I write about dragons. Some people seem slightly befuddled by this: do I write romance or do I write fantasy? Answer: Yes. LOL. What it means is that I’m one of those lucky, lucky writers who gets to make up an entire culture--a contained, realistic world--that abides by my own rules. I created a race of fantasy shapeshifting creatures, the drákon, who are dangerous and powerful and sexy and who happen to exist in Georgian England. So they do have to bend to certain restraints of their time, but it all rests purely upon the twists and turns of my imagination.It’s a lot of fun.
It also means I get begrudgingly complimentary reviews from major news agencies, ones that would never ordinarily review a romance, so they put it under “Fantasy” instead. It’s a bit of literary snobbery, but I’ll take it. (Bonus points in a Fantasy review: you almost never run across that charming print equivalent of a sneer, “bodice-ripper”.)
I’m not good with boundaries. I don’t necessarily like other people’s conventions. My parents figured out pretty quickly when I was a child that the surest way to finagle me into doing something was to tell me that I couldn’t do it. It’s not that I’m stubborn...okay, yes, I’m stubborn. It’s more that I don’t like unreasonable limitations. I was that annoying kid who kept asking “why?” when adults tried explaining rules to me, until they usually ended up red-cheeked and sputtering “Because! Because! Because!” and giving me candy to go away.So I write fantasy...because. Because it’s mind candy for the adult in me. I love romance, I love happy endings, but most of all, I love creating textured, interesting people who aren’t really people at all, and placing them in impossible situations to see what they do to get out of them. I’m nearly always surprised by what happens, believe me. Those are the best kinds of stories, I think.
So if you’re a daydreamer like me, someone with a hidden edge of rebellion sharpening your secret heart, you’ll know just what I mean when I say that I hope you’ll dream on. Dragons are real, and so is true love.
It’s the best of every world. :-)
Shana
