Welcome to PLN
We are a team of writers with two goals. First, to promote Asian culture here in America, and second, to promote the artists in America who are creating works with Asian influences.
Our primary means of achieveing these goals is through VALENCE, our original American Light Novel Anthology, set for release on July 1st. VALENCE features the talent of writers and artists here in America, serializing original light novels chapter by chapter, similarly to how some light novels are serialized in Japan.
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Another way we strive to achieve our goals is through Artist Spotlights on our social media channels. On these channels, we will be featuring talented artists, such as writers, illustrators, crafters, etc., and exposing the world to their works. If you, or anybody you know, think you may be ideal for an Artist Spotlight, please feel free to contact us.
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Currently, we are preparing to publish our anthology and prepare to debut it at Anime Expo at the beginning of July. If you've never heard of it, Anime Expo is the biggest convention for anime in the U.S., and is being hosted at the L.A. Convention Center. If you happen to be going, stop by and say hi! We'll be at table I52, under the name PLN. See you there!
~Honor in Craft Pride in Story Courage in Passion~
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The Writing Creed of PLN
Light What?
So what are light novels, anyway?
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Well, at PLN, we like to say that light novels are the awesomeness that is the fusion of the inspiring dynamicness and intensity of manga and the imaginative conjurings and provacative nature of literature.
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More clearly though, light novels are works of fiction in Japan that are oriented towards young adult readers (High School and Junior High School teens) and often include occassional illustrations more commonly referred to as being of the manga style.
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It is a common misconection that light novels are short stories, rarely containing words than a novella and lacking in any real depth or meaning.
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Oh ... so not true.
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The "light" in "light novel" does not refer to a shortness of story, but rather to the swiftness in which the light novel may be read. In actuality, light novels often rival traditional novels in terms of word count, and generally utilize shorter paragraphs and more dialogue-driven stories, which allows for swifter reading. And as far as light novels lacking any real depth is concerned, why, we're not even going to justify that with a response.
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Light novels are often serialized in various magazines in Japan, such as light novel magazine Dengeki Bunko, before being compiled as completed individual volumes.
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Here in the U.S., we are fotunate to be on the receiving end of officially licened translations of light novels, such as Sword Art Online, The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi, Spice and Worlf, and many others, with plenty more still on the way.
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Interest in light novels in America seems to be growing, as original American light novels have been popping up for a few years now. Come July, PLN will enter the market as well, with our light novel anthology, VALENCE.
You can check it out now at Amazon.
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E-Book and Volume One Sampler Coming Soon!
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Volume Two Coming Soon!
VALENCE is our light novel anthology, serializing original light novels and art, which we debuted at the beginning of July at AX (What a blast!). Volume 2 is set for release within the next couple months. Featured in volume 1 are:
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Element Magister by Lucius H. Skye, with art by Longestdistance
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In a world of magic and wonder, Elysia lives in a small village in the middle of nowhere with the hope that her past won’t catch up with her, but when her greatest fear comes true, she finds an unlikely ally in a young man who can use magic. But there’s a problem. His goal is to become the next Element Magister, and it’s a goal that treads far too close to her past.
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Turbo Suits by R.A. Rex Draco, with art by Haiyun
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With the surface being uninhabitable, and underground being almost as dangerous, the once numerous people of Amaroxia are forced to resort to survival methods that are slowly killing them. Under the oppression of the matriarchy and the cruelty of the military, two brothers of the lower castes endure a sentence in a labor camp where their only chance of escape lies in the world’s most feared weapons: The Turbo Suits.
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Nestvura Chronicles by A Hidedaki, with art by Rinslettuce
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I woke up one day, face to face with a beautiful girl. Every guy’s dream, right? The thing is … I was hanging upside down, and she was, well, part spider. And not only that, but she wanted to, er … eat … me. I was saved, luckily, and told that I had been transported to another world by a witch, a world plagued by a race of monster girls called Nestvura. I just want to go home, but to do that, I have to find the witch who brought me here and kill her. But is that the only way?
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Rain by C. L. Ranes, with art by Yumesky
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Like me, have you grown up with classmates who not only assume you’re an academic wizard, but a bona fide ninja and a fluent speaker of the language of your blood, just because you’re Asian? Have you ever been stalked because of it? Yeah, me neither. At least, not until she came to school. Now my days are filled with her in my shadow, flashing me Asian symbols and staring at me as she scribbles in her notebook. How much worse could it get?
The Team
We of PLN are all writers who got started by writing fanfiction for anime and manga. As it turned out, by writing fanfiction for such mediums, we were unwittingly preparing ourselves to write light novels.
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When we were writing fanfiction, we were attempting to put the stories of anime and manga into prose. In doing so, we ended up honing our craft to write shorter paragraphs and more dialogue-driven stories - hallmarks of the light novel style.
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Also a hallmark, however, is the manga-style art, something that no ammount of writing ability can compensate for. We were fortunate enough to commission immensely talented artists on DeviantArt though, and with the other part of the creative formula complete, we are now preparing to publish the anthology.
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Let's meet the team.
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PLN
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Lucius H. Skye
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Residing in New York State, Lucius H. Skye is a passionate writer who looks to take his writing to different forms of media. He has been writing since he was very young and never looked back. His goal is to one day have his creative imagination help readers follow their dreams, whatever they may be, and to leave a smile on their faces. He is the author of VALENCE’s Element Magister.
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R.A. Rex Draco
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Gamer, writer, role-player. A traditional artist who dabbles in writing stories for scenes of art or vice versa! Quiet, shy, but always up to critique, and to receive critique! Born in NYC, at the heart of the arts: theaters, galleries, and museums were a constant thread of inspiration. She is the author of VALENCE’s Turbo Suits.
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A. Hidedaki
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Inspired to write fiction by a combination of his upbringing in southern Florida and his exposure to anime, Akira A. Hidedaki hones his writing to create stories that contain the same sense of wonder and inspiration that anime and manga instilled in him. He is the author of VALENCE’s Nestvura Chronicles.
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C. L. Ranes
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C. L. Ranes spent much of his school days in California hunched over pieces of paper with a pen in his hand, creating worlds and characters. He spent much of his early writing years experimenting in fanfiction, and eventually turned his craft to light novels. He is the author of VALENCE’s Rain.
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Commissioned Artists
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Longestdistance
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From the state of Michigan, Longestdistance is an artist of incredible skill whose work has appeared in the iTunes app, Wake the Jellies, and the dark JRPG game, Cross Reverie, which has been greenlit by the Steam community. You can also see her work in VALENCE’s Element Magister.
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Haiyun
Haiyun is a wonderful artist from California whose work has been included in various collaborative artbooks and has more recently been featured in the tabletop card game, Love Formula. Her work also appears in Valence’s Turbo Suits.
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Rinslettuce
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Hailing from the state of Texas, Rinslettuce spent her childhood drawing anime characters like Sailor Moon, and eventually turned to art as a profession. Her current project is a visual novel called Spirit Parade!, and you can also see her work in VALENCE’s Nestvura Chonicles.
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Yumesky
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Yumesky currently lives in Southern California, where she goes to college. While she enjoys making crafts, watching anime, and hiking, she particularly likes to draw characters and write. Her work appears in VALENCE’s Rain.
Artist Spotlights
Our Artist Spotlights are here to introduce you to wonderful artists throughout the U.S. You can find the spotlights themselves on our twitter and facebook pages, but below you will find the names of the artists we've spotlighted, and links to their work for your perusal.
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Artist Spotlights
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Rinslettuce
Longestdistance
Haiyun
MyCKs
Charity Artbook: Infinite
More Coming Soon!