Glimpse into the Past of Little Tokyo Los Angeles

During most of the week I'm in downtown Los Angeles and while I've been to Little Tokyo countless times today was the first time I specifically went to 3 historical locations to research settings for a short story.

Fugetsu-Do Confectioners [vid] which was established in 1903 and a few doors down is Far East Cafe [better pic] established in 1896 and currently closed.  Across the street, nestled in a courtyard is the current location for Koyasan temple which was founded in 1912.

I really recommend people in the L.A. area to visit Little Tokyo because the revitalization project is really a "let's turn the whole area into a trendy area for condos/apts". 





Below is a video on youtube showing the Obon festival:


~Silapa Jarun

New review and art for KATANA DUET

The art above is by Apryl Eppinger.

A new review for KATANA DUET: Samurai's Forbidden Love

written by Wendy Koenigsmann ~ here ~.

Shifting Vampires

Ancient vampires in many cultures merely menaced the countryside and induced the living to desecrate graves and follow superstitions. Absent in old interpretations are angst over the burden of immortality or feeling torn between the ethics of feeding on the living.

As someone who reads paranormal e-books, I've come across several vampire stories and noticed how vampires are changing. Now vampires no longer just turn into bats, read minds or have superhuman strength, they now scale walls, master Eastern martial arts and modern weapons and seem to spend considerable time dressing up in black leather.

So what strange or new innovations have you found in vampires in modern writings?

~ Silapa Jarun

Winning Virgin Blood - Winning Virgin 1

Winning Virgin Love - Winning Virgin 2

Winning Virgin Lust - Winning Virgin 3

Mr. Right - Blind Date After Dark 1

Convince Me

The Awakening - Raven Feathers

Night Huntress

To find more vampire books available at Bookstrand.com just do a *keyword search using "vampire".

Free Read

~Silapa Jarun~

Author Discovery: The Prince and the Nun

The Prince and the Nun
by Jacqueline George

I finally had a block of time to finish another one of Jacqueline's books. I've noticed that Jacqueline is a master at building believable environments and communities because both The Prince and the Nun and Light O'Love feature memorable characters who can hardly be called merely "supporting" cast members.

Let's discuss the "Prince" in the story. Mefist IS Prince Charming in every sense of the word but he and his soldiers are caught in a war and assigned to take full control of sleepy convent hidden away in Krasna Dolina Valley which is a time capsule for an old way of life and religious beliefs.

Mefist must deal with Mother Therese, an attractive and intelligent leader of the nuns who must also protect the inhabitants of the valley around the castle.

Well to be exact, he doesn't really "deal" with Therese, he orders in the most charming way as possible to convert part of the convent into a bordello and decides to train the young women as well. The temporary arrangement will affect all the women's lives permanently as they meet people from beyond the valley, face the realities of war and realize that physical love is simply divine.

Jacqueline's work is a delicate narrative involving many pairings, characters from many backgrounds and a highly anticipated ending between the hero and unlikely heroine.

After I completed the work, I couldn't help but feel that the convent's occupants are now truly prepared to go forth and find new paths in their lives.

The Prince and the Nun is a satisfying read for anyone who would like to meet a very strong heroine who realizes her spiritual convictions do not conflict with the temptation her Prince presents to her....

~Silapa Jarun~
Saturdays With Silapa

What Am I Reading?

I'm reading Jacqueline George's The Prince and the Nun gradually and updating my progress at Goodreads.

Here is a list of SirenBookstrand authors at Goodreads.

~ Silapa Jarun ~

Authors on Goodreads

I've been busy lately and haven't been able to finish reading another Sirenbookstrand e-book to post a review. So this week I would like to introduce a wonderful website where authors and readers can interact.

Goodreads.com
Gracie C. McKeever
Bekki Lynn
Lee Silver
Jacqueline George
Phoebe Matthews
Silapa Jarun
Tara S. Nichols
Jami Davenport
Luxie Ryder

Other SirenBookstrand authors can post links to their Goodreads profile as comments!

Some brainstorming sessions...

(A 19th century looking alternate cover for Katana Duet. The official cover may be seen here).

I sketched out some thoughts about two topics for Katana Duet: Samurai's Forbidden Love.

How much of Katana Duet is TRUE?

Katana Duet and "agri-gothic" literature. Read more here.

Next week I'll have a review for The Prince and the Nun and down the line I plan to read Venture.

Author Discovery: Lindsay Townsend's "A Secret Treasure"

I haven't read a sweet romance in a long time so Lindsay Townsend's A Secret Treasure was very delightful.

The setting of Rhodes became a character within the story and served as a matchmaker for two very different people: Eve Burnett and the irresistable Italian Julio Falcone.

A Secret Treasure takes place during 1937 when Rhodes was dominated by the Italians. Therefore, a British woman like Eve is bound to believe that Julio, a policeman, must be a
Fascist.

Eve must decide whether or not to protect her parents and her brother David from Italian authorities such as Julio, who suspect that David is involved in the Greek resistent movement.

The courtship between Eve and Julio is traditional but strained due to the heroine's family obligations and complicated by a valuable treasure the natives must preserve at all costs.

Eve's character, to me, is represented by the treasure which I cannot reveal here. The young woman's character and ability to act under pressure is a bit like the treasure's ability to shine through the darkness.

Lindsay Townsend's work is the perfect read for someone who wants to experience an elegant romance with a touch of danger.

Another review of A Secret Treasure 5 Angels by Fallen Angel Reviews!

Ecataromance review.

Silapa Jarun

author of

Katana Duet: Samurai's Forbidden Love

Saturdays With Silapa: Independent Film Review

I've always supported both student and independent films because creators are not yet boxed in by market demands and production company pressures. The indy film scene is the place for visionary art and refinement of technique. Most indy work was produced with a very small budget but due to advanced technology and the sheer skill of all these new talented folks some films do not look like they experienced production disadvantages in any way.

This week I'd like to introduce the short 13 min film "Ai" by Raffi Asdourian.


Below is my review of the work after purchasing a download of Ai at Heretic for $1.99.

The film does contain violence (limited close ups and some blood but overall not as violent as most Hollywood films).

The film's content was actually closer to 10 min and in that short amount of time there was a good narrative (modern samurai movies are no different from Hollywood flicks in that they usually have little or no story). Ai is every comic/manga fan's dream and yet it tries to kick up all the cliches we've seen a hundred times a bit higher (in a good way).

Rather than opting for the "supergirl" angle, what you get is a gritty and
raw work without going overboard with the "stylized" movements we see
in modern J-popish samurai movies (such as the forgettable blood-fest
AZUMI or Tarantino's homage film KILL BILL). In fact it's better to watch a 10 min story which gets to the point and has some elegant action rather than buy a dvd of AZUMI. Although Azumi was in inspiration for Ai, the latter adopts a more mature style.

Cinematography was very well done except one teeny tiny moment whereI noted an unintentional wobble. Color was spectacular. Digital openingand closing is superb for a work with this budget.

Choreography was GREAT! This is due to the fact that the cast has some experienced actors on board and it really paid off. You have to watch some of the movements carefully because there are some good details in the fight scene.

It's my understanding that the filmmaker greatly condensed the entire
script due to budget limitations and yet he still managed to create something to be proud of. If it was the filmmaker's
intent to demonstrate he can direct action, then he certainly succeeded.

My complaint is that the teaser doesn't do the actual film justice and perhaps the storyboard and action rehearsal video here may be a better sample.

Enjoy Ai for what it is, a brief skillfully crafted cinematic escape which is part of the martial arts media "pop culture" but elevates the genre with substance and class.

So today, don't buy coffee and a pastry...just buy this movie and have your
pastry. You'll be glad you did (AND) you'll be supporting an indy filmmaker too.

Silapa Jarun

Katana Duet: Samurai's Forbidden Love

Zara's Bois 1,2,3 by Gracie C. McKeever

This week I subjected Gracie to some questions to each of her hot books from the Zara's Bois series.

1) What inspired you to write the book?
Zack and the Dark Shaft actually started an adult fairy tale (a twist on Jack and the Beanstalk) that had been solicited by the publisher after Nine Inches of Snow and the Ebony Princess turned out very successful. I started out with just “adult fairy tale with a m/m theme” and took the ball and ran with it from there.

2) Name the best sex scene in the work and explain what about itmakes it so hot.
I’m pretty partial to first sex scenes because of the newness and discovery process involved and the one in Zack and the Dark Shaft between Zack and Quincy in the bar on the bar was pretty hot.

3) If the book was a color—which color would it be and why.
Red for its vitality.

4) Which character do you most resemble and why?
Zara because she female; Quincy because he’s African American

5) Which character would you bed? (^_^)
Quincy. He’s hot.

1) What inspired you to write the book?
Zara’s story was unfinished and after Zack and the Dark Shaft she needed something to do to redeem herself. I liked the idea of a matchmaker/angel-who-had-to-earn-her-wings theme and had the perfect two guys in mind for her to help get together in Ingenue’s Choice.

2) Name the best sex scene in the work and explain what about it makes it so hot.
The scene where Keir chases Patryk through his apartment and pins him face-down on the futon.

3) If the book was a color—which color would it be and why.
Blue for the underlying melancholy that pervades the story and characters.

4) Which character do you most resemble and why?
Keir because he’s African American; Patryk because he’s shy

5) Which character would you bed? (^_^)
Keir, he’s cute and patient.

1) What inspired you to write the book?
After Ingenue’s Choice Zara’s story was unfinished and she still had more work to do, this time to make the most difficult match of all–for herself. I liked the idea of the matchmaker getting matched up in Bouncer’s Folly.

2) Name the best sex scene in the work and explain what about it makes it so hot.
The BDSM scene outside Zara’s when Ramsey binds Zara’s wrists with his belt and takes him against the wall.

3) If the book was a color—which color would it be and why.
Black for the dark threat of death hanging over Trevor/Zara in the story.

4) Which character do you most resemble and why?
Ramsey because he’s African American and responsible.

5) Which character would you bed? (^_^)
Ramsey. He’s protective and gorgeous.

~Silapa Jarun~
author of Katana Duet: Samurai's Forbidden Love

Author Discovery: Anika Hamilton

This week I was looking for short and sweet and found Anika Hamilton's Dessert Box. Carmella and Sandra have built many passionate memories together and this Valentine's Day Sandra has asked her lover to relive them all in order to unlock her from box to enjoy chocolate covered treats.

Dessert Box is not about new found love but a ten year relationship spanning college years together, periods of experimentation and moments where they could not keep their hands off of each other even in formal settings. Anika's story is unique because it is about what happens *after* the "happily ever after".

The narrative is told from the more dominant Carmella's point of view so my only complaint to Ms. Hamilton is, "will there be a sequel where Carmella sets up a challenge for Sandra?" (^_^)

Dessert Box's elegant style is a perfect introduction to Hamilton's other work, Reclaiming Nicola, which is a short mxf romance.

Five questions to enjoy your feast;
Five answers to receive your treat;
Five pieces to create one tool;
Five components to achieve one goal;
Five reasons to set me free;
Five flavors of chocolate on me.

See everyone next Saturday!
Silapa Jarun
Keeping history hot...

Trip to San Francisco Chinatown

My mother and I took the Amtrak from Burbank California up north to San Jose and then to Menlo Park where we stayed for 2 days and 3 nights. During our trip we visited San Francisco's busy Chinatown. The ethnic enclave is a cross between a giant market on rolling hills and one of the best food courts in the gold rush state. Stopping on the sidewalk meant I risk getting trampled on by the mass of people rushing to have dim sum or do their Sunday morning groceries. Everywhere you turn there would be an old building, built after the 1906 earthquake, or a modern western style building with Chinese architectural accents. Only in C-town can you find a monastery built on top of a bank or a calligraphy shop across from a cell phone outlet. As I tried to stay afloat in the sea of people, I kept my cell phone on and snapped pics as I went. Please click on the video below to enjoy a selection of the photos (^_^).



If the player is not working just visit the youtube link.

While in C-town, I picked up 2 bags of dried chrysanthemum flowers at Ten Ren Tea to prepare an easy drink, sweetened preserved plums and we purchased a wok for my sister at the Wok Shop.

Before retrieving our car from the $12 parking spot we had lunch at The Stinking Rose in Little Italy.

Silapa Jarun
Katana Duet: Samurai's Forbidden Love

Handmade Soap

The holidays are around the corner so if you are looking for a cute gift for friends and co-workers then I recommend homemade melt-n-pour soap. This craft is inexpensive and you can get the kids involved.

There are many ways of making soap but the easiest is the glycerin melt-n-pour (MP) which depends entirely on the quality of the base.
You can purchase soap base by the pound online or at craft stores. To choose the best base make sure the first ingredient is glycerin, with palm oil or other all natural products such as aloe vera. Good soap base also has a sweet taste and should not contain any animal products which is perfect for people seeking cruelty free beauty products.

Once you acquire a quality base then acquire molds online. If you want to make Christmas presents for a few people at a time then get a loaf mold or invest in a flexible silicone mold and a loaf cutter knife. Silicone molds are more expensive than plastic candy molds but more convenient to use and will last much longer. Generally, silicone molds will have more intricate designs.

Melt the chunks of glycerin in a double boiler and turn off the heat before adding essential oils, dyes or cosmetic glitter. Essential oils are the most expensive ingredient in soap making so do not add too much.

Overpowering scents should be used in moderation.

Some people set the microwave on low to melt the glycerin but I think cleaning up after spilled soap would be a hassle compared to the double boiler method.

Coat the soap mold with vaseline using a clothe or papertowel and pour in the liquid soap base. It's normal for air bubbles to form. While some people spray the bubbles with a mist of alcohol you can instead wait until the soap is thoroughly solid to “rub” the bubbles out with saran wrap.

Loaf soap allows you to embed soap curls, flower petals, herbs and toys just be sure that the soap has cooled enough for you to put in the pieces.
After gently popping out the soap or cutting slices of the loaf, preserve it in saran wrap and then cover in decorative handmade paper and twine to turn it into a gift.

Ideas
The “goldfish in a bag” soap is always popular and all you need are plastic goldfish or any other critter and clear soap base. You'll need very clear soap base which may be hard to find as all-natural coconut bases are a bit cloudy. If you can only find a cloudy base then simply add blue cosmetic grade dye to make it look like the fish is in water. Fun looking soap is a good way to encourage children to wash their hands however plastic toys can also be a choking hazard.

The best videos explaining the melt and pour process can be found here:
http://youtube.com/user/GoPlanetEarth

Silapa Jarun

please check out:

Katana Duet: Samurai's Forbidden Love

Saturdays With Silapa Podcast

Powered by Podbean.com

Katana Duet: Samurai’s Forbidden Love by Silapa Jarun

is now available as an ebook at Bookstrand.com

Credits

Konrad Lennartsson, Aki and Akeno Matsumoto performed by Vincent DePaul

Klara Lennartsson performed by Masae from www.samurai-on-samurai.com

Music

The Sweetest Poison and Enter the Calliope by Allison Curval The Clockwork Dolls

If the embedded podcast player above is not working or not appearing you may download the file directly here (wma) or here (mp3).

Author Discovery: Jacqueline George

This week's installment of Saturdays With Silapa will feature Jacqueline George's Light o'Love.

Jacqueline George's Light o'Love is simply spectacular!

Initially, I was attracted by the interesting setting of the The Jane Flockman Institute of Political Science and Ethics,and the haunts in an around Liverpool. What I found was a memorable story about the supernatural world thriving around us.

Jacqueline's elegant prose teases readers with sensual descriptions of characters who come from all over the spectrum and each and every one are part of the Institute's eclectic family. While the story focuses on the coming of age and sexual awakening of, Shirley Grainger, Light o'Love, the work features loving and amusing older characters who are the heroine's teachers and friends. It's rare to come across a work of erotic literature with mature couples but Jacqueline created such attractive and vibrant pairs I found them to be just as delightful as the young lovers!


Light begins as a pupil but she evolves into a guide for her classmates who are also studying The Craft and testing the waters of the adult world. The young women soon realize the dangers of witchcraft which come from attracting members of the Dark Light.

The heroine, with all her erotic adventures and looming perils around her and the school still has a degree of innocence derived from her altruism. Light's "voice" impressed me as being completely believable and she is such a fun character I hope a sequel is in the works. Light's very goal is to reach out to heal people around her with love and in doing so she touched me as a reader and brought a smile to my face.

Silapa Jarun

Shop Smart

Rising food prices due to energy costs has resulted in the adoption of shopping strategies by many people. Like everyone, I've had to pass up on snacks and desserts because they are simply too expensive due to the rising price of sugar and provide very few benefits for the body. So I did some snooping on the net to find the most highly recommended tips which will help you save now and guarantee a spectacular holiday season.

1. Don't shop on an empty stomach and plan ahead.

   Everyone knows you should maintain a list of must-have items but you can also prevent yourself from getting distracted in the aisles by mapping your way through the store.

   Here's how: http://www.davecheong.com/wp-content/simpletools/groceries/index.jsp

   The longer you spend strolling around the more likely you'll stray from your budget and pick up junk food.

2. Be a Spartan!
   You may not look like an escapee from the 300 production but you can be a financial Spartan. For people who consistently go over budget because they rely on credit or the convenient debit card. Take only cash to the store until you regain full control of your spending urges.

3. Shop on Sundays after you gathered your coupons from the net or cut them from the paper. Sundays are usually slow days at the store which will guarantee that you won't have to deal with a long line or limited parking.

4. Think outside the box and beyond the grocery store.
   Dried goods like pasta, cereal, canned goods, and even cleaning supplies are actually less expensive at pharmacies and dollar stores. You can also treat your grocery store as if it were a discount outlet by looking for “must sell now” items like two day old sour dough bread which is still safe to consume.

5. Stockpile goods by shopping as a team. College students who live in dorms and apartments can pool their resources to take advantage of club stores. This tip also works if you are part of a church or community which is likely to have a member who has club store privileges. So coordinate your shopping and split the costs. Such wholesale places sell five pound bags of flour, syrup by the gallon, boxes of butter, dozens of rolls of toilet paper and coffee at a greatly discounted cost. Students should stock up prior to moving back to their campus quarters rather than relying on nearby convenience stores.

6. Make the late summer BBQ count. As we count down the days to fall, take advantage of one last cook out to prepare meats for freezing to enjoy later on. Nothing beats defrosting and microwaving a meal for those occasions you don't have time to cook from scratch.

7. Discover the lost art of cooking. Perhaps the only good which has emerged from the recession is people are learning that the kitchen is more than just a place to store dishes. Cooking as a family is a great activity and a way to give the television and video systems a rest. There are many articles which mention that baking breads have come back into fashion because it is not very hard and doughs can be frozen. I've never made my own bread but if I ever get the urge then these are the links to consult:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html

http://www.baking911.com/howto/freeze.htm

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=13Ah9ES2yTU

See you next Saturday!

~Tiffany ~ Silapa Jarun

SilapaJarun.com
KATANA DUET: Samurai's Forbidden Love
Available at Bookstrand.com
http://tinyurl.com/6hqpog

FALLEN ANGEL REVIEWS ~ 5/5 Angels!
http://tinyurl.com/5dowxz

The Clockwork Dolls

I usually post blog entries on Saturday but I could not contain my excitement over this week's feature so here it is one day early!

It is my pleasure to introduce a spectacular new band who use their tunes to invite listeners into a whole new world beyond the clouds...

THE CLOCKWORK DOLLS

Their origins and adventures on their airship can be read at http://www.myspace.com/theclockworkdolls. I found the Clockwork Dolls on Myspace after looking high and low for a tune which could convey the dark themes of my novella Katana Duet: Samurai's Forbidden Love in a short book trailer.

After canvassing the net for tunes, I was still empty handed, frustrated, and very concerned about how to explain my historical fiction to musicians. I had heard of the growing Steampunk culture and eventually found The Clockwork Dolls, a crew consisting of Allison Curval and Helene De Fer. The group is constantly evolving and soaring to new heights so it is certainly difficult to confine their music to merely one genre.
I'd like to ask Allison Curval about how she would describe her music and where she plans on taking her crew in the future.
"The Clockwork Dolls really started as a simple idea: combine elements from traditional chamber music and merge it with modern electronic elements to create a mixture of classical tones with modern dance.
I later pitched the idea to Helene De Fer during rehearsal (both of us were in the same theater group) and we soon established a wonderful working relationship; thus The Clockwork Dolls was born.

First came the music: I wrote the Sweetest Poison not really knowing where the song was going but after one evening full of wine and dance, I wrote an intricate storyline in my mind which became a Myspace blurb. That has since exploded into a complex plot loaded with characters in their own colorful universe."

My attraction to their work came after listening to "The Maiden Voyage" performed and written by Helene De Fer with music by Allison Curval.

"You really thought I'd be content

A housewife in a gilded cage?

The sea, the sky, it's all the same;

Adventure being what I crave.

I'll never stop, I won't come down!

My passions here in whirring gears.

This triumph of my female soulI will not

spoil with useless tears."

Allison, can you tell me more about narrator of this song? She seems to be a restless soul who won't settle down.

"We realized at this point that our joint efforts would lead to a multimedia extravaganza involving visual and audio elements and thus the story of the Dame De Fer was born.

The song "The Maiden Voyage" (which is to be our title track) is the tale of a noble lady born into a society she despises and forced into a political marriage. She abandons her past and family and takes to the skies in search of adventure.

Our upcoming full length album (which will be entitled "Dame De Fer") will be the soundtrack to a graphic novel (or potentially an animation) surrounding this story. The tale will take our listeners into an epic world full of action, adventure, espionage, politics, and technology with the Dame De Fer stuck in the middle (did I mention time travel?)."

So what are your future plans for The Clockwork Dolls?

"We are currently working on a short EP consisting of 8 tracks to be released later this year which will be available for download on iTunes as well as for purchase on CD Baby for a reasonable price, and a full length two-CD set to be released at a later date. Accompanying these releases will be a web-based graphic novel (currently in the works), which will be available free of charge, along with streaming audio on our website (also . . .currently in the works).

Please visit our Myspace page at for a free demo of our music and do not hesitate to contact us should you have any feedback. We love hearing from you."

The song is exquisite on so many levels and I was struck by how it not only induced a vision of first flight by the Dame De Fer ship but that it captured the social condition of women in the 19th century. The Dame De Fer is an imaginary ship of course, but it can transport listeners to a different stratosphere within their imaginations.
"The Maiden Voyage" took me to a time where some women entered what were then considered to be masculine fields such as medicine, while many found their future in the world of education and nursing. Unfortunately, most young females became part of the machinery of the Industrial Revolution or remained confined to farms and vast fields with their children. Women today will no doubt empathize with their sisters from a bygone era during which the value of a female was based on her ability to care for a home and produce children.
Aside from my own social and historical interpretation of the song, the tune is a declaration of a woman' a s aboard.

Katana Duet: Samurai's Forbidden Love, takes place during the late 1860’s and 1870’s in feudal and modern Japan and then the small town of Madison, Wisconsin. It is a story of great racial and cultural contrasts.

The video, which can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/writersilapajarun or http://www.myspace.com/khuntiffany features "The Sweetest Poison" by Allison Curval. It has two different themes and was used to show the dramatic change within the lives of the Matsumoto twins, former Samurai, who are now foreigners in a strange land. I am very fond of the title for the song because the forbidden love in the novel is also "The Sweetest Poison" which affects the four young characters.

"In Vino Veritas--Enter the Calliope", also by Ms. Curval, gave the atmosphere of secrecy within the household and ends on a more hopeful note. After all, both pairs of siblings, the American Lennartsson brother and sister and the Japanese gentlemen, are engaged in a fight not only with one another but for their very survival. The Clockwork Dolls’ music was truly the soul for my book trailer but I assure you than these tunes on their own can give any fertile imagination new stories.

Images and designs pertaining to The Clockwork Dolls are all property of the band and used for this article with their consent.

See you all next Saturday!Silapa Jarun

Young Coconut

Ginger