17 Jan 2012 No Comments
Book Tour: Resa Nelson on Researching The Dragonslayer Series
Today, we have a special guest at Fictitious Musings. Resa Nelson, author of the Dragon Slayer series, has stopped in to chat about her first step to researching the Dragon Slayer series. I’m always intrigued to find out how authors get started on their novels and what steps they take. Aren’t you guys? Here’s our chance to find out.
Welcome to Fictitious Musings, Resa.
The gangs all yours Resa!
My First Step to Researching The Dragonslayer Series
My 4-book Dragonslayer series started out as a short story called “The Dragonslayer’s Sword” that was published in Science Fiction Age magazine. I never meant for it to become a novel, much less four novels. It happened because I listened to my readers.
It all started when Science Fiction Age magazine asked their readers to choose their favorite story ever published in the magazine, which had been in print for 2 years at the time. I never gave my story any thought. After all, it had been published in the first issue, two years before the readers were surveyed. How could anyone remember my story after two years? And if anyone remembered it, surely they wouldn’t remember the title. So I was shocked when the short story version of “The Dragonslayer’s Sword” ranked 2nd in the Readers Top Ten poll. What just happened? I thought in astonishment. Then my editor forwarded a letter he’d received from a B. Dalton bookstore manager saying that people kept coming into the store wanting to buy my Dragonslayer novel but he couldn’t figure out how to order it.
That’s because I hadn’t written a novel. I’d only written the short story!
These events made me realize that all of my readers were smarter than me. After all, they saw something in the story I couldn’t see. I decided I’d write a Dragonslayer novel only if I could figure out what my readers knew that I didn’t and if I came up with an idea that I loved with my whole heart for expanding the story. Otherwise, I’d be wasting everyone’s time, including my readers’ time and my time. It took me about 10 years to figure it all out. And once I had an idea for the novel that I loved with my whole heart, it was time to think about research. With absolute horror, I realized I’d set the short story in a world like the Middle Ages. And history happens to be my weakest area of knowledge. Oh, no, I thought. What have I done?
After feeling terrified for a few weeks, it finally dawned on me that I’ve always loved ancient cultures – including the Vikings. What if the world I’d created wasn’t our world but a world parallel to ours? What if I modeled that fantasy world on the beginning of the Viking era? One of the many things I’ve always admired about Vikings is their love of law and its fairness toward women. For example, although Viking marriages were often arranged, the woman about to be married could give or deny approval to the arrangement. After all, divorce was easy. All a woman had to do was invite some witnesses to watch as she stood at the foot of her bed and said she didn’t want to be married any more. If I’m remembering correctly, women automatically got custody of their children, plus half her husband’s property. No divorce lawyers. No custody battles. No messy divorces. Women had hard and fast rights. So of course the smart thing to do was get a woman’s approval before signing off on an arranged marriage. (For the record, I don’t claim to be an expert in history – these are my best recollections of what I’ve learned.) Once I decided to model the Viking culture, I felt much better. I knew I’d love sinking my teeth into learning more about it.
But I also decided it would be in my best interest to spend a few months reading history books about what was going on in the world before and after the Viking era. So I began with the Fall of the Roman Empire and read up to the beginning of the Renaissance. Am I now an expert? No way. I still think of history as my weakest area of knowledge. But reading history books for a few months helped me in a couple of different ways. First, it gave me a lay of the land. It gave me an overview. It gave me a framework that I could work within. Before reading history books, I struggled to visualize my fantasy world. After reading history books, I could see my own world more clearly.
Second, I stumbled upon some peculiar books with peculiar facts. One of those facts inspired a rumor that I mention in Book 1, which becomes a critical part of Book 2 and has a major impact on the entire series. That same fact inspired the major villain of the series. Other peculiar facts inspired plot twists and characters. One fact I stumbled upon inspired the type of dragon I created and the way I later researched and developed it. I suspect I probably ended up using 1/1000th of 1% of everything I read – but what I used had an enormous impact on the entire series. If I hadn’t spent a few months reading history books, I can’t imagine how the series would have turned out.
During this blog tour I’ll tell lots of stories about the research I’ve done for my Dragonslayer series. You can find out where I’m going next by checking my website (http://www.resanelson.com), checking my Facebook page (Resa Nelson & The Dragonslayer’s Sword), or following me on Twitter (ResaNelson).
If you’d like to sample my work for free, you can download a free “mini” ebook called “Dragonslayer Stories” from my website at http://www.resanelson.com/files. No cost, no obligation, nothing to sign up for, no information gathering. I like giving away samples of my work so you can decide for yourself whether you like it or not. If you do, you can enter to win a copy of the first two books in my series, which I’ll give away at the end of this tour on Feb. 14. To enter, just send email to ResaBonusGifts@aol.com. (I won’t keep your email address – this just makes it easier for me to keep track of entries.) I’m also doing a book giveaway on GoodReads, so you can enter to win there, too.
About Resa:
Resa Nelson has been selling fiction professionally since 1988. She is a longtime member of SFWA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America) and is a graduate of the Clarion SF Workshop.
Resa was also the TV/Movie Columnist for Realms of Fantasy magazine for 13 years and was a contributor to SCI FI magazine. She has sold over 200 articles to magazines in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Her first novel, The Dragonslayer’s Sword, was nominated for the Nebula Award, the highest honor in science fiction and fantasy. It was also a Finalist for the EPPIE Award. This medieval fantasy novel is based on a short story first published in the premiere issue of Science Fiction Age magazine and ranked 2nd in that magazine’s first Readers Top Ten Poll. The Dragonslayer’s Sword is Book 1 in a 4-book series. Book 2, The Iron Maiden, was recently published. Book 3 is scheduled for publication in Summer 2012.
Resa’s standalone novel, Our Lady of the Absolute, is a fantasy/mystery/thriller about a modern-day society based on ancient Egypt. Midwest Book Review gave this book a 5-star review, calling it “a riveting fantasy, very highly recommended.”
In real life, Resa is a fan of chocolate, travel, summer, museums, ballet, movies, and Broadway musicals (her favorites are Les Miserables and Wicked). She lives in Massachusetts.
More about the Dragon Slayer Books
The Dragonslayer’s Sword (Book 1)
For Astrid, a blacksmith who makes swords for dragonslayers, the emergence of a strange gemstone from her body sets in motion a chain of events that threaten to destroy her life. Her happiness is shattered when her lover–the dragonslayer–disappears without a trace, and the life that she knows and loves implodes without warning.
Astrid lives in a world of shapeshifters whose thoughts have the power to change not only themselves but others. Everything Astrid knows to be true is called into question when she learns the truth about her past and the mysterious family from which she was separated as a child.
Reality turns inside out as Astrid gradually learns the truth about the people she loves as well as those she disdains. With the fate of dragons, ghosts, and slaves in foreign lands resting on her shoulders, Astrid faces the challenge of deciding who she is and how she will stand up inside her own skin. Will she withdraw and hide from the world that has disappointed her so much…or will she rise to lead others to freedom and peace?
The Iron Maiden (Book 2)
Astrid is reluctant to travel the winter route beyond the Northlands, even though it’s her duty. She’d rather stay home in her village, surrounded by friends and neighbors. Ignoring the bonds of tradition, she decides to spend the cold winter months in the warmth of her blacksmithing shop. Why should she leave the comfort of her cottage to serve and protect foreigners who might raid and harm her native Northlands?
Everything changes when a traveling merchant steals Starlight, the first dragonslayer’s sword Astrid forged and her last link to her sweetheart DiStephan. Having no time to alert her friends, Astrid races in pursuit of the merchant, determined to reclaim Starlight as her own and return home in time for dinner. Instead, her quest leads her to new lands, unexpected friendships with foreigners, and a harrowing encounter with the damage done by the followers of a new god that considers women as nothing more than servants to men. All the while, she must be ready to face any dragon traveling the winter route.
In Book 2 of the Dragonslayer series, Astrid must learn that deciding who she is isn’t a decision she can make just once. It’s a decision she must make every day.
How to stalk Resa:
Resa’s website: http://www.resanelson.com
Free “mini” ebook of Dragonslayer short stories: http://www.resanelson.com/files
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Resa-Nelson-The-Dragonslayers-Sword/122200661871
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/ResaNelson
Ebooks ($4.99 each) are available directly from Mundania Press at: http://mundania.com/author.php?author=Resa+Nelson (get a 10% discount at checkout with the coupon code MP10)
Paperbacks are available from Mundania Press, Amazon, and Barnes&Noble:
http://mundania.com/author.php?author=Resa+Nelson (get a 10% discount at checkout with the coupon code MP10)
http://www.amazon.com/Resa-Nelson/e/B002C78D2Q/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1325972739&sr=8-1
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/resa-nelson
