Into the Crooked Place: Behind the Scenes with Alexandra Christo
March 20, 2021 | 12:00 PM
Into the Crooked Place: Behind the Scenes with Alexandra Christo
By Alexandra Christo
For the past month, the Fierce Reads team has been utterly absorbed in Alexandra Christo's gritty fantasy Into the Crooked Place. There's dark magic, morally gray characters, and not one but TWO will-they-won't-they romances. And you KNOW how we feel about a slow burn.
But seriously, if you haven't started reading our March Book Club pick, what are you doing?! If you still need convincing, check out this awesome behind-the-scenes look at the book with author Alexandra Christo.
How it all began . . .
Into the Crooked Place was one of those books that came to me slowly over the years. I’ve always loved magic and watching magicians on TV, seeing their elaborate performances and the way they could captivate an audience. I found it so fascinating how they could be fast enough that you might not even see them doing something right in front of you. And the idea that, with enough practice, anybody could learn a little magic.
I liked that idea – magic being a skill someone could master, a thing that they could learn. Then one day I had the thought of magic also being a physical thing, something people could hold and touch and see. Charms in the form of marbles and warehouses dedicated to duplicating existing magic. And so Into the Crooked Place was born!
In the city of Creije, buskers perform magic tricks and sell charms at markets (legal ones during the day and . . . not so legal ones at night), and the city is teeming with wonder. The crooks are showmen, combining magic with trickery.
That’s where our story begins: with a simple magic trick gone wrong. A prophecy about a battle to come. And a deadly new magic, that threatens a city of wonder.
What are some of the books that inspired you?
I love writing anti-heroes as my main characters. People who have flaws, make mistakes (and are maybe a little murderous), and then learn to fight for what they believe in. Not to mention fantasies with enemies to lovers romance that has you itching for that first kiss between the insults (hah) and world-building that leaves you in awe. The below books really helped to inspire the world of Crooked and our lovable crew of rogues:
Dive into Alexandra Christo's Into the Crooked Place and the newly released sequel City of Spells today. Of course, don't forget to continue the conversation with your friends and download the discussion guide.
- Vicious by V E Schwab
- The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell
- The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh
- The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
- Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
- Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
- The Diviners by Libba Bray