Name: Nicole Bond
Zodiac Symbol: Cancer
Email: niki.bond@nebula-andra.com
My name is Nicole, but I also go by Niki. Online, people know me as Ayame Majikku.
This website was made by me; I previously majored in computer science, though I didn't retain all of my programming knowledge from those classes. Still, I've kept more than enough to make websites, which I greatly enjoy.
I started writing this story for the 2010 National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). The goal is to reach 50,000 words on a story, and I managed to reach over 70,000 words by the end of the month. I finished the first draft of the story on February 2nd. All revisions are now complete, and I hope to get it published soon.
Now then, a little about me... Eto ne~
I'm an anime fan, as some could likely tell from the art style of the characters. I love lots of things from Japan, really, and I've been studying Japanese for years. Since finishing the story, I've been catching up on anime and Japanese dramas suggested to me over the past... year. My favorite anime is Fullmetal Alchemist (manga and Brotherhood), followed by Pandora Hearts. I also love Cardcaptor Sakura, Kanon 2006, Yu Yu Hakusho, Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica, No. 6, Usagi Drop... Listing all the anime I like would take up a ton of room, so you get the picture.
As for Japanese dramas, I must thank Shii-san for introducing me to them. I've only watched three, but all of them are really good. My favorite so far (and will probably stay, with how good and meaningful it was) is Jyoou no Kyoushitsu, or The Queen's Classroom. It has many wonderful life lessons~
I'm also a gamer. I especially love JRPGs, which gave me some of the inspiration for my story. My favorite series ever is the Tales Series, and I tried to add references to it wherever I could (even one that many English fans won't get...). My favorite Tales game is Tales of Phantasia, though I must also give notice to Tales of Graces, Tales of Symphonia, and Tales of Rebirth for being amazing games~ I'm looking forward to Tales of Xillia, which already looks absolutely amazing~
I also enjoy the Zelda series. I grew up on Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, which are amazing games. A lot of N64 titles are so nostalgic for me. Back to Zelda, though, I also absolutely love Twilight Princess, because... I can't help it; wolf!Link is a ton of fun~ So is swinging a sword on horseback~ I used to be really good at horseback archer in Ocarina of Time~ Anyway, now I'm eagerly anticipating Skyward Sword~
Moving on from the games... As far as music goes, I love anything by Yellowcard, Lovers and Liars, Within Temptation, DragonForce, Nightwish... Though, I like a lot of other music styles as well. Even if I don't listen to any particular artist in the genre, I absolutely love a good, slow, beautiful piece with a piano or something playing... Anything pretty, really.
Finally, I should talk about my main inspiration for Nebula Andra, which also has to do with music: Vocaloids. For those that don't know, Vocaloids are programs that sing. In Japan (and now at an anime con in California), they've had Vocaloid concerts, where they project images of the Vocaloid characters up on a screen to sing and dance. My favorite Vocaloid is Len, followed closely by Rin. Their Synchronicity series inspired the first story, so I decided to name all chapter titles after Vocaloid songs. It's been a bit challenging at times, but nonetheless fun. The hardest part is when I want a character-specific one and no one seems to have the right theme... or when I find the right theme with the wrong character. As for why characters matter, I've linked each of the main characters with a Vocaloid, so when they get a chapter that revolves more around their development/past, I try to find a song by that Vocaloid for the chapter title. Doesn't... always work so well. I've left Miku open, at least, so I can use her songs when all else fails :D'
Well, now that I've rambled too much... Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you enjoy the site! And, more importantly, I hope you enjoy Nebula Andra when it gets published.
