Blog Tour: Final Ragnarok part 1 She Returns (Draconica Book 3)

There's a second post this week for Dan Wright's blog tour. "She Returns", the latest book in his Draconica Series. Today, I'll share an interview I did with him concerning this story.

1. "She Returns" is the start of the "Final Ragnarok" storyline, tell us about it.

Final Ragnarok is something that was foreshadowed at the end of Legacy of the Dragonkin, and also mentioned in some of my other Draconica prequel/spin off novels. Without giving too much away, Final Ragnarok is an event that will impact massively on the world of Draconica and our heroes. It’s quite possibly the most epic of all the stories I’ve written so far.

2. Your website talks about the manga influence on your writing style. Is there any author or story in particular that influenced your newest saga? 

The manga inspired Blazblue video game series was actually a huge inspiration for most of the storylines and new characters that are to be introduced. But I’d actually say that the biggest inspiration, believe it or not, was Doctor Who, as every series would foreshadow a big event that the Doctor would have to face and that would be something that kept the fans guessing as to what happens. This was something that I was trying to do – but also setting up for what I hope to be an explosive ending to the series. Oh yeah, I should mention that Final Ragnarok will be the one that ends the Draconica series after this.

3. Promotional teasers (https://www.facebook.com/groups/662548250494148/678038482278458/?notif_t=group_activity) state "even heroes can die". Can readers expect a higher death toll in this next arc? Will it be Darkier and Edgier than your previous work? 

Most definitely. I won’t say too much as I don’t want to give spoilers – but let’s just say that a few people I gave the ARC to for reviews have threatened to kill me for what I do to some of their favourite characters. J

4. Have you planned this three part saga since "Trapped On Draconica?" If so, would you recommend starting from the beginning?

I try to make my novels standalone as best I can, so that you don’t need to read anything beforehand to understand what’s going on. Certainly, elements from Trapped on Draconica and Legacy of the Dragonkin will come back in this book – but I think new readers will be able to pick it up pretty quickly and understand what’s going on.

As to how long I’ve been planning this, it’s actually an idea that I had whilst writing Trapped on Draconica, but I originally scrapped it for being too dark. But since Game of Thrones became popular, I decided to go for a darker tone for this one. That’s not to say that it’s totally reliant on shock value – more like this book is my The Empire Strikes Back.

Also, in regards to it being three part, it will now be a two part saga. I had originally envisioned it as three parts, but I think it will do just as well with two parts to it.

5. In the previous story, Man In Shadow was a Hidden Agenda Villain. Will he step out of the shadows in She Returns?

The Man in Shadow will definitely have more of a central role to the story. He’s what I consider the centrepiece of the whole saga. This book delves a little deeper into his psychology and you get a slightly better understanding as to why he does what he does. I say slightly better – the next book will reveal the truth about him. And I am really looking forward to the twist I put at the end.

6. The last two books state that Dronor, a major dragon god, wishes to create a race of dragon-human hybrids. So far, only Daniar has succeeded in giving birth to a new Dragonkin. Will these two plot threads play a role in Final Ragnarok?  

Again, I don’t want to say too much for spoilers, but certainly at least two of the Dragonkin will play a vital role in this story. How vital you’ll have to read to find out. However, what I will tell you is that Daniar and Zarracka Dragonkin go through the toughest changes in this story. Previously we have had Daniar as the pure and good girl whilst Zarracka has been the pretty nasty, scheming witch. This time round, you’ll see sides of them you never expected. What I have planned for Zarracka is something I’m especially proud off.

7. There's now a Draconica wiki. Tell us about that.

Wiki’s have been something that has always interested me. I follow a lot of wikis for shows I like and it’s helped me create this one. Originally, I had this whole history for Draconica and the countries, races, etc – but could only fit so much in one book. This wiki was created to create more backstory for the world of Draconica and let me put in stuff that I couldn’t put into the main novel – at least not without padding it out. It’s kinda like my version of The Silmarillion and something that people can read if they want to know more about my world.

 

The link for it is here: http://trappedondraconica.wikia.com/wiki/Trapped_On_Draconica_Wiki

 

Final Ragnarok: She Returns (Draconica Book 3) is available for purchase on Amazon for 99 cents.

 http://www.amazon.com/Final-Ragnarok-Returns-Draconica-Book-ebook/dp/B00MGWFLYA/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1407620704&sr=1-1&keywords=She+Returns+Dan+Wright

For other books in the Draconica series, see "Trapped On Draconica" (reviewed here and given an A+ and "Legacy of the Dragokin" (reviewed here and given an A)