Anne Violet's Blog

Taiwanese dramas, Tdramas for short, have been gaining in popularity, but Kdramas as of yet, are at no risk of being surpassed. Tdramas, at least in my opinion, have always suffered from a third act syndrome. For example, the first third of a Tdrama usually starts out strong, with a fun premise and characters, then in the next section the couple gets together, we see them have fun and the romance begins in earnest. Then in the last third, because the couple got together too soon and there are still many episodes to fill, the writers spend the rest of the drama keeping them apart, usually with such ridiculous misunderstandings, ex-girlfriends, cancer, blindness etc., that it strains belief and patience.

And why are so many Tdrama hero’s in advertising? I think Aaron Yan has played a advertiser/promotions at least three times now.

It also drives me nuts how the bad guys, especially a character who has done some truly horrible things, even tried to killed someone, sometimes even succeeding, is forgiven and patted on the head and all is forgiven. A friend of mine suggested that maybe it is a belief in redemption. If you have insight into this let me know.

Another thing that always bothered me was the heroine, no matter who the actress is, seems to overact in a high pitchy voice. When I’ve watched behind the scenes where the actress is talking normally I’m always surprised by how much they’ve changed their voice for their character and it seems to be the director who wants this silly over the top performance. Dear Tdramas, if you only allowed your heroines to act more naturally, have the bad buys get their comeuppance, and balance out the plotting for your couple, you would be truly formidable.

Enough with the negative, there are several things that Tdramas do right. I love that most Tdrama heroes are relatively nice guys. I’ve never been found of Kdramas TKJ’s (a term I coined about 4 years ago, an abbreviation of Typical Kdrama Jerk). I like nice guys that treat women well what can I say. I find it hard to believe any women would fall for a guy who is always putting her down, and in some cases is truly verbally abusive. Luckily in the last year or so that’s been changing, there have been some amazing heroes, and hopefully this isn’t a trend that will pass.

I love that Tdrama heroines can dress well and have decent hair; the Kdrama obsession with the rich guy falls for poor, shabby, ordinary girl (usually with hair only the devil could’ve created) has been played out. I’m sending out a big thank you to the Tdrama stylists…

Last but not least, one thing Tdramas do better than Kdramas is BRING THE HEAT.  I’m not sure if maybe it’s a different attitude towards sex or sexual situations on film, but when it comes to passionate moments Tdramas are hot!

Things you usually won’t find in a Tdrama kiss/make-out scene: wide open eyes, and stunned expression that lasts five minutes; concrete fish lips (see Park Shin Hye, in almost everything she’s ever done); heroine’s that act like kissing a hot guy that’s in love with them is a chore. If you want an example of Tdrama hotness just check out any love scene of Aaron Yan’s, seriously no one does a hotter love scene than Aaron. He definitely lives up to the Scorpion reputation as the passionate sex sign. That’s not to say that Roy Chiu of Office Girls and Miss Rose, nor Baron Chen  of Bromance are slouches in that department, far from it. These two will definitely rock your drama world. And Tdramas aren’t stingy with their kiss scenes, unlike Kdramas that may only have one or two (the first kiss doesn’t even count since the heroine is usually just standing there like a lifeless statue), I’m talking passionate full throttle kisses that are sprinkled like erotic spices throughout the whole drama. It’s no wonder that Tdrama actors can rack up so many ardent fans so fast.

While there are some changes I would love to see in Tdramas, overall they deserve their rising status. Keep it coming Taiwan.

As I release my literary child, my novella Love in the Country of Wine, out into the world, I feel like a parent sending their child to college. I feel sad, but happy, and ready to clear out their bedroom for something new to inhabit.

Love in the Country of Wine has had a long journey to its release, for almost four years I have been working on it off and on. I know some may wonder how I came up with the story, and it comes from my love of Kdramas, and my day job at the time, bartending. Since I generally don’t drink, my knowledge of alcohol as a bartender was pretty sparse and embarrassing, so I was studying up on wine, and I was really stunned by the beautiful photos of vineyards all over the world, and the plot just bloomed in my mind. And because I was (and still am) addicted to kdramas I had to have a handsome Korean hero.

There’s been a trend for a while of these edgy and dark romances, and I wanted to write something soft, romantic, and fun too.I hope you enjoy it, and please leave a review on Amazon if you do. Sending a virtual hug to all my readers.

Love in the Country of Wine now available on Amazon

Thank you,

Anne Violet

CHAPTER 1

.

1 Year later

Without knocking, his mother swung wide his home office door and marched in. By her battle ready expression Jae-Sun knew he wasn’t going to like whatever she had to say. He inwardly sighed and laid his pen down with a click, folded his arms and leaned back in his chair. His mother was the queen of debates, and warily he watched her as she sat in front of him.

“Son,” she started. He shifted in his chair, he already didn’t like this. “I just got a call from your aunt, she was diagnosed with cancer.”

Alarmed he sat up. “Is she going to be okay?”

His mother waved him back down. “Yes, they think so. The doctors caught it early so the prognosis is good, but I need to go back to Seoul to help take care of her.”

Jae-Sun nodded, relieved that his aunt should be okay. Then the realization hit, and he glanced back at his mom. If his mother was gone who would take care of Valentina? His mother had been watching him, patiently waiting for him to catch up to the real problem. “How long will you be gone?” he asked her.

She shook her head at him. “I won’t be coming back here to live.”

“What?” he asked, louder than he intended.

She raised a brow at him, and he settled back down. “I’ve enjoyed being with you and my granddaughter, but it’s now time for me to return home.”

Jae-Sun’s mind whirled. He picked up and twirled his pen while he thought. “I guess I could ask our housekeeper Elena to take care of Valentina full time, and then hire someone else to take her place. Valentina adores Elena so at least it wouldn’t be too much of a shock.”

“No,” his mother said firmly. “You will not have an employee raising your daughter. It’s time you married, and gave her a mother.”

Jae-Sun jumped up from his chair. He couldn’t believe she’d even suggested that.

“You can’t let that woman ruin the rest of your life,” she told him.

The anger and hurt that he thought he’d buried so well, scratched at the surface. He paced behind his desk, not making eye contact with her. “I’m never going to marry again.”

“Don’t be selfish,” his mother snapped, and he whirled around to stare at her in furious shock. “You’re only thinking about yourself, but what about Valentina? She’s only two years old; she deserves and needs a mother. Are you going to deprive her of that for her entire life?”

He stared at her, pain at her accusation spearing him. No, the pain came from the truth of it.

Ruthlessly she continued. “Even though you’ve moved your office into the house, you’re always in here. She rarely sees you. Shouldn’t she at least have one parent that spends time with her?”

Tears stung his eyes.

“You must do what’s right for your daughter.”

Jae-Sun collapsed in his chair; he couldn’t think of any words to defend himself. Without saying anything else his mother left.

Eun-Soo quietly closed the door behind her, and leaned against it. She bit her lip to keep the tears at bay. Her resolve had almost broken at her son’s obvious pain, but she refused to let him be imprisoned by it.

In the following days Jae-Sun advised her of the unlikeliness of finding him a wife. “Who would want to leave their family and friends, their job? How would they get about without knowing the language? Who would want to marry a man with a child? If they were used to the city life of Seoul how would they adapt to the country life of the winery?” All these questions and more, he would taunt her with. Luckily for him she knew the perfect woman, and by having them marry, they would be set back on the course that had been meant for them. There was only one woman for Jae-Sun, only one that could possibly heal his heart, and teach him to trust again. She just hoped Jae-Sun would give Hana a chance.

Hana inwardly groaned, but on the outside she smiled and nodded politely as the man across from her droned on about himself. She’d had to bite the inside of her mouth painfully a couple of times in the last hour just to stay awake. It was amazing that he’d even shown up for their blind date considering he was in a deeply passionate relationship with himself.

I lost someone precious to me this week. She was a strong, fierce, dirty sense of humor, loving woman. She loved cooking shows, poodles, and her family, which included me. In a really dark time in my life she had been the one shining light, the one who believed the most in me. She had been the one that hadn���t let me give up on my writing. I wouldn���t be a published writer if it hadn���t been for her. I can never thank her enough for her love and support. Mother Jackson, I love and miss you.

I watched the MAMA Awards (the MNET Asian Music Awards) to see GD and Taeyang of Big Bang perform Good Boy, and to see Block B; little did I know watching this show would lead to an all new obsession. Block B was performing a friendly music battle against a band called Bangtan Boys aka BTS. I felt somewhat sorry for this band I’d barely heard of, to have to go against the energetic and zany Block B. I sat back in anticipation of the performance, feeling smug in the confidence that no one other than Big Bang could out do my Block B. This delusion didn’t last long, from the first dance battle, the Bangtan Boys weren’t happy to just give a left jab and a right hook; they straight knocked Block B’s dancers out. It didn’t end there, while Zico is an amazing rapper and music artist, this wasn’t his strongest performance; he looked nervous. It was a complete contrast to Rap Monster with his cool yet fiery charisma, and incredibly versatile style. When BTS joined their rapper leader on stage for their song Danger, Block B was down for the count. I love Block B I really do, but while they seemed happy to coast through their MAMA performances, BTS came to win it. They definitely won my attention. After the show I had to know more. Who is this Rap Monster, and BTS? And so began my Rap Monster and BTS addiction.

I looked up all of BTS’s music videos, not surprised that I loved all that I heard and saw. I also wasn’t surprised that they write and produce their own music, much like Big Bang and Block B. I naturally drift to music artists that create their own songs, and I think you can usually tell the difference from songs that are personally written, and those that are homogenized for any band to do. Then I moved on to their interviews and behind the scenes shows, and I was happy to see they seemed genuinely nice, happy, funny, and energetic. Big Hit Entertainment was brilliant in finding and putting these seven guys together. They are a serious threat in the kpop world, because they don’t have a single weakness that I’ve seen. They can sing, dance, rap, write and produce. They seem to truly be enjoying their careers and each other, which makes them fun and enjoyable to watch, with personalities that are great for variety shows. Considering they debuted just a little over a year ago and they are already this good…as I said–a serious threat.

BTS’s songs were addictive enough, but then I discovered Rap Monsters solo stuff along with some covers he did (pre-debut I guess) and fell completely in lust with his rapping, which led to a bit of a crush in general. Damn you Rap Monster. He’s one of the best rappers I have ever heard. In a single song he can go from growling out his raps, to rapid fire, to changing pitch, tone, and tempo. I’ve never heard a rapper be so diverse and exciting to listen to. And that’s just rapping; wait till you hear him sing. To quote a Queen Latifah movie, “You’ve got me straight trippin boo”. Warning his solo stuff has a fair amount of cuss words (which is kind of funny coming from such a young angelic looking guy), but it is in these solo songs you see how he can claim the name Rap Monster.

��warning a fair amount of cuss words in this one, but his flow is just crazy good.

If you need something softer…

Based off a track by Drake, Rap Monster wrote his own lyrics, just wow.

So I would suggest extreme caution regarding checking these guys out. With their ages ranging from 17-22 (American age) they are one of the youngest groups out there, but with their addictive music, and just the boys themselves, they will storm your bias/crush lists without mercy.

If you have no desire for self-preservation here you go.

Along the lines of “so delicious it should be illegal” is Pop! Gourmet Popcorn in White Truffle Bliss. I had never experienced the rich flavor of Truffles before, but this popcorn made me a convert. Even though I’m a writer, I am not a foodie, so how to describe the flavor of truffles if you’ve never experienced it, escapes me. I will say though that it reminds me subtly of bacon. Am I the only one? It’s so addictive there is no way to not finish the whole bag once you start. Each piece of popcorn is perfectly popped and lightly salted with truffle salt. I wish they sold this in movie theaters.

My love of this popcorn prompted a hopeless search for truffle oil. Why hopeless? Due to the high expense of real truffles, most truffle oils are made with chemicals and aromas to resemble the real thing. I eventually caved and bought one of these imposters, and an oil sprayer for my new gourmet purchase. Once home I excitedly opened the bottle and took a whiff. ICK!!! While I could detect the faint resemblance to truffle oil, I couldn’t get past the overwhelming chemical overtones, and the flavor was no better. I sadly chucked my faux truffle oil into the trash along with my my dreams of home made truffle fries and popcorn.

Anyways, back to Pop! Gourmet Popcorn. Unfortunately it’s incredibly hard to find this brand depending on where you live. The one store I had discovered it at stopped carrying it, and I wonder if the slightly higher price point for a smallish to medium bag (compared to some competitors) is the reason. Regardless next time I find it I am stocking up and if you want to experience heavenly popcorn goodness, you should too.

Under the category “Things I find delicious” I just have to have a sub-category “Men so hot it should be illegal”.

There are some things in this world that are just so amazing, so delicious, so sexy, they should be illegal. I’m talking about men of course. With my love of Kdrama and Kpop it should be no surprise that Korean men dominate my MOST WANTED list.

If you haven’t caught the Kwave yet, don’t worry you will, and one of these guys may be the reason why. For many, myself included, Rain is their first Kcrush.

This quadruple threat is everywhere-Actor, singer, dancer, martial artist. You might get your first glimpse of him in American movies like The Prince, Ninja Assassin, or Speed Racer. If you’ve caught the Kdrama bug already, it could be one of his many Kdramas like Full House or the one that suckered me in, Runaway Plan B. Last but not least it could be his music videos. With his unparallelled dance skills and soulful voice, he’s hard to resist.

I’ll close this post on my first Kcrush with one of Rain’s many sexy music video’s.

I have very happily started a new work in progress. Unlike the teen paranormal romances I’ve written in the past this is a adult contemporary romance.  Here is a short summary and the prologue.

When forced to give up his childhood love, Hana, Jae-Sun devoted himself to pulling his family out of debt, to secure their future. But during a business trip to Italy, he finds an unexpected love–a love that turns to tragedy.

Hana was heart broke when Jae-Sun married and moved to Italy to help run his wife’s winery, but two years later fate has offered her another chance. Faced with a bitter and distrustful Jae-Sun, can Hana teach him to trust and open his heart to love, or will he shut her and his daughter out forever?

PROLOGUE

Florence, Italy

Jae-Sun crumpled onto the couch, his mind shattered, his body shaking so bad in reaction, that his muscles cramped. His wife Alessandra’s, last words before she darted out of the house and into her lover’s car, still hung in the air. “She might not even be yours.”

He glanced upwards towards the second floor where his one year old daughter, Valentina, slept, peacefully unaware of the destruction her mother had unleashed. Now that her father had passed away, Alessandra wanted a divorce so she could marry her college student lover. As if that hadn’t been devastating enough she then told him that she would take him to court to fight for his half of the winery that her father had bequeathed him.

He’d given his heart to her, left his country, his family and his job, to come live in Italy and help her father with their winery.  And all along maybe even before they married she’d been seeing someone else. His beautiful, adorable daughter might not even be his? The twelve hour days, six days a week, taking care of the winery, and she wanted to take it away from him?

An angry terror began to rise in him. He felt sick, like a dark sludge moved through his veins rather than blood, fury and disgust crowded up in his mind. Not at her but at himself for trusting her. The pain of her betrayal came at him in waves that he tried to breathe through; he didn’t want to lose control. He didn’t trust what he would do when she came back to get her things, and their daughter Valentina. He looked up at the portrait of the three of them hanging above the mantel, mocking him.

He lurched up from the couch grasped the heavy wooden coffee table and flipped it over. He grabbed lamps and vases and threw them at the tile floor. He panted as he stared at the broken pieces, belatedly remembering that he could wake Valentina. Jae-Sun stumbled out of the great room, grabbed a bottle of wine from the kitchen, and ran deep into the vineyard. It was dark and all the workers had gone home, there was nothing but him, the vines, and the suffocating summer heat. He who rarely lost control, had to let go, if he didn’t purge the ugliness building inside of him, he would explode. Under an apathetic moon, he screamed and cried with fury until he was hoarse. He hated her, this winery, and this country. If he’d never come here, he would never have known this pain that made him hate the world. Now he understood the pitying glances from his workers, the small private fights Alessandra would get in with her father, and never told him why. Every one of them had known the truth, and no one had told him. 

He didn’t feel any better. He had to call someone. Talk to somebody, before he tracked down his wife and her lover, and did something he would regret. His finger shook as it hovered over two phone numbers; with what remained of his sanity he debated with himself on who to call. Why now after so many years of not talking did he want to call Hana? He pressed the second contact, and closed his eyes.

“Hello?”

Mika Between the Veil now available

Mika Between the Veil is now available and at an introductory price of .99. Here is the prologue; I hope you enjoy it.

PROLOGUE

Present day, Hill of Tara, Ireland

            Mika Kelly believed that Hell existed; it surrounded her. A Druidic battle raged, and on every side people were dying. Blood stained the grass near her feet, and screams of agony and outrage ricocheted in her mind. Paralyzed with fear, she watched as the leader of the Dark Grove finished his spell to raise the Veil. With terrible beauty a light-filled portal rose from the Hill of Tara. She couldn’t take her eyes off the spectrum of opalescent light it radiated. The sight hypnotized her, and incomprehensible voices and sounds called to her. She took a step forward without realizing it, and then fear brought her up short. Mika had never made physical contact with the Veil, and she didn’t want to start now.

But could she really just stand here and let all the creatures of the Otherworld invade her world? Her senses tingled a moment before she felt the touch of a hand on her shoulder giving a squeeze of support, and she dashed forward.

She wasn’t sure of what to do, but she knew she had to do something. As Mika got close to the Veil, her powers suddenly exploded through her. The same light as the Veil poured from her, blinding her. The gates began to open, and she threw herself against them. Her nerves felt on fire as the Veil’s power struck at her, again and again. The gates rumbled and shook, but she refused to let go. Images of her gentle, vulnerable father swept her mind. If she died too… No! She couldn’t die; her father would never survive it. Mika focused all her power and will on the gates. They would close, and she would survive. There was no other option. A ghostly cold crawled over her skin, and sank into her chest, so deep it touched her soul. She shivered, even as she pressed harder against the gates.

Mika had no idea how much time passed or what went on around her. The real world fell away, all she knew was the Veil. Mika could sense the Veil inside her, living and breathing in her body, like a parasite feeding off of her. The urge to pull away gripped her. But if she did, not only would she fail her father and her Grove, but all people.

Finally, Mika could feel power ebbing away from the Veil, and with a last rumble it sank back into the Hill of Tara. Exhausted, she collapsed into a lump next to her friend Alexis, who looked pale and weak from fighting her own battle. “The Veil’s been resealed.”

The next morning at the first ray of daylight that streamed into her guest room at Ward house, Mika popped up from the bed. A tendril of fear curled through her when she realized that icy feeling in her chest hadn’t gone away. A cold knot, pressed down upon her, stealing her breath from her. She put her hand over it. Surprisingly, her skin didn’t feel cold at all. The sensation was coming from deep inside of her, and she shuddered. Had the Veil irrevocably changed her? She moved to stand next to the window. Even though she couldn’t see it from here, she sensed how close they were to the Hill of Tara. Her nerves still trembled in response, even from this distance. The Hill of Tara was one of the few places in the world where a physical gate to the Otherworld could be raised. If she told Ciara, the head of their Grove, about what the Veil had done to her, they would never let her leave Ward house until it was resolved. Maybe if she moved far away the feeling would fade, and she could forget all the things she had seen, and felt.

Mika nodded her head in decision, moving would be the best decision all around. She had wanted to ever since her mother left. If they moved to the U.S., her father wouldn’t be constantly reminded of her mother and sister. He wouldn’t be able to go to the restaurant where he had met her mom, or to the park where they had all last played as a family…before her mother had taken her twin sister and ran away.

Anger crept in as it always did, when she thought about her mother. Maybe if her mother had stayed here in Ireland, they would both be still alive. Mika shook off the depressing thought. Yes, they would move. Everything would be better if they left. She would just have to convince her dad.

She smiled as she felt a comforting presence behind her, and without a word she unearthed a scarf from her suitcase, looped it around her neck and then knotted it determinedly right over the chilly spot in her chest. Mika hoped somehow it would ease the arctic feeling there. They would both recover in a new place. It would take time to put everything in order to move to the U.S., but it was something to look forward to.

http://www.viki.com/videos/147507v-poseidon-episode-1

I love this show, and it easily made it  into my top 10 Kdramas of all time. It’s like a great summertime movie. It has action, romance, intrigue and some great fight scenes. There are only 16 episodes so it’s got a great quick flow to it. I also love the OST, it fits perfectly with the show.

Here is a synopsis from an online source with some changes by me since it wasn’t explaining it accurately.

This drama is the story of  members of the coast guard. The drama is based on the special duties of the Korean Coast Guard officers (rescues, terrorism threats, and other special missions) and also their obstacle in life and love. The drama takes its name from the Poseidon Team,  two men within the coast guard. Using the strong bonds of humanity as a basis, and through the challenges faced by the protagonists and their spirit of self-sacrifice, the drama movingly shows the significance of life and the stories of how people overcome obstacles in life.

Kim Sun Woo, played by Siwon of Kpop band Super Junior, joins the sea special attack team. Sun Woo works as a promising commando, but he unexpectedly loses a comrade due to an undercover mission he wasn’t supposed to be running. He is demoted and is sent to a maritime police office in Gunsan city. Sun Woo’s passion cools down and he slowly loses his vision as a maritime policeman. Then one day, Jung Ryul, who lost his wife to the same people who killed Sun Woo’s co-worker,  has formed a new crime investigation section in Incheon city, visits Sun Woo and asks him to join the team. Sun Woo’s love interest is a co-worker who is a pretty and feisty girl who loves to box as a hobby. With time she knocks him out in every way. Literally.

It’s hard to lose with a Kdrama that has one of South Korea’s  great treasures aka Siwon. While you could probably be happy with Siwon just standing around, flashing some of the cutest dimples on the planet, luckily you don’t have to. Siwon does a phenomenal job as a good  officer who is willing to get a little dirty to get the bad guy. The heroine is one of my favorites of all the kdramas I’ve seen, she’s strong, passionate, and doesn’t take any crap from the hero. Poseidon has a great pace, attractive actors and actresses, great acting and writing. You can’t ask for more, and I really can’t think of any complaints. Oh there is one. No kiss scene…… Oh Siwon you are such a tease.