Interview and giveaway of Kat Zhang’s WHAT’S LEFT OF ME


Kat Zhang’s WHAT’S LEFT OF ME, THE HYBRID CHRONICLES, BOOK ONE doesn’t come out until September 18 of this year. It was chosen for the very exclusive buzz panel at this year’s BEA, and readers are eager to get their hands on this poetic YA dystopian that has echoes of NEVER LET ME GO and WITHER. You can read it before the general public, if you win this ARC! Learn about this talented writer everyone is going to be talking about.

What’s Left of Me wasn’t the first manuscript you wrote ‘“ what was the first?

I started writing my first book when I was twelve. It was about a small, sleepy town and a runaway girl who upturns the life of a young man and his younger cousin when she shows up in their backyard. However, I didn’t actually finish a manuscript (a different one!) until I was seventeen. Funnily enough, two of the minor characters from the book I wrote at twelve are now getting their own book (completely unrelated to the Hybrid Chronicles), which I hope to finish soon 🙂

What was your agent’s submission process like?  How long before you got that call on a Friday that she was closing the deal?

From beginning of subs to deal closing was about a month, I think. It was quite a whirlwind for me because I’d settled in to wait for months and instead we started getting offers quite fast!

How did you come up with the title and at what stage in your writing process?

For a long time, the book was just titled HYBRID. It was what I named the document when I was first drafting it, and the title stuck through all my revisions and querying. It wasn’t until after selling to Harper that we started talking about a title change, so the name WHAT’S LEFT OF ME came about quite late 🙂

There’s a book that came to mind when I was reading yours and I wonder if you’ve read it?  Or seen the film of ‘Never Let Me Go?’

I’d actually never heard of NEVER LET ME GO until one of the agents I queried mentioned that my book reminded her of a YA version of NEVER LET ME GO. So of course, then I went and googled it 🙂 I actually haven’t read the book, but I have seen the movie and enjoyed it!

You are in a special position because you starting writing this trilogy when you were in high school and finished it in college.  What advice would you give to very young writers?

Don’t be afraid to take your writing seriously. But at the same time, don’t forget to enjoy everything else. I guess that really applies to all writers, young or not!

Thank you, Kat, for spending time with us.

Thanks for having me, Lissa! 😀

So readers, enter here for a chance to win this wonderful ARC of WHAT’S LEFT OF ME, so you can read it early, be the first on your block and the envy of your friends (and maybe you’ll share it with them).  Winner will be determined after June 30. U.S. Only!

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3 Comments

  1. I would love to read it early!

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