I've got an aspiring serial killer who, at the moment, lives in the Sawara-ku ward in the Japanese city of Fukuoka.

When the story I'm writing begins, he is planning to abduct and kill a victim, using a temporarily vacant house in the neighboring ward, Jounan-ku, as the place to commit the crime. Both of these wards are primarily residential areas.

( Read more... )

Anybody who writes fiction set in a different countries knows about this: the endless travail of researching the country, trying to get a feel for the atmosphere, the culture, the geography, and the inhabitants.

Nonetheless, I still would never have thought five years ago that eventually I'd find myself spending time researching Japanese beer. Or " ( Read more... )