Cho: Today we have a guest post from Charis Messier, the lead translator from Cross Infinite World. This is a localization company that has recently released their first Japanese novel into English: My Favorite Song – The Silver Siren. (The first volume is already available now in ebook formats.) Since this is a new and interesting development for light novels in English, I thought it’d be fun to share the full scoop on the company. Below you’ll learn about their new book, as well as another soon-to-release series!

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Charis Messier: Here is a little bit of information about Cross Infinite World and our current series.

Our current series, My Favorite Song and The Violet Knight, are both long-running Web Novels in Japan (10 years for MFS and 8 years for VK). Although the original work is a Web Novel, when we license a title we work directly with the authors to enhance their story in Japanese in preparation for a Light Novel release in English. This includes finding and repairing any errors in the original Japanese story. The process also entails commissioning new art for the cover, character page, and selected scenes throughout the novels. Readers may notice some differences between the original Japanese Web Novel and the English Light Novel, as the translation comes from the newly edited manuscript with additional scenes. In general, most Light Novels that get licensed in English by other companies are typically Web Novels that were picked up and enhanced for a Japanese Light Novel release by a Japanese publisher beforehand. Our method makes the overall localization and publishing process take longer, but we certainly enjoy working directly with authors and artists to make their works the best they can be, while bringing over titles that would never be seen in English otherwise. Essentially, Cross Infinite World plays the role of both Japanese publisher and English localizer. At the moment, we are also concentrating predominately on titles from the highly overlooked Shoujo and Josei genres.

Here is some more information on our first two series.

You can find the Web Novel for our first Light Novel series, My Favorite Song ~The Silver Siren~, on the author’s website: http://aquamoondial.web.fc2.com/mfs.html

Volume 1 of the Light Novel covers the first two arcs of the Web Novel. It should also be noted the Light Novel version has had a complete rewrite of the final half of the Web Novel’s second arc.

The second volume of the Light Novel will cover the Web Novel’s third and fourth arcs.

We don’t have a date set for Volume 2 just yet, as we are currently waiting for the editing department and author to finish making edits on the Japanese version.

We will release the information on our website and social media accounts as soon as we have the date set.

The following is the English Synopsis for My Favorite Song ~The Silver Siren~:

“In the land of Reveur there exists a legend of the Silver Siren—a monstrous being who with words alone can topple entire civilizations. People have long learned the legend, to fear those with silver hair, and to flee from those who dare mutter the words of Song! Meet Kanon, a shy everyday high school student preparing for her graduation with a final tour of her school. Singing a mysterious sheet music she found in the school music room sends her to a fantastic alternate world of adventure, cursed Sorcerers, war-torn lands, monsters, and skilled mercenaries. But she soon learns that in this strange new world of magic and swordplay, she is perhaps the greatest threat of all. Will Kanon survive in this fantasy world where people view her as a nightmare made reality? Let the Song begin, for nothing else will save her…!”

Our second Light Novel series, The Violet Knight, goes by 「紫の瞳」 (Murasaki no Hitomi) for the Web Novel.

The title was changed to 「紫の騎士」 (Murasaki no Kishi) by the author for the Light Novel series.

You can find the original ongoing Web Novel here: http://karakon.sakura.ne.jp/

Volume 1 will cover up to chapter 42 of the main story, and is planned for release in early September 2016.

We should have the cover up by next weekend.

The following is the English Synopsis for The Violet Knight :

“Yuki was just your average high school girl—that is, if you consider having violet eyes and not aging a day since her tenth birthday as average. The day before her university entrance ceremony, Yuki’s father tells her he’s from another world, before throwing her off their condo’s balcony on the 14th floor. The next thing she knows she’s rescued by the handsome Fourth Prince of Adolunde, forced to make a contract with him, and has to travel to the frontlines of a war she knows nothing about to keep out of reach of the psychopathic First Prince of Adolunde who will go to any lengths to sacrifice her as the Legendary Witch she resembles because of her violet eyes. What will happen to Yuki? Will she revert to her true age and return home? Or will Adolunde’s first prince burn her at the stake first?”

While both My Favorite Song and The Violet Knight deal with the Cross World genre, they are drastically different works.

My Favorite Song is more lighthearted and focuses on the fun adventure and travel aspects in a fantasy world, while The Violet Knight paints a darker and more realistic fantasy world.

We plan on announcing more licensed titles later this year, so follow us on our official Twitter, Facebook, and/or Tumblr for regular updates!

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Cho: Thanks for sharing with us, Charis Messier!

Cross Infinite World has also agreed to share a copy of My Favorite Song: The Silver Siren, so we’ll be hosting a giveaway. To enter, simply leave a comment below expressing your interest. If you are the winner (as determined by a random number generator), I will respond to your comment here to let you know. You can then email me your email address, and then you can can receive your ebook.

The contest deadline will be 23:59 on Saturday, June 25th. Be sure to enter by then if you’re interested in this light novel!

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UPDATE: And the contest is finished! The winner of the drawing is atlasinthenightsky, who will receive volume 1 of My Favorite Song: The Silver Siren. If the opportunity arises, I will be sure to have more contests for light novels in the future! Thanks to everyone who participated in this one.

Also worth noting, we now have more information on The Violet Knight here, as well as a preorder page for its first volume on Amazon. Keep an eye out for that release on September 12th!