Dragons are one of the most popular legendary folklore creatures in our society. When we see a dragon in a story, we envision a fire-breathing monster. It is a big trope in fantasy writing and is used as a character or plot device. Today, we meet Samantha Evans, author of ‘Ella’ a new fantasy story about a prince who believes dragons are majestic and he should have to kill one to gain honor. Evans recalled what made her start as a writer.
“Knowing that anyone can tell a story, and reading fantasy as my favorite genre then, I love reading, and it got me interested early on.”
Evans chose fantasy as a genre because she loved reading those types of stories. She also enjoyed the massive worlds that she discovered in them. She also noted that creatures made her happy.
Ella portrays a principal character named Liam, who has to slay a dragon to ‘achieve real greatness’ yet feels that this is wrong, and dragons did not deserve to die.
“I woke up one day from a dream, and it came to me,” Evans recalled how she came up with the story. “I just started writing this dream down, and it developed into a story.”
Evans attributed her love of dragons to her enjoyment of the Game of Thrones series of books that she read. This changed her outlook on how people perceived dragons. Rather than be ruthless killers, dragons were protectors.
“Daenerys Targaryen saw them as beautiful, and for them to never be killed,” she explained.
With her chief character Liam, there was a parallel with real life, and how many families deal with sibling rivalry that often competes for attention from their parents. It also raised the issue of how expectations come into play from parents, and how their expectations affect their offspring.
“Some siblings are wanting to impress their parents,” she said. “Some parents expect more from their oldest. Some siblings like a certain someone but that someone likes the opposite sibling in return.”
Along with being an author of an exciting fantasy book, Evans also is an advocate for Russell-Silver Syndrome (RSS) and epilepsy. She detailed how that came out and what it means to her.
“Russel Silver Syndrome is a genetic growth disorder that my youngest son Joshua was diagnosed with,” she stated. “Also, I have been fighting epilepsy since I was sixteen. Most of the time, I have it under control that I can lead a lifestyle of being a wife, mother, and writer.”
As she continues to excel at her work, she hopes to reach as many fantasy fans as possible. Once an idea hits, it will enter her notes, and a book will be born.
Ella is available on Amazon now and is part of a four-book series called The Land of Four, which is also available on Amazon. In addition to the Land of Four Series, Evans also released a companion story called The Prince No More.