안녀오아셔요! (Hello!) — Korean? We’ll get to this later.
I’m back! To prove how long I’ve been gone: almost 4,000 spam comments. You might have thought I disappeared from the blogging world and Twitter for good…but no. I’ve been super busy these past few months. I’ve had a lot of paid writing assignments, including book reviews.
I’ve also had to abandon HuffPost for awhile. I had several interviews and reviews for HuffPost, but I had to choose between doing something for free or getting paid. Fortunately, many of the books have sequels coming out this year and why not continue to give a book publicity….even if it came out last year!
In November, I participated in NaNoWriMo. It was fun! I didn’t get to 50,000 words, but I got to about 20,000. I’m happy with that. It was a blast to take part in the writing sprints with Susan Dennard, Sarah J. Maas, Leigh Bardugo, Erin Bowman, Marie Lu and others on Twitter.
I’ve been working on expanding my short story Out of the Dark into a novel. I’ve also been working on my screenplay. And…my family and I are planning on moving to LA sometime this year. I’ve been busy at home doing a lot of cleaning, throwing things out and donating items.
Anyway…so you are probably wondering what’s up with the graphic at the beginning of this post? Not to mention…the Korean.
As many of you know, I love television. LOVE IT! About a month ago, Susan Dennard and Rachel Carter (So Close to You) were talking on Twitter about a Korean drama called “The King 2 Hearts.” They highly recommended watching Korean dramas. I decided to take the plunge. I’m so hooked! There are some really good, sweet, funny and exciting shows, including Variety Shows like “Running Man” (think “The Amazing Race” only with celebs) and “We Got Married” (where single celebs pretend to get married) that have me in stitches! You can watch these shows online on Hulu, Viki, and DramaFever with English Subs or just do a search — some are even on YouTube.
What I’ve watched:
Boys Over Flowers — starring Kyu Hye Sun and two hotties: Lee Min Ho and Kim Hyun Joong (I laughed, shook my fist and cried over this amazing drama) and has great songs.
The King of Dramas – a behind the scenes look at Korean dramas (by far one of my faves) starring Jeong Ryeo Won, Kim Myeon Min and Choi Siwon (Super Junior).
Faith — a time travel historical drama starring Lee Min Ho.
City Hunter — a revenge thriller starring Lee Min Ho (fave actor…see a trend?)
Full House: Take 2 — about boy bands (it took me a bit to warm up to this, but I was completely charmed by the end).
I’m starting to watch King 2 Hearts, A Hundred Year’s Inheritance, and School 2013 (brimming with teen angst).
Some of last year’s Korean movies look awesome, too – A Werewolf Boy, Love 911, The Tower and The Thieves.
I can’t wait for Snowpiercer (post-apocalyptic) and Stoker (starring Nicole Kidman) this year.
Since watching the dramas, I’ve become obsessed with everything Korea and South Korea. The culture, the language, the clothes, the music (Big Bang, KHJ, SS501, Jaejoong [if you like vampires and angels check out his latest release, "Mine" -- holy hotness!] CNBlue, 2AM), and the city of Seoul.
I’m even learning Korean through TalkToMeInKorean.com, magazines and books. But why learn Korean, you ask? Because I’d love to write a Korean drama! LA also has Koreatown, which is a huge area. And the Korean Film Council has a branch in LA. So, why not expand my horizons? To Hollywood and beyond! Not sure if this is super realistic…but one can dream, right? At least write or collaborate on a killer movie for Bong Joon-Ho (The Host and Snowpiercer).
I’d like to say 감사합니다 (Thank you) for visiting my blog these last few years.
Please, stay tuned for upcoming book reviews and more — and even some Korean — in 2013!
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YAY! You’re back! I keep meaning to text you and ask where you are, and then I get busy! lol We definitely need to catch up sometime soon
Yes! Definitely. I keep doing the same thing. I thought today…I need to text Anne. I will text you tomorrow! We need to Skype!
Hey! Welcome back. I missed you. *hugs*
I wish KD worked for me.
Thank you! I missed you too. *hugs*
Welcome back. I’m going to go check out korean tv now as an excuse not to work.
There’s so much awesome in this post. You made me smile. Welcome back
Say wha?? You’re learning to speak Korean after getting obsessed with Korean tv? Haha, that’s awesome! I know quite a few people who are obsessed with Korean culture, though I haven’t taken the plunge myself. How cool would that be if you could write for a Korean drama?! Happy you’re back, Julie!!!
Thank you!