Today we are very excited to share a special interview with author K. X. Song (An Echo in the City)!
Read on to learn more about her, her book, and a giveaway!
Meet the Author: K.X. Song
X. Songis a diaspora writer with roots in Hong Kong and Shanghai. An Echo in the City is her debut novel. Visit her online at kxsong.com, or on Instagram @ksongwrites.
About the Book: An Echo in the City
Sixteen-year-old Phoenix knows her parents have invested thousands of dollars to help her leave Hong Kong and get an elite Ivy League education. They think America means big status, big dreams, and big bank accounts. But Phoenix doesn’t want big; she just wants home. The trouble is, she doesn’t know where that is… until the Hong Kong protest movement unfolds, and she learns the city she’s come to love is in danger of disappearing. Seventeen-year-old Kai sees himself as an artist, not a filial son, and certainly not a cop. But when his mother dies, he’s forced to leave Shanghai to reunite with his estranged father, a respected police officer, who’s already enrolled him in the Hong Kong police academy. Kai wants to hate his job, but instead, he finds himself craving his father’s approval. And when he accidentally swaps phones with Phoenix and discovers she’s part of a protest network, he finds a way to earn it: by infiltrating the group and reporting their plans back to the police.
As Kai and Phoenix join the struggle for the future of Hong Kong, a spark forms between them, pulling them together even as their two worlds try to force them apart. But when their relationship is built on secrets and deception, will they still love the person left behind when the lies fall away?
~Author Chat~
YABC: What gave you the inspiration to write this book?
I was first inspired to write AN ECHO IN THE CITY while I was in Hong Kong in 2019. My sister was involved in organizing with the Chinese University of Hong Kong; through them, I met many of their friends involved in coordinating demonstrations and rallies. Talking to the people on the ground made me realize the scale and importance of this movement. But it wasn’t until after I got back to the States and saw the conflicting news reports from both English and Chinese media that I began to really consider writing a novel that could offer more nuance and depth to a situation many of my western friends weren’t familiar with.
YABC: What came first, the concept, landscape, characters, or something else?
AN ECHO IN THE CITY was very much inspired by its landscape. Hong Kong in the summer of 2019 was simply an electric place. Through story, I wanted to somehow capture that dynamic energy, and the vibrant, beating pulse of the city. People often say change is hard, or even impossible, but that summer, it felt like change was not only possible, but already in motion all around us. It felt like we could do anything, everything. Of course, much has changed since then, but for those who were there, I wanted us to remember, and for those who were not there, I wanted to write a bridge, a way for readers to experience a bit of what it was like.
YABC: How do you keep your ‘voice’ true to the age category you are writing within?
I often find that maintaining consistent voice is the hardest in the beginning, when you’re still discovering the story and trying to pinpoint that exact character’s voice. Often, at the end of a first draft, I’ll have to go back to the beginning chapters to re-tinker with the voice in those early pages when I was still trying to figure it out. Once you’ve developed a strong idea of the character in your head, and they begin to feel real to you, the voice will come naturally. You just have to keep going!
For dialogue specifically, I like to listen in on the conversations happening around me. Doing this teaches me common ticks, speech patterns, mannerisms. And once I’ve written the dialogue, I always read it aloud. If it’s clunky, I cut it, no matter how useful that information would’ve been.
YABC: What can readers expect to find in your books?
Even though the genres I write in are wildly different, what ties my various projects together is my lifelong interest in collective memory and history, and the way that memory shifts with every retelling. I like to write stories centering individuals on the margins–I often find their perspectives to be the most compelling. And I like stories that toy with power imbalances–and explore the ways in which power influences relationship dynamics.
YABC: What is your favorite snack when writing?
I love this question! My favorite snack when writing is usually something sweet and slowly consumed–in the mornings, a cup of yogurt, and in the afternoons, some snack that was on sale at Costco. I’ve been really into lychee gummies lately. I try to treat them as little rewards for finishing a difficult task, but often I find myself finishing the snack before the task itself.
YABC: What do you do when you procrastinate?
Everything except write! I bake–my family loves when I’m procrastinating–or clean, or bullet journal. I might get really obsessed with a new TV show or K-pop group. I often find that when my brain isn’t fully engaged with a creative project, it wanders and finds another obsession to fixate on.
YABC: What is your favorite holiday or tradition and why?
One of my favorite foods of all time is zongzi–sticky glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo leaves. I eat it with sugar sprinkled on top, which is the perfect blend of sweet and savory. Chinese people eat zongzi year-round, but particularly during the Dragon Boat Festival, in honor of a famous poet named Qu Yuan who drowned himself in a river after the king ignored his wise counsel. The Chinese people, grateful for Qu Yuan’s loyalty to the country, threw zongzi into the river to feed the fish, so that the fish would not eat his body.
YABC: What fandom would you write for if you had time?
If I wanted to write something lighthearted, I would probably write BTS fanfiction. (I listened to a lot of BTS while writing AN ECHO IN THE CITY.) For something a bit more tragic, I might write a Rin x Nezha fanfic based on The Poppy Wars trilogy (which I highly recommend!)
YABC: What’s up next for you?
My next project is a big departure from AN ECHO IN THE CITY. It’s an adult fantasy, set in a thrilling yet dangerous world. That’s all I can say for now, but I can’t wait to share it with the world!
Title: An Echo in the City
Author: K.X. Song
Release Date: 6/20/2023
Publisher: Little, Brown Books For Young Readers
ISBN-10: 0316396826
ISBN-13: 9780316396820
Genre: Middle Grade Fiction
Age Range: 8-12
~ Giveaway Details ~
Two (2) winners will receive a copy of An Echo in the City (K.X. Song) ~US Only!
*Click the Rafflecopter link below to enter the giveaway*
This cover is so pretty!
Wow! This looks good!
Love the cover!
Looks gorgeous I can’t wait to read this one
This is a lovely cover, and I love that this book tackles a difficult and real issue in a way that MG readers can process and learn from.
I love the cover and this so so intriguing and different.
Sounds like a great setting and premise.