Azalea Forrest's Blog, page 4

Porco Rosso – A Forrest Writes

Studio Ghibli released Porco Rosso in 1992, an adventure-fantasy Japanese animation written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. #14 in my Ghibli Marathon, let’s review!

Porco Rosso stars an ex WWI fighter pilot named Marco, titled The Crimson Pig, or Porco Rosso (red pig in Italian). Due to his own self-perceived cowardice, he was cursed, and turned into an anthropomorphic pig. He’s now a bounty hunter and fights pirates in his seaplane on the Adriatic sea for pride and fortune. He’s a calm ...

Ocean Waves – A Forrest Review

Ocean Waves , or I Can Hear the Sea , is a 1993 TV movie released in Japan and animated by Studio Ghibli. It was written by Saeko Himuro and directed by Tomomi Mochizuki. It was intended to be an inexpensive way for Ghibli’s younger staff to make a film reasonably cheaply, however, Ocean Waves ended up going both over budget and over schedule. 

Ocean Waves is enmeshed in teenage drama, and that’s really the point. A man reminisces about his high school days of the time when he meets a young...

Fantasia Archive – Writing Programs

Back in 2020, I wrote a post about writing programs: what works & doesn’t work for me. 
Boy, have things changed! 

Back in the day, I couldn’t wrap my head around Scrivener. Then I found out about Scrivener 3 & watched a quick tutorial. I’ve been hooked all year as I’ve been editing between two WIPs. It has a fantastic revision and multi-window tool so I can view two chapters or documents at the same time.

I used to use Nitro to edit my PDF copies because I was having trouble wit...

Kiki’s Delivery Service – A Forrest Review

Kiki’s Delivery Service was released in 1989, animated by Studio Ghibli. It is based on the 1985 novel of the same name by Eiko Kadono. It wasn’t dubbed in English until 1997, after Studio Ghibli and Disney struck up a 15-year contract agreement. 

Kiki’s Delivery Service is one of my favorites, and one of the most relatable of all the Ghibli films, for me. Kiki is a young witch leaving home for the first time with her trusty familiar, Jiji. I guess you’d call it a rite of passage: Kiki will b...

Food In Your Novels: A Secret Marketing Tool & More (Remastered)

Briar gives advice on putting food (and original food at that) in your writing. I love little moments where a character sits and eats, especially when it’s a unique food to that area/world. Take a look at her post for more information!

Briar Crawford - Author

Recipes: A Secret Marketing Tool

Lord of the Rings, The Hunger Games, and Harry Potter all have very specific food mentioned, and for good reason. Not only does it activate three of the senses for your readers (taste, smell, and sig...

When Marnie Was There – A Forrest Review

When Marnie Was There is a 2014 family/drama animated film directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi and produced by Studio Ghibli. It’s based on a 1967 novel by Joan G. Robinson of the same name. When Marnie Was There is the last film Yonebayashi worked on before leaving Studio Ghibli for Studio Ponoc. 

Anna Sasaki is sitting at a park by herself, drawing for a school project. Her teacher asks how it’s going, and just as she’s about to hesitantly show him, a child playing falls and hurts himself, ...

Pom Poko – A Forrest Review

Pom Poko is an animated Ghibli film directed by Isao Takahata, released in 1994. An environmental allegory, it follows a group of tanuki (raccoon dogs), animals that, in Japanese folklore, are believed to have the ability to transform, or shapeshift, into people or objects. But because they are more mischievous and playful, they aren’t taken as a threat, like their shapeshifting counterpart, the kitsune (foxes). We are shown just how very playful these creatures are, leading to a generally humor...

Afterlands: After the Return – A Forrest Review

Once again, Boots has written a wonderfully crafted tale in the Afterlands series.

Afterlands: After the Return: “We’re fine.”

Tensions in the town of Whiptail ratchet up after a hard season of bad weather, famine, and strange bodies washed up on the beach.

Hyrhyn, Laria, Juba, and Nix must face these challenges and a new enterprise that tests the bonds of their tenuous friendship. Will they ever find safety and happiness so long as there is a Harrower among them?

Afterlands: ...

Indie August Book Sale!

#IndieAugust Book Sale! Fantasy, science fiction, & mixed genres

Well, hello again! Narratess is back with another Indie Sale, and it’s happening THIS WEEKEND! #IndieAugust 2022 has a ton of fantastic books going on sale and I hope you’re all as excited as I am for these titles. August 6th and 7th will have over 70+ books by indie authors at discounted (and in some cases FREE) prices. There’s sure to be titles for everyone.

I’ll have two books on sale this time around: Witch in the Lighth...

The Cat Returns – A Forrest Review

The Cat Returns is a 2002 animated fantasy film by Studio Ghibli. Based on the manga of the same name by Aoi Hiiragi, The Cat Returns was directed by Hiroyuki Morita. Despite not being directed by the Top Two of the studio, The Cat Returns is an adorable portal-fantasy romp through a cat kingdom, with plenty to enjoy.

The Cat Returns is a spin-off of Whisper of the Heart, where the character The Baron is featured as a key piece of the main character’s creative writing. In TCR, The Baron comes...