| |
|
About The
Tales of Asajima |
|
The Tales of
Asajima (also known as Asajima Monogatari) are a collection
of stories written by Ashley Clark, taking place in the
fictional island of Asajima. The island is inspired by
Japan, predominantly the Heian and Sengoku Periods, but also
drawing influence from other timeframes, as well as Okinawan
history, culture, and folklore. None of the stories
take place in a historically accurate Japan. |
| |
| What is considered the "core story" of The Tales of
Asajima is The Yukari, which will become available in
print in July of 2008. The Yukari will be a
full-length illustrated novel. In addition, other free
stories will also be made available on this website.
The first of which, Nowaki, will go online in
December of 2007 in serial form, with chapters posted
bi-weekly. The Tales of Asajima itself is not a story,
but instead a stage on which many stories will be told. |
| |
| FAQ by the
author, Ashley Clark |
| Q, What
is a webnovel? |
| A, The short
answer is, a webnovel is to a novel, as a webcomic is to a
comic book. For a more detailed explanation, a webnovel is a
website that hosts an ongoing story, presented in written
format. |
| |
| Q, How
are names presented? |
| A, Names are
presented in Japanese form. A name (ex: Tsujiwara Makoto) is
presented with the surname/family name (Tsujiwara) before
the given name (Makoto). |
| |
| Q, What
language is used in The Tales of Asajima? |
| A, While
the text in the stories is presented in English, in order to
be readable by the standard American audience, the
characters are speaking and reading Japanese. However,
The Tales of Asajima does not take place in Japan.
The island of Asajima as well as its culture is based on
Japan, but it is a unique world of its own and shares none
of Japan's history. The people of Asajima do not refer
to their language as "Japanese", it is simply the written
and spoken word to them. |
| |
| Q, Can I
write a fan fic based in The Tales of Asajima? |
| A, While I am
flattered, I would prefer that people do not write their own
fiction based on my work. Everyone has their own ideas of
what certain characters are like, how they would react to
situations, and so on... Unfortunately, the interpretations
of a reader may not be what the writer has in mind.
Kishimoto, the writer of the Naruto series, may intend to
pair Naruto up with Hinata... But that doesn't stop fans
from pairing Naruto with Sakura, Sasuke, Neji, Ino, Kakashi,
and every other character under the sun. I'm not sure I like
the idea of those kind of liberties being taken with my own
characters... |
|
Beyond that,
there is also the matter of copyright infringement. Aside
from the fact that someone might accidentally mistake a fan
fic for a legitimate Tales of Asajima story... I don't want
to be writing Nowaki, minding my own business, when someone
I've never heard of before suddenly pops up and claims that
the latest twist I wrote, is a rip-off of a fan fiction they
posted somewhere months ago! It's just a big barrel full of
issues that I prefer not to get involved in. |
|
|
|
Q, Can I draw Tales of
Asajima fan art? |
|
A, There's nothing I love
more than seeing another artist's rendition of my
characters! I ask that artists please be respectful of my
original designs and the personalities of my characters, as
discussed above under the question about fan fiction... But
that aside, please, be my guest! |
|
|
|
Q, Can I sell fan art of
The Tales of Asajima? |
|
A, No, you may not. While
I am flattered by fan art of my characters, they do remain
my copyrighted creations. Even if it is your own drawing of
them, they are still my property, and I can not permit
anyone to sell their fan art of my characters. |
|
|
|
Q, Can I translate
[Insert Story] into [Insert Language]? |
|
A, I'm afraid that at
this time, I'm not allowing my work to be translated into
other languages. However! This is something I will be
putting a lot of thought into in the future, once more of
the story is available to the public. |
|
|
|
Q, How can I support The
Tales of Asajima? |
|
A, While I appreciate
offers, the Tales of Asajima website does not need a staff.
I handle all of the writing, art, and webmistressing myself.
Yes, I am a control-freak. The most helpful thing that
anyone can do, is purchase my written works in print, and
buy my artwork whenever you see my table at conventions.
You'll be supporting my work and seeing that more stories
will be written and more artwork will be drawn, and you'll
be getting neat merchandise in return! |
|
|
|
-NEW- Q,
Do you speak Japanese? |
|
A,
Nihongo wa atashi ni muzukashii desu. Machigai ga
areba odorokanaide. ...To put that in English, is to
say "My Japanese is not very good. Do not be surprised
if there are mistakes." That's about the extent of my
conversational Japanese. I am in the process of
learning Japanese, and I have a very large vocabulary,
mostly artistic (elements, flowers, celestial phenomenon,
colors, etc). I endeavor to research every Japanese
word or phrase I use, look up kanji, and so on, to make sure
I use them correctly. |
|
|
|
|
|
|