Author Q&A with Katie and Kevin Tsang (Dragon Realm series)
I'm so excited to be sharing this author Q&A with you today! Katie and Kevin Tsang are the authors of the Dragon Realm middle-grade series. The trilogy follows four dragons and four human kids on epic adventures to save the Dragon Realm. The third book, Dragon City, released earlier this week on April 12, 2022.
Read all about Katie and Kevin, check out their Q&A, and then check out these Bookshop links (I am an affiliate) for Dragon Mountain, Dragon Legend, or Dragon City!
Katie Tsang and Kevin Tsang met while studying at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Kevin works as a health-care technology consultant, and Katie writes YA fiction as Katherine Webber. Together, they have also coauthored the Sam Wu Is Not Afraid chapter book series. They currently live in London with their young daughter and can be found on Twitter @kwebberwrites and @kevtsang.
What inspires you to write?
We are inspired to write because we love stories! Creating a world and characters that readers connect with is the best feeling. Katie has always wanted to be an author since she was young, and she writes YA on her own, and then she inspired Kevin to join her in co-writing MG together.
What is the most fun thing about working on projects together?
The brainstorming sessions! We love spending hours coming up with the plots and new characters. And reading each other’s work. We also have different strengths and so it is really fun seeing how we can combine those to make the book the best it can be.
What is something more challenging about co-authoring?
When we disagree about a plot point – but we’ve found that when we work through the issue, we usually end up with something even better than what either of us initially thought.
What inspired this series?
We love dragons! And we wanted to write a ‘modern’ dragon book, featuring kids from today. And we wanted to write something with an ensemble cast, with kids from around the world.
If you could share something directly with your biggest fan, what would you want to say and why?
Thank you for reading the books and coming along with us on our dragon adventure! We hope you are inspired to think about what kind of dragon you would have, and that you keep reading.
Do you have any advice for aspiring authors of middle grade?
Read as much as you can! See what resonates with you, what you find funny or exciting. And then think about what you think is missing from the market, where you could bring something new and uniquely you.
Can you share 2-3 books that you've read and loved lately?
We were lucky to read an early copy of THE MARVELLERS by Dhonielle Clayton and loved it! We also loved ONYEKA AND THE ACADEMY OF THE SUN by Tola Okokwu (another one that is publishing this year) and GRIMWOOD by Nadia Shireen. And we are very excited for the final Aru Shah book by Roshani Chokshi.
About Dragon Mountain, book 1 in the Dragon Realm series!
Beast Quest meets Percy Jackson in this epic new middle-grade fantasy series!
Deep within the mountain, a great creature stirred in its sleep. Its eyes rolled back in its head, and its wings jerked wide open...
When 12-year-old Billy Chan finds out his parents are sending him to a summer camp in middle-of-nowhere China, he doesn't know what to expect. There he meets fellow campers Dylan, Charlotte, and Ling-Fei, and together they stumble upon an age-old secret: there are four powerful warrior dragons hidden deep within the mountain behind the camp! They need the children's help to set them free before terrible evil in the guise of the Dragon of Death is unleashed upon the earth. Billy and his friends must set off on a dangerous adventure that will take them to the heart of the Dragon Realm. But can they save the dragon and human worlds from destruction?