Dragon Week: Interview with Author Melissa Stone

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: Will you introduce yourself to the readers?



Melissa: Hey all, I’m Melissa Stone. I’ve been a self-published author since 2012. I live in a small town in Saskatchewan with my husband, kids, and our assorted animals.



WS: How would you describe your writing?



Melissa: My writing leans towards overly descriptive and can be dialogue heavy. My stories are, for the most part, character driven.



WS: What inspired you to include dragons in your writing?



Melissa: Growing up, dragons were always portrayed as the villains. I liked how they looked, so I thought it was a shame they were bad guys. Then I stumbled on Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey and it was a revelation. Suddenly, someone was writing about good dragons. From there, it was a steep spiral into writing dragon stories with my best friend that formed the basis of what is now called Keverynn.



WS: There are so many different personalities given to dragons throughout fantasy history. What are your dragons like?



Melissa: In general, they’re big, scaly cats. Part of that is my endless love of cats. Another is watching our bearded dragons and noting just how much they have in common with our cats. It makes so much sense to me. Each species of dragon has their own set of personality traits, but that’s the easiest way to break it down.



WS: How do your dragons interact with your fantasy world? Did you have to adjust for their inclusion?



Melissa : It was never a question of if they were there, but where they were. The world was designed around them.



WS: What role do they play in your books?



Melissa: In Children of the Dragon and its sequels, there is only one dragon, and he’s a god. On Keverynn, dragons were the first intelligent species created by the gods. The world is theirs. Their connection with the bipedal species of Keverynn is a relatively recent occurrence. They work with their chosen riders to keep the wyvern from taking over. Not all dragons have riders, though. It’s a small fraction of their overall population that does.



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?



Melissa: Given how many people own reptiles in real life, it makes sense to me. There’s something inherently cool about something that could swallow you whole. They’re big, dangerous, and they fly. There are so many different ways to write them that I’ve yet to come across writers who do it the same way. Dragonlance is one of the notable exceptions to this rule. I think as long as people are interested in them, books featuring dragons will continue to pop up. I, for one, will keep reading them. And writing about dragons.



WS: Do you have a favorite dragon/s in literature?



Melissa: I have a soft spot for the Pern dragons in general. Ash from Michael R. Miller’s Songs of Chaos series is up there with my all-time faves.







To Purchase:



Children of the Dragon Path of the Warrior