Happy May Day, everyone! April was an unexpectedly different month for me, so I’ll be talking about that in this update, and also talking about some necessary tweaks.

In this month’s post, I cover:

1. Why the blog’s been quieter in the last month, and what I’ll be doing differently this month

2. Why I’m on Patreon, and why I hope you’ll consider supporting me on Patreon;

3. Which Patreon-related reviews are due this month;

4. What shows I’m considering for coverage on Patreon, to replace shows that have completed their cycles, and

5. What you can expect, as a member on Patreon.

I hope you guys find this helpful &/or informative, and I hope you’ll consider supporting me on Patreon! ❤️

A quieter April and a different May

If you’ve been looking out for the reviews that I’d previously said I was going to publish in April, you might have been wondering where those went, coz I ended up not posting a single one of those reviews, in the end.

A bout of vertigo

What happened was, I unexpectedly came down with a bout of vertigo on Thursday, 4 April, and that basically scuttled all my plans for April.

If you’re unfamiliar with vertigo like I was, you might be surprised to learn (like I was!), that the aftermath of a bout of vertigo often lasts for weeks afterwards, and it can take 1-2 months, even, for you to be back to your regular self and back to your full form, after a bout of vertigo.

As I type this, it’s been 3.5 weeks since my vertigo attack, and I find that I’m significantly better, but not quite there yet. Just a couple of days ago, I experienced a sudden wave of nausea that started quite strong, and then stayed with me, in a low-grade sort of way, for several hours afterwards.

Because screen time is a trigger, I do need to manage my screen time, to allow myself enough time to rest, because I’ve found that rest is the only real way to get better.

Getting back into the swing of things

I’m really grateful to have a caring Patreon community; everyone was super understanding, and urged me to rest as much as possible.

Lately, I’ve been getting back into the groove of writing episode notes (which I do enjoy, because that’s my way of clearing my brain, after watching episodes of a show), but writing reviews is a different thing, and requires a lot more screen time and eye movement, because of screen activity like scrolling, toggling between screens and getting screenshots etc.

I’ve concluded, after some thought and discussion, that the smartest way forward, is for me to break with (my completely self-imposed) tradition of tackling reviews according to when I finish watching the show, and instead, spread out the reviews so that they are more manageable.

The number of reviews per month

With this in mind, I will be targeting to write only 3 reviews this month, versus the 5 that were “due,” thanks to my being “away” in April, and I will be prioritizing the reviews according to buzz and popularity, so that the reviews that you’re most likely to be interested in, should come out sooner.

I plan to write and publish the remaining 2 reviews (for Eye Love You and Amidst a Snowstorm of Love) next month, in June.

That said, my vertigo aftermath situation continues to evolve, so if I find that I need more rest, and therefore can’t meet the target of 3 reviews this month, I’ll have to adjust my goals.

The length of reviews

Also in the spirit of being smarter about managing my time and my goals, I will be varying review lengths more consciously, going forward.

What this means is, not every review will be a monster review.

I will be more selective about which shows deserve the extra time and effort required to give it a monster review.

Shows which don’t get monster reviews will get shorter, more moderate reviews, and to achieve that, I will be more selective about the portions of my episode notes that get included in the final review.

That said, I will continue to write my regular episode notes for Patreon, so if you’re curious to know my detailed thoughts about a particular show, please do consider supporting me on Patreon. 🥲

Why I’m on Patreon

My work was put on hold indefinitely because of the pandemic, and with that going on for quite some time, it became the trigger that made me decide to blog full-time. It’s what I know, and it’s also what I love.

I love dramas, and I love writing, and I love writing about dramas, but I also need to find a way to make it sustainable, so that I can keep my lights on, and pay my bills; that kind of thing.

That’s where Patreon – and everyone who values what I do on this blog – comes in.

I put a lot of work into the reviews that I post on the blog; a lot of thought, time, and effort goes into each review.

If I were to add all the time that goes into the episode notes, which then go into the review, and then add the time it takes to actually craft the review, I estimate that each review takes about a week of man hours – or more.

If you value and enjoy the work that I do here on the blog, please do consider supporting me on Patreon. 🥰

New tiers on Patreon!

I’ve introduced 4 new tiers to my Patreon page, for those who are able to, and want to support me in a deeper way.

You can check out that announcement here, or view the tiers on Patreon here!

As a token of my appreciation, these 4 tiers will receive access to voice notes, which I aim to put out weekly.

If you do choose to support me at these deeper levels, you are enabling me to do more for the site, as well as empowering me to do more for myself and my family as well – and making this blogging thing that much more feasible, as a long-term full-time gig.

If you value the work that I do here on the blog, please consider supporting my work on Patreon. ❤️

Psst! If you’re curious about the nuts and bolts of the work that goes into maintaining this blog, here is a Dear kfangurl post about this very topic; I hope you enjoy! 

Reviews due to post this month

Like I talked about earlier, I’ve selected three shows to review this month; here’s when you can expect to see them.

Queen Of Tears [Korea]: 6 May 2024

Doctor Slump [Korea]: 12 May 2024

Captivating The King [Korea]: 26 May 2024

Reviews pushed to next month

Eye Love You [Japan]: 9 June 2024

Amidst a Snowstorm of Love [China]: 23 June 2024

Replacement shows I’m considering

This isn’t yet cast in stone, because I’d need to check out the shows to make sure I like them enough to cover them on Patreon, but here are the ones that I’m considering:

Queen Of Tears [Korea]: likely to be replaced by The Atypical Family [Korea]

Doctor Slump [Korea]: already replaced by Lovely Runner [Korea]

Captivating The King [Korea]: likely to be replaced by The Midnight Romance in Hagwon [Korea]

* Other back-up shows I have in mind (in case the shortlisted shows don’t make my cut): Uncle Samsik [Korea], Frankly Speaking [Korea], Dare to Love Me [Korea].

If you have other great shows to suggest, do let me know in the comments! Please do remember to bear in mind their airing schedules, though!

Patreon tiers and their benefits 

This is what the Patreon roster looks like, at the moment:

Foundation Tier (US$1): Entertainment news and other tidbits + the first set of episode notes of all shows covered on Patreon (2 eps for kdramas, 4 eps for cdramas)

Early Access (US$5): +Blood Free [Korea]

Early Access Plus (US$10): +Will Love in Spring [China] – starting soon!

VIP (US$15): +The Atypical Family [Korea] – starting soon!

VVIP (US$20): +Lovely Runner [Korea]

Ultimate (US$25): +Captivating The King [Korea]

* Just to be clear, the tier benefits are cumulative, so if you sign up for the Ultimate tier, you wouldn’t only receive episode notes for Captivating The King, you’d receive episodes notes for all the other shows as well!

* For actual examples of episode notes, you can go here and here. 😊 These are my E1-2 notes for Lovely Runner [Korea] and Blood Free [Korea].

Patreon Highlights

If you’re new to my Patreon page, here are a handful of things you might like to know:

1. ALL tiers receive my first set of episode notes for any show that I’m covering on Patreon. 

Therefore, if you’re curious about my notes for Captivating The King, but aren’t sure whether you’d like them enough to want to join the Ultimate tier, joining the US$1 Foundation tier will give you immediate access to Captivating The King E1-2 notes.

After this, if you wish to upgrade to the Ultimate tier, Patreon would simply charge you the difference, while immediately unlocking all the posts that your new tier entitles you to. That’s exactly what Michelle did with Vincenzo, and I’m happy to report that it worked out really well! 😃

Important note! Going forward, on the new schedule, this would be 2 episodes for kdramas and 4 episodes for cdramas (due to the shorter episode lengths).

2. The Ultimate tier also receives E1 notes for all shows that I’m watching (or have checked out), INCLUDING shows that I’m NOT covering on Patreon.

This has included E1 notes for shows like:

True Beauty, Lovestruck in the City, Sweet Home, Shanai Marriage Honey (Japan), Must You Go?, Love In Between (China), A Thousand Goodnights (Taiwan), Zombie Detective, Here’s My Plan, Hello, Me!, Taxi Driver, At A Distance Spring Is Green, Monthly Magazine Home, Takane and Hana, You Are My Spring, The Witch’s Diner, D.P. (Deserter Pursuit), My Name, Forecasting Love and Weather, The One and Only, Everything and Nothing, You Are My Hero (China), Lesson in Love (Taiwan).

I call these posts Early Access Extras, and as a patron on the Ultimate tier, on average, you can expect to see about 2 of these posts each month.

In case you’re wondering, whether I eventually review these shows on the blog, really depends on how my experience with the various first episodes works out.

I’ve carried on to review a number of the shows listed above, but I’ve also chosen not to continue watching a handful of them as well.

I’ve also introduced the occasional bonus show for this tier, starting with My Name, Hellbound and Soundtrack #1.

3. You can interact with me and with one another, on Patreon.

There is a comment feature on Patreon, so, much like here on the blog, you’d be able to comment on posts and share your thoughts with me and with other patrons.

There is also a private message function, so you’d be able to message me directly on Patreon, if there’s something you’d like to talk with me about, but you feel isn’t relevant to the posts on Patreon themselves.

Aside from a web browser, you can also access my Patreon posts and messages on the Patreon app. You can find the Patreon app on Apple’s app store here, or on Google Play here.

4. You can feel safe to pause your subscription, or move between tiers at any time.

Moving between tiers

Because you are charged upfront for the coming month, that tier’s privileges will continue to be open to you, even if you choose to move down a tier sometime during the month, or if you choose to pause your subscription.

For example, if you were on the Early Access Plus tier, and sometime during the month, you decided that you’d like to move down one tier, to the Early Access Tier, you can make that change right away.

But because you’ve already paid for Early Access Plus privileges, those will remain open to you until your next billing cycle. And then you will be charged your new tier rate, at the beginning of your next billing cycle.

If you choose to upgrade your tier, you can also do so at any time, and you will simply be charged the difference, eg, US$5, if you’re moving from the Early Access tier, to the Early Access Plus tier, and the additional privileges will be immediately unlocked for you as well.

You will then be charged the new rate on your next billing cycle.

Pausing your subscription

If you choose to pause your subscription, you will not be charged on the next billing cycle, and your Patreon benefits will remain open to you until the end of your current billing cycle.

Thereafter, feel free to reactivate it at any time.

Please let me know if this explanation isn’t clear!

5. There’s now an annual subscription option available!

I only activated this option recently, because someone expressed interest in it. I just.. hadn’t realized that you guys believed in me enough, to want to sign up on a yearly basis. 😅

With the yearly subscription, you receive a 5% discount, and you will be charged on each anniversary of your join date. The only downside to this, is you don’t have the flexibility to move between tiers from month to month, according to which shows spark your interest.

6. The Patreon page has become a cool little community!

Besides the episode notes, there are lots of other conversations going on, on the monthly Drama Exchange posts that I create.

One is the Drama Exchange: Spoiler-free zone, where you can safely exchange drama recommendations and chat about other things, without the danger of encountering a spoiler, and the other is the Drama Exchange: Deep Dive Zone, where you can discuss other shows that you’re watching, that I’m not covering on Patreon, in all its spoiler glory.

Since these posts have been introduced, literally hundreds of comments have been exchanged, on each one!

ALSO. As part of the Patreon community, you’ll get various updates from me, including personal updates that I don’t share elsewhere. I’m very blessed that the Patreon community has turned, effectively, into my inner circle. I’d love for you to join me, if you can! ❤️

I suppose it goes without saying, but just in case it isn’t clear, these conversations are open to all patrons at all tiers.

What about one-time contributions?

If you prefer, you can also support the blog through easy one-time contributions by clicking on this other cute lil icon below.

I’m told that you don’t need to have a Paypal account in order to do so, but if that changes, or is different in your region, a Paypal account is pretty easy to set up; there are no sign-up fees involved, and you don’t have to keep a balance in it, unless you actually want to.

You can choose to link a bank account, a debit card, or a credit card, to facilitate your contribution.

Thank you!

..And that’s about it, for this month’s updates! If you have suggestions for other things that you’d like me to include in these monthly update posts, do let me know in the comments, and I’ll see what I can do, to incorporate them into future posts.

I aim to publish future update posts on the first of each month.

Thanks for reading, thanks for your support, and thank you for being here! Big hugs to ya! 🥰❤️😘

Once again, you can find my Patreon page by clicking on this cute lil icon below: