Dragon Week: An Interview with Author Sandy Lender
I am excited to be focusing on dragons in literature this week. I love dragons in all the many ways they’ve been written. I’m so delighted to be joined by some amazing to talk about dragons in their books and in SFF.
WS: The week kicks off with an interview with Sandy Lender, prolific author and dragon expert. Thanks for joining me, Sandy!
Will you introduce yourself to the readers?
Sandy: After all these years, this question still makes me feel awkward; I find it easier to talk about my characters and stories than myself. Lemme dig from my author bio for this. Sandy Lender is a construction magazine editor by day and author of #girlpower fantasy novels by night. This means I’m a serious, factual person adhering to deadlines and data for 8-10 hours of the day. Then I give in to the voices in my head. I’m also a huge Duran Duran fan, sea turtle conservationist, and supporter of creatives. The parrots in my home would say I make a mean pumpkin-bread-for-birds.
WS: How would you describe your writing?
Sandy: Escapist therapy for all. Whether I’m taking the reader to The Rose Chateau in Colorado (that’s my vampire-satire series), jumping planets for the Dragons in Space series, or leaving our reality altogether for my fantasy realm of Onweald, I’m offering them a few hours in a world where they can root for magical creatures and heroic friends. My writing transports us away from reality with all our emotions and senses engaged. Back when I was a teenager, this got me into all levels of trouble with my parents. Now that I’m an adult in our hurting world, I see how vital it is that we have an outlet, an escape, and a way to put reality on the back burner for a while and seep ourselves in something we can enjoy to the fullest.
WS: The Choices trilogy features dragons heavily. What inspired you to include them in your writing?
Sandy: Your audience has probably heard authors talk about the demands human characters make on us. The dragon characters make the same demands to have their stories told, but they can back it up with threats to roast you alive if you don’t comply. This means I’m inspired to include the dragons because they’re in my head telling me what part they’re supposed to play. For example, the dragon Julette in the Choices series must be there. She’s a villainess. She’s the force driving the evil in the “good versus evil” of the underlying theme of the Choices series. The dragon Adelle must be there. She must represent sacrifice and honor and the throwing-off of misperceptions during the Vale War. And, of course, Malachi… In exchange for some of the “flair” I put on Malachi’s scenes (and for leaving out some of his less favorable interludes), I’ve roped him into helping me with marketing. He basically has to write a column in my monthly author newsletter. I think he only acquiesced because I promised he could write about the MC Chariss, whom he adores, from time to time. All that to say, I include the dragons because I must. They are integral to the stories and would drive me mad if I neglected them.
W S: There is a blurb on your author’s website that says, “Some days, you just want the dragon to win”. I love that! Will you talk a little bit about what makes readers sometimes root for the dragon?
Sandy : As a wise and wonderful goddess of Onweald once said, “Not every man is good and not every dragon is bad.” The slogan I’ve been using since 2006 is “Some days, you just want the dragon to win,” because we need to remember sometimes the dragon is the good guy. Sometimes, the human swinging a sword around is a manipulative cretin who’s fighting for the wrong reasons or trying to bring glory to himself. That guy doesn’t deserve to slay the dragon. The dragon deserves to slay him. And roast him for an easy dinner.
WS: There are so many different personalities given to dragons throughout fantasy history. What are your dragons like?
Sandy: The dragons in my Choices series and the world of Onweald have different personalities. Julette is an ancient villainess, so she’s half-mad with her desire for power. Jealousy has nearly ruined her mind. She has no qualms about murdering the innocent. There is no good left in her. None. Wisgleaw is ancient and near death, but he still has a sense of humor. He still desires companionship and is willing to share kindness with another, even if that kindness is manipulative. I mean, he’s been the alpha predator in his mountain range for hundreds of winters… But there are good and honorable dragons, too. The precocious little Sinder who will join Chariss’ family; the darling baby dragon who lands on Chariss’ balcony each night to “spy” on her; the doomed Jonquil; the magnificent warrior dragon Malachi who calls Chariss his pet to tease her and who shape-shifts with a key character in the novels.
WS: How do your dragons interact with your fantasy world? Did you have to adjust for their inclusion?
Sandy: I didn’t have to adjust anything to include the dragons because they are a part of the story—they are each a part of what happened in Onweald all those winters ago. I merely have to share it all with the reader.
WS: What role do they play in your books?
Sandy: Malachi would like to answer this question. He says, “We exist to exalt Amanda Chariss.” While I think Julette would argue that point with him, he might be right about the other dragons. They each have their roles to play in assisting the side of right in “good vs evil.” And Chariss tries her best to be on the side of good.
WS: Do you think that how dragons are written (as villains, heroes, etc) is ever a reflection of what is happening in the world at the time?
Sandy: I think the way an author writes his or her dragon(s) is more a reflection of how he or she is reacting to the world. How she’s interpreting the world and what she can do about it. Look at Tolkien’s dragons. These are not benevolent creatures–they’re greedy and covetous, have great malice, and so on. They’re a reflection of creatures and dragons he, as a professor, read and studied, but they’re also a reflection of the horrible war he was living through as he was writing. Didn’t he publish The Hobbit right before Hitler pulled out of the Treaty of Versailles? So crap was about to hit the fan. He was writing during the time of Mussolini and Stalin committing genocides. (I know this doesn’t incorporate dragons, but his Letters From Father Christmas really drives home how he wished to shield his family from the fears of war.) His dragons–and hell-hawks–were the big, bad, evil creatures that needed to be defeated by heroes willing to step up to the task. But, as the lovely goddess from my Choices series said, “…not every dragon is bad.” In my own experience, when the real world gets frightening or depressing or out of my control, I need to escape it. I need to take my readers far from reality with me for a little while. I turn my dragons into powerful, beneficent heroes and heroines in their own right. I want them to help save the day by taking on the “persona” of the faithful, true warrior riding in on a white steed with a sharp sword. Because we need that lingering reminder of a hope bigger than ourselves as we return to what’s
happening in the world.
WS: Why do you think dragons have been so popular in fantasy over the years? Will they continue to be a large component in fantasy books?
Sandy: I think dragons are popular with creators because they can be depicted in various forms, with myriad attributes, with different abilities and powers that can or can’t be transferred or shared with other characters. (And they’re just freaking cool.) We have an entire dragon milieu at this point. Similar to the way we have vampire lore that we can pull from, alter, and adjust for our creative purposes, we can pick and choose from a wide foundation known as “dragon.” All the way back when Wiglaf stayed by Beowulf’s side to fight the “draca” that Beowulf saw as a fire-breathing punishment from God, we’ve had this growing mythology to work with. It’s wonderful and rich and tantalizing to work in! For example, I recently read an Asian fantasy novella from E.G. Rowley titled Rise of Zenghyi in which a serpentine-form dragon appeared to the dying character Li Cheng and, through healing the young man, bonded with him. This resulted in man and dragon sharing thoughts and strength. Back in 1999, I read the high fantasy Dragon Weather by Lawrence Watt-Evans, in which a boy gains magic abilities and strength when a huge, winged dragon’s spittle drips into his mouth while he’s trapped beneath the creature and a ruined home. Probably all the visitors to the blog remember the first DragonHeart movie where the dragon Draco and human Einon are bonded through two halves of the dragon’s heart. I had no idea anyone else was making humans shape- shift into dragons until I watched the 2015 movie, I Am Dragon. Then I met Aurrora St. James in May 2023 at the IYI Conference in Tampa; she writes medieval romance and two of her characters are brothers who shape-shift into dragon form. Hers do it differently than my Julette, Jonquil, and Malachi, but, again, there’s that creative force we all have access to that lets us experiment and play in the “dragon” sandbox. That kind of adventure and creativity is appealing to us as storytellers and readers. Personally, I dig it when the dragon of the story reveals his (or her) honor and assists the human in finding his (or hers) as well. And I hope that trend never dies. I hope we keep pulling from the dragon milieu and morphing the bits and pieces into new and clever ideas. I sincerely hope dragons continue to be factored heavily in fantasy literature.
WS: Do you have a favorite dragon/s in literature?
Sandy: Let me say, I’ve always had this mild angst toward Tolkien for taking the name Smaug for a dragon. The perfection of that is mind-boggling. Smaug. When you say it (smog), it fits a dragon so perfectly that I’m downright angry that I can’t use it because, let’s face it, everyone knows of Smaug the Tremendous, Chiefest and Greatest of Calamities. But am I selfish to say Malachi has become my favorite? Because I sure do love my dragon. He’s grown into a fabulous warrior creature. I wish I had the following and distribution it takes to attract the attention of a Lucasfilm or Peter Jackson (or even John Woo). Malachi deserves to be on the big screen but I’m such small potatoes that it’s not likely to happen. And that’s a shame. Malachi should’ve picked a more popular author to threaten with his story demands.
About the author:
Sandy Lender is a construction magazine editor by day and author of #GirlPower fantasy novels by night, living in Florida to help with sea turtle conservation and parrot rescue. You can follow her author page on Amazon, check her website at SandyLenderInk.com, or subscribe to her newsletter at https://bit.ly/SSReNews . With a four-year degree in English and thirty-year career in publishing, Sandy’s successes include traditionally and self-published novels, hundreds of magazine articles, multiple short stories in competitive anthologies, a handful of technical writing awards, a handful of creative writing awards, and the 2023 Michael Knost Wings award. Sandy’s been writing stories since she was knee-high to a grasshopper when her great-grandmother shared her odd little tales of squeaky ghost-spiders around an apartment complex in Southern Illinois. The stories have developed to include strong young ladies working with dragons to save worlds from terrible fates, but those pesky spiders still show up from time to time. There’s always something brewing at Sandy Lender Ink headquarters where some days, you just want the dragon to win.
Some ways to get more bookly with Sandy Lender… NEW BOOKS NOTICE: https://bit.ly/ChoicesAnnounced Author Newsletter: https://bit.ly/SSReNews Author Page: https://amzn.to/3F2WKwO Website: https://www.sandylenderink.com/ Merch Shop: https://sandysaysread.myspreadshop.com/ (Because, yeah, I have dragon-saying merch. Like, “The best book boyfriends are dragons” and “My dragon can eat your sparkly vampire.” I put different sayings on shirts and mugs and stuff.) Twitter : @SandyLender YouTube: @SandySaysRead
