Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Alexandra Monir.
Alexandra Monir is an Iranian-American author and recording artist who has published six popular young adult novels. Her internationally-bestselling debut, Timeless was a Barnes & Noble Bestseller and Amazon.com “Best Books of the Month.” In 2018 she published the hit sci-fi novel The Final Six and Sony Pictures optioned the film rights in a major pre-empt deal. More recently, she has followed up with a sequel—The Life Below—which was published earlier this year.
Alexandra was chosen as part of a group of global bestselling authors to write for the New York Times-bestselling DC ICONS series. Her book is Black Canary: Breaking Silence, the first-ever YA novel about that DC Comics superhero. Next up, Alexandra is writing a historical fantasy YA for Disney based on Princess Jasmine.
In this episode Alexandra and I discuss:
- How she honors her grandmother in her career, especially in her latest book.
- Her method for creating a complex cast of villains for Black Canary.
- Why she incorporated original music into the release of her book.
Plus, her #1 tip for writers.
About the Alexandra Monir
Iranian-American author and recording artist Alexandra Monir has published six popular young adult novels to date, beginning with her internationally-bestselling debut, Timeless (a Barnes & Noble Bestseller and Amazon.com “Best Books of the Month”). More recently, she published the hit sci-fi novel The Final Six with HarperCollins in 2018, with Sony Pictures optioning the film rights in a major pre-empt deal. A sequel, The Life Below, followed in February 2020.
Alexandra was chosen to follow global bestselling authors Leigh Bardugo, Marie Lu, Sarah J. Maas, and Matt de la Pena as the fifth author to write for the New York Times-bestselling DC ICONS series. Her book is Black Canary: Breaking Silence, the first-ever YA novel about the titular DC Comics superhero, publishing on December 29, 2020. Next up, Alexandra is writing a historical fantasy YA for Disney based on Princess Jasmine.
You can find Alexandra on her website or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
Black Canary
In this thrilling origin story of Black Canary, Dinah Lance’s voice is her weapon. And in a near-future world where women have no rights, she won’t hesitate to use everything she has–including her song–to fight back.
Dinah Lance was eight years old when she overheard the impossible: the sound of a girl singing. It was something she was never meant to hear–not in her lifetime and not in Gotham City, taken over by the vicious, patriarchal Court of Owls. The sinister organization rules Gotham City as a dictatorship and has stripped women of everything–their right to work, to make music, to learn, to be free.
Now seventeen, Dinah can’t forget that haunting sound, and she’s beginning to discover that her own voice is just as powerful. But singing is forbidden–a one-way route to a certain death sentence. Fighting to balance her father’s desire to keep her safe, a blossoming romance with mysterious new student Oliver Queen, and her own need to help other women and girls rise up, Dinah wonders if her song will finally be heard. And will her voice be powerful enough to destroy the Court of Owls once and for all?
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Link to Episode 338
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