Emma Kennedy released their second publication, FIREREND, exactly one week ago on June 5th. As a novella, the read is short and intriguing, starting off The Tales of Averna books that Kennedy plans to continue. A perfect heist fantasy story, readers can expect danger and magic. Similar to their debut Golden Ruin (interview and review), FIREREND has the casual representation every LGBTQ+ person wants in a normalized society.
I reviewed FIREREND before its publication and also received the gorgeous PR box. Not only is Emma Kennedy a good writer, but she’s personable and insightful.
Fandom Spotlite got the chance to ask specific questions about FIREREND and the future of The Tales of Averna. Read on for a spoiler-free interview!
Fandom Spotlite: After writing Golden Ruin and now FIREREND, do you find you prefer writing fantasy or sci-fi more? Why?
Kennedy: [Great question, I can’t pick!]
FS: Why did you decide to put the glossary and pronunciation guide in the front? I personally love the choice, but I know it’s more common to be in the back.
Kennedy: Because it’s a novella—and maybe people will consider this cheating—I needed to get a lot of information to the reader before they get to the first chapter so that the world and stakes make a bit more sense. Fantasy, especially a first book, already has a lot of information to get across, and with a strict word count limit I wanted to make sure I could do that as efficiently as possible. I also wanted the pronunciations in front because I’ve gone through tons of books reading a character’s name entirely different than how it’s supposed to be, which is just a silly little thing, but I figured it doesn’t hurt to get it out of the way first.
FS: What’s difficult about writing multiple POVs instead of one? Any tips for doing it well?
Kennedy: For me, and maybe I just got lucky, but I did not have a hard time differentiating a voice for each POV character. I really enjoyed looking at each draft and thinking about how they need to be unique. It was fun to layer in the different religious beliefs, propensity towards swearing, biases, and all the other good stuff that makes a character come into their own. I think it also does help to have a round during editing where you set the intention to create voice and just pick over dialogue, mannerisms, and thoughts.
The challenge for me, and one I will still be learning, is how to switch POVs without making certain information feel redundant. I really enjoy letting a character react, reveal motivations, etc. but especially in a story like this where each POV character has similar experiences and goals, it can be tricky to keep it from feeling overbearing. It will be good practice to approach that issue again in another book someday.
FS: Who’s your favorite of the three: Allara, Nymm, or Auren?
Kennedy: This may come as a shock to those who’ve read the book, but Auren was my favorite from day one. It’s odd because he only has three chapters in the entire story, but he really made an impression on me as I started to figure him out. I am such a sucker for the jokester that’s hiding a lot of hurt. You could look at him and say he’s a screw-up, or that he only makes bad choices, but he’s a victim of the system like the rest of the characters, he just tends to enjoy dealing with it a lot more. *Cough cough* punching stuff *cough cough*…
FS: When it comes to fantasy names (whether people or places), do you have a system of finding and picking them?
Kennedy: A lot of the names I just make up and have to change later because they sound ridiculous. Allara is a name that has appeared in a lot of scrapped work though, so I’m glad it finally found a character to hold onto. For places, I tried to generally tie them to geographic regions. Averna is inspired by Italy, so I tried to create vaguely Italian feeling names. Valmaris is vaguely European in feel. There are a lot of other locations we’ll get to see that follow these naming conventions too.
FS: Who is on the cover of FIREREND?
Kennedy: It’s Allara! Charlie knocked it out of the park with the moody, dramatic feel I wanted for this story. And I’m obsessed with the gold coins that spill all the way onto the spine. And, if you look really closely, you can see all of the gold hands reaching for her. Chills. He actually sent me two ideas, one with Allara that we ended up using, and one with Nymm which would have been really cool but had some elements I wanted to save for book 2.
FS: What’s your favorite way to unwind after working on stories?
Kennedy: [I fear I have not figured out how to unwind.]
FS: What was your favorite part/s to write of this novella? Feel free to be vague if you don’t want to spoil!
Kennedy: All of part 2 felt like an adrenaline rush. Auren’s chapter in particular was really fun just for the action and events that unfold, and the ending…oof. I also had a blast writing chapter 13 just based on the surprise (I hope) the reader will feel after seeing which POV it’s in.
FS: As silly as this may sound, I feel like it reveals a lot about characters. What would be the three POVs’ favorite animal in our world? Favorite color?
Kennedy: Allara – purple and a gazelle. Purple to me is soft and a bit melancholy, but is also associated with bravery and love, which I think Allara has a lot of. As for a gazelle, I feel like she craves the freedom that they have when they run and that they are herd animals. Poor Allara doesn’t have a lot of people left in her life and I think she’d be envious of their community.
Nymm – red and a raven. Nymm is a passionate person, not that anyone would ever be able to guess that without knowing her extremely well. She has suffered a lot– there’s even some blood on her hands–that would all suggest red, but I feel like her willpower and inner fire are most evocative of red. And ravens are a no brainer. If you’ve seen the art that Erythaia did of Nymm it’s no secret that birds are a big motif for her. They’re intelligent and they’re predators in their own right, though often underestimated. She has a corvid vibe in general for being smart, loyal, and crafty.
Auren – green and a bear. Auren, although a total rascal, to me has a very grounding presence. He is quite literally the backbone of the guild despite not being their leader, and he’s often the counterweight or conscience to Nymm. Green to me is a very centering color. As for a bear, I feel like Auren would appreciate any predator that can really throw down, so there are a lot of good answers for this. But underneath it all he is so gentle and could really use a hibernation or two.
FS: Who do you relate to most out of all the characters in FIREREND?
Kennedy: Nymm has a lot of pieces of me. The superstition, stubbornness, feeling like she’s the only one who can fix a problem (or at least do it right). She has a whole guild and, while small, is ready to support her yet she continually chooses to do things herself. It’s part respecting the authority she’d been given, but it’s also a need for control after everything else she’s endured. And while our stories are obviously not the same, we’re similar in that way.
FS: What would you say are your inspirations for this first novella and the stories to come (media, books, video games, etc.)?
Kennedy: The Elder Scrolls games (Skyrim especially) were a huge influence on the vibes of FIREREND. Sprawling cities, polytheism, nefarious guilds–I wanted to evoke a sort of nostalgia that I have for that world. The Dragon Age games are also a huge inspiration, one that will carry through the series.
A more specific influence would be the canonical hours, specifically from Christian monastic practices during the European Middle Ages. Oberon, when we see it, has had their bells severely shortened as the worship of their Gods trends towards being outlawed. But they still have bells to signal waking, meals, working hours, and the end of the day. I think this more relaxed, historical approach to time telling is so interesting. It was a fun challenge not to use words like hours, minutes, etc. since in this world they don’t have the 24-hour clock. This structure will continue in book 2, although it will be a bit different.
Another inspiration for FIREREND specifically is one from Greek myth, and if you’ve read the story (and especially paid attention to the art for part 1 & part 2) then you’ll probably be able to guess what it is.
FS: Do you have a particular message you want readers to take away from FIREREND?
Kennedy: [I love this question, I just prefer to see what readers have taken from my work, rather than providing it.]
FS: After seeing the hint of a past relationship between Nymm and Shae, do you expect romance to play a part in future books of this series?
Kennedy: Absolutely. I’ve said this elsewhere, but FIREREND was already crammed with so much that I simply could not fit any romance in. But I miss it! So yes, I plan for book 2 to have a romantic subplot. It’s still early days, but I have a feeling this one is trending into a full-length novel. And (again, early days) it feels like we’ll be getting a triad.
FS: What inspired the name FIREREND? How many titles did you go through before you chose it?
Kennedy: It’s funny because it took me a whole month to figure out the title for Golden Ruin, yet FIREREND came so easily. It’s even funnier because I had decided on FIREREND before I knew the ending of the book (of which I think fits the title quite well). But I just randomly decided on it after mashing a few words together and it stuck! I adore it, although I think some people have found it confusing. Book 2 has a similar title style. I’m actually obsessed with Book 2’s title, and it’s taking a lot of restraint not to reveal it too early.
FS: Will we see any of FIREREND‘s characters in other Averna novellas/novels? Can you give readers a sneak peek into what’s next??
Kennedy: Yes! I will not say who, but we will see 5 characters return from our adventure in Oberon. And two of them are probably not who you’d expect. Book 2 is single-POV, takes place a few years later, in a new location, with a new main character. I have never gotten to work in the framework of a series before, so I’m having a lot of fun playing with what has been established in book 1. But, as a standalone, and because of the events of FIREREND, there are a lot of things that are going to be very different, and I can’t wait for readers to see how the world has changed.
I want to personally thank Emma Kennedy for agreeing to another interview. I love picking the brain of authors, and being able to return to someone I’ve interviewed before was so much fun.
FIREREND published on June 5th and is available to order on Amazon. It’s also available on Kindle Unlimited for those that subscribe.
Emma Kennedy can be found on Instagram, TikTok, or her personal website.
