My Books
novels & short storiesDragon’s Heart
‘You have much sorrow and trouble ahead of you.’
Princess Rina V of Occorom has been promised in marriage to Prince Hangree of Airegla. But as he’s vain, selfish, and greedy, not to mention a sore loser, she’s sure that won’t end well. So, as any self-respecting princess would, she runs away. It is in the wilds of the ancient mountains that she meets Roozan, a wise and hospitable dragon, and for the first time, she feels at home.
Life in the mountains is simple and beautiful, but dangerous as well, and it isn’t long before Rina meets other magical inhabitants of the forest. Ogres, elves, and a tyquin monsineis all point to a warning etched in Rina’s very being: she is living in a time-bomb of an enchantment and the clock is ticking.
Her life is split in two as she discovers one past is a secret and the other is a lie, and she can’t bind them together into a single future. As time catches up with her, she must decide which path to follow, which part of her she can bear to lose, and where her home truly is.
Rated 4.5 stars on Amazon!
I started this book when I was eleven. I was sitting at my desk in my room, looking out the window at the blue sky and somehow came up with the thought: What if there was this girl who looked half-way dragon? I quickly got out a piece of paper and drew a girl with claws, scales, wings, and a tail. I liked the idea so much I had to make a story about it.
So I got to work. I had never finished a novel before; I would write a chapter here or there and then get bored with it and move on to something else. This was the first time a story had gripped me like this. I spent a year writing it, and then, one evening after dinner, my hands shaking, I finally finished my first novel.
Between the original and the final draft, there were a lot of changes:
Appearance-
I first had her described as tall, thin, and tan, and with black hair and green eyes. Later, I made her look something like me. Then again later, I decided I didn’t like that and returned to the original idea, not remembering why I had rejected it. Rina is actually only described once, and not even directly. Do you know when?
Family-
Her father’s name was originally Benard, but it seems I forgot I already had a name for him, and called him Bertram instead. Rina’s grandmother, Helen, originally had a great role to play with helping Rina out of the marriage, and being on her side, but she simply faded out of the picture. Her relationship with her mother was also very ‘rocky’, and her mother was extremely bossy and refused to back down in any circumstance. However, although they still bump heads because of the stubborn nature they both share, they get along much better in the final version.
Animals-
Rina was supposed to have a lot of pets, and they were able to speak, including a dog, Griffin; a cat, Shade; and horse named Bloom. Bloom was later replaced by Dominoh. They were all replaced by human characters later.
Attitude-
Rina’s attitude changed a great deal. She was very rebellious, kinda rude actually, and often bored; she frequently argued with her parents. Eventually she told me that though she was head-strong, she was a little nicer than that and loved her family very much. She has more graceful manners, though she always makes her own decisions.
Now for some more fun facts:
- Occorom was originally known as Washi.
- Rina’s last name is Ryu, meaning dragon in Japanese.
- The name Hangree is a combination of Handsome and Greedy and Angry: a perfect description of the prince.
- I wrote Chapter Six first.
- I wrote the beginning on paper, but it never got to be typed; I typed a totally different beginning. The paper version began with her as a young child and a description of her rowdy habits.
- Elizabeth of the horse farm is actually named after a real lady I met while skiing, and brief though the meeting was, I told her I would use her name in my book. So I did.