• More K-Drama RomCom Recommendations

    Here are some more K-Drama RomCom recommendations. I previously recommended these Korean dramas.

    Image of 4 actors in Business Proposal Movie Poster - more k-drama romcom recommendations
    Business Proposal Poster

    Business Proposal (Netflix)

    This one is so good! If you love fake dating, definitely watch this K-drama! It is also very good at making fun of certain K-drama beats. I discussed one of the brilliant set scenes in this post. Shin Ha-ri has a best friend whose wealthy father keeps setting her up on blind dates with other wealthy prospects so that she can marry someone who will help the family business, but her best friend wants to marry for love. So Shin Ha-ri agrees to go on the blind date instead and scare the guy off by acting crazy. But after acting crazy, she finds out that her date is actually her boss! And unfortunately the acting crazy didn’t work, and he wants to marry her…

    I also recommend checking out Dramabeans and participating in the K-drama discussion.

    Marriage, not Dating (Viki)

    Korean Drama poster of Marriage, not Dating. Woman in car with 2 suitors.
    Marriage, not Dating Poster

    Another really funny one with a fake dating plot. Wealthy plastic surgeon Gong Gi-tae has no interest in getting married. He meets the protagonist and asks her to be his fake girlfriend and to behave terribly so his mom will stop pushing him to get married. It’s a great set-up. It’s similar to my favorite movie, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, only in this case, they’re both in on the plan.

    Gogh, the Starry Night (Viki)

    image of female protagonist with 3 male love interests in the background
    Gogh, The Starry Night Poster

    If you like grumpy/sunshine romance, this one is for you! He’s a smoldering grumpy and a sweetheart underneath.

    Go Ho, our protagonist, works very hard at an advertising company for a very difficult-to-please boss (the male protagonist, Kim Young-Kwang), and the series starts with an older woman mentor whom she admired dying after being hit by a car. And people at the funeral question whether this woman gave too much to work because she didn’t have any other life. And so Go Ho defends her mentor but also questions what she herself is doing. Meanwhile she is haunted by the fact that her perfect boyfriend just dumped her out of the blue and she doesn’t understand why.

    Suddenly, her difficult-to-please boss agrees to her request to transfer to a new boss. Unfortunately, it’s her ex who has just joined the company. And thus you have the triangle between her ex-boyfriend and her grumpy, sexy work colleague.

    And I will say that I think Kim Young-Kwang is a very talented actor because he plays a completely different character (an optimistic man-child heir) in THE SECRET LIFE OF MY SECRETARY, and it’s incredible that it’s the same actor.

    1% of Something/Something about 1% (Viki)

    more k-drama romcom recommendations - couple holding hands with title
    1% of Something

    Another fake dating one! I do love the fake dating trope. In this one, the wealthy grandfather tells his workaholic, completely-committed-to-the-company heir that he has to contract-date this woman for 6 months in order to inherit the company. The woman in question is an elementary school teacher that the grandfather met when he collapsed and she rescued him. She doesn’t want to date the heir because she thinks he’s crazy and arrogant. But eventually she agrees . . .

    Run On (Netflix)

    image of man and woman staring into each others' eyes
    Run On Series Poster

    The female protagonist is a film translator, and since I’m now watching all these translated subtitled films, I love this insight into the process. It follows the romance between the subtitle translator and a former sprinter who is working to become a sports agent. (It does have some violent bullying scenes when he is on the Track and Field team.)

    Let’s Talk – Do you have any more K-drama RomCom Recommendations?

    What are you reading or watching? Do you have any K-drama recommendations? I’ve been reading a lot this summer. I just finished Book Lovers, and it definitely lived up to the hype for me. Loved the banter and the New York City love. Hoping you enjoy the rest of your summer!

  • My Secret Snowflake: the Comic Premise

    the cover of my secret snowflake shows a couple with their backs to each other holding up gift bags and with an office background with gifts hidden around the office

    A question I sometimes get asked is how did I come up with the comic premise for my romantic comedy, in this case, My Secret Snowflake.

    How did I come up with the premise for My Secret Snowflake?

    The premise for My Secret Snowflake was inspired by a conversation with a close friend when we were discussing dating. The original premise was that the protagonist likes a guy (we’ll call him A). She pretends that she is the Secret Santa for A’s best friend (B for Best friend) and asks A what she should gift B. She uses this excuse to hang out with A.

    Anyway, I pitched this idea for a Romantic Comedy in a Steve Kaplan comedy workshop in 2021. If you want to write a comedy, I highly recommend his workshop and books, including The Comic Hero’s Journey and The Hidden Tools of Comedy.

    We had to pitch three different stories. Steve said he liked this one, but I should switch it so that she likes B, but as she hangs out with A trying to find out more about B, she falls for A. Then you have a triangle. I was very resistant at first (in my head). Didn’t he see the brilliance of the original idea that she had an excuse to hang out with the guy she liked? 

    But when it came time to actually write My Secret Snowflake, I realized that Steve was right. This is a much better approach because it creates more tension.

    So in My Secret Snowflake, Iris, having caught her ex cheating, decides she wants to date a nice guy next time (no heart-melting gorgeous guys for her, thank you very much). She decides that her workplace colleague, Ernest, might fit the bill. In the company Secret Snowflake exchange, she gets her best friend’s crush, so she gives that one to her best friend. Her best friend received Ernest, so Iris gets Ernest. Ernest and Sebastian eat lunch together every day so Iris thinks that they’re close friends and asks Sebastian for gift suggestions for Ernest. Sebastian says, “Socks.” He continues:

    “I’m not really friends with him. We just had a tight deadline on a joint project,” I say. “I have no idea what to get Ernest as a gift. Socks?” Ernest is very…earnest. When her face drops, I add, “But I’ll think about it.”

    “Not if socks is your idea of a good gift,” Iris says.

    Comic Premise

    Steve Kaplan defines the comic premise as “a lie that allows the writer to tell a greater truth.” Steve Kaplan, The Comic Hero’s Journey at p. 38. What I particularly find helpful is his description of the comic premise as “the tool to excite your imagination.” Id. As he noted, once you have a great premise, the story basically writes itself. “The better the premise, the more the story writes itself in your head.” Id. at 39.

    As for the lie, Steve Kaplan writes that “in the comic premise, we devise a lie, an impossible or implausible event.” Id. My books tend to be more realistic, but the lie in my comic premise is that Iris is lying to herself. Because of her bad breakup, she convinces herself that staid workaholic Ernest is now the type of guy she wants.

    My premise above, unfortunately, didn’t have enough that the story wrote itself, but it did suggest a framework. There would have to be Secret Snowflake-related events and meetings with Sebastian to discuss gifts for Ernest. Similarly, it’s a holiday romantic comedy set in New York City. I had fun including some New York City holiday activities. As a result, Iris and Sebastian get stuck in a crowd near Rockefeller Center and can only inch along. 🙂

    UK Romantic Novelists Association Conference

    I just came back from the RNA Conference in London and it was so much fun. My critique partner, Giulia Skye, and I talked nonstop over dinner. I met another friend for lunch (where we discussed K-dramas). Then I was off for the three-day RNA conference at Royal Holloway. 

    It was way too short. I love discussing writing and publishing and meeting up with friends. It’s a very friendly conference, and at every conference, I make even more friends. Here’s a picture after a night of dancing, so I’ll leave you with this photo of RNA authors Victoria Walker, Sharon Ibbotson, Ruby Moone and me.

    Picture of four women dressed in wigs and funny glasses holding up the RNA sign
  • Love Is an Art! Teaser

    Look at this great teaser trailer for Love Is an Art. It’s so clever. I love it!

    Love Is an Art Book Trailer

    Love Is an Art Blurb

    the cover of a book where she is covered in paint and he is in a suit, they have their backs to each other
    Love Is an Art

    Here’s the blurb:

    He hates lawyers. So I’m a lawyer pretending to be an artist. Forgetting one tiny detail: I can’t paint.

    Tessa: There’s something about the way the blond guy laughs and leans in to listen. My gaze keeps returning to him.

    The only problem is, we’re at an art gallery after work, and I’ve swapped my lawyer suit for a paint-splattered shirt. I’m pretending to be a struggling artist, acting as bait to entice a scammer who conned my friend out of thousands of dollars.

    I look pathetic. But still, I approach Hot Guy.

    Our glances meet, and an awareness shimmers across. He offers to buy me a drink–we’re definitely flirting–and then he asks me what I do.

    Just when Scammer Guy is in earshot.

    I have no choice but to say I’m an artist. I can tell Hot Guy later that I’m not.

    But then he says he hates lawyers.

    Now what?

    Zeke: She’s the worst artist I’ve ever seen.

    And I hate that that makes me suspect that she’s lying to me. After my ex-girlfriend cheated on me, trust is in short supply.

    She makes me laugh, and it’s one adventure after another with her. Definitely different from my workaholic lawyer ex.

    Maybe it’s time to give love a second chance.

    All is fair in love and litigation, but when truth and deception clash, can you trust your heart?

    *The romcom books in this series are interconnected standalones set in the same world. Each can be read as a pure standalone with a guaranteed happily ever after.

    A Scavenger Hunt for Hearts Audiobook!

    My author reading aloud of A Scavenger Hunt for Hearts is now all up on YouTube so you can listen to the whole book read aloud by me there. You can click the image above for the link. It’s like attending an author reading but in the privacy of your home 🙂

    Let’s Talk

    What are you watching/reading? I’m watching My Demon and Please Marry My Husband (both k-dramas). I’m reading When In Rome by Sarah Adams. And I’m hard at work on my next book.

  • Caper Crush is on SALE!

    Caper Crush, my opposites-attract romantic comedy e-book, is on sale for $0.99 for the first time!

    And I’ve created a teaser video, working with the studio, Warraich Group. So much fun!

    A couple standing on a fire escape

    Here’s the blurb:

    Somebody stole my painting! The one I need for the career-defining Vertex Art Exhibit. 

    I have mere weeks to find my painting or lose my artist dream forever—but it’s going to mean working with William.

    William Haruki Matsumura. Good-looking, if you like the Secret Service type. You know, law-abiding, protector of women and children. That’s all fine, but I can never tell what he’s thinking. Which drives me crazy.

    He insists on coming along to do “damage control.” As if “accidentally” wandering into certain areas is “breaking and entering.” I may be an emotional artist, but William shouldn’t dismiss my investigative skills yet.

    William is definitely my opposite, and if there’s one takeaway from my parents’ divorce, it’s that opposites might attract, but it doesn’t last. But detecting with William is kind of fun—and fluttery. I definitely can’t trust these feelings, or can I? However this caper ends, I think this may be more than a crush. 

    Caper Crush Is ON SALE and Reaches #27 in Women’s Humorous Fiction! #Top30AmazonBestseller

    Here’s a picture of it on the Amazon charts:

    Let’s Talk

    I really love Caper Crush, and so I’m super happy to see it selling so well now. I definitely think that some scenes were inspired by the k-dramas that I’ve become addicted to 🙂

    Anyway, I highly recommend it. And although I may be biased (just a little), it also won an Independent Press Award for Distinguished Favorite in Romantic Comedy. And you can see my previous post here for other reviews.

  • A Romantic Comedy Distinguished Favorite!

    Caper Crush is a 2023 Independent Press Award Romantic Comedy Distinguished Favorite. Woo hoo!

    A Romantic Comedy Distinguished Favorite
    Independent Press Award Distinguished Favorite.

    In 2023, the INDEPENDENT PRESS AWARD had entries worldwide.  Authors and publishers from countries such as Australia, Canada, Germany, India, Japan, Norway, Scotland, and South Africa participated. Submitted books included writers based in a variety of cities: Albuquerque, Atlanta, Cape Town, Halifax, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, New York City and many others. Submissions came from well-known indie publishers such as Barefoot Books; Friesen Press; Greenleaf Book Group, Koehler Books; Loyola Press; Merack Publishing; Red Chair Press; Red Hen Press; Rowman & Littlefield; Rutgers University Press; SAE International; She Writes Press; and TouchPoint Press. And now Strawbundle Publishing!

    Caper Crush also placed as a QuarterFinalist in the Screencraft Cinematic Book Writing Competition.

    Screencraft Cinematic Book Competition Quarterfinalist
    Caper Crush is a Quarterfinalist!

    One day, I hope to write a screen play version.

    Caper Crush

    Caper Crush is my opposites attract, slow burn romantic comedy caper wtih a mystery.

    Here’s the blurb:

    Somebody stole my painting! The one I need for the career-defining Vertex Art Exhibit. This upcoming art show is my chance to finally be recognized as an artist—after ten years of waitressing and being asked if I still have that “lovely painting hobby.”

    I have mere weeks to find my painting or lose my artist dream forever—but it’s going to mean working with William.

    William Haruki Matsumura. Good-looking, if you like the Secret Service type. You know, law-abiding, protector of women and children. That’s all fine, but I can never tell what he’s thinking. Which drives me crazy.

    He insists on coming along to do “damage control.” As if “accidentally” wandering into certain areas is “breaking and entering.” I may be an emotional artist, but William shouldn’t dismiss my investigative skills yet.

    William is definitely my opposite, and if there’s one takeaway from my parents’ divorce, it’s that opposites might attract, but it doesn’t last. But detecting with William is kind of fun—and fluttery. I definitely can’t trust these feelings, or can I? However this caper ends, I think this may be more than a crush.

    K-Drama Recommendations

    I’ve also been meaning to write a post with some more K-Drama recommendations. Here are a few new favorites.

    Love to Hate You (Netflix)

    An enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy. A woman who hates losing to men meets a man (one of the top romantic actors) who she thinks is a misogynist and decides to teach him a lesson.

    Call It Love (Viki)

    Two people staring into each other's eyes
    Call It Love Poster

    Another enemies-to-lovers K-drama. In Call It Love, Woo-joo wants revenge on her father’s mistress and decides to target the son of her father’s mistress. Only he is a good person, and she’s falling in love with him and wants to protect him. I’m watching this one right now and loving it. Kim Young-kwang and Lee Sung-kyung are conveying their characters brilliantly and with such subtle nuance. They are both very talented actors, and their previous shows, Gogh, The Starry Night and Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo, have been among my favorite k-dramas.

    Let’s Talk

    I’m so thrilled that Caper Crush is a 2023 Independent Press Award Romantic Comedy Distinguished Favorite and that it placed as a quarterfinalist in the Screencraft Cinematic Book Writing Competition.

    What are you reading or watching right now?

    Happy Spring!

  • If You Liked The Partner Track. . .

    If you liked The Partner Track (either the novel or the Netflix series), here are some other women’s fiction and romantic comedy novels with female lawyers and legal drama: Partner Pursuit, The Undomestic Goddess and Practice Makes Perfect. If you liked The Partner Track and you’re looking for more work drama romances featuring Asian-American women, I recommend Circling Back to You and So We Meet Again.

    The partner track novel cover - picture of asian-american woman with New York skyline in the background
    The Partner Track

    The Partner Track by Helen Wan is about a Chinese-American female lawyer trying to make partner in Manhattan, while dealing with micro-aggressions and discrimination and while balancing romance, friends and family. I read it in one day and really enjoyed it. Highly recommend!!

    Partner Pursuit

    image of Partner Pursuit in a paperback with a couple biking up an uphill slope on a bicycle for two

    My novel, Partner Pursuit, has some similar elements:

    • a female protagonist trying to make partner and dealing with the old-boy network
    • legal drama
    • a love for New York City (included in the Book Riot list of 8 epic New York-set romances)
    • the desire to please family
    • falling in love when the focus should be on career
    • a great bunch of best friends

    PARTNER PURSUIT BLURB

    Here’s the blurb for Partner Pursuit:

    When a workaholic lawyer meets a fun-loving music marketing executive for opposites attract, friends-to-lovers adventures, which partnership will she choose?

    Workaholic lawyer Audrey Willems is not going to take any chances with her bid to become a partner at her New York law firm—especially with only six months until the decision.

    Until she bumps into Jake—her new neighbor. Jake is a fun-loving music marketing executive who might just be The One.

    He’s funny, caring, supportive—and able to kill water bugs in the bathroom.

    But Jake will never date a woman married to her job. His father was a workaholic lawyer who never had time for family.

    And she’s just got the case of a lifetime—the one she needs to win to make partner.  Working 24/7 at the office may not even be enough hours to pull off a victory.

    If only she had not met him now.

    Audrey is determined to prove that she can juggle work and romance—even if managing court cases, candlelit dinners, and bike rides around Manhattan is a lot harder than it looks.  She keeps canceling dates for yet another case crisis.

    But when making partner is like a game of musical chairs and the last seat is a business-class alone, which partnership will she choose?

    The Undomestic Goddess

    This is one of my favorite books because it is a laugh-out-loud hilarious romantic comedy. But that may be because I’m a lawyer who’s not good at housework. Here’s the blurb for The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella:

    Workaholic attorney Samantha Sweeting has just done the unthinkable. She’s made a mistake so huge, it’ll wreck any chance of a partnership. Going into an utter meltdown, she walks out of her London office, gets on a train, and ends up in the middle of nowhere. Asking for directions at a big, beautiful house, she’s mistaken for an interviewee and finds herself being offered a job as a housekeeper. Her employers have no idea they’ve hired a lawyer–and Samantha has no idea how to work the oven. She can’t sew a button, bake a potato, or get the #@%# ironing board to open. How she takes a deep breath and begins to cope–and finds love–is a story as delicious as the bread she learns to bake. But will her old life catch up to her? And if it does. . . will she want it back?

    Practice Makes Perfect

    Practice Makes Perfect

    Here’s the blurb for Practice Makes Perfect by Julie James:

    WHEN IT COMES TO THE LAWS OF ATTRACTION…

    Payton Kendall and J.D. Jameson are lawyers who know the meaning of objection. A feminist to the bone, Payton has fought hard to succeed in a profession dominated by men. Born wealthy, privileged, and cocky, J.D. has fought hard to ignore her. Face to face, they’re perfectly civil. They have to be. For eight years they’ve kept a safe distance and tolerated each other as co-workers for one reason only: to make partner at the firm.

    …THERE ARE NO RULES.

    But all bets are off when they’re asked to join forces on a major case. At first apprehensive, they begin to appreciate each other’s dedication to the law—and the sparks between them quickly turn into attraction. But the increasingly hot connection doesn’t last long when they discover that only one of them will be named partner. Now it’s an all out war. And the battle between the sexes is bound to make these lawyers hot under the collar…

    My review: I just finished this one in one day and really enjoyed it! Both Payton and J.D. have great best friends too.

    If you liked The Partner Track and are looking for more work drama romances featuring Asian-American women, I recommend:

    Circling Back to You

    Circling Back to You

    Here’s the blurb from Circling Back to You by Julie Tieu:

    Cadence Lim has transformed from behind-the-scenes number cruncher to an integral part of the sales team at Prism Realty. But despite moving up the corporate ladder, her complicated relationship with her estranged elderly father weighs heavily and she can’t seem to shake the desire for a new beginning.

    At least Cadence can always lean on her favorite co-worker and co-conspirator, Matt Escanilla. A top broker with an unsuccessful love life, the forever single Matt is constantly being nagged by his loving Filipino family to settle down.

    Their relationship takes a turn when a business trip lands them both in their hometown and Matt enlists Cadence as a pretend girlfriend for a family gathering. The new after-hours setting forces the two friends to see each other in a new light, and their previously buried feelings rise quickly to the surface. When competing promotions threaten to separate Cadence and Matt, these office besties must work together to round up their ambitions and families to pursue their overdue romance.

    My review: I was lucky enough to receive a Netgalley ARC of this book, and I really enjoyed it, especially the family dynamics and how thoughtfully and perceptively those were portrayed by Ms. Tieu. Cadence and Matt fit each other perfectly. The workplace dynamics were also spot on. And it even included some K-drama beta references like a piggyback ride and Matt picking up pharmacy supplies.

    So We Meet Again

    if you liked the partner track, so we meet again has an asian-american heroine

    Here’s the blurb from So We Meet Again by Suzanne Park:

    When investment banker Jessie Kim is laid off in a virtual meeting and then overhears why (“she’s already being overpaid anyway for a woman” and “Asians are worker bees, not someone who can drum up new deals”) she delivers an “eff you guys” speech and storms out. 

    After moving back home to Tennessee to live with her loving but meddling mother and father, she runs into her childhood nemesis—golden child Daniel Choi—at the local Asian grocery store. The smart, charming lawyer appears to have it all…while Jessie has nothing.

    Jess begrudgingly accepts Daniel’s help to relaunch her long abandoned Korean cooking YouTube channel: HANGUK HACKS, showcasing easy meal prep for busy professionals. But just as she discovers Daniel’s life isn’t as perfect as it seems and there’s more to him than meets the eye, he shows up for a life-changing business opportunity, and their rivalry is back on . . .

    Let’s Talk

    So, those are just a few suggestions for your #TBR if you liked The Partner Track. Have you read or watched The Partner Track? What did you think of the Netflix adaptation? What’s on your #TBR for September?

  • Cover Reveal Countdown!

    Cover Reveal Countdown! I’m so excited to show you the cover for A Scavenger Hunt for Hearts. This is my short novella which I’m giving away free to my mailing list subscribers when it publishes. So make sure you sign up! As usual, my cover designer did a brilliant job!

    A Scavenger Hunt for Hearts Blurb

    Here’s the blurb:

    When Kiara is dumped by text and then ghosted by her boyfriend, she resolves to concentrate on her successful artist career and leave dating to those who can handle that heartbreak.

    But the chance to dress up as a teacup work of art and participate in a scavenger hunt at the New York City modern art museum to win her favorite artist’s painting has her pairing up with a stranger dressed as a Rembrandt.

    He may not know much about modern art, but he certainly knows how to make her heart beat.

    Can Kiara take a chance on love again?

    Cover Reveal Countdown

    Check back here for the cover reveal! And make sure you sign up to my mailing list to get it for free when it publishes!

    And don’t forget Caper Crush publishes in ebook on July 14 and is available for pre-order now! Woo hoo! And the paperback will be available in early July!

    Caper Crush

    Let’s Talk

    I hope that you are taking care of yourself during these times. I’m so excited for Caper Crush to publish because I started it in September 2020, during the pandemic, and it brought me so much joy to write and to read (because I’ve now read it so many times). My proof copy is arriving today, and I can’t wait to hold it in my hands.

    What are you reading or watching? I highly recommend Christina Lauren’s Something Wilder for a feel-good feeling. If you like k-dramas, I highly recommend Once Upon a K-Prom by Kat Cho.

  • The Triangle Trope

    Some people love the triangle trope in romantic comedies and some hate it.

    Use the Triangle Trope to Show which Suitor is “The One”

    As discussed before, Billy Mernit notes that the triangle is a technique to show how, “the Bellamy,” named after the actor Ralph Bellamy who often played this character, is the wrong guy for the Protagonist and how the romantic lead is the right one. ALWAYS BE MY MAYBE is one great example of this technique in use.

    So, in the classic movie HIS GIRL FRIDAY, Ralph Bellamy is too staid and slow, compared to clever trickster Cary Grant, Cary Grant wants Rosalind Russell back as a wife and as a reporter. And he “seduces” her with the thrill of covering a great newspaper story.

    But the triangle can also be tricky. As Sandy Barker points out in her blog, readers might view the protagonist as cheating.

    Bridget Jones’s Diary

    In BRIDGET JONES’S DIARY, I think the triangle is well done. I can see the appeal of bad boy Daniel Cleaver. He’s fun and funny. I love the scene with the underpants (“Hello Mummy”) and the boating scene. But he also loses his appeal–he lies and cheats and isn’t offering much. “If I can’t make it with you, I can’t make it with anyone” is not a declaration of love–it’s more of an insult.

    Ironically, Mark Darcy is the stuffy, work-oriented guy; however, you can see his longing to play in the rowboat scene. He stares enviously at Daniel Cleaver and Bridget Jones reciting bad poetry, ignoring his law partner who wants to work. As would I. The boating scene also shows you the appeal of Bridget for Mark Darcy and why they will make it as a couple.

    A Triangle with Two Appealing Prospects Increases the Tension

    Boys before Flowers poster

    Meanwhile, in the Korean drama BOYS BEFORE FLOWERS, if I had been the protagonist Jan-Di, I would have chosen the guy she didn’t. I was quite heartbroken that he didn’t get his girl. In that drama, both suitors were appealing and that definitely increased the tension: who was she going to choose? I understood why Jan-Di chose the man she did, but still… My friend says it is the K-Drama second lead syndrome: when the other guy is so appealing, it breaks your heart. I told her I wasn’t sure I was strong enough for these dramas. 🙂 So, although having two appealing suitors increases tension, I’d recommend at least giving the second lead a new love too.

    In another K-drama, PLAYFUL KISS, the second lead Joon-gu is so in love with Ha-ni, that when Ha-Ni gives a love letter to her crush Seung-jo, and Seung-jo dismisses it as poorly-written, the second lead Joon-gu defends her, telling Seung-jo to apologize to Ha-ni and to pay attention to the emotion in her letter. How’s that for supporting the woman you love at all costs? But thankfully, that drama gave him his own romance at the end.

    I’ve become addicted to Korean dramas after watching CRASH LANDING ON YOU. It’s my new workout regime. I bicycle on a stationary bike for ten miles a day while watching a K-drama. They’re addictive enough to get me on the bike every day! I’ll let you know if I actually lose weight. My Korean has definitely improved. Fighting!

    Let’s Talk

    Cherry blossoms in Central Park

    It’s finally spring in New York City and the cherry blossoms are out. In my latest novel, I’ve set a scene where not-yet-a-couple picnic among the cherry blossoms on Cherry Hill in Central Park.

    And my children may return to school five days a week soon. I may be spontaneously dancing around my house.

    In other exciting news, my friend Giulia Skye’s book Her Outback Driver just placed in the RWA Vivian Contest for Best First Published Book! Congratulations Giulia!

    What have you been reading or watching? Do you like the triangle trope or do you hate it? And have you watched any Korean dramas? If you have, which ones do you recommend?

  • CRASH LANDING ON YOU and Doing for Each Other

    Movie Poster for Crash Landing on You

    Definitely my favorite movie of the pandemic is CRASH LANDING ON YOU, but I also think it epitomizes how to show romance by each giving, doing for each other, and taking care of the other. The romance is so good, as is the comedy and the drama. It’s written by female screenwriter Park Ji-Eun.

    I am taking a Gotham Screenwriters Course with Doug Katz, and he gave some great advice on my scene sequence (which is a romantic comedy, of course):

    • What do they each do for the other? As an example, he said, look at how Katharine Hepburn takes out the splinters from Humphrey Bogart’s foot in THE AFRICAN QUEEN.
    • What does he need that she can do for him? What does she need that he can do for her?
    • Give them conflict as to what each like to do (i.e., he likes eating sushi, she doesn’t).

    As in all romantic comedies, how will they change each other unexpectedly? As Billy Mernit writes in Writing the Romantic Comedy,

    “Create two incompletes who complete each other, seeming opposites who unite in a belief that love comes first–that’s the key to crafting a chemical equation that will set off sparks.”

    Writing the Romantic Comedy by Billly Mernit at p. 155

    Park Ji-Eun definitely achieves that with Yoon Se-ri (played by Son Ye-jin) and Jeong-hyeok (played by Hyun Bin). Happy sigh.

    CRASH LANDING ON YOU and Doing for Each Other

    In the first scene where we see Yoon Se-ri and Captain Ri Jeong-hyeok meet, Yoon Se-ri lands on North Korean Captain Ri. She tells him that she was paragliding and there was a storm and she landed here in North Korea by accident. Eventually, he tells Se-ri how to get back to South Korea. But can she trust him? He also gives her advice on how to avoid the landmines.

    What does she do for him? She makes him smile. He has resolved not to be happy and not to care about anyone again since the death of his brother. But, as he overhears her on her walkie-talkie trying to reach her employees to be rescued (promising them bonuses), he smiles.

    In their next scene together, he whisks her inside his yard, saving her from being spotted by the State Security Department.

    While he tries to remain closed and aloof, she chats to him and keeps asking questions.

    How do they complete each other?

    Both teach each other to love and to care about each other—to open up to another person and not to remain closed off emotionally or socially. I particularly love the lyrics of the Flower song: “So, I am worried about you,” but the whole soundtrack is amazing.

    Giving and Conflict

    In another early scene, Captain Ri carefully prepares noodles for Yoon Se-ri from scratch. So, we could have a scene without any conflict where she happily eats the noodles. But what happens instead? Se-ri is worried that the food is poisoned and wants him to try it first. “But in the South, this is what we do. When you are eating at someone else’s house, the guest usually offers the first bite to the host.” He gets offended that she thinks the food is poisoned. This follows Doug’s third point about how to create conflict even when they are giving to each other. She tries to negotiate with him, saying she will repay any kindness. Eventually, he takes away the food, saying he won’t show her any kindness.

    Let’s Talk

    Image of Women laughing while sharing food

    Anyway, I highly recommend CRASH LANDING ON YOU, but I must warn you that it’s highly addictive. It feels like every scene ends on a cliffhanger. It’s directed in such a way that we revisit scenes and get more information, almost as if from a different POV in that scene. Close friends have now recommended THE DESCENDANTS and BOYS OVER FLOWERS. But I also need to write :), so I’m actually worried about starting another K-drama.

    Have you seen CRASH LANDING ON YOU? If so, what is your favorite part? And if not, what movies or books do you recommend?

    Here’s hoping that spring is just around the corner as I sit here typing, the sun streaming in my window.