Some conversations flow effortlessly from a formal interview and feel like a deep dive with an old friend and that’s exactly how it felt chatting with Alwyn Hamilton at the Emirates Literature Festival. She’s sharp, incredibly funny and refreshingly open, truly the kind of person I could easily chat with for hours.
Alwyn admits early on in our interview that much like her character Amani, she is physically incapable of telling a lie. She likes to think of herself as someone who’s always honest, even about the silly things, the kind of person who won’t blame traffic for being late and easily admit she stayed in bed an extra ten minutes because she couldn’t resist staying in bed to watch Adele’s Hello on repeat.
Writing Herself Into Her Characters
While she joked that she lacks the survival instincts of her desert-dwelling protagonists, it’s clear that her characters share her wit and the complex social dynamics she navigates in her own life. As she explains it, her characters inevitably sound like her in different ways. She doubts she could ever write a main character who felt completely removed from her own voice. That said, she is quick to point out that she gives her protagonists far more survival instinct than she personally possesses.
From Desert Landscapes to 1920s Glamour
That blend of the personal and the imaginary takes on a new form in The Notorious Virtues, her latest novel and a clear departure from the desert-set, Wild West-inspired Rebel of the Sands trilogy. Set in the champagne-soaked glitz of the 1920s, the story unveils through lavish parties, beautiful clothes and more strategic forms of power.
Alwyn explains that after three books with the same characters and landscape, she was ready to explore something visually and tonally different. Interestingly, she let me in on a secret, both stories exist in the same world. If you look closely, you’ll find a character who was a teenager in the first trilogy reappearing as a grandmother in her new book, a little easter egg she decided to leave in for her fans.
Writing Process
Alwyn adopts a “write-as-you-go” style. Halfway through writing The Notorious Virtues, the plot revealed itself as a murder mystery, although she did not initially set out to write one. She found herself overhiding clues and had to introduce August, an investigative journalist, just so her main character had someone to bounce ideas off. The story centres on a powerful family that selects its heir through a trial, triggered by the murder of the previous heiress.
Art History and Symbolism
Her background in art history naturally influences how she weaves her stories together. It affects her use of symbolism, in which colours, clothing, and visual motifs convey deeper meanings, often without the reader realising it. For instance, when a character is surrounded by birds or wears flowing silhouettes, it subtly hints at how they wish to present themselves.
We also talked about her time in Dubai. For Alwyn, the desert is almost like a character with its own high stakes. She mentioned that the dark, dramatic landscape really inspires her and reflects the world she’s created in her writing.
Advice for Writers and What Comes Next
Before we wrapped up, I asked for her best advice for writers. Her answer was simple: “Finish the book”. She believes an imperfect, messy finished draft is far more valuable than twenty thousand perfect words that go nowhere. Her advice is to avoid comparing your early drafts to the polished books you see on shelves. It’s important to get to the end, even if it feels rough around the edges. A completed draft can teach you so much more than a beautifully refined piece that’s never finished.
As for what’s next, she’s currently resolving the cliffhanger from book one in the sequel, which she revealed is titled The Glorious Vices, set for release in early 2027.
