We were thrilled to chat with Kristina Forest about her latest novel, The Neighbor Favor! Shy bookworm Lily spends months emailing back and forth with her favourite fantasy author, N. R. Strickland, only to be inexplicably ghosted. Some time later, Lily desperately needs a date to her sister’s wedding and enlists the help of her handsome neighbour Nick…who secretly writes under the pen name N. R. Strickland.
Read on to learn more about Kristina’s inspiration, book recommendations, and all things The Neighbor Favor!
Hi Kristina, thank you so much for chatting with us! First off, can you please tell us a bit about yourself?
Hi! I’m Kristina and I write romances for both teens and adults. The Neighbor Favor is my most recent novel, about two people who anonymously correspond online and later become real life neighbors.
What sets The Neighbor Favor apart from other contemporary romances?
What I like most about The Neighbor Favor is that I think it fits well into the contemporary romance canon. I didn’t set out to do anything revolutionary. I just wanted to tell a good, romantic story with Black characters, and I hope that’s what I achieved! As a romance reader, I like to go into a book knowing that it’s going to deliver on certain tropes and storylines, and hopefully readers feel satisfied with the story that I wrote. That in itself makes any book feel special.
What was your inspiration behind N. R. Strickland’s novel: “The Elves of Ceradon”?
I was mostly inspired by high fantasy novels/their cinematic adaptations, like Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings.
Do you have a favorite scene or chapter in The Neighbor Favor?
I really love Lily and Nick’s emails in part one of the book. Another favorite scene is when Lily and Nick take her cat Tomcat to the vet.
If you could pick a song to describe Lily and Nick’s relationship, what would it be?
“Plastic off the Sofa” by Beyonce’
Which Greene sister are you most like: Lily, Violet, or Iris?
I’m like of each of them. I think of it like the rising, moon and sun signs of the zodiac. I’m an Iris rising, Violet sun and Lily moon.
Did you encounter any challenges while writing The Neighbor Favor and, if so, how did you overcome them?
Because I come from a YA background, I was hyperfocused on making sure that Lily and Nick genuinely sounded like people who are in their late twenties. I shared the manuscript with my critique partner and agent and asked for their thoughts and advice on making sure Lily and Nick came across as authentic.
Other than The Neighbor Favor, what is a “book about books” that you always recommend?
Romancing the Duke by Tessa Dare or Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
What’s next for you?
Next for me is the follow up to The Neighbor Favor, which is about Lily’s older sister, Violet and my next YA romance as well.
Lastly, are there any releases this year our readers should look out for?
Yes!
- The Art of Scandal by Regina Black
- Sex, Lies and Sensibility by Nikki Payne
- Rhythm & Muse by India Hill Brown
- Friends Don’t Fall in Love by Erin Hahn
