Why Dragons Keep Turning Up in My Stories (and My Favourite Literary Dragons)
When someone asks me what my favourite genre is, I always reply: “As long as it has a dragon in it, I’ll read it.” There’s just something about these scaly, winged beings – wise, dangerous, sometimes wicked – that I can’t resist.
So it’s probably no surprise that my own books ended up featuring dragons too.
(Though, since I’m a plantser – somewhere between plotting and discovery writing – even I was caught off guard when dragons suddenly appeared in my stories. They’re now firmly part of my Mythical Menagerie lore, and I wouldn’t have it any other way!)
My Favourite Kinds of DragonsA few years ago, I wrote a blog post listing some of my favourite literary dragons. Of course, Smaug made the cut – he deserves his place in the dragon hall of fame – but while Tolkien’s creations embody pure evil, I’ve always preferred mine a little more complex.
Still dangerous, of course, but not outright malevolent. Think Ursula Le Guin’s Kalessin rather than Smaug.
Dragons in the Mythical Menagerie
Minor spoilers for the series ahead!
Angharad helps Ambrose with the small matter of an asrai’s curse. Like Smaug, she lives in a cave surrounded by treasure – but unlike him, she becomes Ambrose’s protector. Her fiery mark saves him from more than a few scrapes down the road.
Kentigern Mor – The Loch Ness Dragon
Later, on a quest for a spriggan, Ambrose meets Kentigern Mor, a sinuous blue dragon who makes his home in Loch Ness. Is he the legendary Nessie? Possibly. He’s certainly grumpy enough about all the humans poking around his lake. When Ambrose offers him peace and quiet, Kentigern is more than willing to strike a bargain.
Longshen – The River Dragon of Taiwan
And now – much to my delight, and entirely unexpectedly – while working on Book 4, Ambrose encounters another dragon. Longshen is a river dragon from Taiwanese tradition. The moment I learned about these creatures, I knew I had to include one. Whether Longshen proves to be a help or a hindrance on Ambrose’s journey… well, that remains to be seen.
Do you love dragons as much as I do? Drop your favourite literary dragon in the comments—I’d love to see which ones make your list! And if you’d like more behind-the-scenes lore and sneak peeks from the Mythical Menagerie, make sure you’re subscribed to my newsletter.
