Kat Zhang Takes the Dare!

Today we are so very excited to have YA author Kat Zhang on our blog for a guest post! First off, here's the official blurb for her debut novel, WHAT'S LEFT OF ME (HarperCollins, September 18th, 2012) That's today! Happy book birthday, Kat!!!

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.

Not only does WHAT'S LEFT OF ME sound absolutely amazing, Kat herself is pretty awesome, too. AND fearless enough to tackle this dare from our own Erin Bowman: Because Addie and Eva share a body, WHAT'S LEFT OF ME uses some unique dialog treatments to illustrate conversations between the two girls. We dare you to document a conversation between you and your Muse in the WLoM-style and share it on Thirteeners. 

Go, Kat!

A Skype Conversation Between Kat and Her Muse

Ring…

Ring…

Ring…

*click*

KAT: Hello? Hello? You there?

KAT: Helllloooo??

MUSE: *yawn*

KAT: Woah, why’s it all dark over there?

MUSE: It’s late over here. Bedtime in Muse-land.

KAT: Oh. Wow. I never knew we were on different time zones. 

KAT: That explains a lot, actually.

MUSE: Well now you know!!

KAT: Hope I didn’t wake you. Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about something. There are these reviews I’ve been getting…

MUSE: Yeah?

KAT: And, well, some of them seem to indicate that there are people out there who didn’t like my book. What’s up with that?

MUSE: You realize I’m a muse and not a therapist, right?

KAT: But I can’t afford a therapist.

MUSE: That’s what those poor people you call your friends are for.

KAT: Touché, Muse. Touché.

MUSE: Anyway, suck it up. There’s my advice. How about you get on that Book 2 instead of whining?

KAT: Well, actually, I was going to bring up Book 2. I’ve been so stuck on some scenes, and, while I’d really hate to say this, I don’t think you’re keeping up with your half of the deal.

MUSE: What deal?

KAT: You know, the one where you...feed me story ideas, and I...well, use them.

MUSE: That sounds like a terrible deal for me.

KAT: Well, I mean, it’s kinda your job, right? Like, your life purpose? To help writers?

MUSE: See, this sense of entitlement is where you’re running into problems.

KAT: I—I’m sorry.

MUSE: I’m doing my best here. See? I’ve got this plot board going on and everything.

KAT: I, uh, I really appreciate that.

MUSE: Good. Was that too hard to say? All I ever wanted was some kindness! Some appreciation! Maybe a day named in my honor?

KAT: Yeah, I’ll...get on that.

MUSE: You just get back to that writing. I’ll figure out these plot holes. 

MUSE: Eventually.

KAT: Great! Thank you so much! Bye, then!

MUSE: Bye!

*click*

MUSE: Man, finally, she’s gone.

*ding!*

MUSE: Oooh, is that the pizza guy?

~~~

OUTTAKES

MUSE: Hey, do you think I could dress up as that girl from The Ring for Halloween?

MUSE: ...How about now?

SEVEN DAYSSS

Kat Zhang is an avid traveler, and after a childhood spent living in one book after another, she now builds stories for other people to visit. An English major at Vanderbilt University, she spends her free time performing Spoken Word poetry, raiding local bookstores, and plotting where to travel next. What’s Left of Me–about a girl with two souls–is her first novel and will be released by HarperCollins on 9/18/2012. She is represented by Emmanuelle Morgen of Stonesong. You can read about her travels, literary and otherwise, on her website or check her out on Twitter.

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound

Thank you so much for playing with the Thirteeners, Kat! Up next is Jenn, so send her a Truth or Dare here!

And the winner is...

After days spent in a smoky room with only Mountain Dew and Twinkies to sustain them, the High Council on Authors Making Idiots of Themselves could not break the deadlock, and hereby deem it a tie.

We are so proud of this beautiful certificate! I think we need to print it out and frame it in our offices for clearly we have proven ourselves to be brave enough to make utter fools of ourselves for your entertainment. And in light of this well deserved recognition, we Thirteeners took a long hard look at the EMU's dares and decided to crown one our absolute favorite. Worthy of Friday the Thirteenership! All of the EMU dares were amazing and this was actually a very difficult choice! To choose only one when all were so fantastic? So hard... so hard. But we were all able to come to a unanimous decision that one dare did inspire jaw dropping awe. And that winning dare of supreme daring goes to .... Tara Dairman and the chocolate cake dare!!!

Congratulations Tara, you have shown us the true meaning of Extreme Dares and we salute you! We'd bake you a chocolate cake but thought this would make a better prize!

It came in a twin pack just for you!!!

Two more winners! Our very own Mindy McGinnis/Carl the Carrot was chosen the winning dare of the Thirteeners blog to blog dare challenge by the EMUs! So let's have a great round of applause for Carl the skinless carrot!!

As the victor, Mindy got to choose the winner of the signed copy of Jeanne's fabulous book NERVE and the winner is...

Alyssa Susanna

Congratulations Alyssa!! Please email us at fridaythethirteeners[at]gmail[dot]com with your contact information!

And thanks to everyone for being such a great sport!