Author Spotlight is on Eva Weston and her dragons!

Happy New Year everyone!  Yes, I am that far behind.  Well, hey, 2 weeks behind isn't that big of deal.  It could be worse...:-D

Today, I have invited Eva Weston, the bestselling author of THE HEART OF THE DRAGON series and THE DRAGON LORDS to appear on my blog.  I have created all of her covers and have fallen in love with the dragons that she has shown me.

Why did I write THE DRAGON LORDS series?

Well, the answer is not as simple as one or two words, so allow me to start at the beginning.  Let’s go back…further…Imagine I’m a 7 year old girl sitting under a blossoming cherry tree and waiting for the bus to arrive.  In my hands I’m holding my favorite book, GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES.  Yes, that was and still is my favorite collection of stories.  I suppose I must have looked like a nerd, but I didn’t care because in those pages I could fight dragons—hell, I could BE the dragon! 

My fascination with dragons began as soon as Maleficent shifted into a great being with “all the powers of hell!”  I remember my jaw literally hit the floor.  My large owl eyes couldn’t believe what they were seeing!  What a powerful woman!  The other stories that I had read and movies I had watched all had damsels, well I wanted a heroine!  Sure, she was evil, but she was a dragon!  When the prince vanquished his foe, a part of me mourned for the dragon and the other part rejoiced that the hero won!  I was torn.  Why couldn’t the stories I wanted have both a strong heroine and a hero who could either slay the dragon or better yet, be the dragon?

That’s how it all began.  I wanted a world filled with supernatural creatures and epic battles!  When I was 8 years old, I wrote my own story.  It was 78 pages long and followed a Princess named Enora who rode a black steed and saved the world.  Along her journey, she encountered a dragon who could speak.  At first, her instincts were to slay the vile creature because it was in her nature, her upbringing to slay dragons!  But there was something about the dragon’s eyes that gave her pause—the creature had a soul!  She learned to ride the beast and one day, as she was battling the forces of evil, the dragon took a fatal wound.  He had been stabbed in the belly.  When Enora began crying over her dragon, the dragon transformed into a handsome Prince and they lived happily ever after.

To this day, I still have that story and it continues to inspire me.  It was my very own fairy tale, the way I wanted the world to be. 

That’s why I wrote THE DRAGON LORDS—I wanted a happily ever after with brave knights, humans that could shift into hawks, wolves and bears, and I especially wanted a dragon to be the hero.  We could move the conversation into the psychology of it all, but I prefer to keep this conversation magical.  Science has all but killed magic and I want to keep it alive through stories and adventures.  Fantasy is the ultimate escape from reality.  We all battle drama, whether it is family, friends, or work.  What gives me strength to get through the day is to discover what lies beyond the mountains in the stories I create.  What worlds are just beyond the waterfalls?  It is said that curiosity killed the cat, but in my experience, curiosity is what keeps me moving forward.   Besides, cats have nine lives! 

Now, just because I believe in Knights, dragons, and happily-ever-afters, that doesn’t mean my stories are light and fluffy.  As with any solid story, there is always a bad guy.  My bad guys tend to breathe fire and are so dark, hell itself shies away from them.   Some are redeemed while others give my heroes and heroines a run for their money!  And I’m not afraid to murder a main character if the story needs it.  What is the point in putting our protagonist in danger if there is no risk of death or serious injury? 

Narcil from both THE HEART OF THE DRAGON and THE DRAGON LORDS series.

Dragons, from my experience, can either be good or bad.  So I incorporate both into my stories.  You never know which side to root for even when the bad guy is obviously bad.  Sometimes bad can be downright sexy! My character, Aristo, from THE HEART OF THE DRAGON series, a series that showcases the history before THE DRAGON LORDS, is an impulsive anti-hero who struggles with the wrong choices he makes on a daily basis.  He can be cruel, manipulative and homicidal.  However, our heroine can’t help but to fall madly in love with him.  She knows he has a good heart and that his humanity can be pulled to the surface.

A wise man once said, “We fear the beast because we fear the beast within.”  We all live with a darkness.  It’s the choices we make that decide whether we are worthy of our soul.  How beautiful is it when someone can finally be loved after years of lonliness, despair, and heartache? 

These are the stories I write simply because:

It’s wonderful to escape into a fantasy after dealing with life’s drama.  If you wish to escape into my worlds filled with dragons and other supernatural creatures, please visit my blog evaweston.blogspot.com  You can read all about my books and even purchase them if you feel so inclined!  I hope to see you there!

Thank you, Eva, for that very interesting articles.  I would have to say Disney's Sleeping Beauty inspired me as well when I was younger.  Prince Phillip was my dream boat! LOL

Below you'll find all the work I created from Eva Weston's World.  I had a blast creating everything for her!