Searching for the Manga editions of Lord of Scoundrels and Mr. Impossible

Scene from Lord of Scoundrels

Today’s Manga news comes courtesy Brilliant Book Detective Jennifer Mates.  Readers had asked about getting copies of the Manga editions of Lord of Scoundrels and Mr. Impossible, and I was clueless. Then, Jennifer came to my rescue with the following, which I've lifted directly from her lovely email:

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I have been looking on the internet for more information. Sure enough, the publications from last year are not available. But I found a Japanese website which shows the two books will be re-released on 1st July 2015!

This website is in Japanese, but I've used Google Translate to help me read it:

07/01 宙出版 Ohzora Publishing        

ハーモニィコミックス Harmonist Text Comics

灼熱の風に抱かれて It is nestled in the scorching wind  [Mr Impossible]

狩野 真央／ロレッタ・チェイス Kano Mao / Loretta Chase    669円 669 yen       

 

07/01 宙出版 Ohzora Publishing        

ハーモニィコミックス Harmonist Text Comics

悪の華にくちづけを A kiss to the evil of Hana [Lord of Scoundrels - I think Hana means flower]

岸田 黎子／ロレッタ・チェイス Kishida Reiko / Loretta Chase        669円 669 yen

Scene from Mr. Impossible

If you copy and paste the Japanese titles and/or the artist/author names into a search engine you will find a few websites come up where you can order the new publications.  (Using Google, and the "translate this page" option helps!)

I have found them on Amazon.co.jp. if you click on this link it's the first two books - no cover pics yet.

And on hmv.co.jp, Lord of Scoundrels is here and Mr Impossible is here.

Both of these sites have international shipping. I have already ordered mine :)

If you're interested, here's the kanji for the Harmony Romance magazines you already have should you ever want to search those titles online:

ハーモニィRomance 8月号 [Harmony Romance August]

ハーモニィRomance 9月号 [Harmony Romance September]

Thank you, Jennifer!

Regarding the titles: Having studied Italian for several years only to find myself still at the level of a not-precocious toddler, I am acutely aware that languages very often don’t translate precisely, and many times the word that seems similar doesn’t convey the meaning properly.  English can be particularly difficult, because of its vast vocabulary and numerous irregularities.  Too, romance titles often have connotations that do not come across in other languages.

Japanese readers, please feel free to enlighten us about the titles!

 

Lady Clara's book is in production

Because so many readers ask, I'm guessing the news isn't easy to find on the website, so a blog post seems in order.

Yes, indeed, I have written Lady Clara's story. It's titled Dukes Prefer Blondes, and scheduled for publication in 2016. I'd heard January 2016, but that might have changed, since I was late delivering the manuscript.  But I've completed the revisions, and it's now in the hands of the copy editor. Which means it will return to me in a couple of weeks for another going-over.

The image, from the Magazine of the Beau Monde, is one of the ensembles Lady Clara wears in an early chapter.

 

Manga editions of Lord of Scoundrels and Mr. Impossible

When these arrived at my house, I went nuts. I'd never supposed my books would ever make it into this format.  So that was one thing.  The other was how spectacularly well done they were, down to historical detail, but also in terms of beautifully realized scenes. 

Even without being able to read Japanese, one has no trouble recognizing Lord of Scoundrels. So Jess's clothes are a bit later than 1829—more like 1835—but they are excellent for the time period chosen! And how did the artist manage to make her look so sexy in those clothes?  Not to mention the swoon quality of Lord Dain.  Oh, and the humor!

The same great stuff happens in Mr. Impossible, with Rupert captured so beautifully, in all his dashing recklessness.  And Daphne in her turban!

Yes, both books are highly abridged: My stories are included in four-book collections, as near as I can make out. Thus, Mr. Impossible's cast of thousands is streamlined to about a dozen—thereby reducing the number of murder victims somewhat—and Marigold, alas, does not appear.  But the significant scenes are there, and splendidly realized. I imagine, if anybody ever made a screenplay of these books, the movie would narrow down to such scenes.

Because these are in 1-1/4 inch thick books, scanning was tricky.  But I hope these samples give you the general idea.  Since there's very little English, I am not positive about publication dates.  However the spines give 2014-8 for Lord of Scoundrels and 2014-9 for Mr. Impossible, so one deduces August and September 2014 respectively.

If you've read Mr. Impossible, you'll recognize the scene below. Sorry about the weird spacing, but I can't always get Squarespace to do exactly what I want.