Perfect for fans of The Illuminae Files and The 100, in this heart-racing sequel to The Final Six the teen astronauts must figure out the truth about Europa before it’s too late.
Alexandra Monir is an Iranian-American author and recording artist. She is the author of the hit novel The Final Six, its brand-new sequel, The Life Below, and four other published young adult novels, including the bestselling time-travel romance, Timeless.
We had the pleasure of chatting to Alexandra about her new novel, writing, what’s next for her, and more!
Hi Alexandra! Can you tell us a little about yourself?
Hi!! I’m the author of six YA novels and counting, and there’s nothing I love more than storytelling. I broke into publishing with my time-travel romance, Timeless, and my latest is the sci-fi thriller, The Final Six, and its just-released sequel, The Life Below. I’m also a singer/songwriter, and mom to my favorite toddler on the planet.
You initially started your career off as a singer. Has writing always been a passion of yours and when did you decide you wanted to pursue it?
I’ve actually been writing for as long as I’ve been singing, so although music was the dream I chased after first, writing and publishing my debut novel felt a lot like coming home—a full-circle return to my childhood passion for books! I was 22 when I decided to finally give it a shot, and it was all thanks to the idea for Timeless popping into my head. Up until that point, anytime I came up with a story idea, I immediately tried to develop it as a film or TV pitch (I was in the showbiz world, after all!) but Timeless was the first idea where I just knew it had to be a book.
The Life Below is the sequel to The Final Six and the finale in your duology. For those who haven’t read The Final Six, what can readers expect?
So, The Final Six is about a group of twenty-four teens from around the world, who have been handpicked by the United Nations and the international space agencies to compete for six spots on a one-way mission to Jupiter’s moon, Europa—to find a new home for humanity after Earth is largely destroyed by climate change. The Final Six ends with the selection of the chosen crew, and their launch into space…while one finalist who didn’t make the cut embarks on a rogue mission of his or her own! While the first gives you all the fun and action of the competition and space training camp, the sequel really ramps up the stakes, thrusting our characters into the dangers of space as they make their way to a new world.
Where did the inspiration for the duology come from?
The moment of inspiration was one of those magical moments in a writer’s life, where an idea just hits you like a lightning bolt! I was listening to a radio interview with an aspiring astronaut who had applied for this experimental private mission, MarsOne, that was in the news at the time. She had a family and a full life on Earth, but was willing to leave it all behind for the chance to go to Mars. I was blown away by the idea that someone would choose to give up the only life they’d ever known for this risky colonization experiment…and that’s when the idea struck me: What if it wasn’t a choice? What if, due to climate change destroying much of Earth, people were drafted to space, just like people have been drafted into war? As soon as those pieces of the idea flew into my mind, I was off and running!
Is there a certain character, scene, or piece of dialogue you really enjoyed writing?
I really loved every conversation I got to write between Naomi and Leo, but the scenes I’m probably most proud of are the climactic action scenes. I really had to stretch my writing muscles there, and when I was finally able to translate onto the page the cinematic scenes I was envisioning in my mind, it felt like such a win!
What’s your writing process like?
It all depends on which stage of the process I’m at. If it’s drafting, and the book is due soon, you can find me writing well into the night, sometimes pulling 12-15-hour writing days! But if I’m editing or in the early days of writing a new book, I work a much more normal schedule and can even bounce back and forth between projects. I’m a Gemini, so I like to stay busy with multiple books!
Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
My biggest piece of advice is to finish what you start. It can often be the hardest advice to follow, though, because life constantly throws distractions and interruptions at us—and even without that, so many of us perfectionists can get mired in polishing the first few chapters and have a hard time moving past that and actually finishing the draft. BUT I have learned that the only way to make something great is to start out with a rough draft, so try to take the pressure off of that first draft being any good, and just write till the end. After that, you can have fun rewriting that diamond in the rough to make it shine!
What’s next for you?
I’m thrilled to be writing the official YA novel for the DC Comics superhero, Black Canary! This will be the 5th novel in their DC Icons series with Random House, and it’s tentatively set to publish in December of this year!
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
Yes! This is one to put on your TBR for May: Lobizona by Romina Garber is a thrilling fantasy with themes that could not be more timely for our own world. It’s getting rave reviews already!
To learn more about Alexandra, visit her at her website, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
