We Hunt the Flame – Hafsah Faizal GUEST POST!

People lived because she killed.
People died because he lived.

Zafira is the Hunter, disguising herself as a man when she braves the cursed forest of the Arz to feed her people. Nasir is the Prince of Death, assassinating those foolish enough to defy his autocratic father, the king. If Zafira was exposed as a girl, all of her achievements would be rejected; if Nasir displayed his compassion, his father would punish him in the most brutal of ways.

Both are legends in the kingdom of Arawiya—but neither wants to be.

War is brewing, and the Arz sweeps closer with each passing day, engulfing the land in shadow. When Zafira embarks on a quest to uncover a lost artifact that can restore magic to her suffering world and stop the Arz, Nasir is sent by the king on a similar mission: retrieve the artifact and kill the Hunter. But an ancient evil stirs as their journey unfolds—and the prize they seek may pose a threat greater than either can imagine.

Set in a richly detailed world inspired by ancient Arabia, We Hunt the Flame is a gripping debut of discovery, conquering fear, and taking identity into your own hands.

Goodreads

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review

My Rating: 5 Stars

Those of you who follow me on Instagram are well aware of my love for Hafsah Faizal’s STUNNING debut. I absolutely devoured this book and loved every single word that I read. The characters were well developed and interesting, the plot was fast paced and kept me on the edge of my seat, and the imagery was absolutely breathtaking. I’ll be posting a longer, full review of WHTF in a few days, but its absolutely safe to say that I loved this book.

Now, when I was asked by Fierce Reads if I’d be interested in hosting a guest post from Hafsah, I said hell yes and sent them my question. Initially, I wanted to ask her if she drinks the tears of her readers as daily sustenance. However, after a few days of coping with the emotions WHTF made me feel, I came up with a more appropriate way to ask the question I wanted answered.

Thank you so much to Hafsah for taking the time to give such a concise and thoughtful answer. I can’t wait to read the next book in this series and am so excited to see what Faizal brings us in what I’m sure will be a long writing career.

Prompt: How does it feel to write scenes from WHTF that you know will have an emotional impact on your readers?

Erin, hello! Thanks for having me, and for being on the WHTF blog tour!

The idea of “write for yourself” is an interesting thing, because that entire mindset flies out the window once you have a book deal and you’re editing with your editor knowing oh dear someone is going to read this one day. Many someones, if one’s lucky.

There are lines in my book, WE HUNT THE FLAME, that love to pieces, and there are scenes I adore—they’re usually the most emotional ones. A character’s death, another character finally breaking apart. A question without question, a farewell between sisters.

Now that the story is out there, and people are reading it (!!!), it’s fun seeing how readers react to these scenes and lines. How so many tidbits that I never saw as quotable or emotional rise among the chorus of reviews and social chatter. And just the same, some of the scenes and quotes that spoke to me are paid no attention at all.

It’s not a bad thing. It’s just a reminder of how drastically different humans are.

And when I stumble on the rare review that tells me the reader really gets it, it’s like a heart-to-heart moment. It’s a bit like baring my soul and for that reader to say, “yeah, I know what you mean.” A powerful, incredible feeling that trumps all else.

So now, while writing book two, I’m ever aware that a particular scene could be someone’s favorite, and that same scene might earn an eye-roll from someone else. It makes the process more tedious, in a way, as I’m constantly reminded that I’m no longer writing for myself. But if that’s the price of being published and being able to share my stories with the world? I wouldn’t have it any other way.