Writing Web Novels In America-Chapter 116 - 114: British Version of ’Empresses in the Palace

Chapter 116: Chapter 114: British Version of ’Empresses in the Palace

Tennessee, inside an ordinary two-story rural cottage.

Leonard’s mother sat in front of the computer, sighing in resignation.

Ever since her husband became addicted to the novel called "Extreme Heavenly Demon," he had constantly been fighting with their son over the computer.

Under Leonard’s relentless protests, they finally added a third of these beloved yet frustrating machines to the household during Christmas.

But these things were so expensive that the money had to be deducted from their daily expenses.

She, who had sneakily read "Extreme Heavenly Demon," could not understand why the two men in her family loved reading about all that fighting and killing.

"It’s nothing compared to ’Prison Break’!" she murmured, clicking her mouse to start her nth rereading of the "Prison Break" novel.

"The author of ’Arcane Throne’ has a new work, and it’s aimed at women," a friend messaged her.

"Let’s all go criticize it. We need to show those arrogant male authors that even though they occupy most of the spots on the bestseller lists,"

"they can never truly write the novels that women love!"

"Female authors are our favorites! It’s time for women to stand up!"

The guy who wrote "Extreme Heavenly Demon"?

He actually deludes himself into thinking he can create a work as great as "Prison Break"?

How absurdly overconfident!

Leonard’s mother, armed with the resentment of spending several thousand US dollars extra, eagerly clicked on the link sent by her friends.

Then, she saw a novel appear before her eyes.

"Harem Intrigue • Youngest Daughter of the Boleyn Family"?

What in the world were harem intrigue and the Boleyn family about?

With the intention of finding fault, she clicked into the work’s directory.

Huh?

The story is set in the courts of Medieval Europe?

Her attention was immediately captured.

After all, regardless of age, most women aspire to a luxurious courtly life.

Otherwise, why would Princess Diana be so adored by so many?

"Heh, it’s just another Cinderella story," she muttered disdainfully, her eyes still glued to the screen.

Then she was captivated by a list of prominent names in the book.

The protagonist was named Anne Boleyn, the famous "Thousand-Day Queen" from history.

Her daughter was Elizabeth I, the universally known "Virgin Queen."

And her niece was Mary I, who had been written into countless horror stories.

There was even a cocktail named after her, called "Bloody Mary."

"Humph, is that all?" she clicked rapidly with the mouse, her mocking sentences growing shorter.

Then, she put herself in the protagonist’s shoes, those of a powerless, rural noble’s youngest daughter.

As the youngest, she had no right to any inheritance.

Therefore, what kept her happily living on was certainly beautiful love.

Watching the boy who grew up with her gradually become a handsome, brave man, earning the title of knight,

her heart hung on him.

The innocent protagonist was longing for a future that, although perhaps not wealthy, was bound to be joyful,

only to unexpectedly discover that the knight fancied, and had fallen for, her sister!

She was bewildered, she struggled, but ultimately, her affection for her sister and friend prevailed.

After graciously blessing the pair, the heartbroken protagonist then encountered the bane of her life, Henry VIII, the British King.

The charming middle-aged king took one look at the young girl and was smitten.

And her father, uncles, and other relatives, eager to ingratiate themselves with the king and elevate the family’s status, persuaded the young girl to become the king’s mistress.

After a resigned springtime affair, the king promised to love only her.

But then, the arrival of her sister and brother-in-law shattered her life to pieces.

The king actually developed an interest in her sister?

Her sister coyly resisted the king’s advances, only to ultimately succumb to him.

And her family, as if forgetting about the girl, cheerfully watched the sister go off to the palace with the king.

The girl still held onto a sliver of hope, and turned to the knight, now her brother-in-law.

At this moment, the knight who should be brave and steadfast was jubilantly hosting a banquet to celebrate his promotion in titles and lands.

Despite all this being achieved at the expense of his wife.

Everything before her eyes had completely corrupted the female protagonist.

Love, family ties, none of it mattered as much as power and position!

Thus, she wiped her tears, cut her long hair, and went to the palace alone, determined to use her body and wits to become the most powerful woman!

At this time, Leonard’s mother had completely stopped talking.

Thinking of the grand achievements of the "Thousand-Day Queen" in history, and then reflecting on the tragic early life of an innocent girl.

This filled her with a sense of anticipation for what was to come, but Wang Jian had only updated the story to this point.

"It really is just like my husband complained, such a fan of cliffhangers," she commented in the book review section, "Write quickly, I will definitely pay to read on."

At the same time, she moved to the Twitter discussion area, ready to talk about the plot.

However, the discussion area was not what she had expected.

Everyone was relentlessly criticizing the male author’s arrogance and ignorance.

Huh...

How strange.

Leonard’s mother gently brushed aside the hair that covered her eyes.

"Who exactly are all those people leaving comments to urge updates in the book review section?"

Wang Jian shared her curiosity.

He looked at the book review section and then at the Twitter discussion area, puzzled as he took a sip of tea.

The number of readers and commenters was roughly the same; it couldn’t be that they were different readers, could it?

What on earth was going on!

"Wang," Tom entered the office, "the people from HBO have already arrived."

"Oh, please ask them to wait in the conference room," Wang Jian instructed.

After Tom left, he looked over the materials from the HBO network again.

Established in 1972 in New York, backed by the media giant, Warner Group.

This television network wasn’t like others that primarily relied on advertising revenue.

Instead, they used TV networks to provide subscription services to users.

They bought exclusive rights to high-grossing films at a high price and were proactive in developing their own TV productions.

Currently, they had become America’s largest paid television network in terms of subscribers, even surpassing those with a unique edge in adult pay-per-view channels.

Wang Jian organized the materials and went to the conference room.

Then, he saw a young Caucasian man sitting comfortably in an office chair.

"Mr. Wang?" he stood up and shook hands with Wang Jian.

"I hear that your website is earnestly seeking partners to co-produce a ’Prison Break’ prequel?"

"Yes," Wang Jian sat opposite him, "is HBO interested in a cooperation?"

The young Caucasian smiled, "Your site is quite the newcomer in the television production industry, isn’t it?"

He handed Wang Jian some materials, "Do you know how many television production companies are founded and how many go bankrupt each year in America?"

"The majority of these companies never get the chance to make it big on silver screens or television."

He took a self-satisfied sip of coffee, "’Prison Break’ made it onto CBS largely thanks to Goldman Sachs, wouldn’t you agree?"

"I wonder if they will continue to provide such robust support for the website?" He settled back into his office chair, "Goldman Sachs isn’t running a charity, is it?"

"And how confident are you that your production won’t be axed halfway through?"

"The television industry is quite the money pit. Are you really hoping to cover the potential massive losses with the meager proceeds from paid readings?"

Wang Jian looked at the man, then back down at the materials about the television companies.

The data was, indeed, distressingly meticulous.

And the HBO representative kept talking.

"Or maybe, follow in the footsteps of those unsuccessful production companies and distribute through videotapes."

He shrugged, "The biggest videotape chain store, Bestar, though controlled by Viacom, Warner also has a stake in it."

"Excuse me for interrupting."

At this moment, a middle-aged man walked into the room.

"I’m Reed Hastings. Mr. Tom said that Mr. Wang would be in the conference room."

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