"The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan" Recent Accomplishments

Above, Ai poses with the travel guide in Tokyo. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

It is amazing how fast time flies, especially when one is busy on productive projects. The past three months have been particularly busy.

Following the November elections, my activity level for The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan accelerated into a higher gear. Much of this was to have taken place earlier last year when the book went "live." But due to my mother's passing and dealing with estate matters, I had to put it off.

First, I announced a holiday sale in which The Guide was discounted 20% for the weeks preceding Christmas. Many took advantage of the discount and bought the book. (A big thank-you goes out to those purchasing the book.)

Then, it was planning my return to Japan for the first time in three years. Besides the usual trip preparations (i.e., buying airline tickets, hotel reservations, budgeting, etc.), I made arrangements to meet with Japan-based media, booksellers and distributors.

The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan made an appearance in the Fall 2010 issue of The Beach Review, the alumni magazine published by my alma mater, California State University, Long Beach (CSULB).

Japan Visitor.com ran a review article on The Guide in November.

Advance planning and networking before I even stepped foot inside the Korean Air Boeing 777 paid off. I arrived in Tokyo in December with a full schedule ahead of me.

While in Japan, I was interviewed by Japan Today and The Daily Yomiuri and those led to more interviews when I returned to Los Angeles. The Japan Today article appeared in December and The Daily Yomiuri article was published in the newspaper's December 24 edition. GaijinPot.com also carried an article. I could have used more time in Tokyo, but at least I was kept busy while there.

Above, this photo taken at Toho Studios' main gate was used with some of the articles.

2011 started off with an interview article in Japan's Metropolis magazine, which is Japan's #1 English magazine. The article was the direct result from the Japan Today article through a content-sharing arrangement. They submitted additional questions for inclusion in the article.

Above, the "Metropolis" magazine interview article on the travel guide shared the page with singer Christina Aguilera.

Nothing yet has resulted from my visits with Japan book dealers and distributors. Those are still "works in progress." Those are tough nuts to crack. Many business cards were left in Japan. Along with The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan, I also was helping Peter H. Brothers get a foothold in Japan for his book, Mushroom Clouds and Mushroom Men: The Fantastic Cinema of Ishiro Honda. I did manage to hook Pete up with a Japan-based free-lance writer and they are currently working on articles for the Japanese media.

Last week, I received a call from the Little Tokyo (Los Angeles) store of Kinokuniya Bookstores wanting to re-order the book as they were down to their last copy. I delivered the re-order a couple of days ago and had them photocopy The Daily Yomiuri article (below) for use in a display. The staff at Kinokuniya have been great to work with.



Even more things are in the works for The Guide, including a new round of promotional photos with a new model that will be taken in a couple of weeks. (Thanks goes out to dinosaur expert and movie-maker Donald F. Glut for coming to the rescue with the model's contact information as the number I had for her was obsolete.)

Above, the ad for the travel guide that will again be appearing in "Famous Monsters of Filmland."

The next issue of Famous Monsters of Filmland will run an ad for The Guide. It appeared in the last issue as a full-page ad. The new "regime" at FM are great folks and are easy to work with. Editor Jessie Lilley has a great sense of humor.

Promoting and selling The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan has become a "third job" for me, but it is an enjoyable one. I am learning many things and meeting a lot of great professionals. So far, it has been a great experience!

As far as I am concerned, 2011 is off to a great start!