CATALYST!
Hello all and long time, no blog!
I'm so happy to announce the release of the sequel and conclusion to the CONTROL series! I'm thrilled with how this book turned out. It's hard to believe that Catalyst was just a seed of an idea 2011 when I sold Control. I had ideas for a sequel, and let me tell you--it was a trial to make it happen.
Here's a short timeline of how CATALYST came to be.
October 2011: My agent, Eric Myers, sells Control (back then it was called "The Fountain") to Penguin.
January 2012: I start drafting an outline for book two. Back then, I didn't know what it was going to called. I thought book two could be called CATALYST, and book 3 could be called CODE. I loosely outline CODE, too.
July 2012: I finish writing about 60% of a rough draft of Catalyst. A certain Very Important Someone is NOT in this book. I am calmly told by one of my trusted beta readers that this is sacrilege. After all, in Return of the Jedi, we all know what happens with...um...Leia in Jabba the Hut's lair, right? (Trying not to be spoilery but that was super spoilery if you know anything about Star Wars, so...) I discuss this issue briefly with my editor at Penguin, Kathy Dawson, who agrees.
December 2012: Finish drafting Book 2. Commence jumping for joy.
February 2013: This happens:
Lydia Kang's CATALYST, sequel to CONTROL in which a teen girl in 2151 is forced to align herself with her worst enemies in a safe house that's anything but safe, to Kathy Dawson at Kathy Dawson Books, in a good deal, for publication in Fall 2014, by Eric Myers at The Spieler Agency (World).
March 2013: I start drafting book 3.
June 2013: I start losing hair over book 3. It's not working out well, at all. Meanwhile, I'm writing other books, and gearing up for promotion of CONTROL which releases in December.
December 2013: Just before CONTROL releases, my editor and I realize that the series would exist best as a duology. I am relieved, because book 3 is full of issues. I am also panicked, because this means I have to rewrite much of CATALYST and smush parts of Book 3 into CATALYST and make it work seamlessly. Oh *$&#@$.
January 2014: The rewrite of CATALYST is done. That's right. Two months. Less, actually. I basically rewrote 2/3 of a book in about six weeks. One of the most stressful times in my life, because I was also actively promoting CONTROL this entire time.
February 2014: There is discussion (for the last year, actually) about the title. I want Catalyst to be the title. I NEED it to be the title, for so many plot/chemistry reasons. But Laurie Halse Anderson has a book of the same title, and you know. LAURIE HALSE ANDERSON. I frown and plead and hope.
July 2014: The cover for CATALYST is revealed! AND YAY, I get to keep my title!!!
January 2015: Reviews start rolling in for CATALYST. And they are good, hooray! Kirkus, VOYA, and Booklist are all glowing!
March 24, 3015. Here is it---CATALYST!
Zelia Benten has lost her father, the love of her life, and any future she might have imagined for herself. Now she, her sister, and the band of illegal genetic outcasts they’ve come to call their family are forced to run when the safety of their foster home is compromised. But on the way to a rumored haven in Chicago, Zel hears something impossible: Somehow Cy—the boy she loves, the boy who traded himself for his sister’s safety—is whispering insider her head. She has no idea what it means, but she veers off plan in order to search for him.What she finds is not what she expected. They’ve been protecting themselves so long against the rest of the world, it’s never occurred to them that the real enemy could be much closer than they realize.Catalyst is a thrilling ride through a dangerous future that will have you racing through the pages, falling in love, and questioning exactly what it means to be human.Praise for CATALYST:“Engrossing sequel…Kang spins an evenly paced and thought-provoking story, employing symbolism deftly…[and] wraps up her duology neatly and satisfyingly.” —KIRKUS REVIEWS“Kang packs her plot with suspense and surprises as she explores good, evil, self-sacrifice, ambition, and what it means to be human. The remarkable mix of science, technology, and fantasy—the novel’s centerpiece—will draw a high-tech audience of young people and adults.” —VOYA“Sci-fi fans with a taste for Orwellian tales of government control will enjoy this solidly written sequel.” —BOOKLIST
BARNES AND NOBLE / INDIEBOUND / AMAZON / BOOK DEPOSITORY / POWELL’S /MYSTERIOUS GALAXY
Thank you guys for all your support through the years. I hope you enjoy CATALYST!
Love, Lydia
I'm so happy to announce the release of the sequel and conclusion to the CONTROL series! I'm thrilled with how this book turned out. It's hard to believe that Catalyst was just a seed of an idea 2011 when I sold Control. I had ideas for a sequel, and let me tell you--it was a trial to make it happen.
Here's a short timeline of how CATALYST came to be.
October 2011: My agent, Eric Myers, sells Control (back then it was called "The Fountain") to Penguin.
January 2012: I start drafting an outline for book two. Back then, I didn't know what it was going to called. I thought book two could be called CATALYST, and book 3 could be called CODE. I loosely outline CODE, too.
July 2012: I finish writing about 60% of a rough draft of Catalyst. A certain Very Important Someone is NOT in this book. I am calmly told by one of my trusted beta readers that this is sacrilege. After all, in Return of the Jedi, we all know what happens with...um...Leia in Jabba the Hut's lair, right? (Trying not to be spoilery but that was super spoilery if you know anything about Star Wars, so...) I discuss this issue briefly with my editor at Penguin, Kathy Dawson, who agrees.
December 2012: Finish drafting Book 2. Commence jumping for joy.
February 2013: This happens:
Lydia Kang's CATALYST, sequel to CONTROL in which a teen girl in 2151 is forced to align herself with her worst enemies in a safe house that's anything but safe, to Kathy Dawson at Kathy Dawson Books, in a good deal, for publication in Fall 2014, by Eric Myers at The Spieler Agency (World).
March 2013: I start drafting book 3.
June 2013: I start losing hair over book 3. It's not working out well, at all. Meanwhile, I'm writing other books, and gearing up for promotion of CONTROL which releases in December.
December 2013: Just before CONTROL releases, my editor and I realize that the series would exist best as a duology. I am relieved, because book 3 is full of issues. I am also panicked, because this means I have to rewrite much of CATALYST and smush parts of Book 3 into CATALYST and make it work seamlessly. Oh *$&#@$.
January 2014: The rewrite of CATALYST is done. That's right. Two months. Less, actually. I basically rewrote 2/3 of a book in about six weeks. One of the most stressful times in my life, because I was also actively promoting CONTROL this entire time.
February 2014: There is discussion (for the last year, actually) about the title. I want Catalyst to be the title. I NEED it to be the title, for so many plot/chemistry reasons. But Laurie Halse Anderson has a book of the same title, and you know. LAURIE HALSE ANDERSON. I frown and plead and hope.
July 2014: The cover for CATALYST is revealed! AND YAY, I get to keep my title!!!
January 2015: Reviews start rolling in for CATALYST. And they are good, hooray! Kirkus, VOYA, and Booklist are all glowing!
March 24, 3015. Here is it---CATALYST!
Zelia Benten has lost her father, the love of her life, and any future she might have imagined for herself. Now she, her sister, and the band of illegal genetic outcasts they’ve come to call their family are forced to run when the safety of their foster home is compromised. But on the way to a rumored haven in Chicago, Zel hears something impossible: Somehow Cy—the boy she loves, the boy who traded himself for his sister’s safety—is whispering insider her head. She has no idea what it means, but she veers off plan in order to search for him.What she finds is not what she expected. They’ve been protecting themselves so long against the rest of the world, it’s never occurred to them that the real enemy could be much closer than they realize.Catalyst is a thrilling ride through a dangerous future that will have you racing through the pages, falling in love, and questioning exactly what it means to be human.Praise for CATALYST:“Engrossing sequel…Kang spins an evenly paced and thought-provoking story, employing symbolism deftly…[and] wraps up her duology neatly and satisfyingly.” —KIRKUS REVIEWS“Kang packs her plot with suspense and surprises as she explores good, evil, self-sacrifice, ambition, and what it means to be human. The remarkable mix of science, technology, and fantasy—the novel’s centerpiece—will draw a high-tech audience of young people and adults.” —VOYA“Sci-fi fans with a taste for Orwellian tales of government control will enjoy this solidly written sequel.” —BOOKLIST
BARNES AND NOBLE / INDIEBOUND / AMAZON / BOOK DEPOSITORY / POWELL’S /MYSTERIOUS GALAXY
Thank you guys for all your support through the years. I hope you enjoy CATALYST!
Love, Lydia
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