Son of the Siren by Kristina Elyse Butke

Biography

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 when she isn't writing, she indulges herself with reading manga and webtoons, watching anime, and cosplaying. She also enjoys spending time in forests, the more whimsical, the better.

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"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."

Read Chapter 1

What led you into writing?

I started writing when I was a little girl. I had a sort of fanfiction mentality about it in the beginning. I took classic stories and adapted them, changing or adding things to make it more like how I wanted it to be. Later I got into creating my own unique stories, but I couldn’t shake being influenced by other media and literature. Fairy tales serve as a great inspiration to me, along with anime and manga. I can’t help but let other art color my own works. I was a playwright and composer for most of my early years, but I always wanted to write fiction. It wasn’t until graduate school that I attempted my first novel, which served as my thesis. I stopped writing for the theater and fully embraced fiction from then on.

How does a typical day look?

I am unable to write every day; I usually write every other day, although I do most of my writing on the weekends, especially when I’m working full time. I used to be a night owl and wrote very late into the evening, but I can’t do that anymore. I tend to write around 11am-2pm on weekends and 5-6pm on weekdays (but only if I’m up for it. I’m usually tired on weekdays after work). I do make a habit of reading daily, though. I read around 9 or 10 at night before going to sleep.

In what ways do your characters test your abilities?

My characters tend to represent certain periods of my life, and I have to tap into some coping mechanisms because there is a bit of trauma there. In SON OF THE SIREN, whenever I wrote Lirien and Queen Aurinda’s interactions together (most of which consists of assault), I had to really slow down and take my time with it to process my own past experiences. It wasn’t therapeutic for me to write those scenes, but I had to rely on therapeutic techniques to get through them. It really tested my emotions and coping skills.

What’s your setup?

I have the same writing desk I’ve had since elementary school, a tiny wooden thing with a single drawer and cubby shelf. It’s perfect for my bedroom, where I work, and fits right in the corner. But you can tell it’s an aged piece of furniture. I don’t want to give it up, though! On my desk next to my laptop I have a little sign that says “Write the book, dammit” that serves as my motivator, and then I have countless pens, notebooks, books, and a Wacom tablet hanging out. It is an absolute mess, which is probably a reflection of my creative state!

What lasting effects have your favourite authors had on your writing and style?

It’s not so much my writing style that has been influenced by authors I’ve loved, but more that these authors influenced what I’ve wanted to write about. Juliet Marillier inspired me to write about fairy tales; Margaret Rogerson made me want to write about demons; Holly Black inspired me to create my own take on the world of the fae in SON OF THE SIREN.

What do you do for inspiration?

I like to look at art and clothing, and watch costume dramas. I don’t write real-world tales, but I do base my novels on time periods, and those time periods are chosen based on the clothing and aesthetics of the era. I love costuming, so character clothing is something I visualize pretty immediately, and to stay inspired I will watch movies or TV that feature costumes similar to what I see in my head. I will also listen to classical music and soundtracks (they have to be instrumental) to put myself in a certain mood to write. Drawing and designing characters also helps, too, and if I can’t draw a character to my liking, I commission art.

What repeating themes do you find yourself pulling into your stories?

I haven’t written much, but the most common theme is familial love. I also include romance (though it doesn’t take center stage), and I sure do have a thing for curses needing to be broken!

How do you wind down?

I’m a big fan of BookTube so in the early evening, if I’m not writing, I’ll plop it on the couch and stream episodes from YouTubers like Reads with Rachel, My Name is Marines, Elliot Brooks, Holly Hearts Books, and more. I’ll also devote time to reading, whether it’s BL manga or YA fantasy or other genres. If I’m having a hard time concentrating on reading, though, I usually stick to manga, comics, and webtoons.

What sort of challenges do you regularly overcome while designing your world/setting?

I’m a soft worldbuilder, and I only reveal worlds in bits and pieces, when they’re most relevant to what’s happening in the moment. The challenge for me is the temptation to switch to hard worldbuilding, which is not my cup of tea. I feel like hard worldbuilding is more popular and readers demand extensive details about the world you’ve made, but I believe you should only know “just enough” and imagine the rest yourself. I have to check my writing to make sure I’m not info-dumping or bringing up unnecessary details, and to let the magic and other aspects in my world “just be.”

What are you reading at the moment?

I’m reading DAYS OF DIAMOND by Ohashi Hirai, an ongoing manga about a young baseball player named Jiro who turns out to be a prodigy athlete. His strong abilities often alienate others, and this brings Jiro loneliness and feelings of insecurity. I’m also reading STEEL UNDER SILK, a Korean webtoon by snob about a young man who was born into privilege only to have his father executed for high treason. It’s a historical BL story filled with revenge and I can’t get enough of it.

What’s the most useful advice you could give to an aspiring author?

Try not to compare your success to others. Publishing is wildly unpredictable and we are all on our own paths in our own time. Every author has a unique voice and story to tell, so we are not in competition with each other. Build up your fellow authors while focusing on your own victories. Even the little ones count.

Tell us about the book you’re promoting.

SON OF THE SIREN is a YA Fantasy that mixes the fairy tales Allerleirauh, The Wild Swans, and The Little Mermaid together into a brand new story with curses, dark magic, and obsession.

Half-siren Lirien calls on siren powers to bring his father, the King, back from the sea. But a siren song’s true strength is seduction, and Lirien ensnares his stepmother, the Queen, with its melody. The Queen uses magic to force Lirien’s love, but instead it steals Lirien’s voice and turns his siblings into animals. Lirien will risk everything to break the spells, but his own curse haunts him should he stray too long from the sea.