Romance Around the Corner: Interview: Thea Harrison

Thea Harrison took the blogging world by storm when reviews of her new book, Dragon Bound, started showing up online earlier this year. Then, once the book was released, she took everybody else by storm with the fantastic world that she showed us. I honestly can’t stop talking about Dragon Bound and if you haven’t read it I think you should. Have you heard the phrase sexy beast? Well, that phrase takes on a whole new meaning once you read about the Wyrs.

As you can see I’m a huge fan, which is why I’m very happy to be doing this interview today. Please give a warm welcome to the wonderful Thea Harrison and remember that Storm’s Heart comes out tomorrow!

Hello Thea, welcome to Romance Around the Corner. I’m very excited to be doing this Q&A session. I’ll try to contain the fan-girl squeals of emotion that are trying to come out so I can at least pretend to be professional.

Thea: Thank you! I’m excited to be here today.

How did you come up with the idea of a world where magical creatures coexist with humans in such a peaceful way? Were you always a fan of mythology and fantasy?

Thea: Yes, I was always a fan of mythology and fantasy. At my first book fair in first grade, I begged my parents for two books. One of them was Lassie, Come Home, and the other one was Sleeping Beauty. I read every fairy tale I could get my hands on, and in grade school I scoured the school library for every book of mythology they had on the shelves. Now I am beyond delighted to be able to write paranormal romances.

Shifters are a very common theme in urban fantasy, but you found a way to reinvent them. Where did you get the idea of mythological shifters?

Thea: I had returned to university as an older, nontraditional student, and I had the opportunity to revisit my love of mythology in a university class. I was struck by how many human/animal combinations there were, from Zeus turning into a swan to ancient Egypt gods, and indigenous American tales. I enjoy shifter stories, and the mythological shifters seemed to be a next logical step.

I loved Dragos. I think he is the ultimate alpha-male and one of the most powerful heroes I have seen. At first I wondered if he could be a good romantic hero because he seemed more like a god than man and the power imbalance between him and Pia appeared to be huge. Was it difficult for you to find a way for him to fall in love?

Thea: I’m so glad you enjoyed Dragos! He is a difficult character, very spiky, but I hope a rewarding one as well. I felt like the key to finding the right balance between Dragos and Pia was to make Pia as unique in her own way as Dragos was. She had to hold her own, not only face-to-face, but in her nature. I can’t explain how she does it because that would be a huge spoiler! I can only tell you that I was able to find the right combination of what worked for me.

Of all the characters in Dragon Bound the one that intrigued me the most was Quentin (I might be suffering from a case of crush at first sight). I want to ask tons of questions about him but I’ve got a feeling that you won’t answer them. Instead I’ll just ask this: will we ever see him again?

Thea: You will see Quentin again. I have plans, and plots.

What can we expect from Storm’s Heart?

Thea: You can expect machinations and shenanigans, and more world-building. The luxury of writing a series is the chance to develop a world more deeply than one can in a single title. Also, while Tricks and Tiago are just as funny as they were in Dragon Bound, as main characters they gain depth. They each have to grow and change in order to meet the challenges they face. Their attraction to each other is sizzling hot, too, and that never hurts!

We get a little bit of Tricks’ backstory in Dragon Bound, but Tiago is a huge mystery. What can you tell us about him?

Thea: Tiago is a thunderbird from indigenous American mythology, and the warlord sentinel for the Wyr. He does not have a peaceful nature, so he doesn’t have the slightest hesitation when it comes to engaging in conflict. Even so, he is unaware that he has a very old enemy. That comes out during the course of the story.

You have created a very complex world full of possibilities. There are all kinds of fantastic creatures, and then there are these alternate worlds full of magic called Other Lands. All of this means that this series has the potential to expand beyond what we have read so far. Are you planning on writing a book that takes place in one of these lands? Perhaps a book where the leads are members of another Elder Race?

Thea: While I can’t go into details, I do have more trips to Other lands planned. Also, book four, Oracle’s Moon, is my first non-Wyr story. Currently I’m contracted through book six, and I’m laying the groundwork now for book seven and beyond. There’s lots of room to explore, and I’m very excited at the possibilities for stories in the Elder Races universe!

If you ask me, I would want to be either fae or elven (I always wanted to have pointy ears). What Elder Race would you be and why?

Thea: Pointy ears are fun, aren’t they? I can never decide if I would like to be Elven or if I just want to visit the Elves. I do like the idea of shapeshifting, especially if I could fly. I tend to lean toward some kind of winged Wyr, as long as it’s not a harpy. The harpy sentinel Aryal is one of my favorite characters, but she’s not exactly restful!

Finally, what is your favorite romance novel?

Thea: Ooh, I love these questions, but they’re so hard to answer! I never manage to have just one favorite of anything. I can give you my favorite romance novel for today, and that is Nalini Singh’s Kiss of Snow. Ask me tomorrow, though, and I might give you another title.