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Ask the Author: Ann Zhao

“Ask me a question.” Ann Zhao

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Your book was an absolute delight to read as an aroace teen, it made me feel like there could be a place for me and I could find other people like me, and it would be amazing to read more books about aroace people finding connection and platonic love, do you think you will write more books like that and about aroace individuals? If so, I can't wait!!
Ann Zhao I’m so happy to hear from an aroace teen reader; I was one not all that long ago, and I wrote Dear Wendy precisely because I wanted to read more stories like it. Thanks so much for reading Dear Wendy, and I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I’m working on more than one book about aroace characters right now, though I don’t have anything under contract with a publisher, so I can’t say anything more than that right now. In the meantime, I’ve got a short story coming out next year in the anthology Being Aro, which is all about aro-spec characters and is edited by Rosiee Thor and Madeline Dyer (both of whom have some other work you should totally check out)! If you’re looking for more stories about a-spec characters and platonic love, I would recommend Loveless by Alice Oseman, Funeral Girl by Emma K. Ohland, Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Dawn Bowman, and Shapes of Love by L.V. Peñalba, the latter of which comes out next year.
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It's okay if you don't want to address this question, but I'm nearly 100 pages into DEAR WENDY and I've noticed that both Sophie and Jo show a lot of autistic coding. Was that deliberate? (I know from my own experience that autistic authors often "accidentally" write autistic-coded characters!)
Ann Zhao I’m not autistic, and Sophie and Jo weren’t intended to be neurodivergent at all; that being said, they do have some personality traits of my friends and loved ones, many of whom are neurodivergent, so if you’re autistic and see yourself in them, that’s totally okay! But I can’t claim that anyone in Dear Wendy is meant to represent being autistic or neurodivergent in any other way—it wasn’t my intent while writing.
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Are you planning to write more books set in the universe of Dear Wendy? I really enjoyed that book and would love to read more set in the world, and explore some of the other characters.
Ann Zhao Thanks so much for reading! I have nothing currently planned; the nature of having a diverse cast is that many of the characters in the book are from backgrounds that I wouldn't be comfortable writing from the perspective of. However, the first novel I ever completed was about Izzy, Sophie's high school friend that you see in a few scenes in Dear Wendy, so technically, Dear Wendy is set in the world of Izzy's book that only exists as a bunch of files on my computer. Never say never, but I don't think it'll ever see the light of day for a lot of reasons. (Mostly, it was terribly boring.)
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Hi Ann, Congratulations on the release of your book! Do you know when the ebook of Dear Wendy will be available for purchase in Australia? Many thanks
Ann Zhao Hi Vanessa! No, I currently don’t know—we haven’t sold any Commonwealth rights, so currently, your only option in Australia is to purchase an imported US hardcover edition. Sorry I couldn’t have a more definitive answer!
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