mariko says

home of Mari, writer of trash rom-coms & stabby fairytales

[hrhmariko]

This Place is Magic

{ Out in ebook + paperback 4/30/24! }

After missing his flight back to Seoul, a disillusioned K-pop idol finds love, acceptance, and the strength to fight for his own happiness at last.

10 years ago I started sharing my writing here on Tumblr, not really expecting much to come out of it. That very first project was a serial called Love in Print, and it was because of those stories and characters that I ended up making my most enduring friendships. It's taken me a decade but I'm very excited (uhhh and emotional??) to share the cover of my upcoming cozy contemporary, This Place is Magic, here on the original account where I first sent my writing into the world.

It's also just beyond special to me that @erionmakuo, who illustrated LIP in the yonder days of yore for me (and is one of those enduring friendships mentioned above) is also still my illustrator today!

★ Read the full blurb here!

★ Sign up to request an ARC!

★ Follow me for news + updates on the book (under my pen name!) Tumblr / Instagram

★ And if you're a former reader of Love in Print, thank you so much for supporting my writing back then... and please DO reach out to me because I love to hear from you guys! Even though I definitely want to take everything I wrote in 2014 and hurl it into a bonfire

If you see this and feel so inclined, please reblog and help me get This Place is Magic to someone out there who might really love it!

xo Mariko / Irene

[irenewritesthings]

✨🧇 This Place is Magic 🧇✨ Pre-order Gifts!

Click here for all the details :)

[hrhmariko]

congrats on your book, mari! -b :)

Thank you!! 💖💖💖

[irenewritesthings]

This Place is Magic

✨🧇 April 30, 2024 🧇✨

💌 Request an early copy! 💌 https://bit.ly/TPIMsignups

After missing his flight back to Seoul, a disillusioned K-pop idol finds love, acceptance, and the strength to fight for his own happiness at last.

As a member of the internationally beloved K-pop group Apollo, Eunjae has learned firsthand that fame and fortune come at a steep price. But leaving it all behind is easier said than done, and it seems Eunjae has no choice but to continue… until he steps through the orange door at Wanna Waffle on the way to the airport, fails to catch his plane to Seoul, and upends his entire existence.

Jiyeon and her family don’t know the truth about this quiet, handsome stranger who stumbled into their restaurant. Regardless, it’s clear that he needs them. And the longer he stays, the more Eunjae realizes that he might just be willing to trade the adoration of millions for home, family, and even one chance at true love. But his powerful entertainment agency will never let him go without a fight, and Apollo’s fate hangs in the balance along with his own. If Eunjae hopes to win, he must stand his ground and fight back — not only for himself, but for the brothers who have loved and supported him all this time.

Brimming with warmth, waffles, and too many brothers, This Place is Magic will resonate with any reader searching for a comforting escape. Debut author Irene Te delivers a cozy contemporary read interwoven with found family and gentle romance. Step through that orange door for a heartfelt, hilarious, and irrepressibly hopeful journey of self-discovery, perfect for fans of Axie Oh and Jenny Han.

[yumeisha]

LOVE IN PRINT [ Fri / Sat / Sun on Wattpad ]

Want to read… but too lazy to leave Tumblr?? I get it. I really do. You can read Episode 1 in its entirety over here without having to depart this app for… another app. 

Read Episode 1!

But what is this story about?? Tbh Mari why should I read it?? (You will soooo regret asking this question)

This story is about:

An extremely charming man who is also amazing at laundry

A girl who just won’t save this guy’s number on her phone

NOT a love triangle because the male lead simply will not allow possible rivals any actual screen time, thereby rendering this trope mathematically impossible,

People who check their work email at weddings

People who hate weddings

People who have strategy meetings re: how to escape from weddings

Romance via calendar invites

Wondering if you’re falling in love or merely sleep deprived?? Both??

Read the first episode here!

And if you decide you want more… it’s over on Wattpad with 15 of the 24 episodes posted. For those who would rather wait for the whole thing to be posted, Masaru’s run will end on 14 Feb!

Thanks for any likes/reblogs, this writer is grateful for your support <3

[yumeisha]

Love In Print [Masaru] - Episode 1

“But Mari, I don’t WANT to go read this on Wattpad, I want to stay here on Tumblr!” Listen, my friend. Let me help you. Here’s all of Episode 1! (But the rest is over here if you decide you want to read it!)

— SATURDAY NIGHT —

 She’s started to think of it as the summer of weddings. Like purgatory, but with more flowers.

Reiko sighs. Another Saturday, another charming garden venue. Soft, flickering tea lights float in shallow porcelain bowls. It looks like something lifted straight out of Pinterest, and it’s pretty in all the right ways, hitting every obligatory aesthetic beat. The music is loud and many of the guests are amiably drunk, swaying in slow circles on the dance floor or queuing up for one more lap around the buffet.

Alone at her table, Reiko hides behind the towering lily centerpiece, nursing a headache. She fishes her phone out of the tiny, mostly useless evening bag she’s bought to go with this dress and takes refuge in her work inbox.

Keep reading

[yumeisha]

We’re back!

LOVE IN PRINT is now on Wattpad, starting with Masaru’s fully remixed and remastered main story! New episodes will be added every Friday/Saturday/Sunday. 

A romance series written in homage to Japanese otome games, LIP originally ran on Tumblr from 2014-2016. 

How will your story unfold?

In the wake of her broken engagement, workaholic Reiko is convinced that true romance can only be found in fiction. She spends her days marketing swoony shoujo manga for a prominent Tokyo publishing house, believing all the while that her own love story is a closed book. Meet-cutes only happen in the movies. Happy endings are for fairy tales.

Resigned to the idea that lightning won’t strike twice, Reiko has officially given up. When a hectic summer unfolds into an unexpected office romance, she doesn’t even know what hit her. Masaru strides into Reiko’s life armed with quicksilver wit and devastating charm. He’s handsome. He’s maddening. He ropes her into audacious schemes that leave her stunned, breathless, and somehow wishing for more.

Always one step ahead, Masaru dares Reiko to dream bigger, fly higher, and fall harder than ever before. Can she turn the page and meet him halfway?

{ Read now! }

Love in Print is written by @hrhmariko, with art by Babeesi. For series updates, you can follow @yumeisha! 

[yumeisha]

Dear friends,

First of all, if you’re still here, please know that I love you! It’s been a long, long time since the last run of Love In Print, my terrible and self-indulgent otome romance series about a girl named Reiko and all the possible ways her story could unfold. I’m still so happy that I wrote it, even if I do want to hurl every last Google doc into a volcanic inferno by now. The experience connected me to so many people and even led to some of my most enduring friendships, online and offline. Thank you again, if you ever took the time to read.

2020 has been a raging dumpster fire of a year, and I’ve been thinking about how comforting it can be to vanish into a story for a while. Writing Love In Print brought so much light into my life, and although there isn’t much I can personally do about 2020 being 2020, I can at least rewrite an old office romance to be less garbage than it was originally. (I hope???) 

 Anyway, TL;DR, Masaru’s fully revised main route will run on Wattpad two days a week, starting December 25th. You know, just in case someone’s Christmas wish list included a lighthearted rom-com about workaholics who hate weddings and are then made to attend three of them. I’m still mean, nothing’s changed.

More details will be posted here between now and the 25th. I will answer any and all messages that appear in my inbox, including anything along the lines of, “MARIKO TBH WHY ARE YOU BRINGING THIS BACK INTO MY LIFE WHEN I LITERALLY NEVER ASKED” 

Til next time, I hope you’re happy and staying safe!!

xo Mariko

Artwork for the series is, of course, by the incomparable @makuo-san!

[eddysonline]

I love America 💙

[hrhmariko]

I’m here! I’m alive! Maybe!

Also, I now have TWO books in the Kindle Store!

Forever grateful to @alyonam for illustrating not only the covers for both but also the chapter art in Fairest of All. Without her my work would be 2000% less swag than it is. 

You can buy ASLD and FoA on Amazon, but please message me if you’d like a free copy -- I’m happy to trade in exchange for an honest review that will help get word out. Signal boosts appreciated!

A SLEEP LIKE DEATH // FAIREST OF ALL

xox Mari

[umma-jy]

Prince Jinyoung decides when the birthday song ends 👑

[hrhmariko]

10 Questions

Tagged 587395789345 years ago by the lovely @louvette, but we all know I take approximately that long to do anything because Life T^T

1. What’s the last movie you saw?

Star Trek: Beyond. Live long and be space trash.

2. Last song you listened to?

Pressure - The 1975

3. Last show you watched?

House Hunters on HGTV. @apugs and I basically live for judging every choice made on this show.

4. Last book you read?

The Winner’s Kiss by Marie Rutkoski. It’s the last in the trilogy and honestly I was feeling?? Underwhelmed??????? Which is a bummer cause book 1 is still one of my favorites on this planet T^T

5.  Last thing you ate?

Caramel toffee scones. Also known as the baked goods equivalent of crack cocaine.

6.  If you could be anywhere else right now, where would you be?

Coronado Beach, CA. The penguin is optional but appreciated. (This is Piper and he is employed as the official mascot of my 2nd Grade class. He has been to India, Spain, and Dubai because his life is 2000% more exciting than mine. Also he fits easily into a suitcase.)

7. Which decade would you want to travel to?

This is a tough question. I think I’d like to go back to the WW2 era, which is the setting for so many of my favorite books. It’s always been a part of history that’s really fascinated me, despite the fact that wartime was not a picnic by any means. 

8. If you won the lottery and got millions in cash, what would you do first? 

Buy myself a beach house. (Are we sensing a theme here??) And then I’d set myself up as a full time writer/beach hermit, although I would definitely miss torturing small children for a living.  

9. Which fictional character would you hang out with for a day?

Lee Jong Suk Kang Cheol from W: Two Worlds because bury me here leave me here 2 die

10. What was the last fandom you joined?

Got7 Hell™ 

... Well, I’ve been here for some time now, but it’s the most recent of the various hells I live in.

Not tagging anyone but I miss you, Tumblr! /sobs; returns to being an adult 

[touika]

It just takes a while for your memories to return.

[jinyoungot7]

markjin chilling with an ahgase ϵ( ‘◇’ )϶

[theflyingtuan-blog]

Bambam the Joseon King who can’t draw his sword from the sheath

[jmadorran]

Sailor Moon :D…..with a punk, mad max, barbarian twist. :P

[ohgotseven]

JJP AF