KAT ZHANG
Hey guys! Before we get started on this interview, I would like to say a massive thank you to Kat for agreeing to this interview! You're probably busy, so this interview means a lot! Yay! Anyway, guys, Kat's debut book comes out this September 18th from HarperTeen! I can't wait to buy and read it! :D
1. Describe your book in a sentence.
A 15-year-old girl fights for her right to survive in a world where two souls are born into each body and one is doomed to disappear.
2. How did your main characters come to life? What was the inspiration behind Eva and Addie?
Well, the idea for Eva came about when I started thinking about that little voice everyone has in the back of their head, and how sometimes in movies and such, it's portrayed as this whole other voice, and what if that voice was really another
person, and what if they were stuck inside your body...?
The personalities and such for Eva and Addie weren't based upon anything or anyone in particular, and in fact, both have changed and developed over time (and drafts!).
A 15-year-old girl fights for her right to survive in a world where two souls are born into each body and one is doomed to disappear.
2. How did your main characters come to life? What was the inspiration behind Eva and Addie?
Well, the idea for Eva came about when I started thinking about that little voice everyone has in the back of their head, and how sometimes in movies and such, it's portrayed as this whole other voice, and what if that voice was really another
person, and what if they were stuck inside your body...?
The personalities and such for Eva and Addie weren't based upon anything or anyone in particular, and in fact, both have changed and developed over time (and drafts!).
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| UK cover |
3. Do you always know how a series/book would end right from the very first book? Or do you change your mind along the way?
I definitely tend to change my mind along the way :P Of course, an ending has to make sense and fit in with the rest of the story, and since stories often develop in unexpected ways, endings sometimes need to be tweaked so it all fits together.
4. What is the message from WHAT'S LEFT OF ME that you want to convey to your readers?
I never really like to talk about messages in my own work :P I love analyzing them in other people's work, and I definitely think about them in writing, but I've always thought that the message (or lack of message) a reader takes away from a work ought to be up to the reader. Sometimes two different readers will see two very different messages, and that's the brilliance and fun part of it.
5. Which character did you find most challenging to write and why?
Hmm...I dunno if there was any particular character I found more challenging than all the others, but it did take me a little bit to really get a grasp on Addie as a character and as a voice. She's in a complicated spot, and I had to figure out just where she was coming from and how she felt about the different aspects of her life.
6. I'm a sucker for romance in YA, please can you tell us something about the love interest/s in the THE HYBRIDS CHRONICLES series?
Hee ;) Well, I can't tell you too much or I'll be giving stuff away, but the love interest in WHAT'S LEFT OF ME is a bit of a tinker-er, a bit of an inventor.
7. As a reader, what is the most important to you, the characters or the plot? As a writer, is it different?
To me, as both a reader and a writer, the characters are most important. I love TV shows/movies/books where the characters are so interesting I'd pay just to see them locked together in a room. As a writer, of course, I work to make sure my plot is just as solid. There are many readers, after all, who find plot more important!
8. What kind of research did you do for this book?
Well, I can't say too much, because most of the more specific things are sort of spoiler-y. Let's just say that my web history might look highly suspicious to the uninformed :P
9. Which another YA female character from any novel would Eva and Addie be best friends with?
Right now, Karou of DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE is coming to mind! Considering Eva's situation at the beginning of the book, she literally has no friends (other than Addie), and hasn't for a while. I think she needs someone who would really stand by her and be excited to do all sorts of different things with her (and maybe not be freaked out by the fact that she shares her body with another soul??).
Karou is certainly accustomed to strangeness and probably wouldn't bat an eye at the whole body-sharing thing. Plus, she and Eva could connect on the whole must-hide-large-parts-of-our-lives-from-just-about-everyone count ;) Addie would probably like her, too, since they're both artists, and she'd appreciate her snark!
10. Is there any significant or deep meaning about the title and cover of WHAT'S LEFT OF ME?
It took a lot of brainstorming to come up with the title WHAT'S LEFT OF ME, but now that I'm used to it, I can't imagine the book being named anything else :) It shows where Eva is over the course of the book, how she's pretty much a ghost in her own body, intangible. The cover was just a stoke of brilliance by the designer. I love, love how it's really two faces, one in profile, and one looking straight out. It really portrays both Eva and Addie!
11. Finally what would you like to say to your readers before diving into WHAT'S LEFT OF ME?
I hope they enjoy! I think it's a good read for anyone looking for something just a little more different from everything else :)
Thank you so much Kat!
Thanks for having me! :D
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.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Kat Zhang spent most of her childhood traipsing through a world weaved from her favorite stories and games. When she and her best friend weren't riding magic horses or talking to trees, they were writing adaptations of plays for their stuffed animals (what would The Wizard of Oz have been like if the Cowardly Lion were replaced by a Loquacious Lamb?). This may or may not explain many of Kat's quirks today. Find her on Twitter, Goodreads, and her official author site.
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