I recently had the absolute pleasure of interviewing Jay Kristoff, author of The Nevernight Chronicle, along with so many other amazing stories which I urge you to check out because this man is amazing. His writing style is incredible, and as he says in the interview he is “the nerd who is to nerds what nerds are normal people”. Please go pick up Darkdawn, or if you haven’t read Nevernight, treat yourself to the whole damn series!
Hi Jay! Can you tell us a little about yourself?
I’m 6’7, Australian, and I lie for a living. I am the nerd who is to nerds what nerds are normal people. No, I don’t play basketball. And yes, I have been told I look like Dave Grohl, thanks for noticing.
For those who aren’t aware of The Nevernight Chronicle, can you tell us what the series is about?
The books revolve around a character named Mia Corvere and her quest for revenge against the folks who murdered her family. Mia has the ability to manipulate darkness, which sounds very fancy until you learn the world she lives in had three suns, which means nighttime only happens once every two and half years. The first book is set in a place kinda like Hogwarts, if Hogwarts was full of murder and sex.
What can readers expect in Darkdawn?
Well, it’s finale of the series, so somebody’s probably going to get murdered.
With the Darkdawn tour coming up, is there anything that you like to do before or after a tour to prepare/decompress?
Bourbon.
What have been some of your most memorable moments while on tour or as you’ve written your books?
Reader tattoos always blow me away. The idea that my words can mean enough to somebody that they write them on their body for life is amazing and humbling. I also get more gifts on tour than I get at Christmas, too. Artwork and funkos and pillows and trinkets. The Nevernight fandom is pretty amazing group of people.
How do you wrangle all this time management when you have so many new and amazing titles coming out, along with posting on social media?!
I treat writing like a job, in the sense that I put in a full day’s work every day. Often six days a week. While I might not be writing that entire time, I’m always working on some aspect of promotion or backstage production.
And I don’t spend any more time on social media than I have to. It’s a huge timesink.
Any news on the Nevernight adaptation that you can share? I’ve been eyeing all those posts on Twitter and Instagram from yourself and Piéra Forde and I’m dying to know, short of buying you a pony.
I believe the team is aiming to have the first episodes up in September or October. I know they’re still working on post production and editing at the moment. But I only know what they tell me – I was very conscious of not wanting to get in the way. This is Piéra’s baby, she’s the brains and energy and creativity behind it all. So while she’s awesome at keeping me in the loop, I’m very firmly on the sidelines, excited as everyone else about how it’s going to turn out. From what I’ve seen, it all looks amazing.
Can you share any news or secrets on Empire of the Vampire?
It’s going to be very long. Hahaha.
It’s the biggest book I’ve ever written, both scope and length. It’s pushing my limits as a writer, which is both exciting and terrifying. I’m getting to explore a lot of interesting ground in terms of character and theme, and it’s very much the book of my black and twisted heart.
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for us?’
A couple I’ve read recently that wowed me: Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor and NOS4R2 by Joe Hill
He always seems like a nice guy! 🙂 although I’ve never read anything by him and I’m only two chapters in to Nevernight!