West Bloomfield, MI -- (ReleaseWire) -- 04/04/2016 --Comic books and graphic novels are becoming much more mainstream, the door is wide open for manga Japanese comics to finally make their presence known in the United States. Although Manga are more popular worldwide, they are still relatively unknown in US.

Writer Danica Davidson, living right here in Michigan, first discovered manga as a teen and has followed her passions to write about manga for numerous publications. This month marks the release of Davidson's Manga Art for Beginners: How to Create Your Own Manga Drawings Paperback with illustrator Melanie Westin.

With titles ranging from Attack on Titan to Pokémon, manga is a billion-dollar industry with millions of fans worldwide. Readers will love this step-by-step guide to drawing characters that resemble the Japanese comics and anime they love. In this book, fans can learn how to draw their own manga characters and join the fun. Manga Art for Beginners explores the basics, like how to draw faces and eyes, and gradually shows how to get into more complex drawings such as: hero, heroine, male and female Ninja.

"I'm a fan of manga and have been writing about the subject for about ten years," shared Davidson. "I've covered the subject for MTV, CNN, The Onion, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Otaku USA, Anime News Network, Shojo Beat, Japanator and then I started freelancing for a manga publishing company, adapting the books into English after they'd been translated from Japanese."

Manga Art for Beginners, starts with the basics, showing how to draw eyes, faces and bodies. The book is composed of more than 200 pages with more than 400 drawings.

"I started working as a professional journalist in high school and to date have written for over fifty publications, including MTV, CNN, The Onion, Los Angeles Times, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Ms," states Davidson. "I was one of a small group of writers at MTV to receive a Webby honor for Best Youth Writing."

When Davidson was a kid, she was writing stories with kid protagonists and adventurous storylines. "I think that just morphed into my Minecraft writing," Davidson explains. Writing Minecraft novels has become a way to tell adventure stories and talk about bigger subjects with kids using a language they understand. "Minecraft turned out to be a great way for me to write exciting stories with monsters and cliffhangers and also deal with real issues, like bullying and feeling alone."

The cultural impact Minecraft has had for an entire generation isn't just limited to the game itself. There are countless YouTube channels devoted to talking about and playing Minecraft, an entire line of action figures and stuffed collectibles, and even a line of Lego sets. Most surprisingly, there are a number of Minecraft novelizations featuring original stories based in the world of creepers and creatures. Davidson's Minecraft novels are on a fast track to have six books out by the end of the year. Escape from the Overworld, Attack on the Overworld, The Rise of Herobrine, have recently been released and book four and five should be available by summer, for ages 7-12 published by Skyhorse Publishing. This is perfect for Minecraft fans or for anyone who enjoys a good adventure story.

When Davidson finishes this series of Minecraft series she looks forward to writing books in all different genres, for all different ages. Davidson's Barbie comic book is coming out in the fall and she has sold SpongeBob Comics. My agent, never to not be writing there are many projects in the works projects.

About Danica Davidson
Danica Davidson is a writer at MTV who has also contributed pieces for about fifty other publications, including The Onion, CNN, Publishers Weekly, the Los Angeles Times and Ms. She has been written up in Forbes for her work on the Minecraft Series. Her work at MTV earned her a Webby honor with a small group of writers for Best Youth Writing. She is represented by the James Fitzgerald Agency and her website is http://www.danicadavidson.com.

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