Lydia Kang's Blog, page 2

Hello all! I'm so excited to let you know that I'm holding a pre-order giveaway for my book! I spent many hours in the last month making these adorable silver wish bracelets.

I've been a huge fan of wish bracelets for a long time. In fact, I often wear them when I'm writing a new book. I would make one with a charm that represented the book, and then wish that I could write it/finish it/get a publishing contract...you get the idea!

Once you tie it on, it stays on until the string breaks. It's made of Irish waxed linen, and it's pretty strong. Usually mine last for about two months before it falls off.


I picked this shape because it looks both like a tear drop and a rain drop, and I thought both the emotion and the storminess of the symbol was perfect for Anda and Hector, my two characters.



And look how cute these buttons turned out! The one on the right is a quote from Hector, talking about his difficult life. Who else needs a good fairy tale in their life right about now? ;)

So! 
The first 150 pre-orders will get a hand made wish bracelet made by me, plus bookmarks, signed bookplate, postcard, and two buttons. 
ALL PREORDERS will receive a signed bookplate, bookmarks, and post card! 
You can email your proof of purchase to [email protected] OR Fill out this Google Form instead!
The contest is open from today until November 6th. US Only! Thanks guys!

Look at this lovely countdown widget for The November Girl! If you'd like it on your blog, copy and paste the HTML located on the widget (click on the red HTML). Please share!

Scavenger Hunts time for all YA readers!
The RulesEach entry must be posted on Instagram AND must be tagged with #YAInstagram to be counted as an entry! You can earn up to 8 points per team -- 1 for each photo you post on Instagram using #YAInstahunt -- The authors will choose their winners so get creative! Grand prize winner will be chosen from the contestants that take part in all teams and has the most points entered. Don't forget to also tag the teams authors with each pic entry! Any entries on other forms of social media DO NOT count, so make sure you are posting each pic on Instagram! However, you can share this hunt on twitter, facebook, Pinterest and all other social media platforms, but only Instagram entries count.Winners will be notified through Instagram.


  TEAM PINK PRIZES: Print copy of REAWAKENED + $20 gift card & Legendary swag 

  TEAM GREEN PRIZES: ebook The Watcher and The Angel Killer + Gift card

  TEAM PURPLE PRIZES: $10 Gift card + $20 gift card & November Girl swag
(Oops we are TEAM PURPLE! Typo being fixed as we speak!)


TEAM RED PRIZES: $25 gift card + Custom crow pendant & a signed hardcover of BLACK BIRD OF THE GALLOWS

  TEAM YELLOW PRIZES: T-shirt & Swag + $25 gift card


  TEAM ORANGE PRIZES: $20 Amazon gift card + $25 B&N gift card

 The grand prize winner will receive 1 copy of EACH AUTHOR'S featured book! Open internationally--where ever Book Depository ships to for free.



                   
 Put Aug 25th on your calendar and get your INSTAGRAM filters ready for use! See you all then :)

Hi everyone!

After being a Kindle First for July, A Beautiful Poison has raked in over 500 reviews so far and it's still in the top 20 on the Kindle Bestsellers list! Thank you so much for all your support so far. Many of you have preordered it and I'm so grateful for the love, and the great reviews!

Please take a moment and check out the blog tour stops this month and next month to learn a little more about the book!



The blog tour links can be found here. :)
And the book can be purchased as an audiobook, e-book, or paperback here! 

Hello friends! I'm thrilled to announce that A BEAUTIFUL POISON is a Kindle First in July! That means if you're an Amazon Prime Member, you can get a copy for free! If you're not, you can still download a copy for only $4.99!

Hooray! So glad to be part of this select number of wonderful books!

Click Here to download your copy!

About the book:

Just beyond the Gilded Age, in the mist-covered streets of New York, the deadly Spanish influenza ripples through the city. But with so many victims in her close circle, young socialite Allene questions if the flu is really to blame. All appear to have been poisoned—and every death was accompanied by a mysterious note.
Desperate for answers and dreading her own engagement to a wealthy gentleman, Allene returns to her passion for scientific discovery and recruits her long-lost friends, Jasper and Birdie, for help. The investigation brings her closer to Jasper, an apprentice medical examiner at Bellevue Hospital who still holds her heart, and offers the delicate Birdie a last-ditch chance to find a safe haven before her fragile health fails.
As more of their friends and family die, alliances shift, lives become entangled, and the three begin to suspect everyone—even each other. As they race to find the culprit, Allene, Birdie, and Jasper must once again trust each other, before one of them becomes the next victim.

Hello! It's been ages since I last blogged but I have some new covers to share! Look!



I'm so thrilled with how this turned out. I can't get enough of the edging details, the photo addition of a real bottle of medicine, the snake reference to snake oil, that snap of orange against black. The artists at Workman Publishing knocked it out of the park! We are in the process of doing first pass pages so the end is near. :)
If you like, pre-order here: Releases October 17, 2017Amazon / Barnes and Noble / IndieBound


Oh how I love this cover. The team at Lake Union discussed the design with me during several steps and asked for my input. This cover is a dream come true! Dark, alluring, rich. I adore the jeweled potion bottle and the font that harkens to that era just past the Gilded Age. I LOVE IT. 
If you are so inclined, pre-order here!Releases August 1, 2017Amazon / Barnes and Noble / IndieBound


But what about THE NOVEMBER GIRL cover? Oh it's coming very soon, and I'll have a wonderful pre-order campaign too. Swag, swag, swag. I love book swag. 


And finally--some news from last month: I have a new book deal with Entangled TEEN!

This is a story I cooked up years ago, but only now had the time and the right publisher to make it happen. The teen girl is ethnically Korean, so yes, it's going to be Korean girl in space! Hooray for #ownvoices! 
I'll be back with another cover reveal soon. If you're an old blogging friend, please comment. I'd love to hear how you're doing! 

Piper, the day we brought her home. 9 weeks old! She's super sleepy in this picture.
Wow, it's been a while since I last blogged. I used to blog so regularly, twice, sometimes three times a week. But I've also come to realize that blogging without enjoyment isn't fun for readers, is it?

So here I am. My brain is constantly filled with the million things I have to do, and should do, and don't. So here's where my life is right now.

1. I am writing. 
Yeah, writing a lot! When I started trying to publish my first novel back in 2009, I remember wishing so hard to get one book published. That was all. Two years ago, I was begging for a career with longevity, hoping I wouldn't be a one-series flash in the pan ("flash in the pan" is a reference to flint-lock rifles. Yeah, I researched that for my second non-published book).

So I wrote what I loved (even though that meant one book--an Asian dragon fantasy--never sold). But it also took me to places I wasn't used to. THE NOVEMBER GIRL is magical realism/contemporary with a diverse main character who's half Black, half Korean. And I also decided to wet my toes in the non-fiction world, with QUACKERY, which I'm still writing with Nate Pederson. Writing a book that got sold on proposal is so new and weird, folks. I try to research and write anywhere from zero to three chapters a month. It's tough work, totally fascinating, but very exhausting.

So this is where I am now, with three books coming out in 2017 in entirely different genres.

2. I got another book deal. 
So one of those three books? It's the book of my heart. One that started out as YA, but ended up as an adult historical thriller. This one means so much to me, because it told stories of the hospital that I did my med school and residency in, Bellevue Hospital in New York City, but also combined my love of chemistry and science, and complicated relationships. That one is called A BEAUTIFUL POISON and it's coming out with Lake Union, an imprint of Amazon. So, so happy this book found a home!

3. I quit a job. 
So I now have three deadlines, instead of zero. I am very grateful for that. But it also meant having to let go of working as an attending physician at the Veterans Administration, a job I'd had for ten years. I was sad to go. Vets are among the most amazing, brave humans on earth, and taking care of them was truly an honor, but I had to make concessions somewhere. The clinic I worked in completely changed from continuity care to acute care, which is not where my love of outpatient medicine lies. And I refused to quit unless I knew I had income coming in from books. So finally, I said goodbye. I'll miss everyone there!

4. I didn't quit doctoring altogether. 
I'm still taking care of my patients at the University clinic where I work. And I'm happy to do so for as long as I can. The truth is, writing keeps me in the medical game. It keeps me from burning out. When the paperwork and headaches of healthcare get to me, I can turn to my fictional universes and feel so free. And when the stress of publishing gets me frazzled, I can go and help someone's diabetes get under control, or help someone with debilitating depression. It's the most amazing balance, and I appreciate it every week.

5. I got a puppy. Her name is Piper.
Because you know, life with two jobs, one hubby, and three kids (one in high school, middle school, and lower school) isn't crazy enough. But hey, everyone needs a puppy. Or kitten. Or gecko. My kids have been wanting one forever, but they have dog hair allergies, and I refuse to pick up anything that weighs a good portion of me, so we got a shihpoo puppy. She's now 7 months old, spayed, and wonderful. And since I don't post pictures of my children online, I can now Instagram my puppy to my heart's content. Here's her IG account.

I hope you are all well. I'm thrilled to see so many of my old blogging buddies with agents and book deals, oh my! We've all come a long way, haven't we?

I find that I spend more time on Facebook, so friend me there if you haven't already. Talk soon!

The matching paperback set is now available!
I can't wait to see the two matching paperbacks next to each other. Hope you enjoy the read!
Available on Amazon / Barnes and Noble / IndieBound / Books-a-Million Powells / Book Depository (Free International Shipping)

It's always nice to get reviewed by your local paper. This one is the Daily Nonpareil in Council Bluffs, Iowa, which is right across the river from Omaha. :)

Here's the link to the original article.

Teri Davis
For The Nonpareil | In the year 2150, genetic manipulation is common.While trying to create a more perfect world, there will always be errors – “freaks” of nature. Life for these individuals requires them to be hidden away from society. These people feel odd, left out.Zel Benton is one of those people. She has her own physical mutation, Ondine’s Curse. Her lungs “forget” to breathe, and she needs to constantly wear a device to assist her to live. Added to that, she is constantly studying molecular biology.Along with her sister, Dylia, the two leave an isolated life with their main connection to the real world being their father, who works long hours. This has been Zel’s life for years with the family frequently moving depending on her father’s work.When her father is killed, the two sisters are instantly thrown into a new world. As minors, the sisters find themselves at a place called New Horizons. Micah assures Zel that everything will be fine.The next morning everything is changed with Dylia and Zel being separated. Dyl is taken and Zel is assigned a new home with a foster mother.Marka, the foster mother, operates a safe house for those with genetic mutations and apparently had worked with Zel’s father. Who was her father? What did he really do? Why was he killed? Where is her sister? Will she ever see her sister again? Now that she feels like she is living in this Land of Misfit Toys, can she ever have a normal life, or friends?“Control” is a futuristic novel illustrating our society a century and a half from now where genetic modifications is commonplace. This is a science fiction book based on the current knowledge of today and is definitely a possibility for the future.“Control” is aimed at a teen audience in this dystopian tale with teen characters and problems. The characters are realistic with hopes and dreams along with a variety of problems with no easy solution and personal regrets. What is unique is how the reader is continually vacillating between protagonist and antagonist based on the action’s of each character with constant conflict and action until the last page.Lydia Kang is a local author, wife, and mother who works as a physician at UNMC. She prides herself with the science in her novels. She has spent extensive time with the experts to ensure that her books are science-based, not pure fantasy.“Control” is a phenomenal debut novel that fortunately has a sequel, “Catalyst.” This is science fiction for all readers, not just teens.“Control” is a true science fiction novel filled with great characters who race to stay alive in this fast-paced page turner.

Don't you just love that cover???

Today, the newest book from Sarah Fine is out in the world!

About the book:

Sixteen-year-old Elli was a small child when the Elders of Kupari chose her to succeed the Valtia, the queen who wields infinitely powerful ice and fire magic. Since then, Elli has lived in the temple, surrounded by luxury and tutored by magical priests, as she prepares for the day when the Valtia perishes and the magic finds a new home in her. Elli is destined to be the most powerful Valtia to ever rule.

But when the queen dies defending the kingdom from invading warriors, the magic doesn’t enter Elli. It’s nowhere to be found.

Disgraced, Elli flees to the outlands, the home of banished criminals—some who would love to see the temple burn with all its priests inside. As she finds her footing in this new world, Elli uncovers devastating new information about the Kupari magic, those who wield it, and the prophecy that foretold her destiny. Torn between the love she has for her people and her growing loyalty to the banished, Elli struggles to understand the true role she was meant to play. But as war looms, she must align with the right side—before the kingdom and its magic are completely destroyed.

I was lucky enough to read this when Sarah was writing it and it is FANTASTIC. 
Amazon / Book Depository / IndieBound / Barnes and Noble
Find Sarah on Twitter, her Website, and add The Impostor Queen to your  Goodreads list! 
It's so great that I'm running a giveaway! 
Runs 1/6/16-1/13/16
Open Internationally

a Rafflecopter giveaway