"Fiona and the Forgotten Piano" by Kate DeMaio

Today’s author interview features a novel hot off the press—Fiona and the Forgotten Piano by Kate DeMaio. I’ll admit that the title and cover art caught my attention of this one, so of course I signed up for an ARC. If only I had had a novel like this when I was a middle grade reader; I took piano lessons back then and adored anything music-related. You can read it as of January 14th.

Rebecca: Where did you get the idea for "Fiona and the Forgotten Piano"?  Did it perhaps come from taking piano lessons yourself as a child?

Kate: The idea for Fiona and the Forgotten Piano actually came from a prompt. I read that to write original stories, you should start with something unique. I made lists of three random words to generate book ideas and the one that stuck out to me (and became this story) was Tree, Piano, and Blue.

Rebecca: WOW! That’s definitely a cool way to be creative. I kind of like this. It’s sort of like filling in the clues with guidelines. It definitely worked!

Kate: I didn’t take piano lessons growing up, but my sister did. I would often sit quietly in the back of her class and watch. Playing “Under the Sea” at rapid speed is still her go-to party trick. My mom was a clarinet player, and I tried that instrument for a few years but learned it wasn’t for me. I think some of Fiona and the Forgotten Piano stems from my amazement at people who can play instruments. I could easily see myself taking up piano lessons some day.

I have a keyboard in case I do take up piano lessons. I use it to select which worlds belong to which notes. I’m not sure if this is frowned upon but I wrote with silver sharpie on the keys whose worlds I incorporated into the story. There’s a little drawing on each key that relates to the adventure that takes place in that world.

Rebecca:  Fiona, the main character goes from timid and shy to overcoming that by the end of the novel.  Any real life experience here?  (This question coming from someone who was also nervous around people at age 11.)

Kate: Definitely! When I was first writing this book, it was almost difficult to separate my eleven-year-old self from Fiona. I’ve always been the type of person people peg as shy from the first meeting. I think finding your people— the ones who won’t look down on you when you blush or fumble over your words— has been key for me. Also, as cliche as it may be, practice makes perfect. The more I present or share about myself, the easier it becomes.

Rebecca:  I absolutely love your cover art.  That and the title are what drew me toward it.  Did you have any say in the cover art? 

Kate: I did! My publisher asked me for a list of covers I found appealing that matched the vibe of my story. I sent over about seven of them. Of the titles I sent, I noticed they were generally high contrast images where the characters were small or facing away from the reader. From there, my publisher selected an artist that fit my style. Miracle Season by Beth Hautala and Henry and The Guardians of the Lost by Jenny Nimmo were probably the closest covers to how mine turned out. The artist for Fiona and the Forgotten Piano was Liv Hunter, and I think she did a fantastic job!

Rebecca:  What do you hope readers take away from "Fiona and the Forgotten Piano"?

Kate: That’s a good question (and a tough one!). I think Fiona herself learns many things throughout the book from how to think independently to how to pick battles and stand up for her friends. If I had to choose one lesson for young readers though, I think it would be: Don’t let your insecurities overshadow who you are. We all have our version of Fiona’s red spots, and it can be hard not to focus on what we perceive as imperfections. But, ultimately, the right people aren’t going to judge you for them. And your “spots” shouldn’t stop you from being your best self.

Rebecca: Are you writing any other novels with these characters?  The ending made me think there may be other adventures with Fiona and Ferris.

Kate: I am working on a sequel now! I’m very much a pantser so I don’t have an entire series planned out, but I do have a list of over 100 possible worlds (I know, there are only 88 keys on a piano), potential villains, and conflicts that could happen. 

Rebecca: Ooooh, maybe to account for the extra twelve worlds, you could make some open with a chord, aka combination of two or more keys! (Sorry, just playing the what-if game here, haha!) In any case, I look forward to it.

There you have it, readers! Fiona and the Forgotten Piano comes out next week from Wild Ind Publishing.

Twitter (X): @k8demaiowrites