Master of Dragons

Author Q&A

Master of Dragons features Kel as the hero, and I think he’s one of the most compelling—and original—characters you’ve ever created. Where does he rank amongst your list of favorite heroes?

Kel is definitely my favorite hero of the Mageverse. I loved writing him in Master of Swords, because he was such a fun sidekick. But in Master of Dragons, he became so much more than that. He’s got this bedrock decency, but he’s not a pushover by any means. Being a shape-shifting dragon, he’s both powerful and really sexy. Not somebody you want to tick off — but definitely someone a woman could dream about.

Nineva Morrow is a very strong and engaging character in her own right—how difficult was it to come up with a heroine to match Kel?

Nineva really came into focus when I came up with the prophecy that predicted she would have to be burned to free her goddess. The idea of having something like that hanging over your head, and dealing with the guilt of her parents’ deaths really added up to a character with a lot of depth. And she needed to be, because Kel had been so tortured by being trapped in that sword for so long, if she’d been a standard heroine, he would have overshadowed her.

The story arc started in Master of the Night really reaches a climax in Master of Dragons—how difficult was it to work with such a big plot and keep track of all the different plot threads?

To tell you the truth, the arc basically grew in a very organic way. I know a lot of writers have big arcs planned out years in advance. I don’t. I just basically played with the logic of the story, looking for ways to have more fun with it. Fortunately, the Mageverse has a lot of potential for magic and fun. And as a writer, I’m all about the fun.

Master of Dragons is your 5th full-length book set in the Mageverse—are you planning more books set in the Mageverse?

Definitely. I just have to figure out a new set of villains for it. I want to do something with King Arthur’s son, James, and with Tristan and Bors, all of whom deserve happy endings.

What’s up next for you?

Well, I’m about to start work on a new series set in the universe of Jane’s Warlord. It will be a time travel series in the present day, with my futuristic warriors dealing with modern heroines. It’s going to be a lot of fun! I’ll probably alternate a Jane book with a Mageverse book. The idea is that Baran and Jane established that you don’t really have to worry about changing history and causing a paradox. So you can get away with doing a lot more in the past (our present) than anyone ever thought. It’s going to be a very fun, very sexy series, and I think readers will really love it.