Lawrence

Twenty years ago I read a manga about an American living in Japan. I want to read it again, but I cannot remember the title.

It was a story about a Texan named Clint. He worked in an English school. He had a friend named Big Jim and a gf named Keiko. He went to beer halls, learned how to eat noodles, and at the end he proposed marriage to Keiko.

What was the name of it?

I am writing a book about a successful cat burglar. The media gives him a nickname, but I don't know what it is. At present it is Phantom, but I think that is too common. Can you think of any others?

I am a novelist, and am getting ready to publish a book. I plan to use a pen name (not my real name) but I can't decide whether to use a male or female name.

The story is composed of diary entries written by a woman who finds herself in a war. She survives by hiding in plain sight; becoming the personal assistant of a ruthless dictator. No one thinks to look for her in the center of operations!

My thought was that readers (especially female) would be more accepting if they thought it was written by a woman. On the other hand, maybe it doesn't matter.

For the record, I'm using a pen name because I like my privacy.

The book was about a society in which children from (I think) ages 14 - 17 were forced to live in the wilderness, apart from their parents and all other adults. The logic was that it forced the kids to toughen up emotionally.

I think the author was French, but I'm not sure.

Can anyone tell me what the title of this book is?

A buddy of mine is changing jobs, but says that he prefers to work alone. What kind of jobs allow that? I suggested bricklaying or retail sales, but couldn't think of anything else. Is there anything else?

I suddenly developed an allergy to peanuts and peanut products, and it's grown steadily worse. Now even trace amounts in plain M&M's, or peanut oil in Chinese cooking sets it off. It's very strange because until as little as two years ago I wasn't allergic at all! Are sudden allergy onsets like this normal, or a harbinger of something else?