Something in the Rain is a Korean romance series that is fun, realistic, and has the best older woman/younger man relationship story I've seen in a long time (I'm only halfway through the episodes, but the actors and the story are amazing.)
It's available to watch for free on Netflix in the US, and has English subtitles, so if you're looking for something different to sigh over, this is the one to watch.
Along with finishing up a project for work I've been making more progress on the next NA novel; I'm about 30K into the story. My female protagonist is a blast to write, and I'm finally able to use what I learned from all those ballet lessons my mother made me take when I was a kid. This is also the book that includes Always Never, the song I wrote in English and Korean, in the story.
Book 1 was a bit of an angst fest, and I want this story to be happier and more about first love. I've still set up huge obstacles for both characters, of course; in some ways they have to overcome even more than Book 1's protagonists had to. Emotional rather than situational conflict is also hard for me to write, as complex romantic entanglements are not my experience. Still, I don't want to take the easy route. Neither protagonist in Book 2 believes they can have a successful relationship, and they're both very focused on their careers, so falling in love is actually the worst thing I can do to both of them.
I'm also experimenting with internal dialogue, and that has been fun. The female protagonist constantly bickers with herself:
My body felt good and ready to dance, but my heart was already doing one grand jeté after another. I thought I’d cleared my head of most of my unprofessional thoughts, but all he had to do was look at me and they popped right back into my brain. Telling me to come to him made them multiply like rabbits, too. Rabbits that wanted to jump him, knock him to the floor and rip off his clothes. I kicked them out again, because I wanted this gig more than a hot and steamy hookup. Plus, I’d be dancing with him, which was almost as good as.
This is what happens when you don’t have sex for a year, my indignant heart pointed out. You start thinking that kind of baloney.
One other thing I'm doing is to avoid using profanity in the entire series. I don't have a problem at all with cursing, but I think making an effort to keep it minimal creates more of a creative challenge for the storyteller. Thus "baloney" instead of the default "sh*t" in the passage above.
I should have the first draft finished by the middle of March, at which point I'll move on to Book 3. I'm writing these books without any lengthy outlines or much pre-planning. I did write a one-paragraph premise for each book to work out the main conflict, but I thought taking a more organic approach would be good for me, too.
Image by Marcel Langthim from Pixabay
The strawberries in our little kitchen garden are almost ripe. Now I'm thinking about planting some lavender. If nothing else, the scent will take me back to France. :)
Image by Ioannis Ioannidis from Pixabay
I have never actually written a song before, so after putting together Always Never I went looking for a lyrics generator to see what an AI program might generate for the concept to compare. I found Keywords to Lyrics and put in the keywords always, never, watching and wanting. This is what it generated:
I could be your alway
Never watching wanting you to me
It's like a high speed train
Spitting on the wind
And I could be your favourite song
Your alway
I don't wanna play with you but
Nobody wants to play with you
They want you to be their toy
Don't want you hanging around
With people like you
You're so dangerous
Touching so right
So baby, let's put it down
Give me your red hand
I'll be your alway
Oh baby, let's put it down
If I say I'm pretty and your lullaby (hoo!)
I want you to know that
I got something to give you
I've got no time for frontin'
I'm just need your body
So baby, come get me
I don't wanna play with you but
Nobody wants to play with you
They want you to be their toy
Don't want you hanging around
With people like you
Because it's a generator there are some immediate grammatical and logical problems, of course, but it's really not bad for just four keywords. The structure is solid, and I like the line "And I could be your favorite song" a lot. I'm definitely going to use a variation of that in the story itself. But I think I'll keep my original lyrics.
Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay
One of the running threads through my NA series is Kwan's addiction to snacks. I can swing describing the American snacks he likes, but I have never tried any Korean snacks (or food, for that matter.) By the time I get to Kwan's novel, which will be the last one of the series, I really need to know at least what some of them taste like. This is for scenes where Annabelle (the American female protagonist) and Kwan initially bond over meals and snacks.
I'm starting to make some of the simpler dishes as far as the food goes, but snacks are tough. The only Korean market in the area is about an hour away in the city. Fortunately you can order just about anything online, so I got some samples of what I think Kwan would like best based on research, trends in South Korean and so forth. Apparently these honey butter potato chips are so popular (and scarce) in South Korea that there's a black market for them.
I keep my sugar intake to under 10g per day for health reasons, so I have to watch it with the sweets, but I have a couple months over which to spread out my sampling. By the time I'm ready to write the book I should have a pretty good handle on how to describe it all.
When it comes to romantic stories I've always been a big fan of having opposites attract, probably because that's been my life experience. My guy and I are complete polar opposites in almost everything except upbringing and values. It makes us good problem solvers because we tackle things from different angles -- he's operates on experience and is very methodical and conservative; I'm more intuitive and creative, and I'm willing to take risks.
Every relationship is different, such as the one in NA #2 between the protagonists. I started out with a vague Cinderella-in-toe-shoes idea but then it morphed on me as I put these two characters together on the page to see what happened. Unlike the protags in book one they're two sides of the same personality -- or maybe not. I'm not sure, as it's continuing to change and grow as I write the story. I'm just along for the ride now.
Should be interesting to see what I end up with for the second book. Stay tuned. :)
This is a Korean remake of The Lakehouse with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock. It's really well done, too. You can watch it on Youtube here.
I like the idea of using a visual metaphor rather than some cartoon figures (which seem to be popular in this genre) or a reference to anything in the story. So I came up with this as the first idea. I like these colors, but it also would work in white, gold and rose pink, which would probably have more appeal for the readers.
I also like the idea of using a non-clinch single model cover like this one. Although it's not as abstract, it's still a decent visual metaphor for my female protagonist Victoria. There are three different sleeping scenes in the story, too. Doing the artwork in black and white would also tie in with our hero without going for the obvious more white tiger symbolism.
One more, combining the single model concept with a little black and white thrown in:
Her hair is too long, and I don't care for the colors, but you get the general idea. I want something classy and slightly less genre-centric. I need a look that will easily brand the series, too.
I will not be making my own covers, by the way. As much fun as it is to play on my primitive photoshop program, I'd rather have a pro handle the final art. But these will be helpful in making decisions about color, design and the look I want for the series. Above all, I want simple and attractive.
Snowflake image by Free-Photos from Pixabay
Sleeping girl image by ramicm from Pixabay
Blonde girl image by melancholiaphotography from Pixabay
This is the final draft of a song I wrote for my new novel series in English and (probably very bad) Korean. :)
Always Never (항상 결코)
I see you in the light (나는 빛에서 당신을 볼 수)
your pretty eyes watching me (나를 보는 예쁜 눈)
wondering,
wishing, wanting (궁금하고, 소원하고, 원하고,)
don't look at me, baby
(날 쳐다보지 마라, 아기)
close your eyes and just feel (눈을 감고 그냥
느낄 수 있습니다)
I can make true your dreams (나는 당신의 꿈을 실현 할
수 있습니다)
I'm the night that never ends (나는 결코 끝나지 않는
밤입니다)
but with me you're always alone. (하지만 나와 함께 당신은 항상
혼자.)
You see me in the shadows (당신은 그림자에서 나를 참조하십시오)
my body on fire for yours (내 몸은 당신의 몸을 위해 불타는)
longing, needing, burning (갈망, 필요, 굽기)
don't want love from
you (나는 당신에게서 사랑을 원하지 않는다)
run before I hurt you (내가
너를 다치게 하기 전에 도망가다)
you're the sun on my face (당신은 내
얼굴에 태양입니다)
you're the dream I can't have (너는 내가 가질 수 없는
꿈이야)
with you I'm never alone. (당신과 함께 나는 결코 혼자가
아니에요.)
Always and never (항상 그리고 결코)
meant to be lovers (우리는 연인이 될 예정이었다)
we have no
destiny. (우리는 운명이 없습니다.)
Never and always (결코 그리고 항상)
wanting each other (서로를 원한다)
will we ever be free? (우리는
이제까지 자유로울 것인가?)
Take my hand now, baby (지금 내 손을 잡고, 아기)
I'll be your eyes in the night (나는 밤에 당신의 눈이 될 거야)
give me your passion (저에게 열정을 주세요)
I'll keep you safe in
the dark. (나는 어둠 속에서 당신을 안전하게 지킬 것이다.)
All I want is
one kiss (내가 원하는 것은 하나의 키스입니다)
that lasts forever and
always (영원히 항상 지속됩니다)
I'll give you the dream (나는 당신에게
꿈을 줄 것이다)
that was never meant for me. (그것은 나를 위해 결코
의미가 아니었다.)
Always and never (항상 그리고 결코)
meant to be lovers (우리는 연인이 될 예정이었다)
we are destiny.
(우리는 운명입니다)
Never and always (결코 그리고 항상)
holding
each other (서로 를 잡고)
with you I'm finally free. (당신과 함께 나는
마침내 무료입니다.)
Ballet shoes image by roxana blanquet from Pixabay
Boots image by Free-Photos from Pixabay
I've had this debate with myself ever since I quit my last job. I never wanted to self-publish; I just want to write. But if I want to do a book series from start to finish entirely on my own, and make all the decisions without compromising, I have to. Of course I can learn how to from all the online tutorials there are now. I think (with some help from friends on the technical side if I get stuck) I could do a good job of it. Mainly I want to do it on my own.
I'd like to have an entire series written before I try, though, so this might end up sitting on the back burner for a while. I want to write a six-book series for this idea, and I already have almost 30K of the second novel written. So maybe another seven or eight months of work before I even attempt to publish it.
Anyway. Happy I accomplished this. It's the first for-me book I've finished writing in a long time.
Image by Ambady Sasi from Pixabay
If you have diabetes, then you have to regularly have your A1C tested. This is a blood test that measures the level of blood glucose (or ...
