FAQ

Who's your agent?

The lovely Emmanuelle Morgen of Stonesong

Can you read my manuscript/short story and tell me what you think?

Unfortunately, I can't--just about all my free time has been eaten up lately. I do, however, still offer critiques from time to time in auctions for charity.

When did you start writing What's Left of Me/how long did it take you to write the book/get an agent/sell the trilogy?

I started writing What's Left of Me the winter of my senior year of high school. The first draft took me a little more than a year. Then I revised for a few months and, after querying about 2 months, signed with Emmanuelle. I revised with her for about 6 more months, and then we went on submission to publishers and announced the deal with HarperCollins about a month after that 🙂

How old were you when you sold the Hybrid Chronicles?

I was 19.

I'm doing a book report on you/your books. Can I email you with more questions?

Thanks for thinking I'm cool enough to write a report about! You're very welcome to email me any questions you might have, but please try to not base your entire report on my answers. I sometimes get behind on my emails, and I may not reply in time--and then your report will be late!

If you google "Kat Zhang interviews," you'll come across interviews I've done online. Some of those might be helpful in writing your report.

Rest assured, I do reply to all emails I receive (eventually). If you write me and don't get a reply, I either didn't get your email for some reason, or I wasn't able to email you back. I've had a few cases in the past where I couldn't reply to a school-hosted email (i.e. yourname@yourschool.org) because of the strict privacy regulations set by your school.

What about snail mail?

I reply to snail mail, too! However, it takes me even longer, because snail mail sometimes takes months to reach me. Say you mail me via my Scholastic mail address. Scholastic then forwards your letter to HarperCollins, who then forwards it to me.

Is What's Left of Me set in the future? Because how did we get to have two souls in the future?

No, but it’s a common misconception because the book is often labeled “dystopia”! While What’s Left of Me does have dystopian elements (oppressive government, rebellious underdogs, etc), the book is set in an alternate version of the 21st century. People have just always been born with two souls in this world. It’s explained more in the books, I promise 🙂

When will What's Left of Me/Once We Were/Echoes of Us be released?

The entire trilogy is now out in the United States. What’s Left of Me released 2012, Once We Were released 2013, and the final book, Echoes of Us, came out in 2014. 

I live in a country where the series hasn’t been published yet, and I really want a copy!

You can check the Books page to see if the trilogy has been sold in your country. Sometimes, the books do show up in countries not on that list, too. I’m not sure how that happens, but distribution policies are complicated...

However, if you can’t find the book in your country (and you’re okay with reading the series in English/Spanish/Italian/German/Chinese/French/etc), Book Depository ships free to a ton of countries.

Is there going to be a movie?

I do have film agents, but as of right now, there aren't plans to make a movie. I guess we'll have to just keep passing around the books instead!

Is the legend about Zhu Yunwen real? Was he a real emperor?

It is in fact a real legend! And yes, he was a real Ming dynasty emperor. You can read a little about him here on his wikipedia page. 

Are the places Mia and Jake visit in China real places?

All of the landmarks they visit (including the supposed grave of Zhu Yunwen!) are indeed real places in and around Fuzhou. Here is a picture of me standing in front of one of the pottery pagodas mentioned in the book:

Is there going to be a movie?

I do have film agents, but as of right now, there aren't plans to make a movie. I guess we'll have to just keep passing around the books instead!