GYDO: Amanda Sun

Amanda Sun, Author of Ink

Tomo’s Tips on Controlling the Ink

Domo. I’m here to save your life. You’ve heard about the moving drawings, haven’t you? That what I sketch becomes real? Only there’s something darker that seeps into the sketches, and if you aren’t careful, it’ll take your life—or someone else’s.

You think the worst part of puberty is zits? Just wait until your drawings try to kill you. In case this starts happening to you, here are my tips for surviving being marked by the ink. No, not surviving…prolonging your life. I’m not sure there’s an escape for any of us.

Don’t use Calligraphy Ink

If you’re in Calligraphy Club, drop out now. Throw out all bottles of ink, cartridge pens, sumi-e brushes and inkstones. You might as well open a vein if you’re going to let the demons out to play. You think you can control it—you’re wrong. You won’ t last a minute when the ink takes over. Your drawings will attack before you even know what’s happening. Stick to pen ink, or pencil.

Mess up your Drawings

When you write kanji with radicals that flick to the side, draw shortened edges. Your teachers will probably give you crap for bad handwriting, but I can live with that. Better than being eaten alive by a mouth of sketched teeth.

You think I’m joking. I’m not. Scratch out every drawing that starts to move on the page. Chain it to the page with X’s, or scribble it into a cage of ink. Ink drawings can’t be killed, but they can be contained.

Don’t Stop Drawing

At this point you’re thinking you’re clever, right? If it’s so dangerous, just avoid it. But you can’t. You’ll draw in your sleep. You’re going to have to write exams at school. What are you going to do then?

Anyway, if you stop drawing, you block the ink like a dam on a river. And that dam’s going to burst, and the consequences will be messy. Keep drawing—you’re only hope is to learn how to control it.

You can’t stop the ink. You can only try to keep others safe from it. You can only buy time.

Don’t Sleep In

Ah, the nightmares. They’re part of the package. If you’ve had them, you know what I’m talking about. Otherwise, they’re better left unsaid. I don’t want to invoke those kind of things in the daylight.

You’ll try to avoid sleep, but that could kill you too. Never mind how I know. Sleep as much as you have to, and no more. Sometimes my heart’s beating so fast when I wake up—if you sleep in, you might not wake up.

Don’t Let Others In

Avoid friendship. Avoid attention. Wear long sleeves and wristbands to cover the scars. They can’t know—even if your friends beg you to spill your secret, they don’t know what they’re asking. Showing them could kill them if you lose control.

If you have some control—don’t trust anyone. People are easily corrupted. I know I sound cynical, but I have my reasons. You’d be jaded too if you lived with this ability.

Being marked by the ink is lonely. But it’s better than hurting others.

Except…it’s too much sometimes. Katie showed me that. So, I take this back. Keep your circle of friends small, but…some people will be there for you. You’ll know when you’ve found one of the special ones.

That’s all I the wisdom I can impart. If you are marked like me, then I’m sorry. You know none of this advice will do much to help you. The best advice? Just survive.

Ganbatte ne. Good luck.

Ink Blurb
On the heels of a family tragedy, the last thing Katie Greene wants to do is move halfway across the world. Stuck with her aunt in Shizuoka, Japan, Katie feels lost. Alone. She doesn’t know the language, she can barely hold a pair of chopsticks, and she can’t seem to get the hang of taking her shoes off whenever she enters a building.
Then there’s gorgeous but aloof Tomohiro, star of the school’s kendo team. How did he really get the scar on his arm? Katie isn’t prepared for the answer. But when she sees the things he draws start moving, there’s no denying the truth: Tomo has a connection to the ancient gods of Japan, and being near Katie is causing his abilities to spiral out of control. If the wrong people notice, they'll both be targets.
Katie never wanted to move to Japan—now she may not make it out of the country alive.

Author Bio

Amanda Sun is the author of The Paper Gods, a YA Paranormal series set in Japan. The first book, INK, is a USA Today Top 10 YA Summer choice, an Indigo Top Teen Pick of 2013, a Junior Library Guild selection and a Summer 2013 Indie Kids' Next List selection. She has also been published in the Aurora-nominated Tesseracts Fifteen by EDGE Fiction and in Playthings of the Gods by Drollerie Press. She currently lives in Toronto, where she keeps busy knitting companion cubes, gaming, and making elaborate cosplays.

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