I was going to ignore Okazu completely today in lieu of getting some work done, but I decided to make a quicky post instead.

I am in the last stage of the first stage of production on ALC Publishing’s newest 100% Yuri anthology, Yuri Monogatari 5. Cleanup and lettering is done and layout is nearing completion. This weekend, barring disaster, the book goes out to the editors for a first pass. When the corrections come back, I will make changes, then send the completed manuscript to the Senior Editor for another go-over. Then I get it back, take one last looksee, find the typo that somehow got by 4 people (and there is always one – and two more that get by 4 because I don’t catch them either) and then off to the printer for a proof. And then I start eating Rolaids like a snack food. :-)

I can’t show you (yet) sneak peeks for this volume, but let me give you hints on what is to come – over 200 pages of 100% Yuri, drawn by artists and writers from Europe, Japan, and North America.

We have 6 stories by Japanese artists for this volume: Rica Takashima returns once again with the continuing adventures of Rica and Miho and we welcome back Eriko Tadeno, creator of our collection WORKS, with a story about the everyday adventures of two women in love. This year we’re also thrilled to bring you four stories by two of my favorite doujinshi circles, UKOZ and Sakuraike. These vary from apparent endings to barely beginnings, with the trials and tribulations of a Yuri manga artist somewhere in the middle. I have no doubt that you’ll love all of them as much as I do. :-)

We also have stories of love, of loss, of battling rats and fighting vampires, and love young and old.

It’s going to be a great book. We’re trying our very best to have it out for Otakon (where we’ll have a table in the Dealer’s Room and a Yuri Panel on Saturday, more details to come)…well, let’s just say, we’re trying!

I’m going to spend the next few days cracking on the final pages, which means no new posts. Then I am taking a day or two off, because I need a break. *Then* I promise to come back with reviews of the most recent Yuri Hime and more great Yuri anime and manga!

In the meantime, let me throw you at this blog for good art-related reading. If you are planning on becoming a cartoonist or illustrator, why not learn from a professional? John Steventon is someone I learned about because I now work with his wife. But even my brief glance at his blog taught me a bunch. Read it. Tell him Erica sent you. :-)