zachary ying and the dragon emperor sequel

I didn’t need to do much fresh research since I already had so many historical and mythical stories in my head that I couldn’t wait to tell, so I basically just double-checked that my facts were legit. There’s such intricate detail about the history in China. Immediately I thought of doing a Chinese take on Yugioh, the most formative anime of my childhood, in which I would combine modern gaming tech with ancient myths and magic. I was inspired to write this story when my friend Rebecca Schaeffer, author of the NOT EVEN BONES series, encouraged me to try my hand at writing MG, since I’d been hyperfixating on Chinese history and myth, and myth stories make for very good MG novels. Now, with one of history’s most infamous tyrants yapping in his headset, Zack must journey across China to heist magical artifacts and defeat figures from history and myth, all while learning to wield the emperor’s incredible water dragon powers.Īnd if Zack can’t finish the mission in time, the spirits of the underworld will flood into the mortal realm, and he could lose his mom forever. The mission takes an immediate wrong turn when the First Emperor botches his attempt to possess Zack’s body and binds to Zack’s AR gaming headset instead, leading to a battle where Zack’s mom’s soul gets taken by demons.

So Zack is woefully unprepared when he discovers he was born to host the spirit of the First Emperor of China for a vital mission: sealing the leaking portal to the Chinese underworld before the upcoming Ghost Month blows it wide open.

His single mom was busy enough making sure they got by, and his schools never taught anything except Western history and myths. Billed as a Chinese Percy Jackson, here’s the book’s description:ġ2-year-old Zack never had many opportunities to learn about his Chinese heritage. Xiran Jay Zhao is the New York Times best-selling author of the young adult novel IRON WIDOW, and ZACHARY YING is their debut middle-grade novel. Which is why I’m so thrilled to interview the novel’s author on From the Mixed Up Files today.

When I saw the amazing cover for ZACHARY YING AND THE DRAGON EMPEROR (illustrated by comic book artist Velinxi), I knew it was a book I wanted to devour.

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Zachary ying and the dragon emperor sequel