Angela Montoya Q&A - A Cruel Thirst
- Allen & Unwin
- Apr 15
- 4 min read
We chat with Angela Montoya, author of the irresistible YA romantasy, A Cruel Thirst.
A&U: Hey Angela! Thanks so much for chatting with us! First up, would you mind telling us a little about A Cruel Thirst?
AM: Of course! Thanks for the opportunity to chat! A Cruel Thirst is a YA romantasy that I like to say is The Mask of Zorro meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This story follows Lalo Villalobos, a recently turned vampire who is terrible at being a vampire and wants to try to turn himself human again. He travels to a small village where he believes the original vampire is and intends to destroy them. Instead, Lalo bumps into Carolina Fuentes, a wannabe vampire huntress who aspires to prove her value as a hunter to her family. When the two meet, sparks and daggers fly.
A&U: What sparked the idea for A Cruel Thirst? Was there anything specific that inspired you?
AM: When it came time to start working on my second novel, my publishing team and I got together to discuss what we should try next. The moment vampires were mentioned, a spark flared inside my mind. Like so many people around the world, I LOVE vampires. True Blood, Twilight, The Vampire Diaries, Blade, Queen of the Damned, Underworld, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the movie in particular) are some of my favorite movies and shows of all time. I love the idea of these mythical creatures that are so powerful, vicious, and terrifying, while also being super hot. I knew when it came to writing my version of vampires, that I wanted to infuse my own heritage and create new vampiric lore, plus I wanted to add a bit of humor like what is done in the series, What We Do in the Shadows. Right around that time, I rewatched The Mask of Zorro and I thought to myself, “This setting is the perfect backdrop for vampires to thrive.” The rest is history.
A&U: This is your second published novel. How did you find writing book 1 differed from book 2? Was it easier because you’d already written one, or did it present its own set of challenges?
The process for writing A Cruel Thirst was vastly different from my first book. I wrote my first book without an agent, without a publishing deal, and without any sort of deadline. I had time to do whatever I wanted with it. With A Cruel Thirst, I had a deadline and also the added pressure of writing something that was as good, if not better, than what I already wrote. I had to battle through a lot of mental gymnastics to not get caught up in worrying about what others might think. For those reasons, writing the second book was much harder, but I knew I could do it because I’d written a book before and survived. Plus, I had new tools in my belt that I had learned while editing that first book. Still, impostor's syndrome always finds a way to weasel its way through. On those days, I leaned on my writing community and publishing team to help me get to the end. They were always there to pick me up, dust me off, and remind me that I could do it.
A&U: You always write such fantastic romances! What’s your process for crating these iconic pairings like Carolina and Lalo?
AM: Thank you! I really wanted to have top-tier banter between the main characters in A Cruel Thirst. To do that, I came to the conclusion that I needed to make these characters polar opposites in many ways, so they would naturally have conflict: He’s a vampire. Then she must be a vampire hunter. He doesn’t like to get dirty. She’ll happily fling dirt in his face. He has a small family and likes the quiet. She has a huge family who are all equally loud. Their conflicting personalities and histories made for some fun conversations and scenes between them. But when they were able to put those differences to the side, they were aligned in deeper ways. They both love their families fiercely. They both want to feel seen and respected. They’re both sweet, deep, and compassionate. Those similarities offered them something to bond over and gave them the perfect opportunity to fall in love.
A&U: And lastly, what advice do you have for any budding writers out there who might be reading this Q&A?
AM: I mentioned in a previous answer that I leaned on my writing community while writing A Cruel Thirst. Honestly, my community saved me during that time. They continue to save me. Sometimes it feels as though other writers are the only people in the world that truly understand me, because they too feel this intense need to create stories and bring them to the world. Many of us writers have experienced the same highs and the same lows when it comes to publishing. And that's why we can commiserate when one of us gets rejected, but it is also why we celebrate so hard whenever one of us achieves our dream. So, my advice to budding writers would be to build your community. You don’t need a million friends. You don’t have to have thousands of followers. You just need a few souls that see you and want to be there to support you on this wild storytelling ride.
A Cruel Thirst
by Angela Montoya
A fledgling vampire and a headstrong vampire huntress must work together - against their better judgment - to rid the world of monsters in this irresistible romantic fantasy.
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