If you're a huge fan of "Princess Diaries" and "Succession," then you'll love "Royal Heirs Academy" by Lindsey Duga.
What was your inspiration behind your most recent book?
"Royal Heirs Academy" was truly a team effort between me and my editor. She had this amazing idea to use UWC Atlantic, a real-life global boarding school where royals and scholarship students attend, as the setting for a contemporary, character-driven young adult novel. I was absolutely in love with this idea and ran with it, sending her several pitch ideas for its plot. We landed on “Princess Diaries meets Succession.”
At the time, I’d just finished watching the HBO Max show, "Succession," where a media tycoon pins his children against each other so that one of them will become the next CEO in his place — (when, really, what they are competing for is their father’s love) — and I was obsessed with the drama. It was such a great premise for a book where teens are sent to a school full of royals. So I quickly started to create a new country that I could set in the modern day where a constitutional monarchy still existed. But to truly create the trauma that some of the characters in "Succession" dealt with, I wanted to add an extra layer of complication. What if they were the grandchildren of the king chosen to take over as heirs, because their parents were so spoiled and flawed? And they grew up not even knowing they were royals so as not to inherit their parents’ mistakes? That’s where the "Princess Diaries" premise came into play.
So basically you have four teens from vastly different backgrounds put up against each other to compete for their grandfather’s crown while judged on their performance at the world’s most prestigious boarding school. Think of the teen drama shenanigans that normal high school books have….and then multiply that by one hundred because the stakes are that much higher.
What does Reading Rainbow mean to you?
Being able to read a story where there is acceptance and love for people no matter what they look like, where they come from, or who they love.
Why do you feel representation of a variety of people is so important when it comes to writing books?
I’ve always been a voracious reader, and I cannot imagine growing up without books whose main characters were nothing like me, or whom I couldn’t identify with. That sounds so incredibly lonely. I loved putting myself in the roles of these characters that went on incredible adventures, discovered their powers, or fell in love. I believe everyone should have that right. Diversity and inclusion is more than just a movement; it’s a promise. We need to show that all kids from all backgrounds and identities can be, and should be, represented in the stories we tell.
I’m also extremely proud to be a part of an agency with so many amazing diverse writers. Azantian Literary Agency represents many talented queer and POC writers. One of my sensitivity readers for a few of my characters came from my agency — as a queer, black writer, he gave me great feedback, and I was grateful to be able to lean on my agency for this help.
Tell us a little more about the book and why you decided to write it.
Once the basic concept was solidified, the characters — the four heirs competing for their country’s throne — seemed to leap off the page. I wanted them to be all extremely different from one another so I started with some basic stereotypes: the handsome prince, the rough-edged delinquent, the gorgeous mean girl, and the adorkable nerd…and really started to flesh them out. What were their goals? Why did each one of them want to win the crown? It couldn’t just be because they actually wanted to rule, otherwise that would be boring. They all have different motivations based on their backgrounds, and deep-rooted trauma that they have to work to overcome.
I knew that because of how vastly different each of these characters were, they deserved their own POVs. So I was very careful to organize my book and the scenes knowing that I had to jump character perspectives with every chapter. Once I started writing, though, it was surprisingly easy to switch POVs. They had unique voices and more and more I fell in love with writing each one.
I truly believe that authors fall in love with their characters as much as they do the story itself, especially for books such as Royal Heirs, where the characters are the plot in many ways.
What can fans expect from your book?
"Royal Heirs Academy" is an emotional roller coaster for sure. My previous young adult books are rather “fluffy” in comparison. This one deals with mental health, issues plaguing modern-day economies, disabilities, and family trauma. It is a character-driven story where the plot is mostly dictated by the goals and choices of the four heirs. There’s backstabbing and betrayals, anti-heroes and rivals-to-lovers, and more high school drama than you’ll know what to do with. Fans of TV shows, Maxton Hall and Elite, would love this setting where the mega rich clash with commoners and the drama and tensions that ensue.
What's up next for you in the bookish world?
Writers always try to have several projects happening at once in case one or two fall through. I’m definitely the kind who usually has projects in all the stages of publishing. I have two middle grade ghost stories under contract with Scholastic, the sequel to "Royal Heirs Academy" with my editor, a new romantasy synopsis with my agent, and my first adult romantic comedy in submission with publishers. You could also say I like to stay busy!
