Age Group: Children, Middle Grade
Genre: Supernatural, Fantasy
Release Date: February 22, 2022
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Book Description:
Thirteen years ago, eight supernatural criminals fled the city of Estero to make a new life in an isolated tropical hideout. Off the grid, the missing criminals were presumed dead--but that wasn't really the case. Until recently, when the last one died.
Left behind alone on the island are their children:
There's Birdie, who can communicate with animals.
Brix has athletic and healing abilities.
Cabot is super-smart, but there's no sign yet of her special ability.
Seven's skin camouflages to match whatever is around him.
Tenner can swim like a fish and has heightened senses, including the ability to see in the dark.
When Birdie finds a map with a set of instructions directing her to a stash of treasure that's secret from everyone--including their missing parents--she knows it holds the power to change everything, for better or worse.
What was the plot of your very first piece of unpublished fiction you ever wrote?
The first one I can remember: Baby May the elephant was having her 4th birthday. She ran around the jungle (don’t ask me how she got between the trees) telling all her friends it was her birthday. Then they had a party by a pond. The end. I tell students now that I should have had a lion jump out at the party to give it a bit more action. But alas. I did not like putting my beloved characters in danger back then.
Do you recall how your interest in writing originated or
did you always just know you wanted to be a writer?
It was through the above story, believe it or not. I wrote it in 4th grade for an assignment, knowing that my teacher, Mr. Avink, would choose the best story in the class and send the writer to the Young Authors Conference—a one-day writing conference for kids. I won with Baby May’s Birthday despite the lack of conflict or antagonist. I remember the moment Mr. Avink told me the news. And I remember how I felt afterward as I went floating down the hallway, thinking, “I’m going to be… (dramatic pause) A WRITER.”
Do you have a favorite fictional
character, male and female? Why?
One of my favorite characters recently is Mia Tang from Kelly Yang’s Front Desk books. She’s a Chinese immigrant who helps run her family’s motel. She’s tenacious and sticks up for herself, and she’s kind. I love her.
And I’ve always loved Charlie Bucket from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He’s the ultimate underdog protagonist—my favorite kind of hero to write. I love giving a character nothing and seeing what they do with it.
What inspired Map of Flames, the first book in you’re
the Forgotten Five series?
I was nearing the end of writing my Unwanteds series, which is made up of 14 books, and thinking about what elements I wanted to have in whatever I would write next. The criminal parents came to me early on—I’ve always wondered what it would be like to write about kids of criminals in a fantasy series. Then came the supernatural bits—the parents and kids are supernatural. Choosing the abilities was tons of fun. The settings are fun too—a deserted island hideout, contrasted with a big city full of technology and vehicles. The kids have never seen civilization before. And of course I needed a morally gray character, which turned out to be Cabot Stone, the short blond girl on the cover. Before I started writing, I knew the relationships between these kids would be key to them surviving everything I put them through. When book one begins, the five kids have been abandoned. They find a flaming map that points them to a treasure their missing parents left behind. The problem is, the treasure is in Estero, a huge city, filled with people who hate supers. It’s dangerous to go there, and some of the kids want to stay on the deserted island forever.
What was the most challenging part
of writing Map of Flames?
There’s a small spoiler here, but a character with a physical disability enters the story near the end—one who will become a major character in future books. I had to do a lot of research about her disability first so I could represent her in the right way. I hired a sensitivity reader with the same disability—a friend I’ve known for 25 years. She helped me understand even more and taught me so much about the world through the eyes of a person who uses crutches and a wheelchair. It was challenging, but I love this character so much and I hope I’ve represented people with disabilities in an honorable way. I can’t wait for readers to see her on the cover of book 2 (The Invisible Spy, coming November 2022).
People with supernatural abilities
or superpowers are fast becoming some of the most popular things to write
about, can you tell us what you’re hoping sets Map of Flames apart from
the rest?
These supernatural kids are kind of like Encino Man—they show up in this big city having no clue how technology works, no idea why bathrooms are separated by gender, no knowledge of vehicles or restaurants or traffic or money. So there’s a funny aspect to the story. It’s also a “found family” kind of situation. These kids only know each other, and they basically have nothing else in the world. Their parents are missing and they cling to one another even more now. Despite tons of action, there’s really so much story in the relationships.
When you’re not writing, what do
you like to do?
I love taking walks and cooking. Watching my daughter (Kennedy McMann) on Nancy Drew. Visiting my son (Kilian McMann, a graphic designer and illustrator) in Sacramento. My husband (also a writer) and I watch a lot of reality TV—we love to study how people react to unexpected things. It really helps us be better writers.
Read any good books recently?
I love anything by Sayantani DasGupta – her Princess Kiranmala series is heartfelt and raucously funny. Another book I love that just won a Sydney Taylor Notable Award is Sorry For Your Loss by Joanne Levy, about a Jewish girl whose parents run a funeral home. She learns how to be a friend to a boy who just lost someone close to him. It’s poignant and has some great humor as well.
Is there anything you find particularly challenging when starting
to write a new series?
It’s not usually the start that is challenging—I’m often
raring to go, and the first 5000-7000 words come easy. Then the writing slowly
becomes a job and I focus on getting to the end, which is the most fun part. I
used to get stuck with writing middles of books until one day I had the stellar
realization that I didn’t have to write a middle. I could just write the
end of the beginning, and then start the beginning of the end, and somehow that
fixed the mental problem of middles for me.
I do hate it when I get stuck trying to come up with
the right name for a character, though. It halts me in my tracks. Some authors
can put in a temporary name, but I find I can’t go on until the proper name has
been found.
If you could be one of your characters from any of your
books, who would you chose?
Gosh, I’ve been so mean to my characters, I’m not
sure I’d want to go through everything I put them through. But one of my
favorites who has a good bit of me in her is the morally gray character I
mentioned earlier, Cabot Stone from Map of Flames. I adore her and I’m having a
total blast writing her.
When reading, which
do you prefer hard copy books, e-books or audio books? Why?
I prefer a physical book—hard or softcover is fine. I read e-books occasionally, and listen to audio sometimes too. But I have a difficult time paying attention to audiobooks—I’ll turn the author’s phrases over in my mind and think of ways to steal them, and then before I know it I need to rewind because I have no clue what’s going on.
Author This Or That:
Tea or Coffee? Coffee
Dark chocolate or milk chocolate? Both
Fantasy or Mystery? Oooh, tough one! Fantasy.
TV shows or Movies? TV.
Glass half full or half empty? Half full.
Lakes or Oceans? Oceans.
Reading or Being read to? Reading.
Lisa McMann is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of dozens of books, including the Unwanteds series, the Forgotten Five series, and the Wake trilogy.
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