Photo Credit: Elliot Knight
Balancing epic and intensely personal stakes, bestselling author Adam Silvera’s Infinity Son is a gritty, fast-paced adventure about two brothers caught up in a magical war generations in the making.
YA readers will most definitely have heard of Adam Silvera, who is the author of some incredible contemporary novels including They Both Die At The End and More Happy Than Not. In 2020, Silvera is delving into the world of fantasy with Infinity Son, which is the first instalment in the Infinity Cycle series. We had the pleasure of chatting to Silvera about his new release, writing, book recommendations, and more!
Hi Adam! With the new year, what are three things you are looking forward to or hoping to achieve?
Revise the sequel, write another book, and write another book after that! Big creative year for me.
Your new novel, Infinity Son, releases on January 14th. If you could only describe your book in five words, what would they be?
X-Men but make it queer.
Now tell us a little more! What can readers expect?
Brothers, phoenixes, gang wars in New York City, past lives and so much more.
What inspired you to write Infinity Son?
I’ve wanted to tell a story about someone whose past lives have a direct impact on who he is today.
Was there a character, scene, or chapter that you really enjoyed writing?
I loved writing Emil, our Infinity Son, and the moment he first gets his powers. I wrote so many different versions and love the cut that made it into the book.
You have previously written contemporary novels—were you apprehensive at all about delving into fantasy?
Not one bit. Haha. I got my start in writing because of fantasy and wrote so much fan-fiction for years that I was ready.
Infinity Son is the first instalment in the Infinity Cycle series. How is the rest of the series going?
It’s actually going well! I just turned in the very disgustingly rough draft of the sequel and have been reworking my outline for it as I wait to chat with my editor about it.
Your first novel, More Happy Than Not, published in 2015. What have you learned over the past five years when it comes to writing?
That I have to stay true to my voice and not let too many outside voices in.
Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
Write the messiest first draft possible. I know you want to perfect it at the first go, but you won’t. Accept it so you can lose yourself in getting the story down and find the real story through revision. Best of luck to you!
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for us? Any 2020 releases you’re looking forward to?
I’m excited for Yes No Maybe So by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed, and The Fascinators by Andrew Eliopulos! And I recommend Frankly in Love by David Yoon.
