Friends

Well, there's FINALLY something to share with everyone who has patiently waited for us to release some sort of positive development. If you've checked www.guardiansofluna.com today, you've probably got a good idea of what's been going on. But for those who haven't seen it propagating across the interwebs, here is the press release below:

FUNIMATION ENTERTAINMENT SIGNS DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT WITH CYBERGRAPHIX ANIMATION

Flower Mound, TX – December 7, 2009 – FUNimation Entertainment has signed a distribution agreement with Cybergraphix Animation, the California-based animation and entertainment group, to release the animated film “Guardians of Luna.” The action anime is currently in development with writer Michael Reaves (Batman: The Animated Series, Gargoyles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) as story editor and character designer Cindy H. Yamauchi (Naruto: The Movie, Black Lagoon, Akira). “We have always sought to build strong partnerships for our productions,” said Avi Melman, CEO at Cybergraphix and Executive Producer of the series. “Having FUNimation as a partner will help build a strong distribution network and ultimately, increased exposure for Guardians of Luna.” Guardians of Luna is a dark story which centers around an ancient race of shape-shifters with the ability to change into powerful creatures. Four unlikely heroes descended from this once-great race are charged with protecting an ancestral power source from a ruthless mogul. Animation of the film will be done by APPP Co. Ltd. (Robot Carnival, Fist of the North Star: Toki-den) and is expected to begin in 2010. A manga series is also in development, and a website has been launched. The website, www.guardiansofluna.com, currently features a mailing list to keep fans updated, and will soon feature behind-the-scenes content and exclusive media and information from the cast and crew.

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To provide a bit clearer understanding on this deal, it means you can expect to see Guardians of Luna on DVD and blu-ray high definition. In addition, you will be able to purchase it off of the iTunes Store, Xbox Live Video Marketplace, and Playstation Network. More news on special features and bonus content coming soon.

Bureau of Mana Investigation has updated!

Every years, people ask me for a X-mas list. So this year, I'm actually building one.

Now, before I post it, I'd like to say, I actually expect *nothing* for X-mas. This year, like in years past, I am too broke to get anything for anyone else. In full acknowledgment of my failer as a friend and money maker, I fully expect nothing in return. Not even a card.

But people bug me (mostly family) about what I want so here is a beginning list. An up to date one will be kept on my personal site, and will try to update it here as well.

Needed Items
- Riding Boots - Ariat Heritage III Paddock Boot - (Black perfured but I'm not picky) - Figure $150.00 after tax. Unfortunately, these will need to be a special order item since my feet are an odd size (I wear a 9 1/2 mens). I please ask, if at all possible, to order them though Shaw's Saddlery since they helped me lots picking out the size and other info about the shoes to help make my decision about which one I really wanted. And I really dislike the idea of going to a brick & mortar store for info then ordering them online. That's just ... wrong! And since Shaw's is not a large chain thing, and their staff is very helpful, I want to do right by them. Tell them Christina "Smudge" Hanson sent you!
- New BDU pants -

Wanted Items
- A nice warm full length Robe - (Baron got one of these last year from Mom & Dad. We have since named it "The Warm Thing" and would like a second, because, dang, it's WARM! *snuggle*)
- Art Store Gift Certificate - hey, I'm an artist. Since when do I not need art supplies. Prefer one form University Art.

Fun Stuff
- DvDs (in no particular order)- Planetes - Nana - Big Windup - Moribito, Guardian of the Spirit - Slayers - Fruits Basket - Comic Party Revolution - Spice and Wolf -

A common piece of advice for would-be writers is that they should read a lot. I won't go over the reasoning here, that's easy enough to find elsewhere, but I will say that it's certainly true, with one caveat: you can't just skim the surface of the story, say "I read!" and be done. What is meant by this advice is that you have to study the work of other writers and figure out both what they've done and why they've done it. The same way artists should look at a lot of art, and musicians should listen to a lot of music.

For myself, I hardly consider myself well-read, although it's probably true that I read more than the average 40-year-old American male. I tend to do a lot of binge-reading ... in the past two weeks I've read three Rex Stout books for instance. I read the entire library of Hercule Poirot novels by Agatha Christie — except Curtain because I didn't want Poirot to be "over" in my mind. (By the same token, I've never read Aunts Aren't Gentlemen, the last Jeeves and Wooster story, and probably never will.)

The thing of it is, I don't generally read a lot of "what's current," and I especially don't read what few short fiction magazines there are any more. It's not that I haven't tried, I have! Just about every time I've started working seriously on a new book I've gone on a genre-buying splurge, but then what happens is that the magazines sit in a pile next to my bed or down in the den, and never get read.

Part of it is that it's such a crapshoot; fiction magazines are traditionally where up-and-comers are learning their chops (although this is less true than it used to be), so the overall quality is very hit-or-miss to begin with. Add into that mix my own peculiar habit of having binary tastes (I either love something or hate it, with little room in between), and a fierce and unrelenting impatience with anything that feels like a waste of time, and you can readily see how I find myself doing a lot of skip-to-the-ending, which is exactly what not to do in that situation.

This puts me in a strange place when it comes to writing for such publications. You see, I'd like to start writing a lot more than I've been doing. I'm working on a novel now, yes, but I also want to write some short stories of various types, and I'd like to do so aiming for a paying venue. [1] But frankly ... I don't know what those are. And I don't even know how I'd go about finding out. What do people read? Seriously?

Barnes & Noble has the usual Asimov's, Ellery Queen, et al.; I imagine somebody must read those, as they stay in print, but I've never actually seen anyone doing it or spoken to anyone who's admitted to it. A look in Writer's Market suggests that there are others out there, but I've never heard of or seen most of them. Where do people find these things? And who reads them? Can I honestly write for publications that I don't read? And is there any chance of getting in if I do?

These are the kinds of topics I'm going to have to tackle to go pro.

-The Gneech

[1] Not because I need the money, although of course that's always nice. But because pay venues are both a tougher market, and more likely to gain you actual readers. Jim Hines discusses that here. Also, well, I've done the "create just for the fun of it" thing. I was a webcartoonist for 10 years!