Book Aesthetic

So this holiday season I decided to give a little gift to myself.

I've always been a fan of book aesthetic photos and I just really wanted to do one with one of my own books. I decided on Tokyo Love. Mostly because I was rather specific in what I wanted this cover to look like, and I love it.

As I've mentioned in some of my other posts about Tokyo Love, much of the novel was inspired by shoujo manga tropes (including the title, haha!). In that spirit, I really wanted the cover to look like one of those bright, cheesy mangas. I'm usually not so invested in a cover, but I'm glad I was with this one. My publisher, Crimson Romance, went way beyond my expectations to bring me a cover that I absolutely adore.

So naturally, I had to get some photos of Tokyo Love with some standard shoujo manga. (As well as a homage to a bunch of small published zines. Gotta support my fellow artists!)

Credits!

Photography and Set Design: Melissa Mariko Kieselburg (website, tumblr)

Zines featured: The Bright Side, If Only Once, if Only for a Little While, Wizard Friends

Manga featured: Imadoki! by Yuu Watase, Ouran High School Host Club by Bisco Hatori, Hana-Kimi by Hisaya Nakajo, Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya, Loveless by Yun Koga, Kamikaze Girls by Yukio Kanesada and Novala Takemoto