I’m interrupting our normal broadcasting to bring you this special message . . . this is not a drill . . . Destroyer, the last installment in the Shining Ones series, releases March 24th and will be available on Amazon, iTunes, Kobo, and Barnes and Noble.
xo – shawnee
Happy Friday, everyone!
Starting this week, I’m going to start running some Top 5 lists while I’m waiting on edits from Amanda on Destroyer. This one is near and dear to my heart, and in case you haven’t been following my posts on Facebook recently, I’m going to give you one hint, here he it is:
I’ve got the worst case of Chen Kun on the brain EVER closely followed by Eun-Woo Cha, and God, I hate saying this out loud, but also Jingting Bai who is frankly young enough that it makes me feel like a letchy old lady. Ew. I haven’t been this fixated since probably Sons of Anarchy or David Tennant in DR WHO. I’ve got it bad. I’m so obsessed with Korean and Chinese period dramas that I’ve taken over control of the TV in my household and I’ve eaten waaaaay too much pot noodle and kimchi for one non-Asian household. It’s seriously so bad that I’m considering learning Korean or Mandarin Chinese just because that’s what you do when NETFLIX FEEDS YOU CRACK TELEVISION. OH MY GOD.
Yes, I’ve been bitten by the K-Drama bug. It started off harmless enough with binge watching Love Alarm and now I’ve moved onto a 56 episode Chinese drama THAT WILL TAKE ME FOREVER TO FINISH IT. Who makes a 56 episode season? The Chinese, that’s who. Kill me now. Wait, don’t. I have to get to the end and see if Ning Yi and Feng Zhi Wei finally make it (it only took them 40 episodes to hug, people . . .)
I should point out that technically, The Rise of Phoenixes that I’m talking about is not in fact a K-drama but a Chinese period drama so I’m cheating a bit. At this point, I might’ve lost about 50% of my readers who have no idea of what I’m talking about, but here it is in a nutshell:
K-Dramas stands for Korean Drama also known as Korean drama televisions series televised in . . wait for it . . Korean. They have made a bit of a resurgence more recently outside of Korea due to the K-pop and K-culture phenomenon and often are a love story that plays out in a contemporary setting and deals with relationships, family, duty, and other themes prevalent in Asian culture. They always have pretty boys and a girl who must choose between two or more possible love interests. The filial duty aspect also takes on a life of its own almost like another character in the story line especially when you start drilling down into period dynasty dramas. They are the slowest burn romance you’ll ever come across so if you are impatient, you will be screaming at your TV, trust me. But if you’re good for sacrifice, duty-bound tragedy, celestial destiny, and a whole host of wacky martial arts moves then read on.
I’m going to make a contentious statement right here: The best TV on Netflix hands down RIGHT NOW is Asian television. Everything else that Netflix has produced as original content has been pretty lackluster and I’d even put The Witcher in that category (feel free to send me hate mail). If you want compelling, beautiful TV that delves into family, duty, honor, and personal sacrifice, Netflix has got a great selection to choose from.
Here are my current Top 5 MUST WATCH Asian TV Series on Netflix:
1) The Rise of Phoenixes
I will say this: don’t start with this series. Although it’s my favorite so far, it is hard going to begin with and if you’re not used to watching subtitled content you will drive yourself insane and give up quickly. Try something a little softer, like Rookie Historian, which is my no. 2. It’s also a slow burn, but I think is a bit more easier on American audiences. If you delve into The Rise of Phoenixes be prepared for the time commitment and to fall head over heels for Chen Kun and Ni Ni who make this story so compelling. The cast overall is superb and you will find that you quickly care about all the characters and worry every time that someone is going to die ala George RR Martin. I’m going to be sad when I’m done with this one.
2) Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung
Until I started The Rise of Phoenixes, this was it for me. I really thought no one could top Historian Goo and Prince Yi. Equal parts funny and heart felt, again, the whole honor and duty-bound aspect of the show really cuts you to the core. The thing that I failed to mention above in The Rise of Phoenixes is that we’re also talking about very strong and clever female protagonists who still strive to have their own identities and desires separate from the main love interest . . . even if it means not getting the guy in the end. I just loved this one so much and it made me an instant Eun-Woo Cha fan who is also in a K-pop band. Go figure.
3) When the Camellia Blooms
True fact: my husband has been known to run around the house shouting, “Dong Baek!” It’s kinda cute and annoying at the same time. This series isn’t so much of a K-drama as it is a romantic comedy mixed with some thriller moments. What I love about this particular show is that it’s more realistic than the other picks on my list. It deals with a single mother raising her son in a small Korean coastal town and the way she struggles to be accepted in the close-knit community while attracting the single son of the local matriarch while also trying not to be killed by a murderer. It was a refreshing change from some of the more sickly sweet teen K-dramas you might see on Netflix.Very funny.
3) Cheese in the Trap
We are a torn household on this show. I really liked it, my husband really didn’t. He took offense to the nerdy up-tight love interest, Jung Yoo, being too clinical, almost “on the spectrum” with the way he treated Hong Seol given the fact that my husband is himself a super nerd who can be socially shy shall we say. I actually thought it was a great college-level-girl-has-to-choose-her-destiny but wasn’t thrilled by the fact that it ends on a cliff hanger. I suspect that this could get another season. If it doesn’t, I’m going to be pissed (just like Love Alarm).
4) Cinderella and the Four Knights
If you’ve ever watched Eastenders, then this is the Korean equivalent. If you don’t know what I’m talking about just think soap opera. Man, this thing goes on forever about hidden agendas, secrets coming out of the closet, and a whole heap of mean boy syndrome. I’m not sure this one belongs on the list, but I did stay entertained. The husbot gave up and walked away bored. It was almost too much K-drama for him, but I felt like this was a quintessential K-drama at its core and was the best representation of what you get with this genre. I think it’s also easy and disposable if you like romance unlike some of the other ones on my list.
5) There is no number 5 . . . .
I hate when that happens, but alas, I could only recommend 4 for now. I still have a large list to get through and I didn’t want to add a fifth just for list sake. If you want to see what else I’ll be watching here is it –
Let me know what K-dramas you love. Email me at shawnee@shawneesmall.com
xo – shawnee
In just a few hours, I’m off to MarsCon.
This is my only book-associated event for all of 2020 and with good reason. As I explained in my first blog post of the year, I’ve been suffering from some autoimmune issues that have been kicking my ass. Well, those same pesky issues are rearing their ugly head this week, and so the fact that I’m limping my way to MarsCon at all is a miracle. Yesterday, I thought I was going to have to cancel altogether, but today, I’m dosing up on the drugs, wearing my vampire sunglasses, forgoing eating, and am going to give it a go.
It means I’m going to be quiet. It means that I’m likely to be cranky. Ooooh look, just like old Goth times! Perfect…not really. It means that I’m not going to be on my A game and that doesn’t make me happy, but at least I should get a medal for showing up. Showing up is half the battle after all.
So. With that in mind, here is where I’ll be if you find to seek me out. I’ll try my best to perk up in your presence.
Friday:
4:00pm – Romancing the Reader (Room 8)
Our panelists discuss the power of romance, the range and the voice of the genre, and the blush-inducing conversations!
Saturday:
12:00pm – The Internet: Valuable Research Tool or Kitten Photo Gallery? (Room 6)
Our panelists talk about the most useful resources for authors for research and finding markets. Where do you find the information you want and how useful is it?
3:00pm – Social Media for Authors (Room 4)
Our panelists discuss building a fan base through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms. Which social media platforms are helpful and which are a just a waste of a writer’s time?
8:00pm – Sex & Violence in Fairytales (Room L)
Naughty princes and violent godmothers. In this PG13 session, panelists discuss the role of both sex and violence in the narratives of the Grimm brothers along with other traditional folktales. Issues surrounding why many tales were later sanitized and adapted for the children’s market will also be addressed.
9:00pm – Women on the Dark Side (Room 8)
Not all women artists/creators are about unicorns and glittery vampires and silly pseudo-bondage. Some women create truly dark and challenging art and content, with just enough humor and whimsy to counterbalance all that darkness. Join our panelists as they celebrate the women creators who are creating content that connects with the deeper, darker side of all of us.
See you on the other side . . . or in this case MarsCon.
xo shawnee
One of my New Year resolutions was to make sure that I was keeping in touch with the outside world at least once a week with more than just a snarky FB post or two, and in that vein, I made a promise to myself to blog every Friday come hell or high water.
Yeah, that didn’t last too long. But in my defense, I’m in the middle of edits on Destroyer and I know that my readers would much prefer that I finally FINALLY get Destroyer out the door rather than blather away here about non-essential stuff.
Which brings me to my very short (*yeah, right) blog post about the hell pit authors call “Editing”.
To be fair, just about every author has their own take on editing. I know some authors who swear that they write a clean enough draft the first time that they hardly have to cut anything at all. I know others who live by the Stephen King ‘cut 10% rule’, and others who almost rewrite the entire book during the editing phase.
I’m somewhere in between all those examples.
When I first started out, I was a seriously wordy mofo. The original draft of Watcher was over 118,000 words . . . crazy. That’s like the size of a epic fantasy right there. Most novels these days and definitely first time novelists in the genres that I write in come in around the 80,000 words range. Paring Watcher down to its final 78Kish was, well, you can imagine not entirely a barrel of laughs. Protector was more like 90K pared down to right under the 80K mark, and Betrayer ended up being even smaller at around 77K (don’t quote me on that).
Now on my 6th book, I’ve come to recognize some home truths about myself :
One of the ways that I’m probably different from a lot of authors is that I don’t prescribe to the vomiting method of first drafting. The OCD in me cannot cope with regurgitating the first thing that pops into my brain and leaving it alone on the page. Simply put, I can’t write dog poo and leave it there for 300 pages. It’s like a needle at the base of my skull wheedling away until I go back and try to make whatever rubbish I just wrote better.
My advice to first time writers would be don’t do this. It’s bad for flow, it’s bad for productivity. I’ve killed and stalled out more lovely passages by going back than I care to admit to. The only saving grace is that I’ve learned not to go back and tweak until after I’ve gotten the new word count down for the day. I leave editing for when my creative brain is mush.
That’s my coping strategy, but it comes at a cost. My productivity is much slower naturally and paired with my current eye issues, really drags down my word count. Yes, I’m neurotic about this. Having said all that, when it comes to the editing phase, my draft is already cleaner because I’ve done edits along the way. Occasionally, a real corker will get through. I’m going to show you an example right now. Don’t laugh. I actually recognized that it was a corker and highlighted it to come back to later (a rare occurrence) because it was so horrible that it would’ve been going down the rabbit hole to fix it. As it turns out, I cut it entirely.
Here you go, Shining Ones fans –
OH MY GOD. CAN YOU SAY SHOW DON’T TELL? Also, cheese factor 150%.
First indicator should’ve been the size of this paragraph. If I have long drawn out paragraphs, I know immediately I have a problem because I’m a short and punchy sort of writer. Most of my paragraphs are 3-4 sentences long.
Second indicator is that it does in fact read like a history lesson. BORING. History wasn’t fun in high school, it’s not gonna be fun now. As much as I’d like the reader to know about the history behind the fabricated Hellfire Club in my story, this ain’t the way to do it.
And lastly, I fell for the infamous info dump because I was looking for filler for the scene unfolding. If I have to scramble for filler, I’ve already failed because filler is a no no. Every piece of information a writer drops in a story should have a purpose and that purpose is to propel the story forward. Some will argue that character descriptions and details that round out a character are also important and don’t necessarily drive the plot forward – that’s true – but 8 out of 10 times, if a writer is dropping information in that doesn’t somehow connect back to the plot then it just drags the reader out of flow and I’m a firm believer that that’s where bad reviews come from. Authors, you can fight me on this point.
Anyhow, you can see my point, and also, I think it’s worth letting my readers see behind the curtain.Every writer can be a hack at some point. I’m no different. It’s humbling to know that I can still produce rubbish – it keeps me honest.
The rest of my editing routine is a bit boring and I won’t bore you with those details, plus, I’ve got to get back to editing in order to get this manuscript to Amanda if I want to hit my release date. I may post more corkers for you as I go along if the feedback is positive.
Thanks for giving me a chance to ramble on.
xo Shawnee
