Born in Manhattan and raised in Hong Kong, Andrew Fukuda is half-Chinese, half-Japanese. After earning a bachelor's degree in history from Cornell University, Fukuda worked in Manhattan's Chinatown with the immigrant teen community. That experience led to the writing of Crossing, his debut novel that was selected by ALA Booklist as an Editor's Choice, Top Ten First Novel, and Top Ten Crime Novel in 2010. Before becoming a full time writer, Fukuda was a criminal prosecutor for seven years. He currently resides on Long Island, New York, with his family.
Me: In the spirit of Twitter, tell us about The Hunt in 140 characters or less.
AF: Don’t get eaten. #RunForYourLife
Me: The combination of humans being hunted to extinction and the nature of the hunters in The Hunt is unique and exciting! How did you come up with the idea for the story?
AF: The Hunt likely began while watching Adam Lambert’s performance of Tears for Fears’ Mad World on American Idol. The following lyrics made an impression, and stayed with me for days afterwards.
Went to school and I was very nervous
No one knew me, no one knew me
Hello teacher tell me what's my lesson
Look right through me, look right through me.
From those lyrics, a single image popped into my head: of a boy sitting in a classroom, desperately lonely despite the many students around him, wanting to be ignored. This boy had a secret, I came to see, one so awful that if it were ever made known his otherwise civil classmates would--in a split second--kill him. I pondered what that secret might be. When it came to me, I literally jumped out of my seat: the boy was the only surviving human in a world filled with vampire-like creatures. No existence could be lonelier or scarier than that.
Me: Now that is a cool way to come up with an idea for a story!
Me: I read in your bio that your debut novel, Crossing, was inspired by your work in Manhattan's Chinatown with the immigrant teen community. What were your inspirations while you were writing The Hunt?
AF: There were many inspirations while writing The Hunt, but I feel particularly indebted to Edward Hopper, a painter who once stated that he had a “propensity for solitude.” His work Morning Sun was a painting I returned to time and again, especially during dry spells in my writing. Something about the stark loneliness of the woman on the bed despite (or because of) the sunlight captured the solitude and isolation with which I wanted to fill the pages of this book. I feel indebted to this painting for the way it spoke of loneliness in a manner that was both nuanced and powerful. Hopefully, this layered kind of loneliness came through in the protagonist Gene of The Hunt.
Me: What do you have in store for the series and how many books will there be?
AF: I can’t get into specifics but there are some mind-blowing revelations to come. The Hunt is a trilogy, so two more books to come.
Me: Why do you write novels for young adults and how did you get started?
AF: I’m not sure I ever planned to be a YA author. I’ve always written simply for myself. In fact, while writing The Hunt, I wasn’t aware I was penning a YA book. I simply wrote in a way which came natural to me. My wife likes to tease that deep down, I’m a perpetual (wait: did she say petulant?) teenager; I prefer to think there’s an eternal fountain of youth in me.
Me: What is your favorite thing about writing?
AF: I love the creation and exploration of completely new worlds of my own imagining. Somebody once said that the art of creation is a sacred act, and there are times – when I’ve written the perfect sentence/paragraph/chapter – that I’d tend to agree.
Me: What are you currently reading?
AF: The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. Her writing is some kind of wonderful. It curls my toes and makes me want to hug myself.
Me: Thank you, Andrew!
About The Hunt
Release Date: May 8, 2012
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Genre: Dystopia, Horror
Buy: Amazon, B&N, Book Depository
Goodreads Summary: Don’t Sweat. Don’t Laugh. Don’t draw attention to yourself. And most of all, whatever you do, do not fall in love with one of them.
Gene is different from everyone else around him. He can’t run with lightning speed, sunlight doesn’t hurt him and he doesn’t have an unquenchable lust for blood. Gene is a human, and he knows the rules. Keep the truth a secret. It’s the only way to stay alive in a world of night—a world where humans are considered a delicacy and hunted for their blood.
When he’s chosen for a once in a lifetime opportunity to hunt the last remaining humans, Gene’s carefully constructed life begins to crumble around him. He’s thrust into the path of a girl who makes him feel things he never thought possible—and into a ruthless pack of hunters whose suspicions about his true nature are growing. Now that Gene has finally found something worth fighting for, his need to survive is stronger than ever—but is it worth the cost of his humanity?
And now for the giveaway. As a part of the 2012 Muti-Cultural Book Challenge, St. Martin’s Griffin was wonderful enough to offer a finished copy of The Hunt for giveaway. If you take part in the challenge, you will have more entries in the giveaway. You can sign up for the challenge here. Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below and good luck!
