Hi, Andrea! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

Hello! Thank you for having me! Shall I start in Dickensian fashion, “to begin my life with the beginning of my life”? I was born in Lodi, a smallish town in the midst of the Po Valley in Northern Italy. If you’re thinking about sun-drenched olive groves, think again: Lodi is – or at least was, when I was a child and before global warming wreaked havoc on its climate – almost perennially shrouded in mist, something that has perhaps to do with my own literary taste. In university I studied modern literature and wrote my dissertation on the Fantastic in 19^th century Italian literature—I guess haunted castles and restless spirits really are a part of my DNA. Nowadays, I live with my husband, mostly in Milan, but sometimes in Kraków too. I’m a writer (duh, obviously) of darkly fantastical speculative fiction and I also work as an editor for an independent publishing house here in Milan.

When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?

If we are to believe my mother’s stories, I’ve always harboured an all-consuming love for writing. I won’t say nothing of my few extant poetic attempts – way too earnest! – but apparently there were also countless stories I made up – and later wrote on a typewriter I begged my parents to buy – when I was a child, all of them inevitably beginning “on a dark and stormy night.” I have no idea why I was drawn to supernatural horror from a very early age, but perhaps there really was something in the mist…

Quick lightning round! Tell us:

• The first book you ever remember reading: This is difficult because there are at least three or four books vying for this distinction in my memory, but I think it might have been The Hobbit.
• The one that made you want to become an author: My decision to become a writer might actually predate my reading it, but Interview with the Vampire had an outsized influence on my literary taste and my life-long obsession with the Gothic.
• The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez. I read it a couple of years ago when it was published in paperback in the UK and it has haunted me ever since. If you haven’t read, you simply must.

Your latest novel, A Blood as Bright as the Moon, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

This is, again, really difficult. My husband always tells me that I’m terrible at elevator-pitching when it comes to my own writing, but I’m going with five adjectives: Gothic, gory, nocturnal, fantastical and, in the end, surprisingly sanguine.

What can readers expect?

They can expect vampires – though hopefully of an ilk that’s going to take them by surprise – and crumbling castles, a very wise cat and a ruthless neurosurgeon, a mechanical automaton and slightly steampunky wings built for flying to the Moon. It’s a tale about despair and longing, and about the legacy of shame our society still visits on queer people, and in this regard it’s also a tale of found family and love and hope.

Where did the inspiration for A Blood as Bright as the Moon come from?

I’d been wanting to write a vampire novel for a long time (of course), and I had this idea of the vampire’s unusual circadian rhythm – sleeping during the day and being awake at night – as a metaphor for anxiety and depression. From there, in a flash of inspiration, I decided to weave King Ludwig II’s story into it: Ludwig is such a Romantic, melancholic figure—he built castles, Neuschwanstein chief among them, to escape the brutal vise of reality, and that spoke pitch-perfectly to my protagonist’s, Ambrose, struggle.

Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?

I enjoyed very much creating the world Ambrose and the other vampires (moonkin, they call themselves) inhabit, the castle atop the hill with a chapel underground, the hints of a wider society hidden among the shadows, especially in the final stretch: there’s a séance scene set in Greyfriars Kirkyard in Edinburgh that I’m particularly proud of. Same for the segments with Mikołaj, a character that make a late appearance in the novel but who’s absolutely pivotal in Ambrose’s arc. Finally, I had a lot of fun with the bad guys, the members of the Royal Diurnal Society who make their appearance in Part II: they’re bent on destroying all vampires and are a bunch of truly terrible people that was wickedly entertaining to write. Especially because of how Part II ends… but I’m not going to say more.

Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?

Part II was fiendish. Long segments of it are written and structured like a play (my battered copy of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible was always at hand when I was writing it) and getting the tone and the rhythm right took several different drafts, and a friend who’s also a playwright helped me a great deal.

What’s next for you?

I’m about to hand in the second draft of my new novel, which Titan is going to publish sometimes next year. This one is a beast, almost 600 pages long, a weird, twisted Bildungsroman with, hopefully, some really unexpected turns. (Just a hint: think Piranesi meets The Island of Doctor Moreau.) I’m also in the process of writing a new novel, for the first time with a firmly (gasp!) contemporary setting.

Lastly, what books have you enjoyed reading this year? Are there any you’re looking forward to picking up?

Mariana Enriquez’s new short stories collection, A Sunny Place for Shady People, is desperately beautiful and it has very sharp claws. I can’t recommend it enough. I’ve also loved Ali Smith’s Gliff and a novel published some years ago that I was late in discovering, Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jedrowski. As we enter Spooky Season, I have a couple of books lined up that I’m really looking forward to reading: Angel Down by Daniel Kraus and The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters (another instance, I realise, of me being really late to the party).

Will you be picking up A Blood as Bright as the Moon? Have you already? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Q&A: Andrea Morstabilini, Author of ‘A Blood as Bright as the Moon’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Read on to discover some of our picks and tell us in the comments below if you will be picking up any!

The House of Quiet by Kiersten White

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From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Hide comes a dark fantasy about a girl who will risk everything—posing as a maid, confronting powerful enemies, and unraveling deadly secrets—all to save her missing sister from the enigmatic House of Quiet.

It Had to Be Him by Adib Khorram

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Heartstopper meets Eat Pray Love in this swoony, spicy, second-chance romance from USA Today bestselling author Adib Khorram about two former classmates unexpectedly reuniting in Italy.

Make Me a Monster by Kalynn Bayron

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New York Times bestselling author Kalynn Bayron is back with a Frankenstein-tinged horror romance, creating a hauntingly beautiful exploration of body horror, family secrets, grief and loss and love.

The Killer Question by Janice Hallett

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Janice Hallett, “the new queen of crime” (Electric Literature), returns with a fresh, edge-of-your-seat mystery that takes place at a pub’s weekly trivia night, revealed through quiz categories, phone messages, and email correspondence.

Night & Day edited by Ellen Datlow

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A horror anthology edited by the genre’s greatest, Ellen Datlow, with one side featuring stories about what haunts the night while the other side showcases the terrors that can exist in the light of day in this new addition to the Saga Doubles series.

Soul Searching by Lyla Sage

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The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Rebel Blue Ranch series returns with a brand-new story, featuring a small-town upholsterer in need of a fresh start, a photographer whose life has come to a screeching halt . . . and the supernatural forces that bring them together.

The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman

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The unmissable new mystery in the Thursday Murder Club series from #1 New York Times bestselling author Richard Osman, now streaming on Netflix.

The Second Death of Locke by V.L. Bovalino

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The Second Death of Locke is a devastatingly romantic epic fantasy about the undying bond between a knight and their mage, perfect for fans of Rachel Gillig and Alix E. Harrow.

House of Hearts by Skyla Arndt

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Solving her best friend’s murder means infiltrating a secret society, resisting a forbidden love, and running from a vengeful ghost in this sophomore novel by the author of Together We Rot.

You Are The Detective by Maureen Johnson

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November 1933. London. Seven people receive mysterious letters. Someone knows their terrible secrets. They are summoned to a posh townhouse where one is stabbed right in front of the others, but somehow no one saw a thing. Can you help Scotland Yard solve the mystery?

A Blood as Bright as the Moon by Andrea Morstabilini

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A vampire, desperately torn between worlds, is hunted down by a secret society bent on his destruction, in this timeless and unsettling queer gothic horror, perfect for fans of T. Kingfisher and Silvia Moreno-Garcia.

Among the Burning Flowers by Samantha Shannon

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A story of human resilience in the face of dire circumstances, Among the Burning Flowers leads readers through the gripping and tragic events that pave the way for the opening of the million-copy bestseller The Priory of The Orange Tree.

Lady Like by Mackenzi Lee

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Two women set their sights on marrying the same duke, but instead of becoming enemies, they find themselves falling in love—though not with him.

When We Were Monsters by Jennifer Niven

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A simmering psychological thriller about a dead teacher at an elite boarding school, the students who had every reason to want her gone, and the tangled web of rivalry and romance concealing the truth—from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of All the Bright Places.

The Macabre by Kosoko Jackson

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From award-winning and USA Today bestselling author Kosoko Jackson comes his adult speculative debut, a stand-alone novel blending time travel and globe-hopping adventure, art history, and dark fantasy about magical paintings and the lengths people will go to collect them, destroy them…or be destroyed.

You Weren’t Meant to Be Human by Andrew Joseph White

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Alien meets Midsommar in this chilling debut adult novel from award-winning author Andrew Joseph White about identity, survival, and transformation amidst an alien invasion in rural West Virginia.

Hopelessly Teavoted by Audrey Goldberg Ruoff

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After the deaths of his parents, a witch returns to his spooky family manor and joins forces with his former crush when his parents’ spirits warn them of a sinister threat in this witty and lyrically unique rom-com in the vein of The Crescent Moon Tearoom andThe Ex Hex.

Seven Reasons To Murder Your Dinner Guests by KJ Whittle

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Told from the perspectives of each of the seven guests, Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests is a spellbinding and mysterious exploration of mortality, begging the question: how would you live your life if you knew your number was up?

Holiday Ever After by Hannah Grace

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Clara Davenport wants to solve Fraser Falls’s biggest problem. According to Jack Kelly, Clara is Fraser Falls’s biggest problem.

What Fury Brings by Tricia Levenseller

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#1 New York Times-bestselling author Tricia Levenseller makes her adult debut in What Fury Brings, a sexy, empowering romantasy featuring a warrior general who must kidnap and train a husband in order to take her rightful place as queen.

Old Money by Kelsey Miller

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On the Fourth of July, a teenager dies at an exclusive country club. Twenty years later, her cousin returns to her hometown, seeking answers behind closed gates in this rich, atmospheric thriller for fans of Lucy Foley, Liz Moore and Ruth Ware.

A Mannequin for Christmas by Timothy Janovsky

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A Christmas romance for Barbie fans who wished Ken and Allan got their own love story.

Saltcrop by Yume Kitasei

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From the acclaimed author of The Stardust Grail comes the epic tale of two sisters who sail across oceans to find their missing third sister―and Earth’s environmental salvation.

The Dead of Summer by Ryan La Sala

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Stephen King meets Holly Jackson by way of We Were Liars in this action-packed story of queer horror from the acclaimed author of The Honeys!

What September books are you looking forward to? Tell us in the comments below!

The post 24 Anticipated Books Releasing In September 2025 appeared first on The Nerd Daily.