Every Tuesday, get to know a bit about the stories behind the books you love, and discover your next favourite novel.

Zilla: I fell in love with Justine Manzano’s books when I first read her YA fantasy romance Never Say Never. When I got the chance to interview her about her works, I jumped at it! Justine, can you tell us a bit about your books?

Justine: I’m the author of four YA Fantasy novels. I have an action/adventure series, Keys & Guardians, about a teenager entering a corrupt monster-hunting organization and fighting to overthrow it from the inside. I also have a standalone romantic comedy, Never Say Never, which is about a girl who, after the divorce of her parents, declares she’ll never fall in love. But Aphrodite, disguised as her human teenager friend, sees that as a challenge.

Zilla: What inspired you to write these books?

Justine: Never Say Never was inspired by being a child of divorce, but not just any divorce. I was a kid who grew up knowing my parents didn’t belong together and would be better off without each other. But I’d never read a book about a family like mine. So I wrote one.

For Keys & Guardians, the series was about the abuse of absolute power in its many dynamics. I grew up in an abusive household, and there’s the exploration of neglect, and child abuse, abuse of power in society, in politics…I wanted to explore all of the ways I felt helpless in my life…and then I wanted to craft a character who would stand up against that. In many ways, the main character, Jacklyn, was my hero too.

Zilla: I can see how characters play an important role in your stories—is there a character in fiction that’s been important to you during your life? 

Justine: Batman is my special interest. I love the idea of a hero who chose to protect people. He doesn’t have any special abilities to protect him. Everything about him he chose to hone and to dedicate toward the people of Gotham. He’s a hero built from the strength of his brain more than anything else and I love that.

Zilla: You’ve got so many stories inside you—what’s your next writing project?

Justine: I currently have two writing projects in progress. The first is a short story collection that takes place in the Keys & Guardians series. I’m unsure about the title currently. I’m still sorting that out, but it’s in edits. I believe it will be called Tales of the Dawn.

The other project I’m working on is a new book called Reality Check. It’s a YA Contemporary novel. Leah Marinello deals with an abusive life by throwing herself into imaginary worlds—but when her school theater club offers her an actual escape, she discovers her imaginary friend might not be so imaginary—and he doesn’t really want to let go.

Zilla: Thanks for sharing your story and your process. We’re looking forward to reading! Where can the Night Beats community find you and your book?

Justine: My books are available anywhere books are sold. My website is justinemanzano.com, and you can find me on social media as @justine_manzano on Instagram and Threads, @justine_manzano1229 on TikTok, and as @justinemanzano.bsky.social on Blue Sky.