The current books I am writing all take place in the same world. You’ll see the same characters, but each book is stand alone and has its own romance.
To date, I have not introduced a dragon character. Do I have them in my head, you betcha. At the moment, though, the people of my world believe that humans may carry a drop or two of dragon blood in their veins, but that dragons themselves were destroyed by the god that created them.
So, I love dragons, and I want to add them to my story, but a dragon takes things to a different level. They aren’t something you can just add without potentially unbalancing the world.
As a romance writer, if I add a dragon, I also have to have an appropriate female love interest in the story. That’s a core part of the genre. That means we need an appropriately formidable female protagonist.
I have no issues with this as I enjoy strong female characters. No suitcases, please. But, that adds another layer of complexity if I have two such powerful characters.
But, I still want them!
Anderantamosien, who goes by Ander to us mere mortals, is all ready to make his entrance. I have a full backstory for him, his character flushed out, and a motivation. I even have an idea for his love interest. The downside is that love interest would be the daughter of two characters whose story I’ve already written. I’m not sure I want to move time along in my world that much just yet. Although, strangely, I already have ideas for the children of other characters whose stories I’ve written as well. Perhaps this is because I already know so much about them and their parents.
What I’m struggling with is giving Ander an appropriate antagonist without becoming too Dragon Ball Z. I need to give this more time, let the thoughts percolate, but I most assuredly need to bring dragons into the world.
For the moment, I’ve established the Dragon God, a symbol of justice and righteousness. He’s part of the Holy Trinity that includes the Goddess of Wisdom and the Goddess of Mercy. There’s the Unholy Triumvirate to oppose them. There are other gods, such as the god of death, that are part of the pantheon, but not really on the side of good or evil.
So, yes, I have established that dragons once existed. Ander’s story will talk about their fall and their current place in the world.
But I still need to give him a true challenge, a true adversary that could take all he wants. And I’m not looking to retell a Beauty and the Beast tale. Ander can, and does, take human form. Still haven’t decided if that should have an impact on what buildings he can walk in or if, you know, magic. Because if a dragon has the kind of magic to take human form, of course he can adjust his mass accordingly.
How about you? Ever write or read a book with something as epic as dragons? How did you or the author you read handle them? Did you like it? Why or why not? Also, if you know any good romance novels with dragons in them, please put them in comments! I have been searching for books with this done right, and it’s been very difficult to find.
