Wordsmithing and Worldbuilding: Dragon's Loyalty Award (With Lots of Dragons)

2016 is looming and I am behind on basically everything but work. And though I didn't forget about a handful of tags and awards, I just had a lot of other things to do :)

But it is December, and my fellow dragon-loving blogger Sara Letourneau awarded me with this at the end of September (eep!), and I knew I wanted to do it right away. So, yes, December . . .

Anyhow, thanks again Sara! If you don't follow her blog, be sure to check it out here. She is also an author, and she features her writing process (and helpful tidbits for fellow authors) in her Chronicling the Craft series. Sara is full of awesome writing advice, but my favorite recurring posts are probably her new Character Evolution Files. She takes well known fictional icons such as Katniss or Bilbo and uses them to show how the authors have developed and evolved such lasting, resonant characters. And of course, there is a ton more to like about her blog, but you'll have to go check it out for yourself ;P

Here are the "official rules" for accepting the Dragon's Loyalty Award:

1. Announce your win with a post, and link to whomever presented your award.
2. Post 7 interesting things about yourself.
3. Present 15 7 awards to deserving bloggers. (I like symmetry - today)
4. Drop them a comment to tip them off after you’ve linked them in the post.
5. Display the award certificate on your website.

Since this is called the Dragon's Loyalty Award, I decided to incorporate as many dragons as possible into this post. And now it's time for interesting facts (which was hard - I feel like most everything about me is in other similar posts, or my "About Me" page!):

1. I have eleven siblings (yes, that makes me one of 12) - and I love every single one of them.

So, maybe they drive me bonkers at times, but I can't imagine life without my brothers and sisters (lots of sisters). Though sharing a bathroom was sometimes trying (boys take forEVer to do their hair on Sunday morning).

2. I have the same birthday as Jules Verne (though he was slightly older)

Okay, so Naruto isn't 20K leagues under the sea, but, whatever.

Though I didn't notice this until years later. Around the World in 80 Days is still one of my favorite novels.

3. I love to dance, but I'm not very good at it

The word "drake" is often used for a dragons in fantasy novels (when we're going OE "Draca"), though it more commonly refers to a "male duck"

From swing to the waltz to whatever craziness I come up with. But I don't make music videos of it for a reason. I'd love to take some classes someday!

4. The first dragon I ever read about was actually Ryūjin/Ryo-Wo, not Smaug

The underwater Dragon King of Japanese legends fascinated me as a (very) young child. I started reading fairy tales and myths from all over the world as soon as I could read. Smaug was the first dragon I ever read about in a novel. But thanks to my childhood myth-binges, I still tend to pattern the dragons in my novels after the ones in Chinese and Japanese lore.

5. I love dressing up, whether it's formal wear or costumes

Smaug feels pretty, oh so pretty . . .

6. I'm fascinated by mirrors and all of the lore surrounding them

This might have started when I watched a particular Lost in Space episode as a kid: as I recall, there was a guy trapped in a mirror, and his reflection was all that was left of him (because he'd been in there so long, he'd be dead in the real world). The Kabbalists (offshoot from traditional Judaism) believed that if you didn't cover a mirror after a person's death, you might catch a glimpse of the evil spirits drawn to the sadness of death (mirrors were the only way to see them). This is really interesting if you contrast it with the idea that vampires or other soulless beings wouldn't have a reflection. I could go on, but suffice it to say that mirrors often find their way into my novels.

7. I have always wanted to make a music video

Here's a Dragon, there's a Dragon, everywhere a Dragon Dragon

While I have no desire to be in it (see #3), I'm always getting epic ideas for music videos, and I wish I had the ability to make them. If I ever had a novel made into a movie, I would want to help make a music video for a song involved in the movie. That's all I ask.