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Kat Zhang
Sep 23, 2012
A Note From Meg
Welcome to my new recurring feature, “In Search of the Write Space!” In this series authors share pictures of their work spaces, giving us all a little glimpse into their creative lives. If you’re new to the series, be sure to check out last week’s guest, Sarah J. Maas, for a chance to win her debut, THRONE OF GLASS! This week we’re joined by Kat Zhang, author of WHAT’S LEFT OF ME, and college student extraordinaire. She’ll take us through what it’s like trying to carve out a creative space when you’re living in a dorm room!
The Tour
1.
Here’s my desk! It’s not super-special because I live in a dorm, so all my furniture is just standard university-issued stuff. I have pasted some stuff on the plain white walls, though. I’ve got some pretty bookmarks, as well as letters people have sent me 🙂 Right now, there are also some lovely flowers my friend Savannah sent me for my release day!
2.
A close-up of the books on my desk. There’s WHAT’S LEFT OF ME on top–actually the book I used as a guest book at my launch party. Beneath that are three school books: one for my screenwriting class, and two for my sci-fi class. Yes, I do have the best classes ever this semester. Be jealous 😛
3.
Because I’m at school, the majority of my for-fun books are on my shelf at home, and I have mostly school books. The HOW FICTION WORKS is for my honors colloquium, and THE OXFORD BOOK OF MODERN SCIENCE WRITING is for my sci-fi class. I’m sadly no longer in the Sociology class, but I kept the book because it was so interesting 😀
4.
This is my pet—I mean muse—I mean friend 😉 The lovely Biljana Likic, who came all the way from Toronto to attend the launch party!
5.
Whenever I stay up super late to write/do homework/both, I tend to bake myself midnight snacks. They extra cookies/pastries then go to my lucky (or not-so-lucky, depending on what you think of my baking skills…lol) first class the next day 😛
6.
And of course, every writer needs to be well fed. Even better when you invite lots of friends over and cook up a storm! I love to cook because it keeps my hands busy while letting my mind brainstorm or work through plotting problems.
What’s Left of Me
by Kat Zhang
I should not exist. But I do.
Eva and Addie started out the same way as everyone else—two souls woven together in one body, taking turns controlling their movements as they learned how to walk, how to sing, how to dance. But as they grew, so did the worried whispers. Why aren’t they settling? Why isn’t one of them fading? The doctors ran tests, the neighbors shied away, and their parents begged for more time. Finally Addie was pronounced healthy and Eva was declared gone. Except, she wasn’t…
For the past three years, Eva has clung to the remnants of her life. Only Addie knows she’s still there, trapped inside their body. Then one day, they discover there may be a way for Eva to move again. The risks are unimaginable-hybrids are considered a threat to society, so if they are caught, Addie and Eva will be locked away with the others. And yet… for a chance to smile, to twirl, to speak, Eva will do anything.
I’m giving away one advanced reader copy of WHAT’S LEFT OF ME that has been SIGNED by Kat herself! Entries are open to US residents only. Enter using the Rafflecopter form below, and be sure to check out the various ways you can earn extra entries. If you’re a Pinterest user, you can score big on the extra entries scale!
“In Search of the Write Space” is an ongoing feature at meaganspooner.com that showcases authors through the spaces they carve out for creativity. You can find out more about the feature, and see a list of past guests, by clicking here.
If you or someone you represent would like to participate in “Write Space,” check out my policies and fill out the application form here!
Updates, travels, and various odds and ends
Sep 17, 2012
Well, sorry for the radio silence from this corner of the internet! As some of you may know from my twitter feed, I’ve been traveling around with co-author extraordinaire Amie. (She just got her plane back to her side of the globe yesterday. I’m pretty inconsolable.)
We caught up with our agents at Adams Literary in Charlotte, then headed to Asheville where we met up with the local author ladies there for dinner and chocolate and discussions of serial killers (thanks for the nightmares, Steph). I managed to get my hands on ARCs of THROUGH THE EVER NIGHT and THE MADMAN’S DAUGHTER, and devoured them both. Seriously, they are amazing, folks. Normally I don’t feel the urge to brag about things when I read them before they hit the shelves, but I will be shouting about these two books for a good long time. (Read more…)
Signed Copies of SKYLARK!
Aug 26, 2012
So, you want a signed copy of SKYLARK, you say? Well, in case you don’t want to track me down in true stalkerish fandom (and, uh, please don’t do that) here are a couple alternatives!
Oh, what a week(s) it’s been…
Aug 10, 2012
You guys may have noticed I’ve been a bit quiet lately. Well, there’s a lot of reasons for that. The biggest one is that this happened last week:
SKYLARK is in stores now! (Read more…)
SKYLARK bookplates are in! (And they’re awesome.)
Jul 18, 2012
Today on the SKYLARK blog tour I’m over at Cuddlebuggery, doing an interview the likes of which you’ve never seen before. Check it out now, and enter to win a copy of SKYLARK!
SKYLARK hits stores in two weeks. TWO WEEKS. People have asked me how I’m doing, whether I’m totally panicking or totally excited. And the truth is, I don’t really know how I’m doing. Perhaps “in shock” or “in denial” would be closest to the truth. I’m just sort of doing my thing, while in the background this OTHER thing, this bookish thing, this huge thing I can’t look at directly, is happening in two weeks.
At any rate, I wanted to celebrate the two-week-away date by showing you guys some SUPER AWESOME SWAG that I just got in, and have been dying to show you all…
SKYLARK Bookplates!
These are the bookplates that you can win as prizes in the SKYLARK swag giveaways, as well as in my own SKY’S THE LIMIT Contest for SKYLARK. And though I do say so myself, they’re pretty freaking awesome (click below for a bigger view).
The Kindness Project: Shout-out
Jul 11, 2012
I’m taking a break from this month’s Kindness Project in order to focus on the SKYLARK Blog Tour. (Today I’m over at Nova Ren Suma’s blog, Distraction99, talking about embracing fear on her Turning Points series.) But anyone who knows me knows I’m not very good at multitasking, and since I’ve been writing guest posts left and right for the tour, I couldn’t scramble my brains enough to come up with anything coherent. I have so much I wish I could say–I’ve encountered so much kindness over the past month that I barely know where to start. The kindness and enthusiasm of book bloggers, fellow authors, readers, new fans… it’s overwhelming seeing people supporting me and my book, and supporting books in general.
Still, even though I’m not posting today, I still wanted to make sure you all got the links for everyone who is posting. So please, be sure to check out the amazing people making it their mission to bring more kindness into the world.
The SKY’S THE LIMIT Contest for SKYLARK!
Jul 05, 2012
Today is my birthday. Last year on my birthday I held a contest to celebrate in which I gave away free books. This year, I decided to continue in that tradition… but the difference is, this year I can give away MY OWN BOOK. International folks, be sure to read on—everything except prize levels 2 and 3 are open internationally!
So, without further ado, let me introduce…
The SKY’S THE LIMIT Contest for SKYLARK!
So cheesy it hurts, I know. But I’m excited, and if you keep reading, I think you will be too. This contest was in a big way inspired by the amazingly awesome Beth Revis, and the Epic Contest of Epic that she held for the release of ACROSS THE UNIVERSE. She gave away 100 prizes, some big, some small, and some completely epic.
Well, I wanted to put my own twist on it. What makes this contest unique, you might ask?
What makes it unique is that everyone who enters will win.
Announcing… the SKYLARK Blog Tour!
Jun 29, 2012
Hi guys! I’ve been a little quiet lately–but only because I’ve been busy! Ever since I found out that Skylark was going to be available August 1, two months before its official pub date of October 1, I’ve been arranging guest posts and interviews all over the place. And guys, book bloggers? They are totally awesome. I’m pretty much head over heels for how fun everyone has been to work with so far!
So, without further ado, let me announce:
The Kindness Project: Caine’s Arcade
Jun 13, 2012
About The Kindness Project:
Too often kindness is relegated to a random act performed only when we’re feeling good. But an even greater kindness (to ourselves and others) occurs when we reach out even when we aren’t feeling entirely whole . It’s not easy, and no one is perfect. But we’ve decided it’s not impossible to brighten the world one smile, one kind word, one blog post at a time. To that end, a few of us writers have established The Kindness Project, starting with a series of inspirational posts.
Caine’s Arcade
Today’s post is a simple one. It’s about kindness to a child simply because he’s doing a good job of being a child. Meet Cain, a 9-year-old boy whose dream is to own an arcade. And meet Nirvan, the guy who thought it was about time he had some customers. (Read more…)
Big Announcement… and Postcard Extravaganza!
Jun 10, 2012
First of all, before you do anything else, click over to Crits for Water and check out today’s auction! Amie and I are giving away a critique, PLUS Adams Literary will look at your query, PLUS (seriously, this package is crazy) Disney-Hyperion editor Laura Schrieber will read your first chapter AND call you on the phone to discuss it with you! Have you gone to check it out? Yes? Okay, then carry on below.
Well, I think I’m finally recovered (mostly!) from BEA. It was my first Book Expo, and man, what a way to start! My editor, Andrew Karre, spoke on the YA Editors Buzz Panel about SKYLARK, and then I got to sit with the other amazing buzz authors and discuss our books on our own panel. I also got to meet a wonderful bunch of bloggers at the blogger breakfast with me, Maggie Stiefvater, Tessa Gratton, and Brenna Yovanoff.
And then—one of the craziest experiences yet—I got to do this:
Look at that line! Total madness. I got to meet so many awesome people while I signed, I wish I could’ve had more time to talk more! One guy told me that he wasn’t even going to come to BEA that day—but he came JUST to get his hands on a copy of SKYLARK and get it signed. Dude, whoever you are, you made my day. And given what an incredible day it was, that’s saying something.