The following is an interview with New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Alyssa Day regarding the recent release of the romantasy novel, Nobody’s Quest, through Red Tower Books. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Day about the creative process of bringing the story and characters to life on the page, what readers may take away from the story’s themes, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Congratulations on the recent release of Nobody’s Quest! How would you describe the story’s overall premise, and what was its inspiration?
Alyssa Day: Thank you! Nobody’s Quest is about Soli, reviled by her society for having Gray Mind. (We call it depression.) Two feuding goddesses have set the world on fire, and Soli is chosen to fulfill the oracles’ prophecy that “Nobody can defeat the goddess of war.”
Soli sets forth with a banished prince, a deceitful sorceress, two palace guards, two secretive warriors, and her best friend, a thief to find the keys to free the imprisoned goddess of nature. Along the way, they’re forced to fight fierce monsters, evil opponents, and the difficulties of her own mind, and some reviewers are saying, “I have never felt more seen or understood until i met Soli.”
My inspiration was my life-long love of fantasy and my equally long battle with chronic clinical depression. I was never able to find anybody like me as the hero of the story, and I wanted to read that. Then, it turned into I wanted to write it. An epic quest fantasy that centered a hero who is like me. Soli came to me in vivid 3-D. She was sitting on the floor of the royal library, cleaning mold off bookshelves, when the king’s guards came for her, and I knew I had to write her story.
BD: The story deftly weaves high-fantasy drama with very grounded representations of an individual struggling with depression and isolation. How would you describe your creative process in bringing the story and characters to life on the page?
AD: Thank you so much! It was definitely a balancing act between being authentic to the truth of depression—at least the depression I live with; as I state in the author’s note, everyone’s experience is different—and carrying out the narrative arc of the story. The characters are where I begin every story, but I also love, love, love worldbuilding. So, it was a matter of balancing Soli’s internal battles with the ongoing adventures, battles, and danger. And, of course, the love story! I’m finishing book 2 now, and Prince Kaelen is UNLEASHED. Not to mention other key characters and oh, the betrayals! The lies! The battles! Also, that epilogue everybody is raving about? Buckle up!
BD: At Fanbase Press, our #StoriesMatter initiative endeavors to highlight the impact that stories can have on audiences of various mediums. How do you feel that Soli’s story might connect with and impact readers, and what, if any conversations do you hope that it may inspire?
AD: I’m already seeing some of the kinds of conversations I hoped Nobody’s Quest might generate. So many readers on social media are posting videos and reviews about how they feel seen for the first time in a fantasy novel. Or that Soli and her struggles and perseverance are inspiring. Her mantra is one that I’ve always used:
Storms pass
Pain Ends
I will never quit.
And depression can make it too easy to want to quit sometimes, so it’s an ongoing battle. Every single person who is open and honest and authentic about their mental health contributes to the destigmatization of this huge health issue. Depression lies, and we need to stop believing those lies. Ultimately, I want people like me not to feel alone.
BD: What makes Red Tower Books the perfect publishing partner for this story?
AD: Liz Pelletier, the publisher, is absolutely brilliant. She built an enormously successful publishing empire because she knows the market. Where other publishers may have hesitated to acquire these books about a protagonist with mental health issues, Liz called me for a long talk. We talked about her concerns and mine. We talked about how I will never have Soli’s depression “magically cured.” And then she said, “Welcome to Red Tower.” I will be forever grateful for that.
BD: Are there any projects – past or current – that you would like to highlight for our readers?
AD: My first romantasy series, Warriors of Poseidon, about a group of very alpha, very hot warriors from Atlantis, came out before anybody called romantic fantasy romantasy. When my agent sent it out, editors mostly called it “too much romance in your fantasy” or “too much fantasy in your romance.” I liked to joke that I was the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups of publishing! I’ve recently repackaged it and re-released the audiobooks, and I hope people check out the completed 8-book series. Also, my Vampire Motorcycle Club trilogy, also with Entangled Publishing, which came out just when COVID closed all the bookstores. Finally, I took a character who’d been left alone and lonely at the end of the Warriors of Poseidon and, after reader demands that he get a story, I gave him an entire mystery series—the Tiger’s Eye Mysteries.
BD: Lastly, what is the best way for our readers to find more information about Nobody’s Quest and your other work?
AD: I’m at www.alyssaday.com and on instagram @authoralyssaday and Tiktok at @alyssadayauthor.
Thanks so much for inviting me!
