i hate talking about myself. that's why i draw instead of keeping live journals!
okay i have a lot of news and general stuff to blabber about so i decided it would be a lot less intimidating broken down in parts.
so...here's the first part to get off my chest.
PART 1
the awful news first.
as some of you probably heard Tokyopop is doing a lot of restructuring in the company. many of the OEL projects got affected. Off*beat got put on "hiatus". what does that mean exactly? i'm not entirely certain myself. i apologize for not sharing the news earlier but i was hoping to learn more information about the future of the project. all i can say still at this moment is that i have expressed deep concern to my former editor that i wanted a means to finish the story and give my readers closure. i'm trying not to say too much because i want to keep my options and relations as good as possible. i was given a kind of vague response quite some time ago that things were still being re-organized on their end and they were looking in to options for allowing their creators to finish their stories.
**in short, tokyopop put the freeze on off*beat and there's nothing i can do about it until i hear otherwise...which maybe never.
i'm disheartened and embarrassed that i have to be the one to share this news so please don't shoot the messenger.
PART 2
the (hopefully) good news
my poll earlier this month reflected my plans for the future which i have already set into full motion. i figured the best way for me to pick myself up from this disappointing circumstance and regain some control over my work, was to look into self publishing and on demand printing. for the rest of 2008 i will be releasing 28 page monthly comics. each comic will be a self contained story based on a previous story idea/comic i have written or planned on writing. i will decide on which story, if any of them, i feel i want to pursue in to a full graphic novel form, based on the outcome and hopefully reader feedback.
at the end of this year, i will have a better idea if comics will be something i can afford to do full time or part time (or worst scenario no time) and that will affect if my next project will be novels published quarterly, yearly, or sporadic self contained single issues. i will also be giving this time to tokyopop, should off*beat have any chance of revival, i will not be caught in another long story arc. i will post more detail about this soon. issue one is mostly complete and should be available in mid/early september.
i had hoped to have out in august, but it will take a month or so for printing and i've run into layout/formating problems.
**in short- i'm going to put a rather big risk, give this whole comics thing one last big effort before i throw in the towel, and resign myself to a future of retail.
my current life goal is that i'd like to have health insurance by my 30th birthday. thank you again, words cannot express my gratitude for your interest and support in my artwork.
**related Off*beat links**
Tokyopop: www.tokyopop.com/product/1514
Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off*beat
Fanlisting: off.beat.beautiful-beast.net/
LJ Community: community.livejournal.com/gaia…
Fanfiction: www.fanfiction.net/anime/Off_B…
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Witch's Quarry Poll
There's a poll on the Sparkler site for the next back story for Witch's Quarry.
It's neck and neck so every vote counts!http://sparklermonthly.com/2015/10/27/lettera-witchs-quarry-ebooks-and-a-special-poll/
Off*beat 1-3/Gatesmith ch1-4 free to read
Hey everyone! Just a heads up that Sparkler Monthly has all back issues available to free to read now!That means all of Off*beat is open access and the first 4 chapters of Gatesmith are also open to read!https://sparklermonthly.com/Inkblazers is closing so I am in negotiations to move Witch's Quarry to Sparkler Monthly online as well so I'll be updating about that as well soon.Things have been pretty crazy in my life for a long time now so I apologize for being behind on online activity. Little baby is growing into a very interesting toddler and there's never enough time in the day to make order of the chaos. I'm very thankful I still ha...
Off*Beat volume 3 is in stock!!
Just in case anyone missed the news, the paper back version of Off*beat 3 is in stock and available for purchase at the Sparkler monthly website.Yay finally!! The printing and paper quality is wonderful. http://sparklermonthly.com/shop/books/offbeat-vol-3-paperback/Thanks so much again for making the conclusion of this story possible!I apologize for not having much of a web presence this past year.
Being a new mommy, I'm still struggling to manage my responsibilities.
I cannot thank you guys enough for supporting me through it all.<3 Jen
sparkler monthly issue 1 is up!
hey guys!!so sparkler monthly is up and running which means at long last off*beat is continuing.
I'm nervous and excited after all these years it's really a mixed bag of emotions for me right now.
(Well pregnancy hormones probably don't help with that....)http://sparklermonthly.com/I want to apologize for my lack of presence on the web these days. I really don't want to keep going on and on about how tough this pregnancy has been on me, but well...it's one of the longest hardest things I've had to endure both physically and mentally in my entire life so my time sitting upright at the computer has to be spent very wisely (and is pretty muc...
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... I was seeing that the third volume would be released on December 2, 2008 from a number of sources. So now I'm confused and frankly, very, very angry. I understand the need for Tokyopop to do a re-structure, but to put a three-part series on 'hiatus' when there's only one volume remaining to be released? That's... really awful. I've been looking forward to reading the end for so long, and then I hear this news.
Regardless, you have talent. I've enjoyed your work for so long, and having met you, I know that you have the drive, that ambition to be an artist for a living. I have a number of extremely talented artist friends, and I realize that the field is extraordinarily competitive, but I believe in you. This circumstance may be regrettable, but I know you can rise above this and continue to pursue art as a career, not just some side hobby. You're good enough. And from what I've been seeing with your recent work (western, please?!) you've improved and managed to grab my interest thoroughly in just a single page. That, my friend, takes impressive skill.
Don't let that talent go to waste <3 I do hope that if they have no plans of publishing your last volume of Off*Beat, that they will revert the rights back to you so you may do so. You have a ton of fans who would love to read what happens to Tory and Colin, including myself
Much love and encouragement,
Michelle
Regardless, you have talent. I've enjoyed your work for so long, and having met you, I know that you have the drive, that ambition to be an artist for a living. I have a number of extremely talented artist friends, and I realize that the field is extraordinarily competitive, but I believe in you. This circumstance may be regrettable, but I know you can rise above this and continue to pursue art as a career, not just some side hobby. You're good enough. And from what I've been seeing with your recent work (western, please?!) you've improved and managed to grab my interest thoroughly in just a single page. That, my friend, takes impressive skill.
Don't let that talent go to waste <3 I do hope that if they have no plans of publishing your last volume of Off*Beat, that they will revert the rights back to you so you may do so. You have a ton of fans who would love to read what happens to Tory and Colin, including myself


Michelle