Five Stones, An introduction

As a lover of Jane Austen’s books, especially Pride and Prejudice, I’ve been amused and inspired by the cultural similarities between Jane Austen’s England and modern-day Korea. This led me to write a Korean-American version of Pride and Prejudice titled Five Stones, and it is approximately 130,000 words in length.

Five Stones would fit the category of chick-lit or women’s fiction. My reader would also enjoy reading Bridget Jones Diary and any other modern take on Austen’s timeless tales of love and marriage.

It is a truth, universally known, that a Korean mother in possession of five unmarried daughters must be in desperate need of eligible single men. Mrs. Youngae Kim has nothing to worry about except for her five daughters – Mihae, the beautiful one, Jihae, the supposed smartest one, Soonhae, the oddly pious one, Kihae, the boring smart one, and Marhae, the vivacious one – whom all failed to procure a husband. However full and blessed her life may be, Mrs. Kim fixes her mind on that one sore subject and spends her days on an emotional seesaw between rapturously hopeful and miserably despondent.

Over the course of many months, the two elder Kim sisters, Mihae and Jihae, struggle and then triumph over their mother’s plans for their future, the misunderstandings with the men they love, and the other people’s machinations to find love and happiness.


I've been working on this book for a couple of years, even though I wrote the 1st draft in about three months. I'm usually a confident person, but when it comes to writing, I become very insecure. I've edited this manuscript several times and spent more time fussing and nit-picking at it. Then finally, I bit the bullet last week (Friday) and sent it in to get it reviewed by Kirkus Review Indie. I'm crossing my fingers and toes for a positive review, but good or bad, I'm eagerly waiting to hear back. I feel like this is an opportunity for me to get an objective review of my work.

I know I won't get the review until July sometime (8 weeks lead time for $425 package), but I'm already waiting for it. I hope I can remain calm.