INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR ALEXANDRA CHRISTO // blog tour: chatting about The Night Hunt aka the latest ya romantasy release which i cannot wait to read!!!

Eeep I am so excited about today’s post and I hope you are too because look who’s here?!?!?! Screaming inside

Big thanks to Colored Pages for having me on the blog tour for The Night Hunt and to Alexandra Christo for being here today. Let’s dive right in!

Title: The Night Hunt
Author: Alexandra Christo
Page count: 384
Date published: 10 October 2023
Genre: Young Adult fantasy

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Synopsis:

Atia is a monster who feeds on fear. As the last of her kind, she hides in the shadows of the world to escape the wrath of the unpredictable Gods. Silas is a Herald, carrying messages and ferrying the dead as punishment for a past he can’t remember. Stripped of his true name, he yearns to recover his identity.

Atia would never dream of allying with someone like him, but when she breaks a sacred law and the Gods send monsters to hunt her, Silas offers an irresistible deal: he’ll help avenge her family and take on the Gods who now hunt her, if she helps him break his curse and restore his humanity. All they need to do is kill three powerful creatures: a vampire, a banshee, and one of the very Gods who destroyed both their lives. Only together can they finally rewrite their destinies.

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Big thanks to Fierce Reads for the eARC via Netgalley and to Colored Pages Book Tours for having me!

AUTHOR INTERVIEW WITH ALEXANDRA CHRISTO

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Hi hello Alexandra! Thank you so much for joining me today on the final stop on the blog tour for you latest book release The Night Hunt. Big congratulations on your fifth published book, which I am so excited to sink my teeth into. Let’s get into the questions!!!

Firstly, can you tell us a little about yourself: hobbies, favourite foods, where you are, how are you? And a little bit about The Night Hunt which has just hit shelves!

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Hello! A little about me . . . I’m Alexandra, I live in England with my fiancé and our very mischievous cockapoo puppy. I’m vegetarian. My family is a mix of Greek Cypriot, Italian and German. My favourite foods are makaronia tou fournou, spanakopita, puttanesca baked gnocchi . . . the list goes on. As far as hobbies go, it used to be writing, but I guess now that’s my job! Which is still very hard to wrap my head around, even after all these years.

As for THE NIGHT HUNT, it’s my new Greek mythology inspired romantasy book about an immortal girl named Atia who feeds off fear and has spent her life hiding from the vengeful Gods who killed her family. And also a boy named Silas, who is cursed to ferry the dead for the Gods as punishment for a past he can’t remember. When Atia takes a human life, the Gods send a legion of deadly monsters to hunt her, but Silas offers her a deal; he’ll help Atia get vengeance, if she helps him break his curse. All they need to do is kill three powerful creatures: a vampire, a banshee and one of the very Gods who has destroyed both their lives . . .

How was your writing process this time around, was it any different to your previous novels?

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Whenever I sit down to write a book, the first thing I think about are my characters and this time was no different! I started thinking about what the word ‘monster’ meant and what it would be like to exist in a world where you were supposed to be the monster, where you fed off of nightmares, but were plagued by fear yourself. From there came Atia. I thought about the type of person she’d be, who she’d want to become and then how the world might be an obstacle to her achieving that. From there I built the magical world of THE NIGHT HUNT around her. It’s how my process usually goes: character, then world. And also a lot of coffee.

Where did the inspiration for The Night Hunt come from? Were you inspired by any particular media?

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I was inspired to write this story because I wanted to write something from the perspective of the monsters living in the shadows of the world. A question kept popping into my mind of: what does it truly mean to be a monster? Is it something you’re born as, or do you get to choose? Do people get to decide for you? This book is an exploration of that, and over the course of the story Atia and Silas are constantly re-evaluating what it means to be ‘monstrous’ and whether that’s simply a label given by the Gods to keep them from ever thinking they could be more. To stop them rising up and challenging the authoritarian powers in charge.

Can you describe The Night Hunt in three words?

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Romantic monster hunt 😉

What was easier part to write about in this book and what was the hardest in The Night Hunt?

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I really enjoyed writing the romance in this book. It was the most fun part, having Atia and Silas begin the book believing they should be enemies for no other reason than because they were always led to believe they should be. . . and then slowly watching them realise over the course of the book that they were actually perfect for each other. Enemies to lovers romance is my bread and butter, and I love nothing more than writing those longing stares and brief moments of brushing hands, all leading up to that final epic kiss!

The most challenging part of writing for me is always the worldbuilding, because it’s hard for me to balance everything I want to tell the reader about the magic and realms I’ve created (which is everything) versus what they actually need to know to keep the story moving. It never gets any easier. Especially with a world like THE NIGHT HUNT, which is filled with legions of different Gods and monsters, each with their own abilities and curses.

If you were transported in this book and had to fight one of the three creatures, which one do you think you could take down? Vampire, banshee or one of the Gods?

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I think a vampire. Banshees have the killer scream and a God is . . . well, a God. I’d probably run and hide from both of them! But though vampires may be bloodthirsty, I eat far too much garlic to be scared! They’d probably hate the taste of me.

Speaking of Gods, who is your Godly parent, if you have one? If not, would you mind taking a quiz to find out?

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If we’re talking about River Gods, I think my Godly parent would definitely be the God of the Fire River. Such a bad-ass and always speaks her mind. We’ve actually created a quiz where you can see which THE NIGHT HUNT monster you are! I got a Nefas. So Atia and I would probably get on well (though she’s a little more murderous than I am).

If you could transport Atia and Silas into another fantasy adventure (book and/or movie), where would they go?

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I would love to see Atia and Silas in the world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Now that would be a fun episode!

I’m curious which books you’ve been reading lately and if you have any to recommend?

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I just finished reading Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross, which I think is my first academic rivals to lovers book! It was great. Also: Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, Yellowface by Rebecca F. Kuang. And A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid.

Finally, are you working on anything now? What can you reveal about the next book?

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I’m working on a rather ghostly new fantasy romance book. But I can’t say much more than that for now! Watch this space!

And that’s all I have to ask! I absolutely cannot wait to get in this book and I hope you have bought yourself a copy because The Night Hunt is OUT NOW. Big thank you Alexandra for being here today and another huge congrats <3<3<3

Alexandra Christo is a British author whose characters are always funnier and far more deadly than she is. She studied Creative Writing at university and graduated with the desire to never stop letting her imagination run wild. She currently lives in Hertfordshire with a rapidly growing garden and a never-ending stack of books. Her debut novel To Kill a Kingdom is an international bestseller and her Young Adult fantasy books have been translated into over a dozen languages worldwide.

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ARE YOU GOING TO READ THE NIGHT HUNT? HAVE YOU READ ANYTHING BY THIS AUTHOR BEFORE? WHAT DID YOU THINK? WHAT YOUR’S FAVOURITE ROMANTASY READ? LET ME KNOW!