Meet Rinka Kazuki, the 'Kid from Kyushu', the pride of Kink Records. Rinka sings Enka (a traditional romantic ballad) to businessmen, housewives, and lecherous pensioners at low-rent venues for hundred-yen notes. On the wrong side of thirty, with a treacherous agent, unscrupulous rivals, and an unsupportive lover, the odds would seem stacked against her breaking into stardom. But Rinka fights a good fight: her boundless optimism, a ruthless streak, and a wealth of Enka-inspired wisdom will see her through the highs and lows of her relationships, the twilight world of the Enka scene, and the seedier parts of the Japanese entertainment industry. Naomi Suenaga published her first novel in 1996 after a varied career that included spells as a cartoonist's secretary, a hostess, and an Enka singer. Entitled Bara No Onigokko (Roses Playing Tag), it won a literary prize and was followed by several more novels, including Ukarezakura (Floating Cherry Blossom), and Bonno Haitatsunin (The Troubled Delivery Man).