<p>Shen Tao has always wanted to be a writer. For as long as she can remember, she's had ideas, developed characters, and written stories. It took her 9 attempts, 9 manuscripts, to finally get it done. </p><br><p>Her debut is 'The Poet Empress'. It's a Chinese historical fantasy, blended with a love story and a murder mystery. It tells the story of a young woman, who enters the Imperial Court as a concubine, and learns poetry-magic to try and kill the heir to the tale. We talk about how she pushed on, through the failed manuscripts, and had an idea she knew would be a winner. A winner it was, eventually being bought in a 6-way auction.</p><br><p>You can hear why she's prepared to chuck words away, why she writes a '0th draft', and how her routine has changed since going full-time.</p><br><p>We chat about the pressure of getting it right, her unique inspiration blending both Chinese and Western myths and stories, and Shen shares her strong font opinions.</p><br><p>Get a copy of the book - uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutine</p><br><p>Read the newsletter - writersroutine.substack.com</p><br><p>Support the show - </p><p>patreon.com/writersroutine</p><p>ko-fi.com/writersroutine</p><br><p>@writerspod</p><p>writersroutine.com</p><p><br></p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>