Diamond Queen Inspiration (A Pitch Wars Mentee Blog Hop)

Q: What was the inspiration behind your Pitch Wars story?

Before I get into my answer, I just wanted to say a huge thanks to my fellow mentees, Brianna Shrum (my mentor), and as always Brenda Drake for this incredible experience. I can't believe our journey is coming to an end, but I look forward to 'life after pitch wars' with you all!

Now, onto my manuscript, Diamond Queen, a story close to my heart.

Diamond Queen was the story I was always meant to write, I just never got down to do it. Inspired by a Vietnamese oral folktale I've heard all my life, I never gave much thought about it until my recent trip to Vietnam this past February where I had heard it again for the millionth time. The folktale is a spin-off from the phrase, "ngu long con chua" or "five princesses of dragons".

The phrase is almost always uttered when a person realizes my mother gave birth to five daughters. In the Vietnamese culture, five daughters within a family is considered a sign of good luck. The luck, as I understand, stems from the fact that each daughter is 'blessed' with a certain attribute. Whatever that means.

Growing up, the phrase went through one ear and out the other, because I never saw much good luck around us. We were a poor immigrant family with a single parent trying to make ends meet. But when we were in Vietnam this past February and I heard the story again, I made sure to listen. From the awe in my relatives eyes, I realized how far my family had come. My mother raised five girls on her own in an unfamiliar country, sent us all to college (and we now all have stable full-time jobs), and oh yeah, she beat cancer.

Maybe there was some luck around us. As a child, observing my family through the hardships, I couldn't see it. But now, I do.

Thus the premise of Diamond Queen. Though my story can standalone, it's a planned four-part series about five princesses blessed--or cursed, depending on how you look at it--scattered across the globe who must come together and save their country from tyranny. Diamond Queen is the story of the eldest sister, Avere, who is the heir of a kingdom that wants her dead.

I hope one day this manuscript gets into your hands in book form, because I am dying to share this story with you.

To close, below are a few photos from my trip mentioned that inspired my imagined country of Vadierra.

Best of luck to all the other mentees out there and many thanks for stopping by! Can't wait for you to see my pitch and first 250 words at the agent round <333

Check out Vanessa Edward's (fellow mentee and host of the blog hop) blog here to check out more inspiration from the other Pitch Wars mentees!