Pimping Reads Guest Post
BLAZING THE TRAIL blog tour
Destiny and Dreams
By Deborah Cooke (http://www.deborahcooke.com)
In the Dragonfire world of my dragon shape shifters, all of
the dragon shape shifters are male. They’re called the Pyr. The Pyr mate with
human women and always have sons who develop their dragon shape shifter powers
at puberty. Because Dragonfire is a paranormal romance series, each book
features one dragon shape shifter and his meeting with the woman who can bear
his son. Their meeting is marked by the firestorm - sparks fly between them
until their match is consummated and they conceive that son.
In addition, there is always one female dragon shifter in
the Dragonfire world. She’s called the Wyvern and is supposed to have
additional powers - like the gift of prophecy and the ability to take
additional forms other than dragon and human. At the beginning of my Dragonfire
series, the Wyvern was named Sophie. She was elusive and mysterious, and the
male dragon shifters were pretty awed when they saw her. In book #3 (KISS OF
FATE), though, Sophie died. (You’ll have to read the book to find out how and
why.) The child conceived in that book was a girl, who was named Zoë. Her dad
has believed from the beginning that she must be the next Wyvern and has been
anxious for her to come into her powers to help the Pyr in their battle against the Slayers.
The Dragon Diaries trilogy is set in the future (which is a
whole lot like the present, but with better gadgets). The series begins with
Zoë finally getting her period at fifteen and the resulting explosion of
changes in her body and her life. She’s got more on her plate than most
teenagers, but is supposed to keep her developing powers secret from her best
friend. Never mind that the hottest guy on the planet turns up to mess with her
mind, and apparently knows more about dragons and Wyverns than Zoë does. I had
a lot of fun writing this series and I really liked Zoë as a character. She
keeps lists (including an Incinerate Now list) and is determined to do the
right thing, even when she’s not sure what it is. She has a pack of good
friends in the other teenage dragon shiftes she’s grown up with, and she’s
pretty active herself. Dragongirls don’t sit on the sidelines and watch the
action - they get right in there and fight fire with fire!
So, now you know about the series. In a recent interview, I
was asked if I would accept the job of Wyvern if it was offered to me, and that
got me to thinking about dreams and destiny. What’s different about this series
for me is that Zoë has an explicit destiny. She’s supposed to become the Wyvern
and lead the dragon shifters. She also has a dream of being an artist. Her
dream is one that she’ll have to work to achieve, and she could decide to not
pursue it as her job. (She might get a “real” job instead and draw on the
side.) But I don’t think she has a lot of choice about becoming the Wyvern.
Because it’s her destiny, she was effectively signed up for that job when she
was born. She can take it on and do her best at it, or she can deny her destiny
and muck it up, but it doesn’t seem to me that she can simply decline and do
something else.
That has to be a lot of pressure. Even dreams can exert a
lot of pressure on us to make them come true. But destinies? Wow. I have to
think that a destiny would be a heavy burden. What would you do if you were
told you had a destiny but you didn’t really want to fulfil it? What if you
didn’t think you could make it come true? Or do you think that your ability to
make it come true is why you would have a destiny in the first place? In
stories, people who reluctantly take on the obligations of their destiny often
discover an inner strength that was hidden before.
Do you think you have a destiny? If so, what secret part of
your character makes it possible for you to make that destiny come true? Do you
have a dream? What abilities (secret or otherwise) do you have that you think
can make your dreams come true? Do you think most people have destinies, or
only a few. (I hope everyone has dreams!) Tell me what you think!
Deborah
Cooke's Bio
Deborah
Cooke has always been fascinated with dragons, although she has never
understood why they have to be the bad guys. She has an honours degree in
history, with a focus on medieval studies. She is an avid reader of medieval
vernacular literature, fairy tales and fantasy novels, and has written over
forty romance novels and novellas. She has also been published under the
names Claire Cross andClaire Delacroix.
Deborah
makes her home in Canada with her husband. When she isn't writing, she can be
found knitting, sewing or hunting for vintage patterns.
Connect with Deborah:
BTT Blog Tour Dates &
Participating Blogs:
DRAGON DIARIES Series
By Deborah Cooke
"Flying
Blind" - Book 1
Zoë Sorensson is perfectly normal
– well, as normal as a girl with an obsession with drawing dragons can be. The
thing is that she’s always been told she’s special and destined for great
things. It’s not just because of her good grades, either. Zoë’s the Wyvern, the
one female dragon shapeshifter with special powers. But Zoë is at the bottom of
the class when it comes to being Pyr and her powers are AWOL. Worse,
there’s no reference book to consult and the last Wyvern is dead…Everything changes when Zoë’s best friend is bullied and Zoë reacts. Before she can blink twice, her inner dragon is loose, she’s suspended from school and headed to a boot camp for thePyr guys she’s known all her life. But soon she’s doubting her powers—and even some of her friendships.
Zoë quickly realizes that she has to master her powers yesterday - the Pyr are in danger and boot camp is a trap. The Mages want to eliminate all shifters and the Pyr are next in line—unless Zoë and her friends can solve the riddle, work together and save their own kind…
Buy Links:
Amazon UK / Barnes & Noble / IndieBound
"Winging It" - Book 2
Zoë Sorensson yearns to come into
her powers as the only female dragon shifter. But being part of two worlds is
more complicated than she expected. It’s bad enough that she’s the target of
the Mages’ plan to eliminate all shifters—she also has to hide her true nature
from her best friend Megan, a human. For her sixteenth birthday, all Zoë wants
is one normal day, including a tattoo and a chance to see hot rocker Jared.Instead, the Pyr throw her a birthday party but ban Megan from attendance, putting Zoë in a tight spot. Things get even worse when Zoe is invited to the popular kids’ Halloween party and Megan’s left out. Zoë knows the party is a trap laid by the host, an apprentice Mage. When Megan gets a last-minute invite, Zoë must save the day—and her best friend—without revealing her fire-breathing secrets…
Buy Links:
/ Amazon UK / Barnes & Noble / IndieBound
"Blazing The Trail" - Book 3
Zoë is just about ready to breathe fire, especially once she uncovers a new threat that targets her friends. Although Zoë thought the Mages were defeated, they’re back and have invoked an old spell to give them new power – they plan to eliminate all shape shifters on the night of the big dance. Now, Zoë must lead an alliance of young shifters to battle the Mages and figure out exactly what – and who – she wants, before it all goes up in smoke…
Buy Links:
/ Barnes & Noble / IndieBound
Thanks for the blog info on some great books
ReplyDeletedeb
Thank you for the giveaway! Really looking forward to reading Blazing the Trail! =)
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