Happy Sunday and welcome to my stop on the blog tour for THE FIREBIRD SONG! I’m so excited because today I have an interview with Arnée Flores to share with you! This book is truly amazing and I’m so so excited to for you to find out more about it!
The Firebird Song by Arnée Flores Published on June 8, 2021 by Bloomsbury Children's Books
Genres: Middle Grade, Fantasy
Pages: 304
Add to Goodreads
Author Links: Website, Twitter, Goodreads, Instagram
The Kingdom of Lyrica was once warm and thriving, kept safe by the Firebird, whose feather and song was a blessing of peace and prosperity. But the Firebird disappeared, and Lyrica is now terrorized by the evil Spectress who wields her powers from within a volcano. All that remains is a mysterious message scrawled on the castle wall in the Queen's own hand: Wind. Woman. Thief.
Young Prewitt has only known time without the Firebird, a life of constant cold, as his village is afraid to tempt the volcano monsters with even the feeblest fire. But he has heard whispers that the kingdom's princess survived the attack . . . and he is certain that if he can find her, together they can save Lyrica.
Princess Calliope has no memories beyond living on her barge on the underground lake. But as she nears her twelfth birthday, she is certain there is more to life than the walls of a cave. When Prewitt finds her, he realizes that she is the missing princess: the only hope for Lyrica. Determined to decipher the meaning of her mother's strange message and find the Firebird, Calliope and Prewitt set off on a quest that puts them in more danger than either of them ever anticipated.
What would you do if you spent the day with Calliope and Prewitt? Where would you go to eat, hang out, relax, etc.?
I would take them to the Seattle Public Library. After growing up in a cave, Calliope would love all those windows, and they would both be amazed to see so many books. I’d definitely have to show Prewitt the Maritz Map Room. He’s a sucker for maps and I know he could spend all day there, but eventually Calliope would force him away so we could go explore someplace else.
We would go down to Pike Place Market and sample all sorts of different yummy things. Calliope would try EVERYTHING and want to collect all the post cards and little trinkets. There’s a little stall that sells tiny clay flowers that I know she would HAVE to have.
Prewitt would refuse to try anything with seafood in it, but when we got to area of the market where they throw fish, he’d think it was hilarious. Prewitt would much rather throw fish than eat it.
If Calliope and Prewitt were to hang out with characters from other books, who would they be and why?
Calliope has Anne of Green Gables energy, so I’d love see them together. They are both creative and optimistic, and I just think they would be the brightest, sunniest pair. On the less sunny hand, Prewitt and Aru Shah would be hilarious together. Honestly, I think they’d fight like crazy, but if they could communicate, they’d probably be able to do some really great things.
Would you rather be a superhero or a supervillain? What would your powers and name be and why?
I’d want to be a superhero, for sure! My name would be Amenda-Girl. I’d be able to solve any conflict with a snap of my fingers. I could end wars, solve arguments, and fix relationships. There would be peace and the perfect solution that made everyone happy INSTANTLY. (I probably got this power when I was running away from some conflict, not looking where I was going, and fell into a vat of radio-active goo.)
If you buried a time capsule with three items inside, what three items would you choose and why?
It depends on when the time capsule is being opened. I’ll assume for the sake of answering that I won’t be around anymore and that many, many years have gone by. I would bury my recipe binder full of handwritten recipe cards because I think so much can be told about an era by the food that people are sharing from their kitchens. I’d also bury my journal. Maybe in the future, no one will keep journals at all. I like the idea that they would be interested in the handwritten accounts of my day-to-day life. I know I’d love to stumble across someone’s journal from 100 years ago. Lastly, I’d bury a nice bottle of wine and some fine chocolate—my way of loving on someone in the future.
What was your favorite bit of research you ended up not using?
Because THE FIREBIRD SONG is fantasy, there wasn’t a lot of research that needed to be done. When I came across something I felt would benefit from being fleshed out, I would specifically research that topic. That meant there wasn’t much excess. However, I did have 50k words worth of extra material that I cut. Originally, when I queried this book, it had fairy tales between the chapters. I really enjoyed writing them and it was awful to take them out, but it was also necessary! (Kill your darlings, friends!)
What is your favorite quote, scene, or moment from The Firebird Song?
My favorite moment of the entire book happens at the very, very end. I don’t want to give too much away, but Calliope’s return home is my absolute favorite. It’s told from her friend Prewitt’s POV. It shows just how far she’s come as an individual and how far they’ve come as friends. Plus, I am a sucker for a happy ending, and even though there are sad things that happen, I think THE FIREBIRD SONG delivers.
About Arnée Flores
Arnée Flores spent her childhood shifting across rural Washington towns, lugging along boxes of books, and switching schools nine times before her family finally settled down on a wheat farm in the tiny town of Reardan, Washington.
Arnée identifies as Vietnamese American, but as a transracial adoptee raised by a Caucasian family in small-town America, she grew up feeling displaced.
It took a long while and a winding path for her to find herself. She spent a few nomadic years exploring, working odd jobs, and studying subjects from Piano Performance at Washington State University to Pre-Law and Political Science at Gonzaga before she finally understood that all she really wanted was to stay in one place and write the kinds of stories that had helped her feel safe during her chaotic childhood.
Today, she can be found collecting rocks, shells, and other curiosities on the beach near her Seattle apartment, all the while dreaming up wild and magical tales, her little white dog splashing along behind her through the tide pools.
What do you think about The Firebird Song? Have you added it to your tbr yet? Let me know in the comments and have a splendiferous day!
Leave a Reply