Author Interview: Blood Moon by Britney S. Lewis
With Blood Moon, Britney Lewis invites readers into Timber Plains, Kansas, a small town where secrets run deep, the shadows stretch long, and danger prowls just beneath the surface. At its heart is Mira, a young woman caught between the ache of abandonment and the electric thrill of first love, all while navigating a centuries-old feud between werewolves and vampires. Lewis blends small-town intimacy with supernatural spectacle, giving us a story that feels both timeless and urgently fresh. We sat down with Britney as Blood Moon hit the NYT (🎉) to talk about biting taglines, the art of balancing flawed characters with flawed magic, and why the return of paranormal romance feels so right for this moment.
Blood Moon
by Britney S. LewisPublished by: Page Street YA
on September 9, 2025
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult
Bookshop, Audiobook through LibroFM
Goodreads
Eighteen-year-old Mirabella “Mira” Owens grew up in Timber Plains, Kansas hearing all about the local legend—that werewolves had, many years ago, traveled to their small Midwest town to protect humans from the growing threat of a vampire enclave. Just a story of course, a fairy tale, one Mira had stopped believing in when she was young—just like she stopped believing in the idea of her mom returning, after she up and left without a trace when she was only thirteen.
Mira is grown up now, starting freshman year at the nearby Lakeland University. College feels normal, exactly the thing she’s been craving most... except for one particular classmate: Julian Santos, a mysterious boy with long hair, golden eyes, and a coldness that seems directed exclusively at Mira for reasons she can’t understand and he won’t explain.
When Mira receives an unaddressed letter from her mother, she’s told the world isn’t as it seems. She suspects her mom might be telling the truth when she stumbles across strange animal tracks on a hiking trail, and when she’s miraculously saved from a twenty foot drop by the one and only, Julian Santos.
The problem? Julian would have had to jump the length of the cliff to catch her, making him incredibly fast and strong beyond belief. When she confronts him about this, he denies everything.
But when a Blood Moon rises, Mira soon finds herself caught in the middle of an ancient, magical war, with Julian on the other side of the line. She discovers there’s much more truth to the old town legends than she could ever have anticipated—and her family’s historic role in it will change her world forever.
BLOOD MOON is a dark and thrilling, intensely romantic ride, a fresh take on a werewolf love story for a new generation of paranormal romance readers, and is the first book in a series. It is set against a high-stakes paranormal backdrop—a world ripe with secret identities, rich supernatural lore, and a forbidden romance... that comes with a deadly bite.
Author Inteview
Blood Moon gives us that irresistible mix of Midwest small-town setting, family secrets, and supernatural romance. If Timber Plains had a tourist brochure, what warning label (or cheeky tagline) would you slap on the front to prepare outsiders?
It would say, “Warning: the people here bite.”
Mira’s story blends the personal ache of an absent parent with the larger-than-life clash of werewolves and vampires. How do you strike that balance between intimate, real-world emotions and the pulse-racing magic of paranormal romance?
The magic and the romance is so fun and easy to write–it’s all about testing readers’ patience levels: when will they touch? When will they kiss? And the magic truly adds to making the world feel more rounded. Discovering limitations within the magic system can be tricky, but I strongly believe some flaws and barriers make the world feel that much more believable. The balance to this, for me, has always been making sure my characters feel as real as the world–which is why their emotional journeys are so important. In the same way that flawed magic makes the world seem believable, so do flawed characters. When you add all of this together, it makes for a truly incredible journey for the characters, and a roller coaster ride for the readers.
Paranormal creatures often mirror the fears or desires of their time, vampires, werewolves, and more. What made you feel like now was the moment to reimagine the werewolf love story, and what do you think werewolves say about this generation of readers?
So many people have told me that the resurgence of paranormal romance means that the world is going through a great depression, and to an extent, I believe that. However, I honestly wanted to see a new take on werewolves and vampires, and after twenty years of Twilight dominating this space, there was an open opportunity to introduce paranormal romance to new readers, while also feeding the more experienced reader who has been missing that paranormal crave.
About Britney S. Lewis
Britney S. Lewis is the #1 New York Times, Indie, and USA Today Bestselling Author of Blood Moon. She is also the award-winning author of The Dark Place and The Undead Truth of Us.
​She grew up in Kansas City, Kansas, where she fell in love with storytelling and the idea that magic moved and breathed in our world. After getting her Bachelor of Arts and Science Degree, she worked in the field of marketing and communications for a few years before accepting a position as an editor for greeting cards, where her job is to make sure she gets the best words on paper. When Britney isn’t daydreaming about new stories, she is an urban hiker, exploring the city on foot, looking for iced coffee. She can also be found watching TV shows with her husband and her pup or practicing West Coast Swing in one of her local dance studios. She lives in Kansas City.
For more information, you can follow her on social media @Britneyslewis or visit her website at www.britneyslewis.com
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