2015 PitchWars Mentee Blog Hop: The Inspiration Behind HESPERIA

If you'd like to learn more about HESPERIA, here are some older posts on the MS:

-Nanowrimo Check-in #1 (where I talk about the conception of HESPERIA)

-Nanowrimo Check-in #2 (where you get to read an excerpt from draft #1)

-Post-Manuscript Completion Thoughts (where I get quite emotional over the roller-coaster that was the drafting process of HESPERIA)

-On Contests (where I talk about how HESPERIA fared in PitchSlam)

-Diversity in YA and my reservations (where I talk about the way I feature diversity in HESPERIA and how it doesn't really fit the conventional mold of "Asian characters")

This amazing art is by SansaXIX. Check out her profile for more.

As you can tell, this isn't the first time I'm talking about this MS on the blog, so I'll try to keep this post from becoming long-winded like all my other posts (and of course, I've probably jinxed myself by saying that). 

But yes, feel free to check out my other posts on the journey that this MS has been through.

Now to the point of this blog hop. HESPERIA, unlike some of my other MS's, didn't arise from a particular scene that I dreamed of or envisioned. Instead, I was very stuck in my other MS, THE SERENDIPITY LABS (description in my Novels tab). I took a break, during which I did a lot of knitting--finished my first scarf, in fact!--and Asian drama watching.

My favorite genre of Asian drama is wuxia, which basically translates into swords/historical/fantasy. And I especially love the dramas that have a bit of action but are grounded in political intrigue. Which means I loveeeee dramas set in the imperial palace, or during a particular dynasty. 

So I finished my 59 episode binge of Legend of Lu Zhen. It wasn't the greatest--there was a lot of petty drama between the different consorts and maids, which is meh--but I still enjoyed it. It got me thinking that I wished that there could be an China-inspired fantasy with the production values of, say, Game of Thrones. Because that would totally rock. There are so many inspiration-serving Chinese legends and classics and epics as a result of its enormous history. So many of those legends and classics (such as Water Margin, Dream of the Red Chamber, Journey to the West) are unaccessible to Western audiences, however, not because they haven't been translated, but I suspect because of cultural barriers. Plus, being classics, they aren't really...as palatable or easy to get into as YA fiction. I certainly haven't read those monsters--I've watched drama adaptations of them.

With the thought of something Asian inspired and something classical in my mind, an idea suddenly hit me. Why not take a really popular and pretty accessible Western novel in the classical canon, fantasify it, and give it an Asian twist? By the way, I thought I was sooo clever when I thought of doing a "retelling" of a classic, since there were so many fairytale retellings out there but not as many classic retellings (other than Shakespeare ones and Jane Austen ones). Well turns out I'm not so clever because as HuffPost shows, classic retellings are going to be a big thing in 2016. 

*weeps*

(I see now how my posts grow so long-winded)

Anyway, I settled on To Kill a Mockingbird because I really enjoyed the themes of the book and how they were delivered so innocently and simply. The court scene chapters were also some of my favorites to ever read in any classic, and I thought it'd be really cool to incorporate them in a fantasy setting and infuse them with political intrigue.

And the rest is history.

I'd say that the themes in HESPERIA are pretty clear, and you can probably tell the TKAM influence if you read it. For example, Hesperia's prejudice and discrimination toward her half-brother Roon serve to represent a microcosm of the prejudice and discrimination rampant in the book against the seers and magicians. It's only when she starts realizing that people only discriminate because of their own insecurities (in the case of Hesperia, the friction between her blood-brother and not being loved by her own mother. For the people of the kingdom, it's insecurity about their safety and peace) that she is able start to overcome her prejudice toward the seers and magicians.

There are some pretty crucial parts of the trials that mirror the trials in TKAM.

And if you pay attention to some of the characters, you'll see that some have been inspired by characters in TKAM (namely Roon and the Damalee = Boo Radley, Warnick = Tom Robinson).

Okay, I'm done! Didn't mean for that to turn into an analysis of literature. Many of my blog readers are people who've stuck with me through thick and thin, and so hopefully this is sort of interesting to you, especially if you've read the MS :)

Check out the rest of the Mentees' posts here. 

An Update of Sorts

As I've mentioned before, I'm PACKED* this month. I haven't ever had to juggle so much. But while reflecting on the busyness, I actually find some things hilarious. So this is a quick snapshot of what's going on in my life.

*college counseling three kids who are applying to a bunch of 11/1 deadlines, participating in Pitchwars, the launch of Penn's peer counseling group (and of course, college, which almost feels deceptively insignificant at this point but really isn't...so much work)

On the food scene:

-I've consumed a lot of peanut butter sandwiches:

-And a lot of almonds:

-And a lot of coffee (by a lot I really mean my cup-a-day, but I was actually off coffee for a while before this month. Now I'm back to getting headaches when I don't drink it in the mornings!)

On the school scene:

-I'm done midterms! For like, a week and a half! And then I have round two of exams! Weee!!!

On the reading scene:

-*cue cricket chirps* I really need to read the MS for a CP before the month of October ends. So once I have reading time in my life again, that's the first thing I'm doing. 

-Does college-required reading count? Not really in my mind...

On the clothing scene:

-Comfy and easy to wash clothes all day, all night. Pajamas are my friend.

On the social scene:

- Me to the BF: Hey, read this. *shoves MS into his face*

BF: *reluctantly stops spectating a video game tournament* *reads* It's good.

Me: Pinpoint exactly what it is that is good. And tell me if its better than the original. It needs to be better than the original. I'm just not really sure if it is.

BF: Well...you know I like the original. Basically, I like everything you write. Everything is unicorns and rainbows. *eyes drift back to video game*

Me: *uses amazing detective skills and reads into that as a bad sign* Welp. Everything I write sucks. I hate revising. You're unhelpful. Goodbye.

-And literally, that's all I have going on socially. I have been interacting with a minimal number of human beings. 

How's October going for you?

Happy Belated Book Birthday to SOULS ESTRANGED!!!

This past week was momentous because it was the release for the second book of my CP's The Souls Trilogy. Yes, second book. To think that way back in February of 2013, I was reading a draft of the first book. Time really does fly.

My CP Anne is so selfless and supportive, and if you've read this post of mine, then you'll know that she was a driving force behind my completion of HESPERIA. Seriously, if you're drafting a tough book, you want her by your side. We have yet to meet in person, but I know that when I do, I'm going to tackle with the biggest hug.

So without further ado, behold the beauty:

I am so jealous of her covers.

Back from their adventures in Souls Entwined, Sam Daggett begins a new relationship with Gretta Dobbs, whose memories of their time traveling experience have been erased. Determined to never leave her again, Sam vows to help Gretta, despite the bad luck curse on her heirloom ring. Within hours of their return, tragedy strikes. 

As Sam becomes the third victim of the bad luck curse, Gretta’s memories of her time spent in the past begin to return. Unable to remember more than snippets, she realizes that anyone close to her is in grave danger. In order to keep Sam and her family safe, she flees in the middle of the night. 

Finding the perfect summer job in the back hills of Virginia, Gretta unknowingly crosses paths with a serial killer. With guidance from their ancestral spirits, Roxana and Katarina, Sam desperately attempts to find Gretta before the curse strikes again. 



FIND IT HERE: Soulmate Publishing   ●   Amazon   ●   Goodreads

And here's where you can find out more about the first book of the trilogy/get your hands on it:

My Post From Last Year

Soulmate Publishing

Amazon

Goodreads



If you're reading this, congratulations Anne!!! Already bought book two and getting ready to read :)

Autumn Reads

Been super busy with a lot of things (not even going to list them because they'll make my head explode) BUT I wanted to celebrate the start of my favorite month with a short post about ALL THE BOOKS that I want to read. It's been a while since I've talked about books because I'm guilty of not reading as much as I should.... But I do tend to read more during the colder months for some odd reason, so here we go:

Books that are already out in the world (and that I'm most likely way behind on reading):

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
Young Elites by Marie Lu
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Books I'm currently reading that I need to finish:

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
Half Bad by Sally Green

Books that I'm rereading for editing the PitchWars manuscript purposes:

The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson
Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo
Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

Books that I'm eagerly awaiting:

Ice Like Fire by Sara Raasch
The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski***


***Ugh!!! The release date for this book is so far away. I've rereading all books in The Winner's Crime trilogy, and I am now convinced that it is one of my all time favorite Young Adult series. Rutkoski is a master of tension, plot, romance, and character development--she executes all with such sophistication and beauty. I highly, highly recommend checking out the trilogy. Some might find it a bit slow at first, but that's part of its subtle beauty and also something that you will miss when the tension gets to be too much. Why did I ever think it would be a good idea to read book 2 before the release of book 3????***

Book that I recommend as a cozy read:
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

As you can see, I have a lot of fantasies on the list. I tend to get into the fantasy mood during fall/winter. Plus, there's a lot of good fantasy out there nowadays.

So those are my books! To be honest, I'm going to be so proud of myself if I can just read one book from each category because reading everything on this list is probably not realistic, given my current schedule. We can hope though!


Let me know what's on your TBR list! I'd love to here and get some more recommendations :)