Los Angeles-based Chinese author, Priscilla Wu brings her dystopian romance “True Beauty” to the Philippines as ABS-CBN Books has published the well-loved fan fiction-turned-novel in its efforts to spotlight great stories not just from local but international authors as well.
Priscilla said her first novel, inspired by the K-pop group EXO and set in a modern time with an age-old premise, 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,” said the 22-year old author about the book’s main inspiration in her MYX Philippines’ MYXclusive interview.
The novelist, who began writing at the age of seven, started creating “True Beauty” when she was just 16 years old and finished it over a year later at the age of 17. She first published it online in asianfanfics.com, where the story got a million reads and its success led to the eventual transformation of the fanfic into a full novel.
Priscilla is now part of the exciting roster of authors under ABS-CBN Books. The publishing arm of the country’s leading media and entertainment company, ABS-CBN, continues to bring the Kapamilya experience in print with its extensive fiction, nonfiction, movie-based, self-help, and inspirational reads.
“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 Priscilla on her excitement to have her story published in print.
Immerse yourself in Priscilla Wu’s “True Beauty,” available online and in leading bookstores and newsstands nationwide for only P295.
