The Nerd Daily contributor Mimi recently had the chance to catch up with TJ Klune, author of multiple beloved novels such as the Green Greek series, the bestselling The House in the Cerulean Sea and the Tales from Verania! Flash Fire, the second book in The Extraordinaries trilogy, is set to release July 13th. We got to ask TJ all our burning questions about Flash Fire, his stance on cliffhangers and so much more!
Hi, TJ! Thanks for joining us again! How are you doing?
Pretty good, thank you! I recently got my second vaccination (please go get that done!) and I’m excited about the idea of slowly getting back to some kind of normal. As someone who’s a staunch homebody, it’s a little weird how ready I am to go out into the world again.
Now, tell us about Flash Fire! What can readers expect from this explosive sequel?
Flash Fire—the sequel to last year’s The Extraordinaries—is the continuing adventures of Nick, Seth, Jazz and Gibby. Going into writing this book, I knew it was going to be all about secrets—the reasons we keep them and what happens when everything comes out into the open. Is there justification in keeping things from those we love if it means protecting them? Or does it only make things that much harder?
The idea of dismantling what came before is appealing to me. People are imperfect beings, and I wanted to explore that, not just with Nick and company, but with their families too.
And yet, this is still a story about a fanboy who is chaos personified. I adore Nick because of the way his brain operates. He’s continuing the work into understanding his ADHD, all while grappling with new Extraordinaries who reveal themselves in Nova City. And he’s doing something very, very scary: thinking about what life will be like after graduating high school. It’s a lot for a kid who only wants to finish his self-insert fanfiction before his readers begin to rebel.
In my review of Flash Fire, I mentioned that enough happens in this book to fill up ten seasons of television. How did you keep track of the different plot strings and what challenges did you face to bring them all together?
Outlines are a writer’s best friend, especially when writing a sequel. There was a lot I needed to keep track of, making sure that I continued the momentum of the story while still giving the characters room to breathe. I wrote out an extensive outline before starting, and mostly stuck to it during the creation of the book.
But I do need to give credit where credit’s due: in addition to my beta readers, my editor, Ali, is one of the very best. She has a sharp eye for the little details, things I might not have considered on my own. It’s because of her (and the beta readers!) that this story works as well as it does.
That being said, it was challenging. This is the second book in a trilogy, and I wanted to avoid middle book syndrome, where it would be read like setting the table for the finale. This book has its own identity separate from the first and last books. It was important for it to not only stand on its own (in the sense that it has a beginning, middle and end) but to also make sure I was planting the seeds of what will come next. It can be a tricky line to walk, but I think I did right by these characters.
Speaking of everything that happens, I couldn’t pick a favorite scene for the life of me (there is just so much to love in Flash Fire) but, without spoiling too much, is there a scene that was your favorite to write? And which one gave you the most trouble to get right?
There is! Without giving anything away, I’ll just say that Nick’s father uses plastic baggies to give a talk about safe sex that absolutely killed me. I think a big point in having children (aside from showing them love and keeping them safe and healthy) is to embarrass the crap out of them, so long as it’s not malicious. Aaron Bell is very good at that, but underneath, there is an undercurrent of parental fear of their teenagers taking a step toward exploring sex and sexuality, which is why the discussions of safe sex are frank and honest in this book, even If they’re more than a little embarrassing.
And there were a few things that gave me a bit of trouble. Given that these books are first and foremost comedies, there needs to be a balance between humor and the heavier moments. I didn’t want this book to get bogged down by anger, even though the characters who are angry are completely justified. And then I needed to consider their anger, and not seem like I was railroading over why they were angry. I spent a lot of time working to get the balance as even as possible, trying to avoid letting it tip too far in one direction. Again, my editor gets much of the credit for this, because she helped me to find that balance.
Flash Fire excellently balances moments that make you cry with moments that makes you laugh out loud. Nick’s interactions with others often had me in absolute stitches (e.g. Extraordinaries porn and dental dams). How do you come up with these hilarious scenes?
My brain. My weird, dumb, wonderful brain. Like Nick, I’m neurodiverse, and for a long time, I didn’t like that part of myself. I’ve learned over the years that there’s nothing wrong with having ADHD. I’ve figured out ways to use it as an advantage, rather than letting it control me. Is it always easy? Nope, but I have the tools in place now to get through the harder days.
Which is just a long-winded way of saying that my brain moves at a million miles an hour, and my sense of humor is more than a little twisted. I write what makes me laugh. Not everyone has the same sense of humor as I do, and that’s okay. Those that do…well. They may just be a little extra like I am.
Nick and Seth are the epitome of the friends-to-lovers trope and they hold strong in Flash Fire. What are your favorite tropes to integrate into your writing and what ones do you automatically reach for when considering your next read?
It was so, so important for me that Nick and Seth remain strong. I wanted to avoid what sometimes happens in sequels where a new character is introduced to cause jealousy between two people in a relationship. I’ve been guilty of that in the past, and it here, it doesn’t fit for what I wanted for Nick and Seth. There are many external things working against them that have nothing to do with jealousy (mostly Nick enacting hairbrained schemes without thinking), and having Nick and Seth remain solid was always going to be what I was pushing for.
Anyone that’s read more than one of my books will know the trope of Found Family is absolutely my jam. I love writing it, and I love reading it. The idea of people coming together and loving, protecting and fighting for each other because they choose to rather than because they feel some sort of familial obligation is a common thread in my books. It comes from being queer. Many queer people don’t get the benefit of a loving family, and go out into the world, making a family of their own. Blood is important, but it’s not the be all and end all.
Flash Fire ends on one of the most brutal cliffhangers ever. What makes a good cliffhanger for you and have you ever encountered one that still haunts you?
Oh man, I’m so excited for people to see how Flash Fire ends. I knew that ending before I started writing, and though I wasn’t writing for the ending (if you do that, you might lose focus on the story itself while getting there) it was always at the back of my mind.
A good cliffhanger—at least to me—is one that causes a reader or viewer to scream “WHAT?!?!” as soon as it’s revealed. They shouldn’t feel cheated, or angry. If done right, it should only build anticipation for what will come next.
And yes, there are quite a few cliffhangers that still haunt me to this day. There was a TV show called Invasion in the early aughts that was cancelled after one season, and what happened in the finale would have been amazing to see what played out over subsequent seasons. Alas, it never happened.
But cliffhangers don’t always need to be massive. One of my favorite video games, The Last of Us, ended on a quiet cliffhanger in the middle of an important conversation between the main characters. It didn’t feel like a shortcoming, more that the player was meant to fill in the blanks about what happened after the credits rolled. Though a sequel came out last year, I still think the ending of the first game all the time. It is, in my humble opinion, one of the best.
I love all of Nicky’s friends to death so here goes: if you had to describe Nick, Seth, Gibby and Jazz with one meme each, which ones would you go for?
You recently posted on Twitter that you’ve finished the first draft of The Extraordinaries #3. What did it feel like coming to the end of these beloved characters’ stories?
Amazing and sad, all at the same time. I’m very fortunate in that I got to tell their story all the way through to the end I had envisioned back when writing the first book. It wasn’t exactly where I thought it’d go, but it is still recongizable to my original ideas of how it’d end.
And there is something bittersweet about that. I’ve spent the last five years with these characters. I’ve watched them grow up, make mistakes and try to learn from them. I’ve watched as they fought for those they loved, and lifted each other up in moments of despair and celebration. I’ve been able to to tell the story of a queer kid with ADHD grow into himself, and I’m so thankful I have the opportunity to do that. These books are for anyone who’s ever felt like an outsider, and I’m grateful I got to be the one to tell these stories.
Apart from the final installment in the trilogy, what are you currently working on? Can you share a bit about it with us?
Of course! I recently finished writing a book where the main character is a dog named Bailey, who misunderstands something his mother tells him that makes him believe he’s immortal. Later, as he’s older, he learns he is not immortal, and even worse, will have a shorter life compared to his human. He makes it his mission to understand mortality and the meaning of happiness so before his time comes, he’ll find a way to ensure his human—Jake—is happy. The book begins: “A promise. The dog does not die in this.” I keep that promise.
I’m also working through edits of the sixth book in my Tales from Verania series. This time, it follows Prince Justin, the Ice Prince. That should be out spring 2022, followed by Extraordinaries 3.
In addition, 2022 will also see the release of my next adult book about: a queer retelling of Pinocchio that follows an inventor named Vic and his two best friends, That’s all I can say, for now, but I’m very excited about it.
You’ve also got another release on the horizon, Under the Whispering Door (September 21st). What do you think will shock and intrigue readers most about this one?
Under the Whispering Door is a story about the power of grief and explores what it means to be a good person. It’s a deeply personal story, and one that I’m excited about and nervous over in equal measure. An author puts pieces of themselves into everything they write, and Whispering Door reflects that, perhaps more than any other book I’ve written. While it does have some heavier themes, it’s ultimately a celebration of life
Last but not least, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
I have a few! I had the honor of reading A Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki, which comes out in September. It is absolutely fantastic, and everyone should read it when it comes out. Ryka’s prose is exquisite.
I also got to read an early copy of A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske, which comes out in November. It’s about queer magic, and I loved it to pieces.
Some other books I’ve enjoyed as of late: How to be Remy Cameron by Julian Winters, The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz, and I’m in the middle of rereading Stephen King’s backlist as I do every few years or so. I’m currently on The Dark Half, and it still scares the crap out of me.
