April Klasen (Author)
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Fluent: Meet

30/9/2016

 
“Hikaru!” Takashi slapped him on the back. “I didn’t think you could be dragged from your desk.”
In the dimly lit bar, Hikaru could see the reddening of Takashi’s cheeks. So the stench of beer wafting through the air was a little too obvious a hint. Hikaru tried not to gag. “Hokuto brought me,” he replied.
Hokuto, one of the other professors in the department laughed. “Are you kidding, I had to kidnap his briefcase to get him to follow me here.”
Hikaru glared. “My keys are in that case.”
“Stop grumbling,” Takashi interrupted. “Come over for a drink and meet Ruby.”
‘Ruby?’ Hikaru looked around the room. Running down the centre of the tatami mats were a line of tables littered in beer bottles. Members of staff from the university sat around the table on the floor.
Behind him there was a soft shh as the paper door slid open and a waitress entered with food. Hikaru stepped out of her way.
‘Why this themed place?’ the bar was popular with international students thinking the Japanese still sat on the floor at every chance. But that was only occasionally.
“Over here,” Takashi nudged Hikaru to get him to turn to the far end of the table. “She’s here on holidays from Australia.”
It was the woman from under the cherry blossoms. Her head was tilted back so her hair shook down her spine as she laughed. The line of her throat was exposed.
Hikaru felt hot all of a sudden.
He stumbled after his senior college. ‘I don’t want to do this. Why is he introducing me to her? This is too awkward.’
“Ruby,” Takashi brought her attention round.
Her face had slight crinkles around her eyes. Realising something, she climbed to her feet with quick ease.
“This is Mamiya Hikaru,” Takashi pointed to Hikaru. “He’s one of the younger professors in the literature department.”
We bowed to each other in respect.
“Ruby lodged with my wife and I her first year at university here.” Takashi clarified.
‘Oh, that makes more sense,’ Hikaru felt a little ashamed he had thought Takashi was too friendly in a bad way with the woman. Now, he saw it differently. The way they joked and bumped shoulders looked more like father and daughter.
“You were an international student?” Hokuto asked. He slipped in on her right and dropped to his knees.
Ruby sank back to her spot, reclining so her knees were together and feet tucked under her skirt. “Yes. I was first an exchange student in high school, fell in love with Japan, and so came back to do my degree.” She replied in perfect Japanese.
Hikaru blinked at the woman. ‘That’s a surprise.’ He moved around the table to sit opposite of the woman.
“What was your degree?” Hokuto continued.
A beer magically appeared in Hikaru’s hand. ‘She must be smart… and pretty when she smiles like that.’ He tipped the bottle, his lips tingling as the cool glass rubbed a little and Ruby darted a look his way. ‘Bad association. Don’t think of lips and Ruby. Don’t.’
But it had happened. He turned his head to look down the table instead of meeting her eyes. His cheeks burned.
“I have a bachelor of fine arts.”
Everyone was talking but his hearing was picking up her voice only. It wasn’t different in any way, her accent was fluent, and it was smooth. But something made him listen closer. He listened to her breath, laugh, reply, ask questions, pause.
‘This is insane.’ His palms were sweating and he couldn’t look at her directly, but he wanted to turn his head and watch her as she did all of these things. ‘Why? Why am I feeling like this? What is it about this woman that’s making me so nervous?’
“Hikaru,” Hokuto waved his hand in his friend’s face. “Are you going to talk to anyone tonight?”
“Do I have to?” The response slipped out so easily.
“Yes,” Ruby replied. “I would like to have at least one conversation with you.”
His eyes were forced to meet hers and hold. She didn’t flinch. ‘Is she smiling more?’ “This right here is a conversation. Your dream has just come true.” He tartly replied. ‘Hmm, maybe that wasn’t the best response. Should’ve said something flirty instead.’
“I guess I should’ve had a bigger dream,” she countered quickly.
“It’s your life. Dream whatever you like.”
“Then I want to know what do you teach?”
“Japanese literature.”
“Anything in particular? Poetry? Contemporary?”
“Contemporary is my forte,” Hokuto jumped in.
Ruby blinked and looked to her right.
Hikaru tried to breathe again. ‘Where had that come from? That electricity in the air?’ It had been there, this weird compulsion to keep talking to her, to watch her as she sat there listening to Hokuto waffle on.
Ruby darted a look his way.
Hikaru swallowed hard.
A blush spread over her cheeks, she looked a little surprised.
At the same time, the pair looked away.
Hikaru sneaked a look after waiting a few seconds.
She did the same.
This time, they held each other’s stare.
‘Why?’ It raced in his head. ‘Why is she doing this? Hokuto’s paying her more attention, I’m just sitting here drinking the same beer, I’m not being interesting at all.’
“Hurry up and eat,” Takashi placed a bowl in front of Ruby and headed back to the other end of the table.
She slurped the noodles, steam twirling around her face. “Hmm, these are good.”
Hikaru’s stomach grumbled. The smell finally registered in his mind, food was on the table and it smelled delicious. He ladled it out and slurped. Salty fish hit the back of his tongue. ‘Not bad.’
“Can I continue that conversation?” Ruby lifted her chin, almost daring him to say yes.
“You may.”
“Why teaching?”
“Because I like learning.”

Accent

29/9/2016

 
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Dear Guy on the Net,
You might have a very appealing British accent (that proper British accent *shiver*) but if you’re not saying anything important then I’m not paying attention.
Seriously, stop telling me all about your success with this big system. I don’t need to know what your lifestyle was before or how things are so great now you don’t have to work for someone else. I don’t need you repeating big dreams you’ve ticked off the list. I don’t need to hear about the best-selling authors who have succeeded with this system.
Maybe if you said you lived in a Hobbit hole, I would be interested.
So stop bragging for ten minutes and don’t recap that shit in your second video. We get it, you’re happy and living the dream.
Start teaching. Give real information, stuff that I can do right away. I get the system, now break it down into practical. Please.
Yes, your videos will most likely be halved if you stopped waffling. But, is that so bad? Doesn’t that make it more engaging for your audience?
Listening beyond the babble, finally you start telling me something…. something I’ve heard from a different guy on the net. Hmm, it’s not your fault I found others before you and I’m sure you’ve had plenty of success with doing what your preaching. It’s just, The Other Guy was my first and knew what he was doing.
Anyway, I am sort of paying attention. Not really. I’m writing a blog post while you talk. And occasionally, when a keyword grabs me, I’m comparing you to The Other Guy.
I guess we can liken this to dating (since I’ve made it sound so dirty and suggestive). You’re trying to be impressive with big talk, but it feels like I’ve had this date before, similar moves. And the ex did it better.
I soooo want to reply to your “I’m not salesy” with “Show, don’t tell,” because thus far you’ve been a contradiction. Selling your paid courses, I can understand. But waffling is still you trying to sell this free course *eye roll*.
The Other Guy at least got me drunk on the last date. I was happy to listen and take notes, praise him when I did find my words again, and had a good time.
You can’t even get me tipsy.
Unsubscribing would be me deleting your number and blocking you on social media. Be warned, that’s going to happen. I’m not even going to wait for the final video…. well, maybe I’ll wait.
Damn it, this must be the Universe telling me to stop pussy footing around and to get my act together. I have all of the information needed. It’s time to put it into action.
It’s not you, it’s me. Have a nice life (as you go and tell more people about it over and over again in your videos). I’m getting to work. No, don’t worry about me being on my own, I want this, my soul needs time to be alone and work out who I am.
Kind Regards,
Girl on the Net

Movie Review Week Thirty-Nine

28/9/2016

 
Johnny Be Good, 1988, written by Steve Zacharias, Jeff Buhan, and David Hurst, directed by Bud Smith is everything you imagine it should be. They really did nail it… okay, they scored a touchdown (and I have to go and have a shower after using that metaphor). Football and college never looked so good.
Johnny Walker (Anthony Michael Hall) is a high school football star with one too many options for college. He wants to go to State with his girlfriend Georgia (Uma Thurma), but all of the other campuses around America are sending their slimest recruiters and throwing everything they have at him, his coach, best friend (Robert Downey Jr.), and his family to get him to sign with them instead. They fly him all over the place, show him the facilities, introduce the women and they’re not shy, and make him party like he’s twenty-one. Will he screw it all up? Will he give into his ego and choose a brief career in football with no real education or fall back? Or will he be good and go to the place that has nothing to offer and will treat him like everybody else?
It's a bit of a moral dilemma; be tempted by greed, or stick to the path of good and get an education. I didn’t expect that from such a film. I thought it was going to be all about who can get laid the most, drink the most, and still come out on top. But no, it has good morals. And it really does well at presenting the adult world problems to the young adult. I liked this part a lot. This is where Johnny grows as a character.
And yes, I realise that his name is the same as the liquor. Who knows if that was on purpose or not.
Robert Downey Jr. is crazy. That’s all.
It’s funny to note that Robert Downey Snr. was also in the film as the NCAA inspector.
Everything is over the top. The recruiters are pushy and chasing him. There are fan girls. They have a parade through their coach’s house as payback for him trying to recruit him to a school of his choice, that and because he’s an asshole. And played so perfectly by  , the asshole from The Breakfast Club. And don’t get started with the eighties fashion. Johnny is sporting the beginnings of a mullet.
A good story, with a well written script. Though, prepare for some filthy language, but that’s the reason we love the eighties; nothing was clean. I particularly like the coach’s opening speech to rally his players, “step on their balls” and other things that really meant the pray to God at the beginning was all bullshit. Nicely done.
Definitely watch this one. But only do so after you’ve seen Anthony Michael Hall as the geek in the early eighties, then this will have so much more meaning to you. Trust me. I feel all warm and fuzzy after seeing the geek grow up, now I have to go and find what he looks like today. A great Sunday afternoon watch.

Fan fiction

27/9/2016

 
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Fan fiction will seem odd to a new comer. "Why write about a character that isn't your own? Isn't it more fun to just watch/read what the author intended for you to see?" Many dismiss this type of writing.
And I can't blame them; a lot of what I've read makes me cringe (inner grammar Nazi wishes to slaughter every error identified). But there is still something special about it all. What people share are their hopes and desires for these characters they have fallen in love with, it’s their imagination obsessing over each and every outcome.
It comes close to being a breach of the copyrights of the original works, but in most cases it stays on the legal side. Barely. Many would argue that it is a complete breach and will stamp their feet and swear a lot. While others see it as the ultimate form of flattery; the fans love the characters that much they care about what happens to them and fill in the blanks the author left. Sort of like a colouring in book, the image is the original story and now you have to flesh it out. Not to mention it brings people together and gives them a chance to meet other fans, talk characters and plot, and have fun. All good things.
My friend and I were talking last night about fan fiction, in particular, writing fan fiction. We discussed details, plot, characters and conflict, and the ultimate pairing. It was very emotional. We want a crossover fan fiction of Tokyo Ghoul and Pride and Prejudice. It could be explosive.
But I haven’t done fan fiction. Not at all.
Sure I sometimes have daydreams of what the characters would do if this happened or that happened. It mostly happens when I’ve finished a big series and I can’t wait for the next season (or there are no more seasons). But none of that has been written down, it plays in my head only.
When I do try to write, it transforms into a different story and the characters resemble nothing of the originals. So maybe this idea won’t come into being. Which would be a shame since it had both of us in emotional fits. Then again, what we proposed might be a little too grown up for most… Don’t judge us, you’ve wondered the same about your fave characters.
What I’m worried about most is getting lost in someone else’s characters and story line and forgetting my own stuff. Making it very frustrating if I really suck at writing fan fiction. Because then I would feel like I’ve wasted time.
Then again it could be an interesting writing game to play.
Oh fuck it, I’m going to write it and hope that I don’t mess up the characters too badly. If I do then I’ll stop and delete the document.
If you’re interested in looking at what fan fiction actually is then www.fanfiction.net pops up as the first result when googling. Have fun. I know I will be with Kaneki and Darcy ;)

Events IRL: Part 2

26/9/2016

 
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Conventions are not all about the sales, but don’t disregard them completely! Trust me, they are still worth going to as an artist and it mostly comes down to the making contacts with fellow artists and developing relationships with those who do stop and purchase a book or sign up for the newsletter. It can be very relaxed and social. And you never know who will walk by (cosplayers everywhere!).

I realise now that I should treat trips to conventions like holidays. Go and have fun and don’t stress about making money. But, make the effort to learn from everyone and your mistakes. Trust me, you will lean not to do certain things and to try everything at least ten times to test it out.

Take lots of photos and post it everywhere with every hashtag needed to connect it all up with the main event. Flood social media with it all. Most people won’t realise what you’re doing because they will either not see every single post, or they will scroll by until something catches their eye so don’t worry that you’re being annoying. You’re not, you’re only annoying yourself.

Increase newsletter subscribers with a raffle. “Sign up for the chance to win this cute dragon,” was my sales pitch.

Practice talking to everyone. Being a creative was meant to take me out of the public’s way, but I don’t have an ace team of marketers dealing with people for me, so I’ve had to learn how to pimp myself out. “Hi, having a nice day?” is a great way to start a conversation. And test out different sales pitches. My “Beta is a sci-fi and is like Sword Art Online,” sold more than my description of Blair. “Fantasy adventure, girl goes through a portal to another world and everyone is trying to kill her.” That sounds pathetic. I played around and I’m still not happy, but people looked more interested as they listened to my pitch. Will have to work on that.

Chat with your neighbours. Find common ground and run with it. I was lucky enough to end up beside someone awesome and we had some weird and yet amazing conversations.

Try changing your table’s layout. Spread out, group similar things together. Consider diversifying into things that are more visual and eye catching.

Don’t become bored. Write, draw, chat, do needle work. Avoid social media for two reasons; it looks like you don’t care. And it sucks the battery dry which is terrible if you need the camera on your phone to take a phot of a cosplayer or someone that you meet who could be a good contact to have.

The difference between books and art is huge. Art is visual, it catches the eye immediately and a customer will make a snap decision to purchase it. Books require more time to read the blurb, talk to the stall holder, and decide if they want to invest. Because of that, you won’t sell as many books as an artist will sell pictures. But, you will develop a relationship with those few and they’re more likely to look you up online if they like your story.

Art is impulsive and not many will stand around and have an in depth conversation about the character in the fan art, so it isn’t as focused on developing those relationships and people are less likely to return for more. Which is unfortunate because art is awesome!

My GAMMA Con stats;
Books sold – 13
Newsletter sign ups – 21

Success? I’m not sure. Day one I was bored and disheartened because I was expecting more (I’m an idiot), but I did get to meet a lot of people and have some great conversations, including Andy Trieu from SBS PopAsia (though he got my name wrong in his tweet). Day two was better, more relaxed, a few more sales, and fun. I guess it depends on the attitude you bring to the weekend.
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