In today’s continuation of the A-Z Challenge, I give you:

D is for Dragons

A dragon I drew in 6th grade (complete with map bleed-through from the scan).

I am not an author who writes about dragons (at least, not yet!), but I don’t have to write about them to love them. Like some girls grow up loving horses, I grew up loving dragons.

I blame this completely on the writings of Anne McCaffrey, whose Pern novels gave dragons a new depth. As an animal lover, I’d always wanted to live on a farm, surrounded by animals, but deep down, what I really wanted were animals that could communicate with me. Imagine flying high above the tree tops with a creature that shared your thoughts and emotions.

Flying in a plane makes me nauseated, but the kid me argued that a-dragonback, I’d be fine. My dragon would fly so smoothly that I would barely feel the air currents beneath us. Any chance I had, I was drawing dragons…especially across my algebra homework.

As an adult, my love of dragons hasn’t changed. I have a greater appreciation for their variety and complexity across the fantasy genre. I’d love to write about them, but struggle to think of a way to do so that hasn’t already been done a hundred times.

One of my favorite pictures of late is this dragon picture by artist Jamie Noble:

Click to view it larger. Copyright 2015 by Jamie Noble.

Makes my 6th grade drawing look like child’s play. When I look at images like that, my mind races with plot lines and characters, battles and magic.

How could it not?

This post is part of the A-Z Challenge. Every day (except Sundays) in the month of May, I’ll be posting about people, places, books, games, and other things that influence me as a writer or add a certain magic to my life. Join me in April as we explore a Hodge-Podge of Influences & Wayward Treks through the Fantastical.

Read more A-Z Challenge Posts here.