Guest Post: Author Lydia Kang

An un-putdownable thriller for fans of Uglies

When a crash kills their father and leaves them orphaned, Zel knows she needs to protect her sister, Dyl. But before Zel has a plan, Dyl is taken by strangers using bizarre sensory weapons, and Zel finds herself in a safe house for teens who aren’t like any she’s ever seen before—teens who shouldn't even exist. Using broken-down technology, her new friends’ peculiar gifts, and her own grit, Zel must find a way to get her sister back from the kidnappers who think a powerful secret is encoded in Dyl’s DNA.

A spiraling, intense, romantic story set in 2150—in a world of automatic cars, nightclubs with auditory ecstasy drugs, and guys with four arms—this is about the human genetic “mistakes” that society wants to forget, and the way that outcasts can turn out to be heroes.

The Best Fortune Cookie Fortune, Ever

 

Well, at least for me. :)

 

I received this fortune cookie while I was in Las Vegas recently for the Vegas Valley Book Festival. I always get weird fortune cookies that are usually about nothing (a memorable one: “You have tasted the sweetness and the bitterness of coffee.” Whut?)

 

But this one was important.

 

 

It means so much. Much of my life, I was shy and not happy about being thrust into the spot light. But several times in my life, I had to do enter extremely uncharted territory because there were no others to do the job, and no one to teach me what I had to learn.

 

Like writing. I’d taken minimal classes on writing and I already had a career in medicine and a family that took up much of my time. But no one was going to show me how to write, or make me a schedule, or solve my plot problems but me.

 

I think that Zelia, in my book CONTROL, would have appreciated this fortune. She has to save her kidnapped sister. She’s not allowed to exist in the world that most people live in. And she can’t even trust her own new, foster family to help her. She’s smart and determined, and that’s really all she has.

 

She’s on her own, and it’s absolutely frightening.

 

But I think that this fortune speaks the natural resiliency and resourcefulness that we all have, but maybe have forgotten in this day and age of easily accessible everything. We can lean on friends and family for support, but at the core of the fight for anything that’s worth fighting for is...ourselves.

 

Learn by going where you have to go.

 

About the Author:

 

 

 

Lydia Kang is an author of young adult fiction, poetry, and narrative non-fiction. She graduated from Columbia University and New York University School of Medicine, completing her residency and chief residency at Bellevue Hospital in New York City. She is a practicing physician who has gained a reputation for helping fellow writers achieve medical accuracy in fiction. Her poetry and non-fiction have been published in JAMA, The Annals of Internal Medicine, Canadian Medical Association Journal, Journal of General Internal Medicine, and Great Weather for Media. She believes in science and knocking on wood, and currently lives in Omaha with her husband, three children, and a terrarium full of stick bugs.

 

Lydia is represented by Eric Myers of the Spieler Agency.

 

Author's Website

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Countdown: December 2013 (2)

The holidays are almost here and for me, it's always a crazy busy time of year, as it is for a lot of people. But with all the craziness also comes a lot of fun. There are family get togethers, friends celebrating left and right, the wrapping of packages (which my family has made an art form) and the giving of gifts. As much as I love to receive presents (I mean who doesn't?) I actually love giving them even more. Picking out the perfect present for someone, wrapping it up to make it even more personal, and seeing the faces of loved ones open up a great gift that they'll love is the best ever! While I do try to find perfect presents for everyone on my shopping list, I also tend to throw in a book along with whatever else I've found them. Bibliophiles or not, I enjoy helping to add or create a library/collection of great books for everyone on my list. Here are a few coming out in December that I'd love to receive and might possibly throw in for some friends and family as well.

 

Countdown Pick #1:  Control (Control, #1) by Lydia Kang (12/26/2013)

 

An un-putdownable thriller for fans of Uglies

When a crash kills their father and leaves them orphaned, Zel knows she needs to protect her sister, Dyl. But before Zel has a plan, Dyl is taken by strangers using bizarre sensory weapons, and Zel finds herself in a safe house for teens who aren’t like any she’s ever seen before—teens who shouldn't even exist. Using broken-down technology, her new friends’ peculiar gifts, and her own grit, Zel must find a way to get her sister back from the kidnappers who think a powerful secret is encoded in Dyl’s DNA.

A spiraling, intense, romantic story set in 2150—in a world of automatic cars, nightclubs with auditory ecstasy drugs, and guys with four arms—this is about the human genetic “mistakes” that society wants to forget, and the way that outcasts can turn out to be heroes.

The short description about a few of the things that the future of this book supposedly has put my curiosity into overdrive.  It's like when Back to the Future 2 came out...wasn't everyone going crazy thinking about what "could" be available and possible in the future?

Countdown Pick #2:  The Promise of Amazing by Robin Constantine (12/31/2013)

Wren Caswell is average. Ranked in the middle of her class at Sacred Heart, she’s not popular, but not a social misfit. Wren is the quiet, “good” girl who's always done what she's supposed to—only now in her junior year, this passive strategy is backfiring. She wants to change, but doesn’t know how.

Grayson Barrett was the king of St. Gabe’s. Star of the lacrosse team, top of his class, on a fast track to a brilliant future—until he was expelled for being a “term paper pimp.” Now Gray is in a downward spiral and needs to change, but doesn’t know how.

One fateful night their paths cross when Wren, working at her family’s Arthurian-themed catering hall, performs the Heimlich on Gray as he chokes on a cocktail weenie, saving his life literally and figuratively. What follows is the complicated, awkward, hilarious, and tender tale of two teens shedding their pasts, figuring out who they are—and falling in love.

Yay for the chance to read a sweet and delightfully fun sounding romance this Winter!

Countdown Pick #3:  Taste of Darkness (Healer, #3) by Maria V. Snyder (12/31/2013)

She's fought death and won. But how can she fight her fears?

Avry knows hardship and trouble. She fought the plague and survived. She took on King Tohon and defeated him. But now her heart-mate, Kerrick, is missing, and Avry fears he's gone forever.

But there's a more immediate threat. The Skeleton King plots to claim the Fifteen Realms for his own. With armies in disarray and the dead not staying down, Avry's healing powers are needed now more than ever.Torn between love and loyalty, Avry must choose her path carefully. For the future of her world depends on her decision.

My opinion stands; Maria V. Snyder can do no wrong!  Every series and book she puts on the shelves is pure magic with a capital M.  He characters are well developed and fantastic, her plot lines are fast paced and incredibly addicting.  Each and every title is an automatic purchase for me, I never have any doubts that I'll fall in love with her next story.