hundreds more.

As a photographer, Jamie’s work can be seen at EqualityPhotography.com and on the cover of Tracy Baim’s book, “Obama and the Gays.”

As a voice actor, Jamie can be heard on more than 100 anime titles including Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Viva Pinata, One Piece and many more.

 

1) Do you see more fanservice aimed at yaoi fans in recent years? If so, does this surprise you?
I actually don't have my finger on the pulse of the fan service, so I wouldn't really know about the volume of the fan service. I am rarely surprised by anything though. I think the first thing I ever saw when I was hired to play Barry in Pokemon was a dirty drawing of him and Ash getting it on, so no - it never surprises me.
2) Can you see a day where a yaoi series can run on Hulu or even Adult Swim?

If it was a series that wasn't too risky sexually, I could see it happening. Something like Kizuna (if it was more than three episodes) would be appropriate. But to be completely honest, considering Kizuna is the only yaoi title ever even dubbed professionally in the US, I'd be really surprised to see that happen. Additionally, there is still a great deal of homophobia in this country, and sexism. So while the media has no problem showing a boob or "down there" on a woman, they very rarely show the male private parts on screen. So again - I'd be pretty surprised to see Yaoi on anything that would be as accessible as Adult Swim or Hulu - but hopefully I'm wrong.
3)What do you think about fan creations based on your shows (cosplay, amateur Music Videos and fanfiction)?
I LOVE THEM! I'm not a hugely well-known voice actor, so when I see someone recognizing something I've worked on, I'm really honored. Actually, I've been uninvited to judging cosplays because the first one I judged, I gave the big award to someone who was cosplaying one of my characters - and I will absolutely admit it's because I didn't know any of the other characters. As for music videos, I'll search youtube once in a while and comment on things people have created - again - I find it really flattering...even (and especially) the yaoi pairings.
4)Not that we want you to drop names (HA!), but I must put you on the spot the way a con panel would. Do all Voice actors react well to finding their characters in explicit doujinshi?
HAHA! No. They most certainly do not. There's one voice actor who shall remain nameless, but is a big celeb. Anytime I've been on a panel with him and someone has asked a question about this, he's been very vocally upset about yaoi pairings of his characters. This always confused me because when I first met this actor, I thought he was gay (as did most of the people who work with him). But apparently he's not, therefore he's very offended that someone might think a character he did a voice for might be gay.
Most voice actors are pretty cool about it and well...I love it. But once in a while you run into someone who's fairly homophobic and is truly not a fan.
5) Do you advise your fellow actors on handling a different vision of their characters than they might have envisioned?
Well, we never really have the opportunity to work together in the studio. Additionally, it's bad form to tell a fellow actor how they should do their job. Where I do get to advise, or talk to my fellow voice actors is on the issues affecting LGBT people on a daily basis. Many of them come to me when they have questions about equality and the LGBT movement. So that means a lot that I'm able to pass along some of the things I've learned.
6)What characters would you love to play that you have not?
Truly, anything fun. I haven't done much of late since I moved to Washington D.C. two years ago. I finished out what I was working on in Pokémon and there's not much access to new things down here, but I'm certainly open if someone calls!

Big Update about Free Yaoi!!

As a reward for all of your support through my own dramas, I am planning to publish some short fiction around the characters from my yaoi novels. Moreover, these will be illustrated stories! The Soldier's stories will be from the timeline between the two novels and involve some military adventures. The Ensnared stories will be set between volumes two and three. All of the stories will have a great deal of good lovin', some crazy Seme possessiveness and some clever uke humor. They will be free initially. They will never cost more than 99 cents when I do charge. I'll also do some doujinshi stories based on some of my favorite anime characters. Those will also be illustrated. Since I can't sell those, they will always be free.


Also, I have some huge news that I can't really talk about. All I can say is that your support of this page an my books gave me a high enough profile that I have a deal in the works with a major publisher/distributor! This is why you all deserve a reward! So, look for the story announcement in the next couple of weeks.