“I always liked adventure stories. When I was younger I discovered a lack of “travelling to other worlds via magic” stories that were not Medieval in tone missing from my local library. I decided I would write something better and more diverse for these bookshelves when I got older in hopes of providing something new to read.

One story I’ve wanted to write was an adventure of a young girl discovering a mystical place and wanting to explore it deeper. The story would have an old-fashioned flair and yet be connected to modern conveniences, as sometimes portrayed in certain Japanese manga. I was inspired by many things which show through the appearance of the main character and the vistas she would encounter. Exploring anachronism and the interactions of different peoples she would run across. Something that left the reader wondering ‘what if” when they put the book down and looked out the window.

I have doodled things for this project and had the tone I wanted to portray but it remained doodles and drawings, never venturing further. I entered college and it was soon a forgotten idea that I barely remembered.

That’s when I met Tanya Rodgers. She had published eBooks before and agreed to help bring my idea to life. Taking my concept, ideas and guiding hand, Tanya has crafted Michiko’s story from the idea that I’ve long held in my head. This project comes to life even more with the help of Katarzyna, an artist who’d do work for me over the same summer.

Together, the three of us are working together, to realize this idea and dream that has lain dormant for so long.”

-Janeil H.

 

The Story

Meet Michiko, a 17-year-old teenager that mixes with the social crowd but likes her own space, having a knack for tech and using her head. After a trip with her friends to the movies one night, she finds a pendant that allows her to visit a mysterious world with massive trees, each leading to yet another different world with a new adventure. After getting drawn into a town in danger from a legendary creature, its up to Michiko to make a difference in the outcome. Her involvement is just the beginning…

 

Overview & Info

This is an ongoing project that I’ve been working on since August 2013 and is my first official published release. Working in conjunction with Tanya Rodgers and Katarzyna Kruszyńska, the three of us unveiled the first book Thanksgiving weekend of 2015. The 50,000+ word novel contains illustrations for each chapter. Art is part of this novel just as much as the story is, so its important to us when we depict the scenes inside the book.

During August 2014 this project was put forward on Kickstarter; despite not reaching the goal and not being successfully funded, I went forward regardless to publish this story. One of the benefits of the Kickstarter was that the book got a lot of exposure to audiences, however.

 

Illustrations

The book is illustrated with 22 full-color illustrations, done by the Polish artist Katarzyna Kruszyńska. Blending a traditional sketch style with digital coloring, the result is a storybook-like feel with the imagery.

 

Released Titles

Book 1:
The Beginning

Amazon

 

Updates & Progress

In addition to updates on the site, you can follow our tumblr and Facebook for updates on the series :

Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/michikobates

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/michiko_bates

Tumblr: http://michikobatesbooks.tumblr.com/

 

Testimonials

A Girl & Her eBooks Blog: http://www.agirlandherebooks.com/2014/08/help-support-creation-of-michiko-bates.html

Yuki’s Testimonial: http://youtu.be/gs6uHaHwLKs

Samples

You can download a chapter of the first book here: https://janeilh.com/2014/08/michiko-bates-book-1-preview-chapter/

 

Release Date

Book 1 The Beginning was released November 30th, 2015.

Book 2 is currently be plotted for production.

 

Contributors

You can visit the other contributors of this project to show your support.

Tanya Rodgers: http://aikawarazu-desu.deviantart.com/

Katarzyna Kruszyńska: http://elfka-mazoku.deviantart.com/