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TCWT: “What are your favorite book beginnings and/or endings?"
ZH: Well, I really love the beginning of Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen. It's just so witty and captivating that you can't help but read on. And for you more literary scholar people, it also uses indirect discourse to show the outrageous Mrs. Bennet's belief and objective that last throughout the whole novel. It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.
And then, for endings, I really like the controversial epilogue to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (and incidentally, the series). Some people didn't like it because spoiler:
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TCWT: "What characters are you most like?"
ZH: I would say that there are multiple ones.
What characters are you resemble, or would like to be similar to? TCWT: "What's one thing you wish you knew when you started writing?"
ZH: I would have loved if more people talked about importance of promoting your book while you were writing it. I didn't find this advice online until after I had already published The Belgrave Daughter and I think it would've really helped it make a bigger impact and make more sales. But, oh well, live and learn, right? TCWT: “What are your thoughts on book-to-movie adaptions? Would you one day want your book made into a movie, or probably not?”
ZH: You may have missed My Top 10 YA Movie Adaptations, but I basically said that I treat the movie and books as separate entities. If one completely diverges from the other, I'm not happy, but usually, as long as the essence is captured, I'm okay if they gloss over some stuff. If my book were to become a movie, I'd want to be part of the process (like JK Rowling, Suzanne Collins, and Veronica Roth have been for their series), but would be okay with changes being made. TCWT: "What kinds of published books would you like to see more of?"
ZH: More fantasy (LOTR, Harry Potter, Graceling, etc). There's been too many paranormal romances and dystopian novels in the YA section. And a cross-genre NA novel. All of them are contemporary and it's kind of getting old. Books like Fire of Stars and Dragons are what I'm looking fore. TCWT: "If you could co-write a book with one author–living or not–who would it be and what would the book be about?"
ZH: Hm, that's a hard one... I think I'd say Maggie Stiefvater and something about mermaids. TCWT: "Which fictional world would you most like to be a part of, and what role do you think you would fulfill within it?"
ZH: I would probably want to be at Hogwarts and friends with Harry Potter (even though he's kind of like Typhoid Mary) and would be in Dumbledore's Army. It's dangerous, but I'd be fighting for a good cause and I'd have magic. TCWT: "Take any character from one of your books and put them in a therapy session. Write a short scene about what happens."
ZH: Well, I would choose the Mad Hatter from Where Madness Dwells, but that scene is actually kind of already in the novel and includes profanity and some violence... so I don't think I'll share it here. Maybe another time, though. TCWT: "How have both the people in your life and your own personal experiences impacted your writing? Do you ever base characters off of people you know?"
ZH: Definitely. The people in my life normally serve as inspiration for secondary characters or antagonists in my stories, while parts of me always seem to make it into the main character. As to real life events informing ones in the books... maybe for backstory, but that's it. I'm writing novels, not memoirs, so while my life is a jumping off point, my work diverges really quickly. TCWT: "What are some of the coolest/weirdest/funniest/most disturbing things you’ve researched for a story?"
ZH: I looked up lots of drugs for Where Madness Dwells, and even had an open conversation with my mom (who has seen almost everything, but thankfully hasn't done any of it). The stuff I learned is nuts. If I hadn't already decided against drugs, this definitely would have turned me off. |
About MeI'm a self-published author— because being a college student wasn't hard enough! I write YA multi-genre fiction for young adults or the young at heart. I love This Is Us, NCIS, BBC's Sherlock, 
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