Fireborn Q&A with Aisling Fowler

September 30th 2021

Aisling Fowler's much anticipated debut middle grade fantasy novel, Fireborn, is out now. Expect magic, adventure, monsters, battles and an epic quest! We find out more from Aisling below.

Where did the inspiration for Fireborn come from?

The very first spark of the world was Twelve and she came to me while I was watching my husband play a computer game. The main character was such a brilliant heroine – she reminded me of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Xena Warrior Princess who I’d loved when I was young. I wondered why I wasn’t writing characters like that, girls who were strong and brave and fierce. Almost immediately Twelve came to me. At first, all I knew was that she fought monsters with her axes and was full of a fiery anger. It was in trying to unpick where that anger came from that the Hunting Lodge, the clans and the rest of the world pulled into focus.

Where is your favourite place to write?

When I’m in London, I usually write at home. We have a small spare room full of books; it’s lovely and quiet in there and it’s easy to work without distractions. Over the last few years I’ve moved around a lot though: Sydney, LA and NYC. When I’m away, I make much more of an effort to get out of the house and work in coffee shops and libraries – it’s a great way to explore new areas while still getting work done.

How did you start building the world of Fireborn & the Frozen Forest?

When Twelve first appeared to me, she was full of an anger that really took me by surprise. A lot of the features of Ember came to me through questioning where that anger came from. Working backwards, I realised her family had been murdered. It was in wondering why they’d been murdered that the clans with all their vast differences came to me and the world of Ember started to take shape.

 The Frozen Forest was born of the monsters that arrived alongside Twelve. I already knew different clans were plagued with different creatures and I wondered where the most dangerous ones lived. I’ve always loved the concept of enchanted forests so I invented the Frozen Forest as a particularly dark and dangerous place, home to plenty of creatures you’d never want to run into!

We can’t wait to see what happens next to Twelve & the gang, will there be more? 

Yes, there will definitely be more! Fireborn is the first book in a trilogy so there’s still plenty in store for Twelve and her friends. Future books will see her moving beyond the Hunting Lodge out into the world of Ember. We’ll see more of the clans, meet many new monsters and discover more about Twelve’s past as well as that of her friends.

And finally… what was your favourite book as a child?

This is a much harder question than it should be! I rarely re-read books as a child (and still don’t really) so the books that I remember best tend to be series. Harry Potter and His Dark Materials were both particular favourites although I also remember loving a standalone book called Mrs Frisby and the rats of NIMH by Robert C O’Brien.

Fireborn: Twelve and the Frozen Forest is out now.