I'm finally getting around to posting a few pics from Korea.

So here's the 1st one — Kyobo Books. I went to the main one in the basement of the Kyobo Building. This particular bookstore has over 2.3 million books.

Kyobo building — it's a big building, though the one that's even bigger (the bluish one) is owned by Dong-Ah News (newspaper company).

Entrance:

Kyobo ereader display —

Closeup of Kyobo ereaders —

Kyobo v. Kindle —

Kyobo keyboard — its keys are so small, I don't know if I can really use it

Kyobo ereader screen — it's not bad, but I didn't find the display good enough for Korean text (I do read Korean pretty well)

Kyobo book displays — BTW, there are lots of this kind of displays to showcase select titles.

Kyobo display of JKR's Harry Potter series —

Kyobo book slip to help you find any title you want — it tells you exactly how many copies are in the store, plus the exact location in the store plus a small map so you can find it easily (sorry it's wrinkly b/c it got crushed in my bag)

Kyobo has one of the most amazing inventory tracking system. I bought two books entitled The Woman Who Made a King.

I'll post more photos of downtown Seoul later. :)

• Read more.
• Write / revise more.
• Exercise more.

Sleep is overrated.

I must start this month's note by saying I'm sorry for missing last month's update. May was just too hectic. The Boy got bronchitis at the end of April, and with our trip to Korea and all, he had to basically stay out of daycare until May 18th, while we were planning our trip and getting our paperwork, etc. ready. Meanwhile Hero Material was really sick — high fever and so on — and there just wasn't any time for me to do everything I needed to do.

By the time we returned from the trip, it was too late to post an update. So that's how I ended up with nothing for May.

Now you may be wondering, “Why did you go to Korea, Nadia? Isn't your baby a little too young for an international trip?”

The Boy was exactly 11 months old when we flew out. So he was a bit young, and to be honest, Hero Material and I were not planning to travel overseas until The Boy was at least 3 years old. But my younger brother was getting married, so we had to go. And we are so glad we went. The wedding was stunning, and it was great to see my family and relatives. The Boy was a superstar; he did very well on the plane and at the wedding. And he got hugged by everyone, which he adored. :) I posted a few pictures of The Boy in Korea here if you want to see.

On the writing front — I finally sent off a new novel to Agent. It's a futuristic romance set (mostly) in Tokyo. I like the project, and I hope Agent likes it too.

As for the sequel to The Last Slayer — I'm doing another revision, which is about 75% done. Once I hit the 100% mark, I plan to send it off to a pair of fresh eyes for input. The plot and basic structure probably won't change at this point unless people tell me I messed up something really bad.

With the Boy back in daycare and my having recovered somewhat from the trip, I'm hoping that June will be more productive (and less sleep-deprived). I hope all of you have a lovely month. :)

P.S. Don't forget — A Happily Ever After of Her Own and Carnal Secrets are still on sale on Amazon, BN and All Romance eBooks!

The Boy enjoying his formula. :)

The Boy checking out his in-flight bassinet. (Strangely Asiana didn't provide it on our return flight, saying that he's suddenly too big for it. O_o)

Doesn't this look like he's playing poker?

The Boy at his uncle's wedding. (It was beautiful BTW.)

The Boy at a restaurant.

The Boy with two young women in hanbok (Korean traditional dress).

2012 seems to be the year of strange weather in Japan. We had the freakiest storm in April, plus snow up north, and so on. Thankfully where I am is relatively warm and not as stormy. Yesterday, I saw that the cherry blossom trees along the river had bloomed. Finally!

On the technology front, I changed my site layout, so that it changes its width, etc. depending on the screen size of your gadget. I've been meaning to optimize my site for smart phones and tablets, but just hadn't gotten around to it until now. If you see anything that's broken on your browser, please let me know via a comment. :)

As for my writing, I'm still working on the revision for the sequel to The Last Slayer. The opening and the middle didn't really work, and I was trying to save them somehow. Except…they just aren't going to work in the current form. When I get restless reading my own writing, I know it's not fair to subject others to it. But it's getting there, slowly, and I actually like how the manuscript's shaping up.

Though I never made any big new year's resolutions for 2012, I joined the gym this month to get back in shape. I was shocked to learn that I actually weigh about 10 lbs less than my pre-pregnancy weight. This doesn't mean I get to slack off because I'm in terrible shape — often out of breath after doing even the most basic physical activities (like, um, walking). Also, I want to look more toned for my brother's wedding in May and be in better physical shape for The Boy, who's becoming more and more mobile. And quick!!!

I hope your April is lovely and productive. :)

I have to apologize for the lack of updates for February and missing it again for March.

I've been super busy and exhausted from being ill for three full weeks and having to take care of a sick baby at the same time. Hero Material was down for the count as well. But we're all fine now! :)

Unfortunately, I don't have much to report on The Last Slayer sequel revision since not much got done. I had a bit of epiphany, and that's nice, but I need some time to execute it. :-)

Speaking of The Last Slayer, The Book Vixen gave a lovely review of the book here. :-) I have to say that I've been overwhelmed by the number of great reviews that people have given this book. Really makes it all worthwhile!

The weather here has been crazy — warm one week, freezing the next. I hope you are doing well wherever you are, and your February and March have been more productive and fabulous than mine, haha.