How Meteor Garden Ruined My Life

Meteor Garden ruined my life.

When I was a high school freshman, I became addicted to the Taiwanese television series Meteor Garden. It’s about a poor girl named Shan Cai who goes to an exclusive school attended by scions and heirs from all over the country. She can only attend the school because her parents work their asses off to send her there, and she simply can’t wait to get the whole thing over with.

But then she stumbles upon F4, four of the richest and most good-looking boys in school. At first, she falls for Hua Ze Lei—the silent well-read one—but then Dao Ming Shi is the one who truly captures her heart. He’s brash, arrogant, and completely lovable.

Basically, MeteorGarden is like Cinderella with four Prince Charmings instead of one.

My twelve-year-old self ate it all up. I dreamed about finding someone who’d run after a goddamn bus just because I’m on it and he can’t live without me. Well, yeah, he can, but he doesn’t want to. I dreamed about finding someone who would jump in the way of a moving vehicle just because I don’t want to be with him anymore, who would fight for me despite his elitist mother’s threats.

The scene that cemented my love for Dao Ming Shi was the one where he begged Shan Cai to get back together with him after she made out with Hua Ze Lei, his best friend. Or when he asked her to stay when they were standing in the rain and her bags were all packed. Or the time he gave her a shooting star necklace. Jesus, that scene got me every time.

I was a stupid twelve-year-old, and I’m still stupid at nineteen. No one has ever measured up to Dao Ming Shi, and I doubt anyone ever will. He had his flaws, but they made him even more amazing. They made him seem real. And he beat people up for Shan Cai and he was played by Jerry Yan, damn it. No girl can resist that.

Now, seven years later, I still watch scenes from MeteorGarden on Youtube, and dream about finding someone even a little like Dao Ming Shi. I’m not holding my breath, but I can’t help it.

Euphoria #2

Save Forever for Me has finally arrived at local bookstores!

Yippee!

I went to the mall last Friday with my friend Dianne, and, surprisingly, the book was already in the shelves. She immediately bought a copy and made me sign it in the middle of the bookstore. Slightly embarrassing, but completely heartwarming at the same time. So, thanks, Dianne, for your unbridled support!

Also, I found out today that Taylor Song has a rendition of my all-time favorite Christmas song Last Christmas (originally by Wham!). I don’t know why, but listening to Taylor Swift never fails to lift me out of a horrific mood.

Male Feelings

(technically Alex Pettyfer has nothing to do with this post, but...)

I was blog hopping last night, and I came across a guest post on Fiction Groupie’s blog about writing from a male point-of-view. The post was mainly about tackling a teenage boy’s point-of-view, but a lot of the points it made could be applied to adult male points-of-view as well.

Here’s the link to the post entitled Creating an Authentic Teen Guy’s Voice.

The post made me think of a lot of things. In my published novels, His Secondhand Heart and Save Forever for Me, and the other two lined up for publication, the story was told from the points-of-view of both the hero and the heroine. I’ve come to realize that my male main characters tend to overanalyze things, and actually talked about their feelings. *Insert shudder here.*

I hope to rectify that mistake in my next manuscript, and create an authentic guy’s voice. As much as I hate to admit it, guys don't overanalyze their feelings. They prefer action, and avoid talking about feelings as much as possible. They want to talk about what they think, not what they feel.

Now I'm off to interview unsuspecting guy friends about their relationships.

Sayonara.