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Manga I’m Looking Forward to in 2021

| Ardin Patterson

Back in December I was tasked to decide which manga series my work would be ordering for the store. We’re currently closed right now, but regardless I was extremely thrilled about the opportunity and went through upcoming releases/series I’d been recommended.

Here are the series that I’m personally looking forward to continuing or starting this year!

I’ve reviewed Daytime Shooting Star twice on this blog before, however I don’t believe I’ve reviewed Love Me, Love Me Not by Io Sakisaka yet. I’ve read so much of her work over the years, that I know for a fact I’ve referenced it more than once, especially when I talk about my own writing goals.

I’m looking forward to catching up on the new releases for both Daytime Shooting Star and Love Me, Love Me Not! Both series have been enjoyable reads and have had really great character development thus far.

Next is Yona of the Dawn. I’ve been praying that this series would get a second season for the anime but sadly shows classified as shojo don’t typically run for more than a single season. It would be nice though. This was one of those rare cases where I was introduced to the anime before the manga. I’m thankful that the series is now on Volume 28! I’ve grown accustom to shojo manga’s being somewhere between 10 and 12 volumes. The last series I had that was longer was around 24 books. Shonen tends to have a longer run. I assume due to funding or the amount of attention the genre gets in comparison?

Now this next one isn’t going to come out until April. It’s called A School Frozen in Time, and it sounds really interesting. It’s a horror although the current teaser cover doesn’t seem to indicate that. Sometimes that’s a good thing though. It can allow people to open up to a genre they would normally shy away from. I know misleading covers can be upsetting to people though! I’ve had it happen. I’m a lot more thorough when choosing books now.

Jujutsu Kaisen has been recommended to me at least a dozen times in the last two months. I haven’t fully figured out what the plot is about but I’m definitely going to check it out because I’ve only heard good things about this series!

I’m not sure if I’ll ever check out Our Fake Marriage, but I came across it on my book hunt for work. It does have really nice illustrations, I just don’t know if the plot is something I’d enjoy. I also haven’t seen any reviews for it yet.

I got the first 3 volumes of Perfect World for Christmas and I cannot wait to read them. I’m catching up on some other books first, mainly because I won’t be able to buy anything new for a while and when I start a series I tend to binge them all in one go! This series looks like it’s going to be fantastic.

My sister pointed out how the two lead character’s remind her of the Luka and her love interest in the Vocaloid song Just Be Friends.

This next series is one that I always saw at work. The cover and title caught my eye and I thought the synopsis sounded good. It’s currently on my TBR. I’ve hoping I can get a chance to read it this year!

I read a really good review about Boarding School Juliet on The KS Blogs and added it to my TBR immediately after. The do monthly manga discovery posts that I like checking. Another blog worth checking out if you’re into anime is Anime and Me.

Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight is another manga that I found during my search for work. It seems cute. I might give it a shot. If you’ve heard of it, let me know!

This next series is one that I’ve been debating on buying for months. Sadly when I finally made my decision about it we went back into lock down…and now the lock down has been extended haha. Something’s Wrong With Us honestly caught my attention with the title alone. I kept coming back to it on the shelf. I wish I’d gotten it when I had the chance! If all works out I’ll be able to get it sometime this year!

Have you read any of these series? If not, are any of them on your TBR?

Check out my other manga reviews and recs!

For Every Like I’ll Answer: Questions 7 – 10

| Ardin Patterson

Howdy there friends! I’m answering questions from the Writer’s Edition of For Every Like I’ll Answer! Woo!

In this post I’ll be answering questions 7 to 10. If you’re interested in doing this on your own blog, Twitter, YouTube etc…there will be a link below. Also feel free to answer the questions yourself in the comments!

7. What’s your favourite tense to write in?

I usually write in past tense, however I did attempt to go outside of my comfort zone and write in present tense. You can check out that post here! Honestly, it made me feel as though I was going cross eyed. I think I’ll try it again someday. I like to play around with different styles and genres. It definitely didn’t go well but at least I gave it the good old fashioned try!

8. Do you write romance in your projects? What kind?

I hate to admit it but yes. I don’t intend for it to happen but alas, my character’s sometimes end up in relationships. On rare occasions my character’s have a love interest while I’m planning the book but normally it happens during the actual writing process. I personally blame my shojo manga obsession. It’s all romance. It’s the only romance I intentionally read. Sad huh?

The type of romance that I write tends to be on the milder side. It depends on the ages of the character’s their personalities and how important their relationship is in comparison to the plot. For example, if two character’s being together will ultimately save the world from devastation, then they’ll obviously confess their feelings and end up together at some point.

Most of the time my character’s have crushes on people. It’s awkward and I wish them the best as they navigate through their feelings.

9. What inspired your recent project?

It all started when I was in the 12th grade. I needed to write a piece for my creative writing class. One night I went to bed and had a dream about a little girl with a red dress named Rose who lived in a large old house with her uncle. She told me a really sad story of her best friend Nicholas, who had grown up. I woke up and ended up writing the story for class.

The story I wrote for class turned into a novel series.

I have not had a dream about Rose or Nicholas since though. Isn’t that odd?

10. Is it hard for you to kill your darlings?

Yes but no. It depends on the character. Sadly, I get attached to all of them. Even the ones I hate! Have you ever loved to hate a character? That’s what happens to me. I’ve cried after killing off a character. It wasn’t hard to do or anything–which sounds creepy–I used to kill character’s off all the time when I was a kid. It’s just that after I really miss them. It’s almost like having a close friend move away.

As promised, you can find the link to the original post with all of the questions here.

I am once again on break from work because of the pandemic, but I’m trying to make the most of it. It snowed just in time for Christmas and I got to snuggle up in my nice new blanket. I luckily got some books for Christmas so I’ll be reading those during the lock down and working on book 2 until I get word about the next step for my debut novel.

I may create another list of blog prompts during this time too so that I can entertain myself. Perhaps I’ll share my favourite reads of the year?

Shop Small, Support Local: Showing Love & Support to Artists During the Pandemic

| Ardin Patterson

This post is a little different than the usual…since it isn’t 100% book related, however, I felt the need to write it, so I will.

I want to support my fellow artists, authors, musicians and creatives alike. Whether it’s the small donut shop in my neighbourhood, a favourite artist I’ve grown to love by connecting at a convention, or maybe its my musician friends or an author I love (indie or traditional).

It is something that I’ve always felt was important, and when I have the means to do it, I do. There are so many people that I would absolutely love to show some support to even when I can’t do so financially, because I want their dreams to come true!

I know it might sound a bit childish or silly…but it brings me joy to see others doing what they love to do, and if I can somehow help them out even if that’s through word of mouth then I’ll definitely do so!

Not every artist or musician I know has work available to purchase right now, which is understandable, given the circumstances and both them and the ones that do are on my mind constantly. Many of them make the majority of their sales doing art shows, conventions, concerts, book launches, readings etc. All of which are community events, that require well…people being physically present and making connections with one another.

The other day when I was organizing my books, I came across 5 that I had purchased, which were signed copies! 4 of which I got a conventions over the years, and 1 which I got at an author meet and greet (the author who then later turned out to be my editor!).

I have art prints that I purchased, again signed by the artists, who I spent time getting to know over the years at conventions as well. Some that who I hold dear to my heart, because of how incredibly sweet they were to my friends, sister and I!

It isn’t just an item anymore, it’s a memory…and a connection…and I believe that connection is what really drives the artistic communities.

I loved attending my friends show, and cheering her on as she played her gorgeous music for everyone! I get chills every time she performs! Her songs are so beautiful, and the stories behind them are what make them even better!

It’s different listening to the recordings on Soundcloud or Spotify. It’s not the same as hearing and seeing her in person.

Art and the people behind it make me so happy, I can’t explain….and I’m sure there are others like me who have this need to show them love and support. I know many of them are self-employed and are doing their best right now, given the circumstances.

It really makes me think back to what Kenneth Oppel (author of Silverwing and Airborn) was saying about the lack of Canadian author representation in bookstores across Canada over the years, and how it was having a negative effect on the Canadian book sale market.

It really demonstrates how important it is to share and support the works created by your local artists!

So I’ve decided to finish off this post, that I will share a couple of Canadian artists, authors and musicians that I enjoy personally, and if you know any others (Canadian or not…maybe even yourself!) please feel free to link them in the comments to show your support. That way others can find and share them as well!

Artists with super cute online shops:

Shiroi Room

Café de Yume

Crywolf Clothing

Chocolat Chaud

Authors:

Nanci Pattenden

MJ Moores

Kim McDougall

Douglas Owen

Susan Faw