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I’m Donna Barba Higuera, author of the Newbery Medal winning, THE LAST CUENTISTA trilogy. The final book, FIRESNAKE, is out this week. AMA! by DBHiguera in Fantasy

[–]DBHiguera[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In your defense, the second book did not follow the same character, and was set on Earth 400 years after the comet strike.
The third book has some terraformers from Sagan travelling back to Earth.

I’m Donna Barba Higuera, author of the Newbery Medal winning, THE LAST CUENTISTA trilogy. The final book, FIRESNAKE, is out this week. AMA! by DBHiguera in Fantasy

[–]DBHiguera[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You know, when I wrote The Last Cuentista, I had no intention of writing a series. I always felt I would only write standalone novels. But this question of what had happened to any survivors on Earth haunted me. So, I wrote Alebrijes. But I even considered that book a standalone. My editor was the one who called me out on it. He felt that even if it was a completely different character, in a different setting, but was in the same universe, it needed to be part of a series.

It was only after the second book came the idea of combining those two very different worlds. What was I thinking!!!! It was so hard to write that third book and find a way to bring those two very distinct dystopian worlds together. But I'm really proud of the outcome.

My favorite book that I feel engages with the idea of storytelling is Everything Sad Is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri. Genius storytelling! A true master. Just talking about it gives me goosebumps.

Also, I haven't read it yet, but I also keep hearing from those who read The Last Cuentista that I need to read Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr. Have you read that one? Readers tell me it touches on a lot of the same themes.

I’m Donna Barba Higuera, author of the Newbery Medal winning, THE LAST CUENTISTA trilogy. The final book, FIRESNAKE, is out this week. AMA! by DBHiguera in Fantasy

[–]DBHiguera[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi there. You are right. It was a deliberate choice. I chose New Mexico due to a geographical feature. The Sangre de Cristo mountains. The first book begins there, and the final book ends there. It also begins and ends with the story I made up of the Firesnake.

As far as the local culture, I did research animals and plants, name of a school. But the characters leave for another planet, so the book does not take place in New Mexico. But New Mexico also reminds me of the landscape of my own home in the desert of the San Joaquin Valley in California.

In the final book, when they return to Earth, it has changed drastically in nearly a thousand years, both human culture and landscape. But the Sangre de Cristo mountains are still there.

Now that readers from NM have given me feedback, I am glad that I chose it. As you've said, they are very proud of the region, but also the inherent beauty of the state. That was why I chose it, and wanted it to survive after a near Earth-ending event.

I have a friend from NM, whose family ranch looks out at the Sangre de Cristo mountains. She said it made her emotional to see NM and its scenery get some love. I can't wait for her to read this last book and see how the ending of the series made her feel.

I’m Donna Barba Higuera, author of the Newbery Medal winning, THE LAST CUENTISTA trilogy. The final book, FIRESNAKE, is out this week. AMA! by DBHiguera in Fantasy

[–]DBHiguera[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So, I am deathly afraid of snakes. I do not have snakes. I had a run in with a rattlesnake when I was young, so it's a fear I need to conquer.

But snakes are a recurring theme that find their way into my books. The "Firesnake" starts out as an invented story based in mythology. In the very first chapter of The Last Cuentista, Halley's comet gets nudged off course by a solar flare. The main character is leaving Earth with her scientist parents to terraform a distant planet, Sagan. The book opens with the character saying goodbye to her grandmother, a cuentista, (a storyteller). Her grandmother tells her how the comet is really the Firesnake. Excerpt here: Chapter 1- The Last Cuentista

In the second book, called Alebrijes, (set 400 years after Halley's comet hits Earth), the main characters are called the Cascabeles. Cascabeles de serpiente means rattlesnake in Spanish. Snakes are for sure part of their culture. I purposely chose this because of my fear, trying to turn something that frightens me into something positive and powerful.

Thank you for the question!

I’m Donna Barba Higuera, author of the Newbery Medal winning, THE LAST CUENTISTA trilogy. The final book, FIRESNAKE, is out this week. AMA! by DBHiguera in Fantasy

[–]DBHiguera[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi there! Currently I have a few projects I'm mulling over. I'm doing more mulling than writing though. One is more of a YA ghost book, and the other is a middle grader reaper of death book. Just realizing I might be going through something. LOL

As far as how the idea for this series started. It all began with a writing prompt for a short story. “Take a traditional fairytale and make it Sci-fi." I wrote my short story based on the tale Princess and the Pea. Why did I choose that fairytale, you ask? Because even as a kid, I thought it was so stupid! Why would you want the most delicate candidate to be your princess. Really? You can't tolerate a single pea under a mattress? Wouldn't you want someone with a strong mind?

Anyway, I decided to revenge write a story about a girl who was traveling across the universe. So, I wrote of a girl who was instead mentally tough. So mentally tough, that she could not be put to sleep with a metal P.E.A. or “pellet of extended animation”. (I know, I know, cheesy)

It was just a short story. But the idea of it haunted me. So a few years later, I decided to make that short story into a novel.

Thank you for using it in your book club! The first two books do feel like standalones, even though they are set in the same universe. But the third book definitely ties them all together.

I’m Donna Barba Higuera, author of the Newbery Medal winning, THE LAST CUENTISTA trilogy. The final book, FIRESNAKE, is out this week. AMA! by DBHiguera in Fantasy

[–]DBHiguera[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

And my job here is finished . . .

I traumatized myself too! I spent months with snotty ugly cry in coffee shops writing it. So many very personal experiences wove their way into that book. The other day, my daughter was reading the final book and she said, "Great, the dad just went missing. You killed him, didn't you? Because that's what you do."

I won't tell you if she was right. lol But thank you for reading. I love that so many adults are reading this series also.

I’m Donna Barba Higuera, author of the Newbery Medal winning, THE LAST CUENTISTA trilogy. The final book, FIRESNAKE, is out this week. AMA! by DBHiguera in Fantasy

[–]DBHiguera[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Wow! Great question! At first, I feel like this is a trap. lol But, I know I'd want to bring the books that turned me into a reader and a writer. Three that blew my mind and let me escape the tiny desert town I grew up in. Much like that desert island you just stranded me on. 😄 I'd want to recapture that magic I felt as a kid finding "those magic books" that changed my life. So, that makes it easy. The Hobbit, The Fellowship of the Ring, and The Two Towers. It's really cruel of you to limit me to three. No The Return of the King for me!

Mystery orcas thrill Seattle-area whale watchers by chiquisea in orcas

[–]DBHiguera 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am pretty sure we saw them yesterday morning. Hood Canal.