MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!

I hope you got your wish list for Santa and being good!  With 801-chan and Tomo-chan, their wishes are always the same:  “Mommy Botan, please draw me pretty.  Please make me look good!” and “lots of bishonen, bishonen and more bishonen!”  LOL  *sigh*   I hope I’m living up to their expectation!  It’s not easy being their creator!  Ya know!?

Have you been to MULTIMEDIA section yet?  I hope everyone enjoy what you see there.  I want to thank Kumana-chan for the design and layout.  Kumana-chan, you did a fantastic job!  Makes 801-chan and Tomo-chan look 100 times cuter!  Bravo!  Oh, in case you are wondering, the calendar for July and beyond will be coming in March 2010.  I’m working on that - so please stay tuned!

I read a whole bunch of news on DMP and 801 Media’s new licenses for next year.  Oh wow, congratulations on thsoe awesome titles!

Oh, I also wanted to say congrats and thanks to those 801-chan four panel comic contest winners.  It was alot of fun working with your stories.  I hope 801 Media will do more of that next year.

Thank you everyone for taking good care of 801-chan and Tomo-chan!  And thank you, 801 Media for making this all possible!  I’ll be back soon to check up on them!  Until then, be good!

Peace and Love,
Botan

[801-chan & Tomo-chan]  Merry Christmas, mommy Botan!

It is going to be a two-part series, and for the first time the new trim size of 4 1/8″ x 5 7/8″.  It’s over 320 pages and SRP is $24.95.  Stop!  I don’t wanna hear it!  Trust me, it’s worth every penny!  I’ve seen the production copy… but I can’t wait for the final product!!!!!

Did everyone get a chance to cruise over to eManga.com and see what’s Harlequin buzz is all about?  Thank you for your support!  There are more to come so be sure to check back every-so-often!  My personal favorite, Prisoner of the Tower.  Promo runs until Wednesday noon, so you still got plenty of time to take advantage of it!  Go, click, go!

I’m actually looking for more eManga.com reviewer… if you know anyone, or if you think you got what it takes, please let me know!  You can post inquiries here, or send me an email contact [at] 801media.com

I’m off to the mall now,
801-Chan

Follow us on twitter!  twitter.com/digitalmanga

[Background]  Hi, I’m Fuuri.  Born and raised, where else, in Japan.  And I’m still living in hometown.  I love this city.  Lots of fun memories, lots of childhood memories… I could never leave this place.  I loved drawing since I was little.  I used to draw lots of things.  And then one day, someone says to me, “you know, you can make a living being a mangaka…”  So I said, “um…okay…” LOL -  I think, I was 13 or 14 then.  And so, here I am.  Ta Da~~  me as a professional mangaka.  Sorry, I wish I had more interesting and inspirational story to tell you, but I don’t.

[Work]  Yesss! I’m always working!  Just working on my BL manga right now!  Just lots and lots of BL! My memorable and unforgettable work is my debut piece.  I always reflect and tell myself – how blessed I am to have made it thus far.

[Outside of work]  I take good care of my birds - cockatiels.  I have like… 10 of them…  they are by babies.  They are so cute and I love them.  On my days off, I spend most of my time with them. And then I go out with my friends.

[Dreams]  I’d love to travel to outer space.  – oh, I also like Sci-Fi movies and things.  And if I could, I wanna meet Edgar Cayce and Peter Frankl.

[re: USA]  I’ve been to Hawaii and west coast once.  I saw lots of pretty birds in Hawaii – here I go with birds again.  I know… it’s an obsession, really.  And west coast was so beautiful.  I felt like I was in a movie or something. When I get a chance, I definitely want to visit again.  When my publisher told me that my book is being published in the US, I screamed, “Yeeehaw!”  <– American Style! How awesome!  May be I should buy my own US copy and study English.  I hope you can all cultural differences aside, and just enjoy my manga -  I’ve Moved Next Door To You   ‘Cuz I want you to feel my LOVE!

~Fuuri

801-Chan
twitter.com/digitalmanga

Are you ready to kick start your holiday season with the two brand spankin’ new releases:  Love Skit and Dog X Cat?  They are both in at www.akadot.com!  (should also be in your local book stores too!)  And for 801 Media reviewers - these books rolled out to you last week, so you should be getting them very soon!  So get your hot cocoa and comfy blanket ready and enjoy!

I hope everyone is all set with the turkey dinner prep.  I got lots to do so I’m gonna get started tonight!   I also have tons of reading I gotta catch up, so I’ll be taking tons of manga home with me and for a quick review!  This is the only part I like about my job!   They are mostly for 2010 and 2011 releases.  It’s going to be a very long weekend for me then!  Read manga while I wait for the turkey to finish in the oven…  And while I’m at it, I think I have a glass of wine or two or three…!  Happy Thanksgiving to me!

Speaking of 2010 releases, I hope you saw the Q1 release schedule in the NEWS section.  We have great titles coming up next year and I think you’ll enjoy them!

Have a great thanksgiving!
Eat today, diet tomorrow!

Love, 801-chan
One, two, tweet! twitter.com/digitalmanga

1. When was the first Thanksgiving celebration?
1492
1567
1621 <<
1777

2. Where was the turkey first domesticated?
Canada
Mexico and Central America <<
New Zealand
India

3. What is a female turkey called?
a rooster
a cuckoo
a chick
a hen <<

4. What is a male turkey called?
a larry
a clark
a harry
a tom <<

5. What sound does a female turkey make?
gobble
cluck <<
chirp
peep

6. What sound does a male turkey make?
gobble <<
click
chirp
peep

7. Which state produces the most turkeys annually?
Kansas
Ohio
Arkansas
Minnesota <<

8. How fast can wild turkeys run?
5 mph
15 mph
25 mph <<
45 mph

9. Can wild turkeys fly? If so, how fast?
No.
Yes, up to 25 mph
Yes, up to 40 mph
Yes, up to 55 mph <<

10. What is the name of the skin that hangs from a turkey’s neck?
snark
wattle <<
garble
swag

11. Which country consumes the most turkey per year per capita?
The United States
Israel <<
Spain
The United Kingdom

12. What is the best way to defrost a turkey?
with a hair dryer
in the refrigerator <<
in cold water
in the microwave oven

So, how did you do?

If you are coming to my Thanksgiving dinner party, here is your menu:
1-3 correct answers = you don’t deserve a turkey dinner!
4-6 correct answers = Alright, I’ll let you have turkey wings.
7-9 correct answers = You are good for drum sticks and thighs!
10-11 correct answers = Have some breast meat! But you gotta help me do the dishes later.
All 12 correct answers = Have anything you want! Desserts and wines too! But you gotta help me do the dishes later.

Love, 801-Chan
Tweet with us! twitter.com/digitalmanga

Oh, before I get into the turkey talk, I just wanted to say thank you everyone for your kind emails and comments to Rie Honjou’s blog!   They are being forward to Houjou sensei and I hope she enjoys reading your responses!  I have lots more CELEB BLOGS setup in months to come - so stay tuned!   I hope you like them!

So, I now leave you with this turkey trivia, (thank you PrincessPurple for sharing this,) answers will be posted here on Thursday! Here you go:

1. When was the first Thanksgiving celebration?
1492
1567
1621
1777

2. Where was the turkey first domesticated?
Canada
Mexico and Central America
New Zealand
India

3. What is a female turkey called?
a rooster
a cuckoo
a chick
a hen

4. What is a male turkey called?
a larry
a clark
a harry
a tom

5. What sound does a female turkey make?
gobble
cluck
chirp
peep

6. What sound does a male turkey make?
gobble
click
chirp
peep

7. Which state produces the most turkeys annually?
Kansas
Ohio
Arkansas
Minnesota

8. How fast can wild turkeys run?
5 mph
15 mph
25 mph
45 mph

9. Can wild turkeys fly? If so, how fast?
No.
Yes, up to 25 mph
Yes, up to 40 mph
Yes, up to 55 mph

10. What is the name of the skin that hangs from a turkey’s neck?
snark
wattle
garble
swag

11. Which country consumes the most turkey per year per capita?
The United States
Israel
Spain
The United Kingdom

12. What is the best way to defrost a turkey?
with a hair dryer
in the refrigerator
in cold water
in the microwave oven

Love, 801-Chan
Be sure to follow us on twitter!
twitter.com/digitalmanga

(Translated by Crayon)
…ok… Let me turn off my Okami 大神 game and get back to work…

Hello!  This is Rie!  Stop right there!  It’s pronounced “Ree-Eh.”  But those of you know how to read Roman-ji already knew that (^_^) So How are you?  Honestly, when I heard that Love Skit was being licensed by 801 Media, I was half jumping in joy going “yaaaay!” and the half… a bit nervous going “re…really…?”   I love a good story with a couple with a big age difference!  I think that way, people are more prone to troubles, don’t you think?  I kept that in mind when I worked on Love Skit.  I hope you like it    Feedbacks and honesty is greatly appreciated!

So here we go!  This is me!  See if you can profile me and figure me out (my answers are in BOLD):

Mountain or ocean?  Ocean
Coffee or tea?  Coffee
Train or bus?  Train
Policeman or fireman?  Policeman
Digital or analog?  Analog
Bath or shower?  Bath
B&W or color?  Color
TV or movie?  Movie
Pen or pencil?  Pen
Beer or sake?  Sake
Ramen or udon?  Udon
Rice or bread?  Rice
Zoo or aquarium?  Aquarium
Christmas or New Year?  New Year
Escalator or elevator?  Escalator
Candles or oil lamp?  Candles
Shoes or sandals?  Sandals
Sun or Moon?  Sun
80’s or 90’s?  90’s
Card games or mahjong?  Card games
Earthquakes or typhoons?  Typhoons
Satin or linen?  Linen
Doctor or dentist?  Doctor
Dogs or cats?  Cats

So?  What do you think of me now? 

Love, Rie

Before I get my day started, just wanted to give a big blog-hug to everyone who came to Yaoicon and gave us lots of love!  Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!!  And we’ll do it again next year!  Hey, if anyone has any questions, comments or suggestions regarding this Yaoicon - let us know at twitter.com/digitalmanga  We want to hear from you!

Now we have to unpack and put everything back into the office… um, I think I’ll just watch and supervise that portion.  (^_^)

I want to give a quick shoutout to Melinda - hey girl, congrats on your makeover at mangabookshelf.com and thanks for the reviews!  And keep them coming!  I’m especially loving the review on eManga.com site. (http://mangabookshelf.com/2009/08/18/shopping-emanga/)  You made some good points there!

801-chan
Keep following us at twitter! twitter.com/digitalmanga