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Creating Handmade Books and Writing Fiction in Kanazawa, Japan 金沢市
Episodes
Sunday Jan 26, 2020
Sunday Jan 26, 2020
A new YouTube episode at TDGB 33 Casing in a Notebook for your viewing pleasure.
Bookbinding
Nothing! I have accomplished nothing in bookbinding this week. I did print two 2020 schedules and a small A5-size notebook but I have not sewn, glued, or cased anything in. An unproductive week, alas.
Fiction
I set a deadline for Fear Itself and it appears I may meet that deadline. The deadline to finish is the end of this month. I am inches — Inches, I say! — away from finishing it. I need merely sit my butt on a chair and type.
After I finish Fear Itself I need to outline and start writing — with Passion and Speed! — Fear the Dead which is Book Two in the Fear Trilogy. My deadline for Fear the Dead is the penultimate day of February (the 28th this year). Wish me luck.
Sunday Jan 19, 2020
Sunday Jan 19, 2020
Bookbinding
I cased in a 105-page, A6-size, blank notebook with a bookmark, and rounded corners. Primarily to see if I could case in rounded corners. I was 50% successful which is better than abject failure, don't you think? Yes, me, too.
The cover is from an old kimono and is the last of the kimono-esque book cloth I have. I need to make more. I have a few (maybe three) kimono so I lack not the cloth; merely the time and motivation. Now that I'm out of kimono backcloth, perhaps motivation just slapped me upside the head.
Fiction
I have set a deadline for myself for the alien war trilogy book one: Fear Itself. The new deadline and, more importantly, one I am working hard to make, is January 31st. The book will be finished by then. (Or not?) Then on to Books Two and Three.
Another book I wish to finish, Botchan’s Bartender, has been assigned the deadline of February 14 Valentine’s Day. It is a murder mystery but character-driven with several inter-twining love stories, failed love stories, and one deadly love story. Plus, a woman with a dark past who wishes to keep it secret.
Check out my YouTube channel for brief and, hopefully, concise how-to videos and other less structured videos.
A new one about Casing in the Blank Notebook above will be up by the end of next week. (Hopefully)
Monday Jan 13, 2020
Monday Jan 13, 2020
Casing in Two Notebooks
In the last week I cased in two notebooks. Notebook 1 is 110-pages of blank sheets with page numbers. The notebook itself has headbands and a bookmark. It is slightly larger than A5, in fact, it is half an 81/2 x 11 size sheet (US letter size). I slapped on a red cover with a black spine.
The client seems happy with it so I am happy with it. The client wants to use it in their travels over the next few months as a journal, hence the blank pages.
Notebook 2 is the A5 in size, also with 110 pages but with graph paper. Included are headbands and a bookmark. It is half bound book meaning. of course, that its corners and spine have a different backcloth from the rest of the book. This one sports a kimono-esque cover which I made by tearing apart a kimono.
Both of these notebooks have nice endpapers that I purchased in Tokyo on a long-ago trip to that fair city and dropped in on the world, probably, famous, Ito-Ya. Tons of paper and supplies.
Writing
Yes! I have been writing. Did a bunch of revisions on Fear Itself and Botchan’s Bartender. And, as always, I hope to finish them before the turn of the century.
Check out my latest video about the Link Stitch cleverly titled Link Stitch.
Monday Jan 06, 2020
Monday Jan 06, 2020
2020! A New Year!
(And great vision as well)
Still working.
On binding books, on writing novels, on producing podcasts, on making videos.
• This week: Sewing, gluing, adding mull & the spine piece to two blank notebooks. One has graph paper, one has blank paper; one is A5, one is B5; both have seven signatures of five folios each, and a bookmark.
Also, a video is up on YouTube: TDGB 32 Link Stitch. It runs about three minutes. A still from the video is at left.
• Next week: casing in the two blank notebooks. Plus printing out two Schedules for 2020; they start in April so I must finish them before the end of March or earlier, of course. These are Personalized Schedules — the clients have sent me 13 jpeg photos to be included in their schedules.
You, too, can order a Personalized Schedule or a Personalized Notebook with photos of your choice. They make great gifts! Check out the 手作り本販売 page. (or click on the link.)
Tuesday Dec 24, 2019
Tuesday Dec 24, 2019
A five-minute audio clip of Fear Zero included: Caution, not for the faint-hearted or young. Starts at 4:20.
Bookbinding
Not much accomplished this week. I set up a couple of books on InDesign to prepare them to print out at my earliest convenience. I have not worked at the bench all week, though. I shall in the coming two weeks, however, have more time and do some actual bookbinding.
Fiction
I wrote a lot on Fear Itself adding three chapters. I wrote a lot on another unfinished novel: Botchan’s Bartender, the first book of the Japan Pentalogy yet the last one to be finished.
Goals for 2020: Make the Japan Pentalogy available for you good readers. Also, the make the Fear Trilogy (Fear Zero, Fear Itself, Fear the Dead, and The Sound of Fear) available as well.
Tedorigawa Bookmakers On Apple Podcasts
Novels Available for Your Reading Pleasure! Plus, you help support my podcast.
Fear Zero
A 10-year-old Matt McKenzie is thrown in prison for murdering his mother. Can he survive sadistic guards, violent inmates, loneliness, and fear? When he’s 16, he could be released. How will the six years of fear, pain, and violence change him? Will he be able to find a job or a place to live? Will he fight for survival on the streets? The odds are against him.
This is the prelude to The Fear Trilogy, a dystopian future war novel which follows McKenzie from war to peace and back to war through power-hungry politicians, conspiracies, and intrigue.
Available at 
iBooks • Kobo • Barnes & Noble • Scribd
Check out my Oregon Coast Murder Duet on the Fiction For Sale Page!
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Available at:
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Available at:
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Two murders in the same town. Separated by 20 years. How are the suspects, witnesses, and victims related? |
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Wednesday Dec 18, 2019
Wednesday Dec 18, 2019
Bookbinding
I cased in three books this week. The first one was a blank notebook with graph paper. The book was titled This Is Blank, a book I mentioned in episodes 227 and 225, below. This time I made a few changes (words, mostly) and bound it differently.
The second book was one-ninth of Laurence Sterne’s Tristram Shandy. I made a complete set of all nine volumes of Tristram Shandy some time ago and I am going to apply what I learned about bookbinding to a new set. Or I may make it into one volume or both. If I make another set I only have eight-ninths to go. I bound this one differently as well.
The third book was one of my unfinished novels in the Japan Pentalogy titled Botchan’s Bartender. It is the only unfinished novel in the Japan Pentalogy series. By binding it I hope to read it, make corrections, edit it, and be inspired enough to finish it. As the other two books, this one used a different technique.
The different technique is one I learned from a YouTube video by Jacqueline Poutasse. It involves gluing the spine piece to a piece of paper, measuring accurately, and adding the cover pieces. This aligns the covers and spine very nicely. Also, I measured the spine gap more accurately as well. In order to have the crease on the covers of the completed book, I have been experimenting with the spine gap. It has gradually gotten larger. On Botchan’s Bartender the gap is 10 mm. On the other two, the gap is 6 mm.
This new (for me) technique also seems to be faster. Less guessing, I guess?
Fiction
This week in Fiction can be summed up nicely with: I wrote three chapters in Fear Itself. I can add, I also sped up the plot, incorporated more conspiracy, and made it darker and a touch more violent (both physical and emotional.)
Tedorigawa Bookmakers On Apple Podcasts
Novels Available for Your Reading Pleasure! Plus, you help support my podcast.
Fear Zero
A 10-year-old Matt McKenzie is thrown in prison for murdering his mother. Can he survive sadistic guards, violent inmates, loneliness, and fear? When he’s 16, he could be released. How will the six years of fear, pain, and violence change him? Will he be able to find a job or a place to live? Will he fight for survival on the streets? The odds are against him.
This is the prelude to The Fear Trilogy, a dystopian future war novel which follows McKenzie from war to peace and back to war through power-hungry politicians, conspiracies, and intrigue.
Available at iBooks • Kobo • Barnes & Noble • Scribd
Check out my Oregon Coast Murder Duet on the Fiction For Sale Page!
|
Available at:
|
|
Available at:
|
|
Two murders in the same town. Separated by 20 years. How are the suspects, witnesses, and victims related? |
|
Wednesday Dec 11, 2019
Wednesday Dec 11, 2019
Bookbinding
First, a new video is up on YouTube of me casing in a couple of books, twice. Check it out here if you've got 10 minutes to enjoy watching a casing in video.
Mostly in the last week I made the two practice covers, made the video about it, and learned a bit. I have also been working on a couple of books on my computer. First is Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne. I am making changes on the inside and hope to print it out and case it in this week. (Promises, promises, eh?). I want to practice making the spin gap properly while at the same time producing an edition of fiction people can enjoy reading. I’m also pondering whether to make all nine volumes into one.
The second plan is to produce more Eating Kanazawa books and spreading them around the city. It is a Japanese-English language guide and café/restaurant/bar guide for tourists. I’ve had to make changes because some of the stores mentioned in the original book have either gone out of business or moved.
Fiction
I have been dutifully writing on Fear Itself. I have been making it stronger and a quicker read. I should really, really finish it and start on book two of the trilogy: Fear the Dead. Fear of completing it seems to be my fear. Tell me to finish it! And I might.
Tedorigawa Bookmakers On Apple Podcasts
Novels Available for Your Reading Pleasure! Plus, you help support my podcast.
Fear Zero
A 10-year-old Matt McKenzie is thrown in prison for murdering his mother. Can he survive sadistic guards, violent inmates, loneliness, and fear? When he’s 16, he could be released. How will the six years of fear, pain, and violence change him? Will he be able to find a job or a place to live? Will he fight for survival on the streets? The odds are against him.
This is the prelude to The Fear Trilogy, a dystopian future war novel which follows McKenzie from war to peace and back to war through power-hungry politicians, conspiracies, and intrigue.
Available at iBooks • Kobo • Barnes & Noble • Scribd
Check out my Oregon Coast Murder Duet on the Fiction For Sale Page!
|
Available at:
|
|
Available at:
|
|
Two murders in the same town. Separated by 20 years. How are the suspects, witnesses, and victims related? |
|
Sunday Dec 08, 2019
Sunday Dec 08, 2019
Bookbinding
First, I had a bad cold last week and was unable to function. I managed to struggle out of bed a few hours at a time, but not concentrate on making books. I did, however, before succumbing to the bug, put the mull and endpapers on two practice books.
I folded, sewed, and glued up pages that had printing errors on them. I then glued on the endpapers and bookmarks.
Just as I was about to measure and cut the book boards, and glue on the book cloth, I stumbled head first into a nasty head cold. I took two weeks off and now am feeling up and eager to finish these practice books. Today, I cased din the two books. Practice makes perfect and casing in two books of scrap paper is definite practice.
Fiction
I have deepened and continued the saga of Fear Itself. I made changes similar to the following.
- 1st draft: He was standing next to the dead body.
- 2nd draft: He stood next to the dead body.
- 3rd draft: He paced around the dead body.
- 4th draft: He paced around the bleeding body, cursing it.
- 5th draft: He paced around the bleeding body, kicking it each time he passed the head. “Idiot,” he cursed.
Keep in mind that the time between the first draft and the fifth is often in the neighborhood of five to ten minutes; sometimes in the broader arena of ten to fifteen months (usually not that long). Sometimes the first draft is entered on a screen, but drafts two, three, and four play on only in my head. The fifth draft gets typed up.
Check out the Fiction for Sale tab to see what you can buy, read, and enjoy in fiction I have written.
And, cruise on over to
YouTube to see my latest video.
Wednesday Nov 20, 2019
Wednesday Nov 20, 2019
Bookbinding
I printed out, punched holes in, sewed, and bound another version of This Page! This time things fit together better but I discovered why on the first one the textblock and covers were of offending sizes. The template I used to make the backcloth covers was too small. I noticed it when the second version experienced the same problem as the first one.
The main question I have now is why was my A6-size template for book covers off by so much? Or, better, why did I use it twice (or more!) before finding out it was too small? Or, even better, did I make it wrong to begin with?
Fiction
I have worked a bit on two novels, Fear Itself and Dark Death. However, I depressed myself on the number of the as-of-yet incomplete and unfinished novels I have spinning in the air like so many plates on a talent show. Let me list the ones I can remember:
- Fear Itself - Book One of The Fear trilogy. Fear Zero, Book One, is available. Check below,
- Fear The Dead - Book Two of The Fear trilogy,
- Dark Death - Book One of the Vengeance trilogy,
- Botchan’s Bartender - Book One of the Japan Quintet (of which Books Two to Five are finished! Yeah!),
- Caraculiambro - a mystery/conspiracy stand-alone novel whose main character is a giant ala Andre the Giant but a private detective. The character’s name and some activities he’s involved in were snatched from Don Quixote. I like the characters and the plot. I really want to wish it someday. Again, maybe in this century, right? I have two books based somewhat, circling around, as it were, Don Quixote. This one and Giapan, Book Five of the Japan Quintet
Of course, I’ve been doing my best to avoid writing anything for NaNoWriMo. I haven’t even gone to its website to see what is going on. Lazy me, I suspect.
Tedorigawa Bookmakers On Apple Podcasts
Novels Available for Your Reading Pleasure! Plus, you help support my podcast.
Fear Zero
A 10-year-old Matt McKenzie is thrown in prison for murdering his mother. Can he survive sadistic guards, violent inmates, loneliness, and fear? When he’s 16, he could be released. How will the six years of fear, pain, and violence change him? Will he be able to find a job or a place to live? The odds are against him.
This is the prelude to The Fear Trilogy, a dystopian future war novel which follows McKenzie from war to peace and back to war through power-hungry politicians, conspiracies, and intrigue.
Available at iBooks • Kobo • Barnes & Noble • Scribd
The Oregon Coast Murder Duet
Two murders in the same town. Separated by 20 years. How are the suspects, witnesses, and victims related?
Feeding Vicki’s Corpse
This first murder victim is a PhD student who had damaging information about a local business development. Did the developer have him killed? The developer’s teenage daughter was raped. Did the PhD student rape her? Was that why he was killed? A retired and emotionally damaged Boston detective is asked to dig into the crimes. And he comes up with surprising results.
Available at: iBooks • Kobo • Barnes & Noble ª Scribd
The City of Cocks
The second murder victim was the son of a local businessman. With lots of friends in high places. They want the murder solved and quickly. Murders are bad for the tourist business and summer is approaching. A suspect is quickly arrested. He must rely on his wife, a drunken poet who sees ghosts, and a bookish lawyer to protect him.
Available at: iBooks • Kobo • Barnes & Noble • Scribd
Wednesday Nov 13, 2019
Wednesday Nov 13, 2019
A New Video is up on my YouTube Channel!
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Bookbinding
A problem! I cased in an A-5 (pocketbook)-sized blank notebook with graph paper. And I cased it in very, very badly. Perhaps I was too much in a hurry? Perhaps I didn’t think things through? In any case, the book cover was too small. After, of course, I glued it to the backboards. I foolishly sliced it open in a vain attempt at making it larger. This failed to work.
I studied the book. I thought about the errors of my way. I did some research in the proper measurement for everything. I think…… I think I may have solved my problem. If – and this is a very big IF – I pay attention to what I’m doing.
Making the bookboard just the right width plus the gap between the spine and the covers seems to need my attention.
Fiction
Still writing; still not finishing; still see the light at the end of the novel. Fear Itself coming…This Century!
Tedorigawa Bookmakers On Apple Podcasts
Novels Available for Your Reading Pleasure Yeah!
Fear Zero
A 10-year-old Matt McKenzie is thrown in prison for murdering his mother. Can he survive sadistic guards, violent inmates, loneliness, and fear? When he’s 16, he could be released. How will the six years of fear, pain, and violence change him? Will he be able to find a job or a place to live? The odds are against him.
This is the prelude to The Fear Trilogy, a dystopian future war novel which follows McKenzie from war to peace and back to war through power-hungry politicians, conspiracies, and intrigue.
Available at iBooks • Kobo • Barnes & Noble • Scribd
The Oregon Coast Murder Duet
The City of Cocks
Sol is wrongly arrested for murdering a teenager whose father works with important people in this small Oregon town. They all want someone – Anyone! – arrested and convicted of the murder. Sol must rely on his wife and a friend who is an alcoholic poet who sees and talks to ghosts. Not a strong defense team.
The City of Cocks is a sister-novel to Feeding Vicki’s Corpse.
Available at: iBooks • Kobo • Barnes & Noble • Scribd
Feeding Vicki’s Corpse
McCorkle, a retired Boston police detective, is haunted by the death of someone he loved as he wanders around the US. In Oregon, he saves the lives of four teenagers. The chief of police asks him to help solve a cold murder case. In his investigations he discovers the murder is related to a rape. But the most powerful businessman in the town doesn’t want the murder solved or the rape exposed.
Feeding Vicki’s Corpse is a sister-novel to The City of Cocks.
Available at: iBooks • Kobo • Barnes & Noble ª Scribd