posted on February 3, 2021 by Chris Cannon

Why I Write Dragons by Chris Cannon

Whenever I tell people that I write shape-shifting dragons they have one of two responses. They act excited and they want to know more, or they change the topic of conversation and suddenly remember an appointment they have somewhere far, far away from the strange woman who writes about talking mythical creatures. I guess you either enjoy fantastical fiction or you don’t. I can’t imagine not embracing the wild variety of fiction out there.

I first became fascinated with dragons when I found the DragonLance Chronicles in a secondhand bookstore. Best purchase ever. Those three books lead to dozens of DragonLance series which are still on my keeper bookshelf. The one thing I thought missing from the series was a more in-depth study of the dragons.

Fast forward a decade, and I fell in love with Buffy the Vampire Slayers snarky banter. An idea brewed in my head. What if there was a school of snarky teen dragons who had to learn how to control their powers. This led to the Going Down In Flames series about a girl named Bryn who discovers she’s a shape shifting dragon when flames shoot out of her mouth for the first time. I loved writing that series, but I never explained how her parents ran away from a secret society of shape-shifting dragons to escape arranged marriages. While the Going Down In Flames series is more of an urban fantasy adventure with romantic elements, my latest novel Star-Crossed Dragons is the paranormal romance that tells the story of how her parents Sara and Ian came together.

Star-Crossed Dragons is the first prequel I’ve ever written. It was different to approach a story from this direction. I had to rewind time and figure out what kind of people, or dragons her parents were when they attended the Institute for Excellence, aka shape-shifting dragon school. I knew these two raised a snarky, kick-ass daughter, so they needed to be sarcastic and fierce in their own way.

Sara is the most un-Blue Blue dragon of her clan. She has no interest in becoming half of an elite power couple. When her parents arrange a marriage contract to an absolute asshat, she fantasizes about biting his head off and burying him in the garden. He’s so full of shit he’d probably make great fertilizer. Knowing what’s expected of her, Sara tries to abide by the upper-class code of conduct her mother has drummed into her since birth, and then she meets Ian, A Red fire-breathing dragon who is everything her fiancé is not.

Setting the stage for these two characters from completely different backgrounds to fall in love was a lot of fun. She’s a Blue, ice-breathing, upper class dragon who has been showered with the best clothing and art that money can buy, but there hasn’t been a lot of warmth and affection in her life. Ian is a middle class, Red fire-breathing dragon who’s grown up in a house which is full of love and laughter even if it is missing a dishwasher. He’s used to taking care of himself and looking out for other people. When he notices that Sara’s intended husband is a jerk, he steps in to look out for.

Of course, dating outside of your clan is illegal. Sara’s father is the Speaker for the Directorate which means he could have Ian thrown in jail or executed without a trial. Sara and Ian must decide if they’re willing to give up everything for love.

One person who comments will win a $10 Amazon gift card!

Chris Cannon

Chris Cannon

Chris Cannon is the award-winning author of the Going Down In Flames series and the Boyfriend Chronicles. She lives in Southern Illinois with her husband and various furry beasts. She believes coffee is the Elixir of Life. Most evenings after work, you can find her sucking down caffeine and writing fire-breathing paranormal adventures or snarky romantic comedies.

https://www.chriscannonauthor.com/

5 thoughts on “Why I Write Dragons by Chris Cannon”

  1. Raonaid Luckwell says:

    DragonLance, oh that brings back some fond memories! I love Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman’s books! Raistlin, Cameron and the gang! If I remember right, they planted the seeds, somewhat, of my changeling character Kiirri. I loved the name but played with it to make my own.

    I heard that DragonLance and those authors are coming back!! I still have the books or some of them. I also enjoyed Forgotten Realms. LOL. They fed my fantasy needs.

    Dragons are a big thing with me too.

    1. I’d love it if there were some new DragonLance books in the works. My husband and I make kender jokes and no one gets them.

  2. bn100 says:

    sounds interesting

  3. JanD says:

    I like dragons but I’ve never finished a book revolving around them. I had a bad experience reading one a long time ago (so boooring). I know of the DragonLance series but never touched them.

  4. GB says:

    Star-Crossed Dragons sounds like a wonderfully diverting read. I never read the DragonLance books. Which is funny since I have always loved reading about dragons from the Anne McCaffrey books to Thea Harrison’s Dragon Bound.

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