My Manga Madness!

I found these well-preserved drawings (comics in larval form from my early teen years). As a kid I loved manga and anime. I still do. The End!

An Analysis of The Many Faces of Ito

Netflix's The Many Faces of Ito is based on a novel by Japanese author Asako Yuzuki called "Ito-Kun A to E". To be fair, I believe that both male and female writers are capable of writing characters outside of their own experiences, provided that they put in the blood, sweat, and tears to write these …

“The Many Faces of Ito” is . . . delightful.

The Japanese TV Drama, "The Many Faces of Ito" has it all and then some. I binge-watched it when it debuted on Netflix and may mostly re-watch it. Why? Unrequited love. Misunderstandings. Best Friends Forever Betrayal. Oh. My. Goodies! The series is mostly about Rio Yazaki, a jaded rom-com screenwriter who is struggling to make …

Haikubes – April 25th, 2020

Theme and Direction A reflection on . . . my family. Sunrise to sunset Ichi-go ichi-e, to Moonrise to moonset.

A Poem a Day Series – Day 5

Drifting Flowers of the Sea Sadakichi Hartmann Across the dunes, in the waning light, The rising moon pours her amber rays, Through the slumbrous air of the dim, brown night The pungent smell of the seaweed strays— From vast and trackless spaces Where wind and water meet, White flowers, that rise from the sleepless deep, …

To Glossary or Not to Glossary: that is the question.

I've been writing the first draft of what I call The Novel. Some days paragraphs come in torrents. Most days? A trickle of sentences or phrases here or a sparse description of a character there. I count it a good writing day when I'm able to twist a cliched phrase into something wonderful and new. …

How Million Yen Women Inspired My Revised Author Wish List!

On Twitter, I discovered this hashtag: #MSWL. For those of you who don't know, it stands for Manuscript Wish List. There's even a website dedicated to this where agents and editors can share with writers what kind of manuscripts they specifically want in their inboxes! Groovy, baby. Just groovy. As a writer, I've always had …

Quotes to Write By – Day 8

Today's quote comes from my most recent accomplishment. I wrote my second picture book. My first picture book was called "Abigail and the Butterfly Masquerade." I've never submitted it and may self-publish it someday or submit it to a publishing house. This most recent attempt at writing a picture book was a lot of fun …

Cultural Appreciation, Please?

  Some time ago another blogger, the talented and charming, Jess of Daring to Jess invited me to write a post about cultural appropriation vs cultural appreciation. I was more than happy to do it. But, I wanted to get it right. I wanted to give this important and provocative subject justice. So, here we …