A Working Dragon

In my 2026 series of paranormal romances, each stand-alone novel is linked through the character of Dante Montanari—a mysterious dragon shifter whose interference in the lives of other characters causes the romances of each book to develop. Ultimately, the plan is to have a book devoted to Dante and his own romance, but that’s currently plotted for book 8, and we’re only on number 2. Usually, when I develop my characters for mysteries and contemporary romance, I only have to worry about the everyday getting to know you stuff—like where a character works, what they’re passionate about, why they keep finding dead bodies—that kind of thing.  But with paranormal romance, there is the added layer of world-building, which means I need to decide how dragons and any other fantasy creatures actually function. And then, even worse, I have to abide by those rules (yes, the ones I just invented) in future books.

Playing by the Rules

Once the rules are set, my life is both harder and easier.  The more I know about each character, the less I have to think about some of the background noise of setting a scene.  And this applies across all genres. In a mystery, if I know that my character doesn’t drink coffee, then I don’t have to think about their order if there’s a scene in a cafe.  In a fantasy novel, some things become more complex. For instance, if a shape-shifter changes, do their clothes shift as well?  (And we will pause here for you to have this argument amongst yourselves.) I have decided that we cannot have proper werewolf-type transformations without tearing clothes, and have chosen to have clothes NOT transform.  But that means that you have to keep track of things like “where did his shoes go” in those scenes. And inevitably, no matter how carefully I establish my rules for this creature or that, I run into a scene where I wish I’d done something else.

Choosing a Course

As it turns out the easiest way to figure out the rules is to do the most horrific of all writerly tasks… write. By writing a character and working through a story, I can stress test my rules and figure out how they apply to the world and other characters.  However, since my big dragon character doesn’t have his own story until much later, that left me with specifically dragonish questions that need to be answered NOW.  Which is why book 2 of the series focuses on Dante’s nephew – Dalton Rosetti.  Dalton and Ava’s romance was the perfect opportunity to find out what makes dragons work and how their world, magic, and culture function. And also, allow me to daydream of a vacation in Hawaii. Because in my world dragons love heat and volcanoes, so of course, they would love Hawaii. This romance was fun to write because (as with all my books) it includes a heavy dose of action and danger and that meant I had to watch Hawaii 5-0 for inspiration.  Yes, I know either iteration of the show is ridiculously not true to Hawaii, but the scenery is still great.  (I may or may not be referring to Daniel Dae Kim as scenery in this sentence.  Language is always open to interpretation.)  What do you think?  What other Hawaii specific shows should I have added to my “research”?

Forged in Flame

Ava Flynn grew up unaware of her dragon heritage, raised by her human mother and stepfather. That changes when Dante Montanari’s nephew, billionaire dragon Dalton Rosetti, arrives—and sparks ignite. Their one night of passion leaves Ava with a secret baby and a future she must face alone. But when deadly enemies close in, Ava and her child are thrust back into Dalton’s world. To survive, she must decide: can she trust a bond forged in flame?  Learn More: bethanymaines.com/catalog/sirena-corbeau/

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