1--What is the title of your latest release?
SON OF THE SIREN
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Stardust meets Among the Beasts & Briars with a half-siren prince who must save his family and himself from dark magic born from the seduction of a siren’s song.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I got to make up all the settings in the book, which was so much fun! I knew the story had to take place on the sea, since I was working with sirens, but also, I wanted a magical forest that walked wherever it wanted, and for my lead Lirien to pop up there at random. A lot of these decisions were taken from my time living in Japan, with real-life locations like Yakushima, Takachiho, and Karatsu making appearances in the book, only with fantastical new names. I am so grateful for my time abroad and the inspiration it gave me.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Lirien is such a sweet young man, and I would enjoy meeting him. He cares so deeply about his family and only wants the best for them. Plus, as a half-siren, he has a beautiful voice. There’s a song he sings in the novel, “The Blood That Makes the Bloom,” that I would love to hear him sing.
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
These words don’t so much describe Lirien; it’s more like I associate them with him: Perseverance, Love, and Loyalty.
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
I used five beta readers for this book, plus friends and family who also critiqued parts of it, and I discovered that everyone has different opinions. Trying to take all the advice and criticism made me anxious and depressed, and I realized that I just wasn’t going to satisfy everyone. While I did make changes per their recommendations, I let my heart make my final choices.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I have to edit as I draft. I have an awful memory and things tend to snowball if I don’t fix them right away. While this leads to cleaner drafts, the process of writing takes longer. I am a slow writer and I’ve often heard advice that if you want to complete drafts quickly, stop editing. Alas, this doesn’t work for me!
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
When I lived in Japan there was a ton of good food everywhere, but there’s a little dish called chawanmushi (savory egg custard) that I would eat whenever I got sushi. It tastes so good!
9--Describe your writing space/office!
I’ve had the same desk since elementary school in my bedroom. It’s a little wooden thing with enough room for a laptop, my body in a chair, and some stationery items. It’s small but it fits in the corner of my room pretty well. The desk is a little beaten up because it’s so old, but I don’t want to part with it! It’s compact, but the perfect size for my room!
10--Who is an author you admire?
There are a lot but I’m going to say Margaret Rogerson. I love her YA fantasies An Enchantment of Ravens and Sorcery of Thorns. She is my favorite YA author because her stories are so creative, her prose so smooth, and her stories always have a bit of fun and whimsy to them, even when there are bits of darkness.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
Juliet Marillier’s Daughter of the Forest was the book that made me want to write fiction. It’s a historical fantasy retelling of The Wild Swans and it inspired me to write my own fairy tale stories.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
First it was an email from my agent, and then an actual follow-up call. I remember being so excited that all I could say on the phone was “yay!” Son of the Siren had a lot of rejections before it got to Oliver-Heber Books, and I was starting to believe the book would never see the light of day. Getting “the call” just made my heart leap and I was so, so happy.
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
In terms of fiction, YA fantasy. But I’m an avid reader of manga and will read almost anything, although BL is my favorite genre.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
Elizabeth with Cate Blanchett. The story was amazing, the acting on-point, and the costumes sumptuous. I will never get tired of this film.
15--What is your favorite season?
Fall because it has the best temperatures of the year and the gorgeous changing of the leaves!
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
Eating good food with family and friends, and then following up with downloading new books to my Kindle.
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I’ve been watching Delicious in Dungeon on Netflix and although I’m not a food or cooking person, the show’s adventure plot helps balance out all the eating. It’s funny but has serious moments and has a D&D feel to it. I recommend it if you’re looking for a good time!
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Despite my love of Japanese food, Chinese food wins out. I especially love Chinese buffet food. I have my staple meal there all the time: rice, lo mein, chicken with broccoli, and crab rangoon!
19--What do you do when you have free time?
I read a lot, but I also watch a lot of anime. I also make a habit of tuning into Booktube (the reading corner of YouTube) for the latest book reviews, previews, hauls, and literary gossip.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
I’m working on a trilogy! I already have the names for each book picked out: The Name and the Key, The Step and the Walk, and The Fear and the Flame. It’s about a girl named Lily who finds her mother’s dead body in the marshes, and since then she’s haunted by her mother’s corpse in every reflective surface, begging Lily to “open the door.” Lily’s childhood friend Andresh may be the key to breaking this terrible curse, but he has his own secrets that could destroy them both.
Sometimes love is a curse, a twisted, unnatural obsession.
Such is the dark magic of a siren’s song, the power of which half-siren Lirien witnesses for himself as he watches his mother sing his father, the King of Ardeth, into the sea. In a fruitless attempt to reverse his father’s fate, Lirien sings the siren song himself, not knowing its true power is seduction. Instead, he ensnares his stepmother, the Queen, with its hypnotic melody.
When Lirien refuses her desperate advances, she turns to forbidden magic to force her love on him. But wishing upon a havoc stone is an invitation to chaos. The queen’s own son and daughters, Lirien’s beloved siblings, are whisked away and transformed into animals. They flee the kingdom, and Lirien chases after them, his beautiful voice also gone.
Through elven mountains, fae forests, and siren waters, Lirien will stop at nothing to find and save his family. Threats come at him from all sides, but there are allies, too—Kitra, a shapeshifting fae fox who vows vengeance on the Queen for killing her brother, and Brandegil, an elf who can awaken the sacred sword Alibrandr to help break the spell on the children.
Together, they’ll bring the stars raining down from the heavens if that’s what it takes to save Lirien’s family, but there’s still the matter of breaking the spell on the Queen. And Lirien’s own deadly curse haunts him should he stray too long from the sea.
Young Adult | Fantasy Magical Realism [Oliver-Heber Books, On Sale: July 2, 2024, e-Book, / ]
Kristina Elyse Butke writes fantasy filled with magic, dark curses, and true love. Her time living abroad in Wales and Japan inspires her writing through the fantastical settings and creatures she creates.She has an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University and is an experienced speaker at various conventions in the state of Ohio. She has published with ExFic, First Class Literary, and Synaeresis magazine, and is currently a writer at Comics Beat covering manga and anime. When she isn't geeking out with cosplay or manga and webtoons, she enjoys her time forest bathing and traveling.
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