Inside the palace of the most powerful kingdom on Earth, amid a suffocating world of choreographed behavior, one woman stood up to a stale patriarchy. One Machiavellian courtesan rose above the rules and became the most powerful person alive. Born into poverty with nothing but her wit and charm, Wu was carried to the Emperor's Palace as a child to join his large and growing harem of courtesans. She caught the eye of the aging Emperor, but chose her mark carefully. Eluding rivals in the courtesan halls, she hooked the heart of the Crown Prince, leading him to smash centuries of tradition to marry her, a lowly woman on ignoble birth. Wu consolidated her power, becoming the de facto ruler of ancient China. But how far would she go to consolidate her legacy? Would she sacrifice the love of her husband? The life of her child? When allies become enemies only to become allies again, what are the rules in this new world? To stay one step ahead, the victorious must write the rules themselves. And for Wu, all the rules must go.
About the Author: For everyone who loves great stories, Peachill is a collaborative and curated storytelling platform that produces great content by eliminating the barriers between great ideas and finished stories. As a true partner, Peachill champions the funding, creation, and distribution process, freeing up creatives to do what they do best, unlike publishers who charge large upfront fees or only provide one service along a complicated publishing journey. While the digital revolution has produced the potential for a new storytelling democracy controlled by We the People, it is, too often, just that: untapped potential. Peachill proposes nothing less than a storytelling revolution. The potential is already there. We can bypass the traditional gatekeepers through crowdsourcing and online marketplaces. We can share and be challenged by ideas from across the world through social media. Everywhere we look, technology empowers us to think for ourselves and share our ideas and stories with the world. So isn't it ironic (don't you think?), or weird, or backwards that those who tell the stories and control how those stories are published and shared have remained pretty much the same? But here's the good stuff: what the digital revolution has done is brought us closer together. Friends and neighbors can more easily than ever gather around the digital campfire to share stories and, thus, understand a difficult world. We can get connected with the best and brightest who share our questions and our passions - and who can help answer our questions or make our idea a reality. Despite these changes, the way we tell and find stories remains distinctly undemocratic. We are capable of so much more. At Peachill, we believe in the power and relevance of every voice. We want to live in a world where the best stories not only find an audience but are improved by the community that springs up around them. Peachill is a place where storytelling is democratic - open to everyone and where the best ideas prosper because the community wants them to. It is where every good story finds the support and professional resources it needs to succeed. We do this with the belief that if we empower people and partner in creativity, powerful books and journalism stories will result. We believe that passionate individuals can accomplish great things - but together we can create something extraordinary. Peachill is not a publishing platform, Peachill is a storytelling revolution. Join us.