Paranormal Romance Blog

Author Anna Hackett’s debut Silhouette Nocturne Bite story Savage Dragon has some real historical inspiration behind it. Find out the facts — and leave a comment about your own sources of inspiration for a chance to win an Amazon gift card from Anna! — in this blog post by Anna…

by Anna Hackett, author of Savage Dragon

I confess I love old things.  I’m an ancient history buff.  I was the kid in the fourth grade who said I was going to be an archaeologist when I grew up.  I’ve marveled at Stonehenge, stood in the Colosseum, seen the Acropolis, visited the ruins of Troy and been inside the Pyramids (twice!)

Well, I didn’t become an archaeologist, I became an engineer (a mining engineer, so technically I still dig in the dirt), but I never lost my love for history.  When I started writing, it was no surprise I decided to write paranormal.  Taking myths, legends and places out of actual history and using them as a basis for a story was a dream come true.

I draw on my travels, my reading and research for endless ideas for my stories and the paranormal beings that inhabit them.  I often use facts, places and names that have basis in history, and curious readers can look up these facts and find the real myth behind the fiction.

When I decided to write a story about dragons, I didn’t know much about them except for the fire-breathing and the scales.  I was stumped as to how to make scales sexy!  Once I started researching, I found a wealth of information on dragons from all parts of the world.

In my current Nocturne Bites, SAVAGE DRAGON, the hero and heroine are both modern day knights of the Order of the Dragon.  I ripped the name right from the pages of history.  In 1408, Sigismund, King of Hungary founded the chivalric order to fight the enemies of Christianity.  One of the more interesting members of the Order was a man named Vlad Tepes, better known as Dracula.  I wondered what a modern day order of knights would be like, what they’d fight for, and SAVAGE DRAGON and the world of the Order of the Dragon was born.

I also came across legend after legend linking dragons to the four elements, but I felt this had been covered quite a lot in other stories.  Then as I was researching some Chinese myths, I stumbled across the Wu Xing — the five Chinese elements: earth, water, fire, metal and wood.  These became the basis for the magic of my dragons.

I love those “Ah-ha” moments, where something-a place, a person, a story, a curious fact, a cool action sequence in a movie-speaks to you.  You get that excited tingle, that sense of inspiration, you feel connected to something.  As a writer, when I get those moments I know I’m onto a potential story idea.

I got that feeling when I read about the real-life Order of the Dragon.  I got it when I saw a tattoo of a band of flames around a muscled bicep and the hero in my September Bites, WIND KISSED, FIRE BOUND was born.  I got it when I stood in the ruins of the Roman Forum (in a spot where Julius Caesar had stood) and set my October Bites, TAKEN BY THE SOUTH WIND in history-filled city of Rome.

So, how about you?  I’d love to hear about that person, place, story or thing that gives you that sense of inspiration.  It might be the spooky woods behind your house, an old photo album, the latest blockbuster movie you saw or the sexy guy at the coffee shop.  Share your inspirational moments and you’ll go in the draw for a $15 Amazon gift card!

Note: contest will close on Sunday, July 26 at midnight — so be sure to leave your comment by then for a chance to winner! We’ll announce the winner here on Monday, July 27. And remember, if you wish to comment without registering, you can use our generic account: username and password both “Anonymous“. Good luck! ~Amy