REMOVED, Book 1 of the Nogiku Series, is now on Goodreads!

[S.J.]

Hello fellow Japanophiles,

If you love Japan as much as I do, it's quite possible you'll love the book I'm publishing September 16, 2013. It's a little scifi, a little romance, a lot Japanese! My scifi is futuristic, post-apocalyptic, but not overrun by oppressive governments or aliens. It is truly fresh and different, harnessing the cultures and old traditions of Japan in a modern setting.

Here's the blurb! I hope you'll check it out.

Duty knows no family. Love has no price. Secrets can cost you everything.

Twenty-year-old Sanaa Griffin, a sweet and smart half-Japanese girl, is about to get more than she bargained for when she wishes for love and excitement on New Year’s Eve 3103. Mark Sakai, who knows more about her than any stranger should, thinks Sanaa is the perfect person to spy on the heads of the three biggest Japanese clan leaders in Nishikyō. He wants her to gather enough evidence to keep them from going to war when they land on Earth’s colonization planet, Yūsei. Nishikyō, built by the Japanese 300 years ago to house the rest of mankind, is failing and everyone is preparing to leave.

Sakai has known Sanaa’s family all her life but she knows nothing of him! And despite all the time they spend together, he keeps his distance from her. Then one day, he brings her to Jiro, his nephew, to learn sword fighting, and it changes her life irrevocably. Between falling in love with Jiro and the information she is gathering on the clans, Sanaa realizes Sakai is holding back secrets about her family and her deceased parents, secrets as to why she was chosen for this job, and learning the truth puts her and all of Nishikyō in danger.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18...

[Deirdre]

sounds good! good luck with sales!

[S.J.]

Deirdre wrote: "sounds good! good luck with sales!"

Thank you, Deirdre!

[Jean]

Congratulations on your debut novel's impending release.

What inspired your novel's world? It's very interesting.

[S.J.]

Jean wrote: "Congratulations on your debut novel's impending release.

What inspired your novel's world? It's very interesting."

Thank you! My inspiration for this series is three-fold. I have always wanted to write the story of the generation that picks up to leave Earth after an apocalypse. I love Asimov's Foundation but that takes place thousands of years after people leave Earth. I wanted to hear about the pioneers who picked up and left. Then in 2011, the tsunami happened in Japan. I was really affected by it and spent months thinking about it and contacting friends there. Three months after the tsunami, I saw photos of the amazing clean up and thought, "Wow! If anyone is going to survive the end of the world, it'll be the Japanese!" Boom. I had my premise.

I was then inspired by the Tales of Heike and the family feuds in it, like in Romeo and Juliet. So I've drawn a lot on Japanese history and the relationships between the clans for this series. There's a lot more too including Japanese holidays and traditions.

I hope you give it read!

[S.J.]

Hello Japanophiles! Just wanted to let you know that REMOVED is now available for purchase! I've put all the information on my review page for the book here:

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

[Jean]

Congratulations! Good luck with your new book!