The Problem with Dragons

My friend and indie author Courtney Denelsbeck sat down to answer questions about her new release – YA Fantasy book Morlave’s School of Magic.

What inspired you to write this book?

It was a cumulation of ideas coming together. When I was re-watching Lord of the Rings with my eldest daughter, I felt inspired by the strong bond of Samwise and Frodo. Being a huge Harry Potter fan, I knew I would one day write some kind of magical academy book. When I tried to picture how my characters, Morlave and Bernard, would meet, I pictured them at a magic school. Morlave is also a minor character in the third book of my debut series, Red Fairy & Fox Adventures, and I wanted to show his backstory as an insecure youth.

Morlave’s School of Magic is actually your fourth published book. Tell us a little bit about your first series, Red Fairy and Fox?

I spent years on my idea for Red Fairy & Fox before I started seriously working on it. When I finally started typing it up and working on it every day, I knew I would keep writing books. Red Fairy and Fox is the story of an unhappy, young queen who wishes to escape her throne. When a mysterious fox shows up, she thinks he is the answer to all her problems. She leaps through a puddle after him to another world (much like Alice and the white rabbit), but the world is nothing like her own. Instead of escaping her hardship she is thrust into a destiny bigger than she could’ve ever imagined. In books two and three, Red grows up more, learning about her magic, responsibility, and love. I wrote the series for my four daughters, inspired by the idea of this unpleasant, cranky teenager growing into doing nearly impossible things… like fighting evil and saving the world.

Why made you decide on a dragon to be Morlave’s companion/familiar?

The simple answer is that I love dragons! I knew I wanted a scene with students conjuring familiars or animal companions, and I could think of nothing more surprising and exciting in a room of rabbits, snakes, wolves, and “ordinary” sorts of animals for a baby golden dragon to show up.

What does the dragon represent and why is it important to the story?

When Morlave is able to conjure a dragon it’s a pivotal moment in the story because he’s showing impressive magical skill and competency instead of fledgling (like he’s done the previous 100 or so pages). But instead of the dragon being an answer to prayer, it functions as his conscience, warning him when he’s made the wrong choices. I love the “getting the thing you need, not the thing you want” lesson in stories.

Your illustrations throughout the books are always so fun. Where did you learn to draw? What inspires your artwork?

I’ve always loved drawing. I took art lessons as a child, and I designed children’s toys for around ten years as a career before I started staying home with my children. I grew up watching anime and still pull a lot of inspiration for the whimsical creatures and worlds I loved. When I’m writing characters and creatures, I like to sketch them out to cement their appearance in my mind. I also always sketch out my maps, like the world of Red and the magic academy’s floor plan for Morlave. For Morlave book 2, I’m working on a world map of the surrounding areas.

Authoring a book is a challenging endeavor. We face a lot of criticism and rejection as writers. Was there ever a time when you wanted to give up and how did you move past that?

I had a moment when I received a harsh critique from a beta reader on my first book that really gutted me. His advice was for me to completely rewrite the book I’d already worked so hard on. I discussed it with other author friends, and I realized how common this kind of unhelpful advice is. I focused on what I loved about my story, what others loved about my story, and why I wanted to publish it. In the end, it’s really an issue of humility. Do I think so much of myself that I can’t have someone tear apart my book? Does my book have to be absolutely perfect in everyone’s eyes? I revised it with more feedback and decided it was worth the risk to be a published author.

I couldn’t agree more about the issue of humility. Writing will humble you and that can be hard to accept sometimes. What is the best piece of writing advice you have ever received?

The best writing advice I’ve ever received is to persevere. Every published book is from a writer that refused to give up.

What drew you to independent publishing? And what advice would you give to other writers who are considering indie publishing?

I started researching how to publish while I was writing my first draft of my first book. When I realized it was something I could do (it’s surprisingly easy to publish to KDP- Kindle Direct Publishing), that cemented the decision almost immediately for me. I wanted to have complete creative and timeline control, not have someone cut my Christian content or make me change my story. I also homeschool my four daughters, so I need to be able to set my own pace. While the idea of having a publisher take care of expenses and marketing for me was tempting, I knew no one would work harder on my book than me. I also had concerns over the long timeline to get agents, query, and be published, hearing horror stories of years and years going by. I don’t have the patience for that! Ultimately, it’s a matter of what you are willing to work hard on.

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. Where can my readers find out more about you and your books?

I’m most active on Instagram http://instagram.com/courtney.denelsbeck where I post regularly about book projects (and books I’m reading). I also keep readers up-to-date with monthly newsletters. You can sign-up here: https://courtneydenelsbeck.wixsite.com/courtneydenelsbeck (and get a free short story prequel of Red Fairy & Fox as a gift).

I love your stories. They’re wonderful books for younger readers. I highly recommend them if you have teen readers in your household.

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