Thea Harrison resides in Colorado. She wrote her first book, a romance, when she was nineteen, and had sixteen romances published under the name Amanda Carpenter. She took a break from writing to collect a couple of graduate degrees and a grown child. Now she writes in a variety of genres, including sci-fi fantasy, paranormal and contemporary romance.
Thanks for having me. I’m so glad you enjoyed Dragon Bound and Storm’s Heart and I’m excited to be here today!
I suppose if I had any “grand vision” for the Elder Races universe, it was to try to create a world where story lines could be open-ended. There is no built-in end to the series, like you have, for instance, with a trilogy. There are many opinionated creatures in my world, and not all the stories will be about the Wyr. In the Elder Races universe, the seven demesnes interact with each other, and as you say, the possibilities are endless. Currently I’m contracted for six books, and I’m laying the groundwork for book seven and beyond, so I am quite excited to see where this whole thing goes!
Wow, thank you, this is high praise! I hope Dragos (and I) live up to this. I’ve been in various situations where I have had the opportunity to work on character development, in my previous incarnation as a writer and also in hobbies, so I have had challenges at times through the years. In writing Dragos in particular, however, I had no trouble at all. He felt like he just flowed out onto the page—and what’s more, he’s ready to have a second stint as the hero, as Dragos and Pia become the main characters again in book five. I actually get a lot of ideas for Dragos by imagining how a dragon must be in a world very like ours, with so many people and nations, and with modern commerce. He really does love money a lot, you know, and he’s dominant, so of course he had to become a billionaire at the head of a multinational corporation. And he isn’t going to respond to stresses or stimuli the way most humans would—which leads, hopefully, to some highly entertaining scenes where he behaves in a way that would be totally unacceptable in a real life human male.
I think a writer can’t ever escape some things—after all, I’m the same person writing each book, so there will be a certain amount that will carry over from story to story. I like to look at this as a good thing, because readers enjoy a writer’s voice and will follow them through multiple books. Many of my characters are a bit, shall we say, smart-alecky.
Actually, for me, one of the most difficult problems with letting go of a character is much like it is for a reader when they reach the end of a book they love. I grow to love the characters I’m working with and am sad when the story ends. Writing a series helps in a couple of ways with this. First, I don’t have to say goodbye totally to the characters because they show up again in other stories. And second, setting characters up side by side so that they interact together allows me to study how they compare and contrast to each other. For example, Pia (the heroine in Dragon Bound) and Tricks (the heroine in Storm’s Heart) share time together in Dragon Bound, and that helped me as a writer to figure out what made each one tick.
There are some great quotes in Dragon’s Heart. One is:
“You’re not afraid of me at all anymore, are you?”…So what if I’m not?” she muttered… “I think if you’re not, it’s a very good thing,” he said. He moved, and before she realized what he intended, he had her hands pinned over her head. “It gives me all kinds of license to do bad things to you. With you. On you. In you.”—Dragos
This question cracks me up! You know, sometimes I think I sound like a lunatic, because I’ll be writing along and suddenly I’ll burst out laughing, because some character in my head has said or done something that came as a total surprise to me. (Yes, I know it all happens in my head, but it so often feels like they are real people.)
The idea for the penny came when I was getting gas one day. I was in the middle of creating that chapter, so the story ideas and language were running through my head, and I happen to look down at the stash of pennies by the cash register, and Pia said, “Eep, if I have to take anything,
I’ll take a penny and leave one behind, okay?”
“Okay,” said the other part of my brain, because I just loved the idea and wanted to see what would happen. I’m delighted that people have enjoyed it!
You can expect more world-building as I dig further into the Elder Races universe. I hope people find Tricks and Tiago as entertaining as I did when I wrote them—they both had me laughing out loud several times, and when they come together, the sparks really fly! The Wyr sentinels Rune and Aryal get a satisfying outing, and new characters are introduced. There’s also some detective work, as the characters hunt for the people responsible for assassination attempts on Tricks’ life.
Carling does indeed get introduced in Storm’s Heart. In fact, the whole premise for Serpent’s Kiss is set up in book two. Oracle’s Moon, book four, is set up in Serpent’s Kiss. The first four books in the series follow each other back-to-back, so in way I think reading the books sequentially might be like reading a very large novel in four parts.
Fun Facts:
Ooh, that one is hard. I actually don’t remember what the first romance novel was that I read. I do remember when I had a relative who was ill in the hospital, I bought my first blockbuster historical romance: Kathleen Woodiwiss’s Wolf and the Dove. I was quite fascinated; I’d never read anything like it before. That story helped me through some long nights.
It would be a toss-up between George Clooney or Daniel Craig, because, hello. It would be either George Clooney or Daniel Craig! J
Hm, a leisurely dinner, a walk along a river during the summertime, and drinks outside with no agenda other than to look into each other’s eyes, and hold hands and talk. I’ve actually had this perfect date before, and even though nothing long-term developed between us, that evening is a wonderful memory!
Thanks so much again for having me! I had great fun answering your questions!
Able to wield thunder and lightning, wyr sentinel Tiago Black Eagle has ruled the skies for centuries. His massive build and thunderous power make him one of the wyr’s best weapons. And he’s the one sent to protect Tricks, heir to the Dark Fae throne, when she’s almost assassinated in Chicago. Soon Tiago and Tricks will fall prey to the stormy hunger that engulfs them-a passion that will shake the very foundation of all the worlds.
Interview provided by Penguin Group USA
