Los Angeles-based Chinese author Priscilla Wu brings her dystopian romance inspired by the K-pop group EXO to the Philippines.
ABS-CBN Books has published the well-loved fan fiction-turned-novel, True Beauty, in its efforts to spotlight great stories not just from local but international authors as well.
Set in a modern time with an age-old premise, True Beauty is about 18-year-old Hana Acacia who comes from a noble family and is about to receive a Noye—a slave—as a coming of age present.
Her life faces an unforeseeable twist when she meets Aden, a Noye with rough hair, harsh eyes, and faded scars and is the most beautiful thing she has ever laid her eyes on.
“Something that I want to encapsulate in True Beauty is how humans really are very multi-faceted. That really surfaced as the main inspiration behind the protagonist Hana’s mindset and how she lives her life in the world,” the 22-year-old author said during her MYX Philippines’ MYXclusive interview.
The novelist, who began writing at age 7, started creating True Beauty when she was just 16 years old and finished it over a year later. She first published it online at asianfanfics.com, where the story got a million reads. Its success led to the eventual transformation of the fanfic into a full novel.
“When you read something online, it’s very easy to just skip over paragraphs or not really absorb anything… having something physical in your hand really allows you to immerse yourself in the words rather than looking at it through the blue screen,” shared Wu on her excitement to have her story published in print.
True Beauty is available online and in leading bookstores and newsstands nationwide for P295.
