EXCERPT from "The Manga Explosion" by Sally Bosco in Many Genres, One Craft: Lessons in Writing Popular Fiction
A half-werewolf, half-vampire undergoes a mysterious and terrifying transformation during the full moon: he turns into a girl.
A young woman artist meets a vampire who is so beautiful and breathtaking she uses him as a model.
A rebellious angel is sent back to earth. His curse is that he's in love with his sister.
What type of writing has these genre-bending plots? Why, manga of course!
Why do people like them? They are little portals into other worlds that entertain, delight and educate. At sales of $210 million per year, manga, or Japanese comic art, is a huge and lucrative business. Formerly only popular in Japan, manga has exploded into the U.S to the point that schools are putting manga into their curriculum in an effort to encourage students to read. Large book retailers such as Barnes and Noble and Borders have created separate manga sections. In a sagging publishing market, manga is infusing new life into the industry.
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EXCERPT from "From Far East to West" by Sally Bosco in Many Genres, One Craft: Lessons in Writing Popular Fiction
Fans I've interviewed often state that they like manga because it doesn't follow the typical dramatic formulas we see in western stories.
In the stories we're used to seeing, the good guys almost always win. The Japanese feel that this isn't realistic; good guys usually don't win. It's not unusual for a major character to die, to lose the one they love to another, or to fail at what they are trying to do. Villains can change their ways and heroes can commit horrid acts.
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Sally Bosco has always been drawn to the dark side. A corporate slave by day, at nights and on weekends she writes young adult horror and paranormal romance. Sally recently received her M.A. degree in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. She has published a YA horror novel, AltDeath.com and an adult paranormal romance, Shadow Cat (as Zoe LaPage). Her hobbies include painting, working out, running and traveling. She lives in Florida with the most spoiled cat in the world, MiniKitty. Check out Sally at sallybosco.com and zoelapage.com.
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