"So this is Christmas, and what have you done? Another year over, and new one's just begun." - John Lennon, "Happy Christmas (War Is Over)"
2012, a.k.a. the so-called year of the apocalypse. I'm still not buying the Mayans' warning.
Nevertheless, 2012 is coming to an end, and now we have to look toward 2013. Personally, this year has been nothing more than another ordinary year for me. It disappoints me to say that my goal to get Angelic Guardians: The Gathering signed by an agent has failed. I've had one nibble out of a pool of over 50 possible agents in my target genre, but even that nibble was thrown into the growing pile of rejection replies. The only good thing that came out of that experience was not hearing the words, "Frankly, you suck". Still, not one agent was interested in what could be the next best thing.
So, like many authors and artists, I went back and looked at the manuscript again. That was probably not the smartest move on my half because I'm a perfectionist. Then again, I saw a few things that could use some tweaking. Now, I started that back in late April/early May. Here it is... December, close to Christmas, and I'm now tweaking the last chapter.
But I'm not done. During the summer, my Toshiba crashed, and I resorted to my old MacBook that I had back in college to continue my writing. (thank God for flash drives!) I was doing pretty good until I was in the middle of tweaking Chapter 3 during my break at my night job, and I didn't safely remove the flash drive by the Mac protocol. So, my file got corrupted and lost. Thankfully, I've got backups... except I get to start over again, which is okay, considering I had an idea of where I wanted to go with that chapter.
Not only that, but I feel it's time to start incorporating the proper Japanese honorifics in the dialogue. It used to be that when Japanese manga was first translated into English, the honorifics were dropped because it would confuse readers. Nowadays, most translators are keeping the honorifics while including a translation or note page at the end of each issue. A prime example can be found in the re-release issues of Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon by Kodansha Comics where Usagi (Bunny/Serena) refers to her Inner Senshi friends with -chan at the end of their first names, -san for her Outer Senshi allies (because they're older and not as close to her as the others), etc. I have two copies of #9 and #10 from the Tokyopop/Mixx release from back in 2005, and nowhere are the honorifics ever used in the English translation. Seven years of cultural and language understanding can make a difference, no?
As soon as I feel like I am ready to take on the world again, I will look into publishing companies before I go back to agents.
But at least The Gathering looks better this time around.
On a side note, I've been thinking about writing a Christmas television screepnplay or short story within the Angelic Guardians franchise set sometime between The Choice and The Revelations. What do you think about this: Rizu and Robu are about to celebrate their first Christmas together in their new apartment, but to Rizu, a decorated home isn't the same without a Nativity set like the one her parents had, which gives Robu an idea of what to get her for Christmas.
Meanwhile, Myoujou the Dark Demon travels back in time to the day when the Magi are warned about going back to Judea, where the king is plotting to kill baby Iesu in order to secure his throne, and successfully convinces them to continue on their way. History is rewritten, and by Christmas Eve in the present day, everything related to Iesu--carols, Nativity sets, and Christmas itself--disappears without a trace, only to be replaced by Christmas' other famous icon Santa Claus. Not just that, but the purpose of the Angelic Guardians is missing, and they're the only ones who know Christmas is something more than just the presents.
And because I think of the Grinch every time I envision Myoujou trying to thrwart Tamashii & co., "How the Dark Demon Stopped Christmas" somehow keeps coming back to me. What do you think? Good concept?
Thanks to those who have supported me in 2012. I hope you'll do the same in 2013. Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Happy Kwanzaa, and a Happy New Year to all.
One of my close friends suggested that I do an author's blog tour as a way to promote the Angelic Guardians series. I've never done one before, but, hey, if it means a bit of shameless promotion, then I'm all for it! So, here we go. What is the working title of your book? Angelic Guardians: The Gathering Where did the idea come from for the book? Initially, I was practicing my manga drawing skills while I was in my sophomore year at Ball State University, and I decided to draw characters based on several people I knew (myself included) in a setting out of a magical girls franchise like Sailor Moon. Then, I thought about writing a story about them; I just never came up with a solid idea until I began my Religious Studies minor. By the end of my junior year, I knew what I wanted to do and which direction I wanted my book to go. What genre does your book fall under? Obviously fantasy/urban fantasy. There are a slew of religious themes, and the entire series is pro-Revelation, but because of the language, drugs, and sex that will be evident in later books, I wouldn't consider The Gathering and the installments to come as Christian. And while there is romance and drama, it's really more along the lines of fantasy. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? Rizu Hikarino (Liz Light)/Tamashii - Emma Watson
Gaburieru (Gabriel) - Hugo Weaving
Myoujou (Lucifer) - Alan Rickman
Kasushiusu (Cassius) - Jason Isaacs
As for Beronika Hoshino (Veronica Starr)/Medetai, Megu Hino (Meg Blaze)/Iinaka, Jeison Ankokuno (Jason Dark)/Shi, Deibiddo Fushimawashino (David Bard)/Inochi, and Robu Tsuchino (Rob Stone), I would rather have fresh new faces in the acting world to play these characters. I just need a strong actress to portray Rizu/Tamashii in order to get the critics' attention.
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
The great battle between angels and demons is approaching, and the King of Heaven has chosen the world's biggest asocial loser to lead his holy army.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? I would rather be represented by an agency, but if I must invest in self-publishing, then I will.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
Honestly, I'd say about three years, getting started and all. Maybe less than that.
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? I would say Harry Potter, but there are no wizards present in the series. Actually, the entire series is like the cousin to Sailor Moon because of its magical girl/boy plotline, but it's more geared toward adults. But I have given a nod to both Dante's Inferno and Milton's Paradise Lost, which are two of my favorite classics to read.
Who or What inspired you to write this book? You can say that God told me to write The Gathering or perhaps the Devil himself (although I can't imagine why he would encourage me to do that when we all know how the series is going to end if you have read the book of Revelation... other than it might offend the church despite of its message). But, really, I wanted to do something anime and manga-like, and since I don't draw professionally, why not write and have someone draw it for me in time?
What else about your book might pique the readers’ interest? Did I forget to mention that not only will The Gathering reflect on religion, but it sheds light on the mission of secret societies (the Illuminati, being one) and how they will later contribute to the rise of the Antichrist. So, if you're big into conspiracy theories or if you're wondering where our governments are taking us, this series is for you.
Just when I thought I was done with The Gathering, I was forced to pull it back out and do some tweaking. Unfortunately, the tweaking is leading me to another round of editing.
Sorry, folks, but the agents aren't looking at me. There are a lot of factors going on, mainly the rise of The Hunger Games and the temporary farewell to supernatural/urban fantasy series. Keyword: temporary. We all know how these two genres of fiction tend to come around a decade later. That and being a new author, especially one who has never made networking connections at a writer's workshop, doesn't help much to my credibility.
So, that means it's time to move onto Plan B: the publishing companies. Whether or not I'll be signed by Christmas is another thing, but time is running out financially, and I'm about to make one last attempt with this project. Please keep me in your prayers or thoughts, whichever you choose, and let's hope that a company is interested with what I have to bring to the table. Honestly, I don't see how I can't get signed, but that's just me being bias.
I know this post has nothing to do with the Angelic Guardians series (which I will update you on that later on this month), but many of us know Pokémon and its Japanese roots (hence Pocket Monsters in AG, a major pop culture reference).
In a way, I'm ashamed to admit it and in a way, I am not, but I believe it's time for me to come out and say this: I'm a 26-year-old woman who still plays Pokémon video games. In fact, I have several games for my three DS Lites, and four cartridges for my Gameboy Color.
Yes, I'm a nerd.
Unfortunately, my hometown does not appreciate nerdom as other cities in America do. It's like a disease you don't want to catch because it's contagious. And I'm sorry, fellow gamers, for saying this, but the days of Dungeons & Dragons and live-action role play are pretty much over. Rarely ever will you find hardcore teenage gaming addicts, unless you count those who are big on the Halo and Modern Warfare series. Teenagers these days are into social networking of the various kinds, whether it'd be Facebook, Tumblr, or Twitter... which reminds me, I still need to log onto MySpace and check on my account. There might be several cobwebs that need to be taken care of from last year.
That being said, it's not easy being me. It never has been; never will. I might as well accept for who I am and move on with my life and my love for Pokémon. Actually, there was a time in my life after the release of Pokémon Gold and Silver when I got bored with it. I'm not sure if it was because the storyline was longer than Red, Blue, and Yellow, or if it was the fact that there were new Pokémon to catch, which would require me to sit down and study their stats, strengths, and weaknesses.
Or maybe it was the time when my classmates found out I liked playing the games and added more fuel to the fire that was part of the darkest days of my teenage years, but it happened. One day, I was not even halfway through Gold, and I decided to turn off the game and put it away, never to play it again. I even gave it, along with my copy of Blue and Yellow, to my sister for her to keep. I eventually got them back, although I'm tempting to ask her if she has any interest in keeping her copy of Red and Silver...
I stayed clean and sober from my gaming addiction throughout high school and halfway through college, but after my first year of college, the bug was starting to bite me again. One of my closest friends and coworkers at Indiana Beach (and dare I say, he is the cutest nerd I have ever met, nearly perfect to a T in my book) would come into work with his Gameboy Advance and play Pokémon FireRed and other games from the Generation III era. It was like toying around with a cat by dangling catnip. It was torture.
Our third year together came, and he told me to get a Nintendo DS and a copy of either Diamond or Pearl and get back on the bandwagon so we could play against each other. To this day, I have only beaten him once, but I'm still waiting for our Lv. 100 battle once his collection is restored and his personal Rome is rebuilt.
Since then, I have collected Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, and White for my DS consoles. At the moment, I'm working on White, and I take it to my night job and spend my break trying to level up a slew of Pokémon for my next gym battle. The only problem I run into is my coworkers, most of whom are teenagers.
I have one coworker in particular who is a major prep. It's bad enough that I get teased for being too weird, too reserved, and too stupid for their liking, but this girl just baffled me. A while ago, we were sitting at the break table, and she asked me why I'm still playing a kid's game.
Okay, so I admit: Pokémon is cute unless you catch one of the ugliest or creepiest monsters there is in your choice game or when your cute Pokémon goes from being pretty to badass or gross. But the more I think about it, the more I see something rather morbid and disturbing behind an invisible curtain.
A picture of a Pokémon battle from my copy of White, featuring Isis and a wild Purrloin.
I think the best way to describe Pokémon to today's teenage generation is nothing more than just a cute version of illegal dogfighting. It's the only time I am ever allowed to play the bad guy to my "pets". Now, most of us have enough common sense to know that if we were to capture a stray dog or cat and use it to fight against the biggest bully of the school and his bulldog just to see who's better than the other, we would more than likely be reported to the local authorities for animal abuse. In Pokémon, there is no law against it, although you could consider the Pokéball as the Pokémon's traveling cage.
Let me show where the subliminal message comes into play outside of the canon games, or as I would like to call fandom:
1). The creepypasta known as Tarnished Gold. As one fan put it so nicely, this would have probably been the training video for Team Rocket, the antagonists of the original Pokémon series. Tarnished Gold is told in the point of view of Silver, the son of Giovanni (leader of Team Rocket) and the rival of Gold. He doesn't see Pokémon as friends; he sees them as tools and is taught to not get attached to them. They're basically only good for battling. Because there is a lack of emotion between Trainer and Pokémon, nine times of out ten, a Pokémon will be released (or possibly killed) if the Trainer sees it as being weak. This mindset was later used for the character Paul in the Pokémon Diamond & Pearl anime saga, who was allegedly modeled after Silver and was considered as the coldest Trainer Ash Ketchum had ever encountered. Gary Oak might have had his flaws, but Paul was really a jerk. I mean look at what he did to Chimchar, a starting Pokémon for crying out loud! Then again, Charmander pretty much went through a similar situation when Ash found it in the rain and its flaming tail nearly doused. Somebody call the ASCAP on these guys.
2). The fanmade live-action movie Pokémon Apokélypse. Hardcore fans know that Ash would never turn this dark as a grown-up, but you just can't help but wonder what would happen once you've reached adulthood and you start to see the darkness behind Pokémon battles. It's truly sick to watch your beloved Pikachu suffer blow after blow, despite of the number of battles it has won, until it's nearly dead from exhaustion. And if the theory about Gary's Raticate in Red, Blue, and Yellow is true, Pikachu might not live by the time you've made it out of the arena and found the nearest PokéCenter, providing there is still one that's open. Be glad the games blackout if you lose a battle and send you back to the PokéCenter because in reality, there is no blackout and there is no PokéCenter. You're just left with your dying pet at your feet, and chances are it'll be too late to see your local veterinarian.
3). The video game Pokémon Colosseum and its sequels. Alright, so this isn't really fandom, but it's not technically canon either since there isn't a storyline... Never mind. It's Pokémon. So, where was I? Oh, yes. Pokémon Colosseum.
For goodness sake, let's just call this THE ultimate underground dogfighting tournament in the Pokémon world. Even the Battle Tower in Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum ranks up here! There is no need for me to describe it except you get to move it off of the tiny screen of your DS to a hugeass flat-screen TV on your Wii! That's certainly a nice way to show your Dialga getting its butt kicked by a Giratina to the world. I have an idea: let's just show this at our local sports bar & grille since this doesn't involve real animals. No, Fluffy or Tabby are not involved, but that doesn't mean your kids won't try and teach them how to fight against their best friend's pet if they see this as they're trying to finish their buffalo wings.
So, to all you teenagers who think Pokémon is for kids, it's not. It's just that the cuteness is blinding you from the truth, and I think that is the exact reason why Satoshi Tajiri made it that way: the cuteness prevents us from seeing the ugliness of the world we live in. (And as a side note to myself, it's no wonder parents in the United States praised the heavy editing of the first season of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers in 1992 when its original Japanese counterpart Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger showed gruesome scenes that would have scarred American children for life.)
Just take off your rose-colored glasses and have a look for yourself. You might need a copy of one of the games and possibly a DS to do it, though. I can almost guarantee you that $200 in your wallet won't go to waste.
Ever had that uplifting feeling when you feel proud of what you've accomplished? I have and for the very first time too. And I celebrated it with a victory lap around Cass County.
Yesterday was the official date both the original and English versions of Angelic Guardians: The Gathering were filed under "COMPLETE" on my flash drive. That's right. They're finished.
And I have to say that I was very pleased with how the plot turned out in the end. I knew before I thought about submitting The Gathering to an agent or publishing company, I had some rough spots to smooth out. Delete a few scenes, make the words flow, and touch up on some areas, and BOOM! I could not have asked for a better storyline.
Well, I could have, but that'll come later.
It felt good saving the final chapter of the English adaption one last time and putting the laptop away with a completed piece of work I began in my college years, knowing that I'm now ready to ask for an agent's helping hand toward publishing. It was like having a great weight being taken off my shoulders. Sure, I will admit that it does feel weird not sitting down in between jobs and spend my afternoons thinking about how can I make this book better, but I believe it's time to move forward and focus on the future.
Will The Gathering need more polishing? I'm sure, but definitely not as much as before. Thankfully, my parents are willing to support me financially and help me pay any editor that wants to take on this project. Aside from that, I'm ready to hand it over to someone who can get it on the shelves.
Thank you to everyone who followed me over the years. Next week starts another big project: writing a good query letter as part of my search for an agent. Keep me in your thoughts and prayers.
And as a reward for your faithfulness, the series' illustrator Erin Gentry sent me a pic of the lineart version for one of the covers. Enjoy!
Kinda reminds you of Sailor Moon, doesn't it? Mission accomplished.
Earlier in my postings of The Gathering on Fiction Press, I received a critique from an annonymous reviewer which left me disgruntled as first but it gave me an idea.
Considering the Angelic Guardians and Angelic Guardians Beginnings series take place in Japan, it made sense for the characters to have Japanese names or Western names that have been translated to Japanese, but not every reader agreed to my thinking. They didn't like seeing key religious terms in romanji, and it confused those who were Christian or a particular Western religion. I even had one reader say that she would not buy my books because it looked like I was creating a new religion based on Christianity.
Seriously, why would I do that?
But I got to thinking... if popular anime and manga titles like Sailor Moon were dubbed and translated into English using Western names, why can't Angelic Guardians do the same?
So, in addition to the original Japanese story, each release will also have an English/Western adaption. Here's an example of what to expect:
Rizu Hikarino --> Liz Light
Beronika Hoshino --> Veronica Starr
Megu Hino --> Meg Blaze
Jeison Ankokuno --> Jason Dark
Deibiddo Fushimawashino --> David Bard
Robu Tsuchino --> Rob Stone
Raian Daishizenno --> Ryan Forrest
Ami Umino --> Amy Waterson
Shinmei --> God
Iesu --> Jesus
Gaburieru --> Gabriel
Myoujou --> Lucifer
Kasushiusu --> Cassius
Deiraira --> Delilah
Kureopatora --> Cleopatora
Medosa --> Medusa
Buruutasu --> Brutus
Judasu --> Judas
Kirisutokyou --> Christianity
Kurisuchan --> Christian
Mushiron --> Atheism
Mushinsha --> Atheist
However, names like Tamashii, Medetai, and so forth will not change due to the fact that the twelve Angelic Guardians are directly named after certain aspects such as soul, joy, love, death, life, etc. It'd be weird to go from Tamashii in Japan to Soul in America or England. Yeah. I'll stick with something more mystic.
So, to those who are complaining about their eyes hurting as they read my series, your wish has been granted.
And you know what that means, right? New artwork! My illustrator is spending time working hard on the original version, but she's looking forward to do an alternate verison for the English/Western release.
Well, since my last blog, shit hit the ceiling fan. Hard. To begin with, my laptop had a meltdown a few hours later and the harddrive crashed. But have no fear -- I managed to save the original files on my Mac, and the updated files online. However, any work and fan fiction that was on my Toshiba are gone. Forever. Ah well. Thank God for backups. Unfortunately, my Mac is out of date, so I'm limited in terms of online time.
I'm also more than halfway done touching up on The Gathering, but I wish I was further at this point. But I'm still doing good time-wise. I hope to get in contact with an agent by early 2012. Go me.
On a sadder note, I posted (and promoted) a new business that was coming to downtown Logansport. Unfortunately, Some Kind of Wonderful Books & Gifts has been abandoned. The article from the November 27, 2011 issue of the Pharos-Tribune said that the owner (Kitty Keswick) went back to California to be with her family, whereas a reliable source told me through the realtor that she had second thoughts. Regardless, this is a major blow to me.
I know that Christmas is coming around the corner for many of you, regardless if you see it as a day of Santa's gifts or God's Gift (Jesus, that is), but I do pay my respects to those that don't observe Christmas due to religious reasons. Happy (or Merry) Christmas to my Christian peeps, Happy Chanukah to my Jewish peps, Happy Kwanzaa to my black peeps, and to those who don't have a particular day of celebration at this time, Happy Holidays to you.
One last thing, usually I post a holiday special with the gang from Angelic Guardians, but since I lost the revised version of "Finding the Christmas Spirit" and I don't feel like stopping in the middle of my progress with The Gathering just to redo it, I'm gonna do something special next year. And you can thank Mr. Grinch for giving me the idea. I'll give you a clue as to why I'm thinking How the Grinch Stole Christmas: read the story of the Magi in Matthew 2 and see where Myoujou/Lucifer would twist it around.
