Sophia Ravel
Mo Seto, a 12-year-old black belt in taekwondo, dreams of starring opposite his idol in a martial arts movie. But he's too short to even qualify for an audition. Determined to land the role, Mo sneaks in to auditions anyway. The Legendary Mo Setofollows Mo's journey as he discovers a secret martial art that dates back to his ancestors and is faced with many lessons of self-discovery.
Mo's story may be fiction, but its inspiration is not. Author AY Chan The Legendary Mo SetoA martial arts enthusiast herself in her youth, she based her debut novel on her own experiences training taekwondo, which she began at age six, and the Hong Kong martial arts films that her parents secretly watched.
Chan loved to read as a child, but quickly noticed the lack of representation of Asians in the media.
“I was always looking for a book about a girl practicing martial arts, but there weren't any, so I promised myself that one day I would write one myself,” Chan told AsAmNews in an interview. The Legendary Mo Seto born.
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But Chan's path to publication wasn't without its challenges. The early stages of her writing career began six years ago, when she was still working full-time at an education technology startup. She eventually quit that job to devote all her time to her novel. From reading, to attending lectures and conferences, to meeting with others in the industry, Chan was now working full-time in the industry.
In an interview with AsAmNews, Chan shared some notable memories from her creative process.
“…during a writing meeting, an editor critiqued the first few pages of my manuscript. She said she couldn't relate to my story because the mother character seemed too 'stereotypical' for a Chinese mother, and advised me to 'make the mother less stereotypical.' I explained that my portrayal of the mother was based on my own experiences and stories I had heard from friends, and I believed it was a realistic portrayal. The editor was not convinced, and I let the matter go,” Chang said.
Moments like these didn't discourage Chan: Instead, she saw the comments as an opportunity, as only 2% of writers identify as Asian American, according to a 2023 survey by the National Writers Guild, and Asian Americans' representation in media is consistently low.
“That's why it's so important to showcase the diversity of Asian people and make our faces and stories visible for all to see – vividly, clearly and above all, frequently,” Chan said.
Through The Legend of Mo SetoChan wants to create strong Asian American female protagonists to serve as role models for her readers, and she hopes to fill her own bookshelves with works by Asian authors and to expand her collection to highlight Asian stories.
“hoping The Legendary Mo Seto “Mo inspires kids, especially girls, to explore martial arts and embrace their own strength and story. Years ago, a young me would have been thrilled to have had a role model like Mo,” Chan said.
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