up up and away

This week I finally got around to send an english version of my book to publishers abroad! A whole five of them! 

It was a project I tell you, big and grand and involving googling, searching all over london for the perfect print shop, another print shop when i realized I had forgotten to print the synopsis part (it's all about the different components you know; translation, physical copy of she Swedish book, CV, letter of introduction, business card and complimentary post card, no less) and finally the perils at the post office.

Last part was my favorite, seeing as i arrived 5 min before closing time and the staff was not too happy. Funny thing in England is they still call you sweet things while they're shouting at you. "Hurry up love, we don't have all day!" "Come on darling you're keeping me!" "Bloody hell doll, you haven't even written out the address yet?!"

So then I had to go home and wrapped my head in cling film and felt all better. 

Keeping my thoughts to myself...

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Update!

Ok! Speeded on my english tea I have now finished sketching the 137 pages of the last dragon book! That's right - we're talking a glorious extra 19 pages! 

This is the first time I've sketched an entire book in one go and it's rather unnerving waiting for feedback; will they love me or want to change everything? Feedback with this project is especially thrilling since it's the author Jo, my editor and everyones boss (what's the term for all-mighty female anyway? would come in handy there) that all has a say.

So waiting for feedback I have now done what I should have done ages ago/should do pretty much all the time: Updated my homepage!!! *drum solo please*

Now it mentions the IKEA fabrics for example, which is a very good thing indeed. More over Sayonaras homepage has had a major facelift and the chapters there are now the actual ones from the book, not the half finished piece of extcre*censorship*t that was up since beginning of dawn (I've been in this business a looong time). Also there are some new illustrations and a new comic up (in Swedish, please bear with me...) ^^! 

Samples please...

There we go. 

To visit the homepage: www.asaekstrom.com

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Ureshii!!!

One can never blog too much about cakes! My friend Max was just visiting me in London and guess what he had in his backpack? SEMLOR!!! Woho!! This seasonal and traditional pastry is best thing about Sweden, see. 

So happy!!! ^____^

The semla (semlan)

Though admittedly it was a little squashed. This is what this artwork of a cake is supposed to look like/what it looked like in my daydream fantasies:

The fantasy

Still tasty though, and much better than the ones i tried to make when abroad last summer. (They didn't rise and ended so rock hard enough to kill something with). Anyway, it was the best gift anyone could think to bring and one of my all time best including my formed ipod and trustworthy warrior of a scanner (cheap as yet 4 yrs and running! How about them semlor?).

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Piracy fanart

Some fanart I did for my dear friend Mattias' cyberpunk postapocalypse comic series Piracy is Liberation: 

http://www.elftorp.com/freeinformation/

It's epic and you should all read it! Off you go!

Love

å

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Sundays snack: Retro candy

Don't you miss the times when candy was a lollipop and a bag of white fizzy dipping powder (no really!)?
Sundays snack provided by Dan, my sugar mama. Literally ^^

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Back on the dragon wagon

The work on SS2 (lol) is on temporary break as I was recently hit by the script for the new dragon book (this children's book series I'm illustrating for Bonneir Carlsen. Sweden (duh)). But it's the last one! Oh no! What is going to happen to Tam? So exciting! And I know!

I can't show anything from book 5 (out in april folks!) nor book 6 (currently working on) so instead I'll treat you to:



Kittens in a barrel! Look at Phillip! Look at his little face...

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Yokaj studio makes manga puppet theatre!

From "Meja i Spökjägarnas sal" by Yokaj studio

Stockholm Stadsteater (Stockholm City theatre) has made a puppet show featuring based on a Swedish manga; Yokaj Studios "Kick off"! So cool: http://www.stadsteatern.stockholm.se/index.asp?pjaser/meja.asp&main

The show is called "Meja i spökjägarnas sal" (Meja in the ghost hunters' hall) and the opening night is 19th of February - it's showing til end of may i think (This would be one of those mentioned times when it's ridiculous to blog in English since this is a matter that would only concern Swedish readers anyway, but oh well).

Don't miss the youtube trailer, it's hysterical:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wGK4AUdieU

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Happy face ^^

I know the UK is not Japan and you won't be able to find totoro-shaped melon pan but my quest for the perfect afternoon snack continues none the less!

And who wouldn't fancy a quaint eastern london cookie with a strawberry happy face!

Also went and saw A prophet tonight. Typically me the thing that caught my attention throughout the movies gritty french prison setting were the dream sequences with deers and the main character hallucinating talking to a murder victim (I know that! Schizophrenia is in my comic too!! Gotta love it).

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