Kasumi Blog

I’m really bad at idioms…I hope I got that title right. :p Our deadline for Kasumi, vol.2 is looming closer and there’s still so much to be done! *slightly stressed*. Sugimoto-san is working round the clock to get all those wonderful chapter sketches inked. It didn’t help that Surt-san had dropped a “bomb” on him and told him that she is changing the sequence of the chapters and thus some of the sketches. Yeah…I’m the bad guy. *sigh* Trust me…this was not an easy decision, being that we’re this far in our project.

These changes will make Kasumi rise to another level and weave the themes and stories so much tighter. We’re already seeing the difference with the changes we made and I’ve no regrets. Kasumi is becoming more and more magical with each drop of ink.

I’m trying to be ahead of my game too especially since I’m going to be out of commission soon with our baby… So, I’m being proactive and adding the dialogue as Sugimoto-san works on the inking. Usually, I would wait till the end but I want to get as much done earlier than later… since I’m told that I would probably be too exhausted for anything after. :p Here’s a sample from chapter 4 that I’m working on. Even though it’s a sketch, it already looks great!

It’s been about 2 weeks since Kasumi’s launch. Who would have thought this day would finally come. It’s official, I’m a manga writer! We spent the past weeks checking out bookstores and looking for Kasumi. I’m so proud of it that I want to tell everyone that this is our book but in the end…I’m always too embarassed to say anything. ^_^;

Sugimoto-san and I are so happy and are still amazed to have the book in our hands. I really wish from the bottom of my heart that Kasumi will be embraced by all. There’s so much of Kasumi that exists in all of us and I hope that everyone will feel the pull and magic of Kasumi’s world.

I used to think that I am invincible when I was young and that time is on my side. However, as the years go by, I begin to feel my time is running shorter and perhaps it’s because of that which spurred me to create my manga and do what I love now rather than wait till the “time is right”.

But, somehow that belief didn’t cross over to the thought that my loved ones will not always be there to support me and celebrate my happiness with me. July is suppose to be one of my happiest months this year. Kasumi vol.1 is finally going to be released and my dream of being a manga writer will be fulfilled.

However, on July 11, 2008 at 10am, my dad suddenly passed away. To say it was a huge shock was an understatement. His death rocked the core in me and left me to slowly pick up the pieces. He was my inspiration, my mentor and I was his “daddy little girl”. Of everyone in the family, we were the most alike, from the way we look, to what we like to eat, our personality to our positive outlook in life. It really didn’t help that I couldn’t be there with him when we heard of his emergency admittance 2 weeks ago. We are countries apart and I couldn’t leave because of my late pregnancy.

Everyone tells me I need to be strong, at least for my baby. I’m trying my best and putting aside my grief in a little box in my heart. Part of me realize that this is the reality but another part of me is still living in denial. How can a man so full of life, positive energy and ambition, surrounded by so many who love him, be struck by such tragedy? It doesn’t make sense, it didn’t seem fair. He was so young, there’s so much he wanted to do. He was going to be a grandfather for the first time.

But, time waits for no man and looking back, there was so much I would have said and done if I had known but it’s too late now. I’ve been looking at the pictures that we’ve taken and the fond memories we had together. I found the most beautiful picture of him that we took during our last family vacation in Europe. He was smiling happily, with so much joy, in front of the Lucene Lion in Switzerland. Maybe it was fate telling us something…a hint that I should have picked up but didn’t realize till now…The image of the dying lion, a symbol of the strength and pride of the soldiers who fought bravely all the way against all odds and adversity. In many ways, he was just like the big, generous lion who persevered and lived his life to the fullest.

I need to be strong and life will continue on. It will take a while for me to overcome this but I will because I know he’s watching us from above and will want us to keep smiling and live our lives to the fullest. You made me who I am today and I’ll forever cherish our memories together. I miss you Pa and I will always love you. 

I’ve been looking for a song to inspire me…and my recent fav is “Way back into love” from the movie “Music and Lyrics”. Who would have thought a cliche, love movie like that could capture my heart and inspiration! *hahaha* I think there’s something special about it that I just can’t pin-point, which pulls me into that mood. Maybe it’s the doki doki feeling that I’m always looking for…the same feeling that I always look for when I read my shojo mangas…the same feeling I hope to give through Kasumi.

So, here I am playing the song over and over again…I wonder how many times I need to hear it to become sick of it? In the meantime, my creative juices are flowing again… Perhaps I should use it for my new story? Afterall, I’ve been working so hard on Kasumi that I deserve a break, don’t you think so too? :p

Oh, btw, check out the updates I made on the site. I’ll be updating it constantly from now onwards till Kasumi’s “THE DAY” of release. We’re really excited about it and are trying our best to promote Kasumi. I really wish everyone would give Kasumi a chance and hopefully to fall into Kasumi’s world and embrace its magic and mystery. *_*

It’s finally here! We’re really excited about this…with good luck and great resourcefulness, we managed to create a real life-size model of Kasumi’s Sakura hair clip! And OMG! It’s super Kawaii! Here’s the initial concept design from start to finish:

Below is Kasumi and I’ve highlighted her Sakura hair clip.

Here’s Sugimoto-san’s initial design:

Here’s a high def version that we had sent to create the model. ^_^

And finally! The sample model!!

Yippee! Now that the sample is done, we can start making more of them! We’re thinking of giving them out as promo gifts to our manga fans! So stay tune to find out how you can get yourself a free Kasumi Sakura hair clip!! ^_^

kiborg

I’ve been procrastinating long enough and I’m finally starting on the Chap 2 dialogue for vol.2. ^_^ I’m done with my manga reading, drama watching and rock band playing and now it’s time to get serious. Sugimoto-san had just shared some of his music with me and they will give me inspiration as I plough through the dialogue and typesetting. My newest fav music is by “The Indigo”. Their music gives me a light, happy feeling like waking up from a cotton-candy dream. ^_^

Oh yes! Sugimoto-san and I were discussing Chap5 sketches for vol.2 the other day and we both agree that vol.2 is turning out to be amazing. I know one should not self praise but seriously, vol. 2 is jammed packed with action, mystery and more than its share of new interesting characters. It’s because the story is moving with such pace that I’m having a writer’s block for Chap6. I’ve to make it even better than the rest because it’s afterall the final chapter and like all good stories and mangas, it has to end with a bang, right?! ^_^; ~~~stress~~~stress~~~stress~~~

Wow…it’s been a while since I last posted. Ooops! ^_^ So…what’s new? Well…I’ve been into playing this new game called “Rock Band”  (http://www.rockband.com/). I’m not really a hard rock person but there’s something about this game that’s uber cool. I think it’s ‘cos you can sing, play the guitar or even be a drummer. Or maybe it’s ‘cos you can create your own character, perform with your band at various venues, travel in a rock band tour bus and perform at rock concerts! My first attempt was with the vocals and frankly, I sucked. Like I said…I’m not really a rock gal and the songs I sang sounded kinna whimpy. *haha*  Ah well…anyways, the guitar’s real cool and my new fav is the drums. We had to buy the rubber covers for the drums because the sound of wood hitting plastic and then bone ~~~ Ooowwuch ~~~~ ^_^; Alrightee…I’ll try to take a picture the next time and will post my character up. Her name is Sabi, by the way. :p Okay, later rock and rollers! PEACE!

Creating Kasumi has been lots of fun. I think what’s more fun is watching Sugimoto-san create the deliciously, handsome and cool male characters. I can’t even begin to describe how estatic I was to see the sketches of the guys that I had describe come to live in Kasumi, vol.1&2. Sugimoto-san is really good at portraying their emotions and hands down, Ryuuki is super-uber cool. So, I think you can guess who’s my all time fav guy. Here’re some sneak peek moments:

Are you drooling already? Stay tune for more updates on my other top picks of cool guys in Seiran!

ps: In regards to Sugimoto-san’s question in his blog below about which incense scent I like…if there is a scent for the smell of fresh flowers after a rainy day…that’s the smell I like.

音楽もそうですが、近頃気分を変える時に良く使うのがお香です。輸入雑貨のお店で安価でしかもかなりの種類が在るので、色々な香りを試すことが出来て良いです。cool waterとvanilla orangeがお気に入りです…。Surt-sanも試してみてはいかが？それではペン入れに戻る事にします。

Okay I admit…writing doesn’t come naturally. There has to be a few factors in place before I can sit down and write an endless, continuous flow of words. Like Sugimoto-san, music is one of my most important inspiration. The type of music will affect the type of story…which brings me to Volume 2…I’ve been listening to a mishmesh of jpop - from “Sarasa Ifu” - Moyashimon theme (http://youtube.com/watch?v=rbXGISKlTS0), to Strawberry Chip (http://youtube.com/watch?v=52DZ_4RVpyQ), to “The Indigo” (http://youtube.com/watch?v=zP2TlIR6E0U). Unfortunately, all of them are on Youtube, at present, as I wait impatiently for my CDs to arrive…*sigh*. Can you imagine the number of times I have to click “Refresh”? As for other factors…rainy days are the best and after waking from a beautiful dream.

I have to heave a big sigh of relief for everyone at Monkey Square. Volume 1 is done, at least, on our part. Now, all 208 pages are with the publishers, who are perusing the pages in great detail. I hope they’ll find the comedic scenes funny…I used to…untill I had to review them for the 5th time…even humor has its limits…:p      

So, what’s in store for Volume 2? Alot of excitement, action scenes and explanations to the numerous questions that Volume 1 raises. We have learnt alot from Volume 1 and have high hopes for Volume 2. Like wine…it tastes better as it ages…or as we grow in experience. Which upon saying it…puts lots of pressure on the poor o’writer o’me. >_<. *Ganbatane* as I shout to no one in particular...a faint attempt to encourage my lethargic brain...By the way, did I mention that Moyashimon Anime is pretty good? I've also been watching the "Honey and Clover" drama - one of my favs now. Okay, I'm all charged! Back to writing! :D

 (Aspergillus oryzae - taken by rahen z from Flickr)