Interview with Donita Paul, author of the DragonKeeper Chronicles

It’s a great pleasure having you on GraceReign, Donita! I read your book, DragonSpell, to my children when it first came out a couple of years ago and the experience is something I treasure every time I think about it. The children loved the fantasy world you created and the story of a timid young orant blossoming into a powerful warrior for good. What I loved most is I felt I was reading my own story in a way. I wept often as I read aloud to the children, causing my oldest son to say things like, “it’s okay, Mom. You’re all right. It isn’t real.”

I’d respond, “but don’t you see? Jesus loves us like that. He really does.” Or “But, she didn’t know how her own value. She’s discovering how much she has to offer in the fight for good.”

We finished your book while on a family getaway to the mountains. Typically, the children would go wild over cable (which we don’t have) and not be as drawn to reading time, but they begged for your book and I read to them for hours while they roasted marshmallows and made S’Mores. I’m tearing as I write this, Donita. Thank you for giving me such a beautiful time with my children. Thank you for writing a book that validated my soul.

DragonSpell was the first book of a series called the Dragon Keeper Chronicles. It was followed by DragonQuest, which my family read together (and loved!) as well. Your third book in this series is released in June. My daughter has already asked for it for her birthday. Could you give us its name and summary of its plot?

DragonKnight follows Bardon as he seeks to determine in his heart whether he is to proceed in his commitment to be a knight. Of course, he has a course of action planned, and Wulder takes him down an entirely different path. Bardon, who isn’t the most social of characters, is burdened with an inept granny emerlindian, a naïve girl, a scoundrel, and a passel of children as he sets off on a quest to save knights caught in an evil spell.

Will DragonKnight bring the saga to completion or are there more to come in this series?

There is one more In the Dragon Keeper Chornicles. It is called DragonFire and will come out in 2007. Two factions of evil are fighting for possession of Amara and the good citizens must fight both in order to save their land. I have exciting news. I have been given the go-ahead to plan three more books set in Amara.

I'm excited to know more fantasy is coming!

I know you have a love for children. You mentor teens, volunteer with children’s ministries, and were a teacher before you were disabled. Could you tell us what you hope to accomplish by writing for youth?

My desire is to make readers more aware of God, no matter what their age. I don’t spell out the Gospel, or preach through my story. I want to stir up an interest and send the reader on his own quest to find God through Jesus Christ, or to commit to walking closely with our Lord.

What age do you aim for as you write this series?

I’m a visual learner, so it is natural for me to picture readers in my mind. I often see a young person curled up in a cozy spot and riveted to the book. But I also see a parent reading to children lounging around the living room, or perhaps, riding in a car. And from my reader mail, I know youth workers and pastors are using the book in their ministry. So I “see” flashes of where the book is being used, and it delights my heart. Originally, I wrote DragonSpell for Young Adults. But market analysis says it is reaching the same general audience as that of Harry Potter. 8 to 80?

The Lord of the Rings movies, the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and Harry Potter and Eragon have taken our nation’s youth by storm. Why do you think fantasy is so big with today’s youth? What are they looking for and how does fantasy meet that need?

Fantasy is basically the story of good conquering evil under seemingly insurmountable odds. Look around our world today and see that unconscionable evil permeates our culture. The news brings tales of evil from all around the world to our living rooms via the TV. We need heroes. We need the reestablishment of honor. I think the youth of today have a longing for goodness and light. Of course, that longing would be satisfied by a knowledge of God and a relationship with Jesus. Fantasy defines the concept, but not all fantasy points to the right answer.

Back to one of my favorite books of all time, DragonSpell. Did you mean for it to have such spiritual application or did it just happen?

Yes and No. I intended to write an allegory of the Christian walk. I was continually surprised by the spiritual truths that sprang out of the story. The book turned out much deeper than I expected. Now, I wonder just Who we can thank for that!

I’ve been telling everyone I know about your series. The girls in my teen Bible study from our homeschool group have passed around both of your books and loved them. Some of them even bought DragonQuest before I did and read it first. My favorite is DragonSpell, but some of the girls prefer DragonQuest. Do you have a favorite? Why?

That’s like asking which of your children is your favorite, you know. Not fair at all. But right now I am closest to DragonKnight. I love the journey Bardon has to make and identify with it. Also his rewards for being faithful are very satisfying to me as the writer. And I hope they will be for the reader, as well.

Could you pick a couple of your wonderful, imaginative characters and describe them for us?

I love Wizard Fenworth, who seems scatterbrained and ineffective, but truly can bring off a remarkable feat when needed.

I like the combination of Librettowitt and Wizard Fenworth, two old friends who may be exasperated with one another, but still depend on each other and respect the other’s talents.

Dar, the small and fastidious, furry and well-groomed, doneel tickles my funny bone. He is both artist and level-headed leader.

I can't think about Fenworth without seeing some kind of critter scurrying from gnarled branches. You really did a wonderful job putting a visual imagine in our minds of your unique characters.

Now, tell us some tidbits about Donita, the person. What is your favorite color, food, and animal and why?

I am basically a grandma. It is my favorite role in life. I know if Grandma was a paid profession, I would be making big bucks, because I really put my heart into it.

My favorite color is yellow. My favorite dinner is steak, rare, no side potato except on my birthday and then loaded with butter, sour cream, bacon bits, chives, and one black olive. My favorite animal is dog. There is an old saying that God made dogs in order to illustrate what absolute adoration is. And to show that discipline must be learned. My dogs through the years have demonstrated many spiritual lessons I’ve needed to understand.

What ideas are brimming for future books? Do you plan to continue to write fantasy?

I want to explore Amara in different time periods. There is also a back story of how Dragons and another race that is revealed in DragonKnight got to the land of Amara. And there are folk tales to uncover.

Yes, I plan to continue to write fantasy, but it is the harder of the two genres I’ve tried. I think I might dabble in romance once and awhile to give myself a break. You know, instead of having toast for breakfast every day, occasionally having oatmeal.

I've read some of your romance work as well and enjoyed it. Is it true that your first romance was written because your daughter wanted to read romance and you wanted her to read something that was wholesome, so you wrote her a novel while she gone for a few weeks?

Yes, she went to Christian Youth in Action training camp and then was a summer missionary doing backyard clubs in the mountain valley where we lived. I truly think those romance stories are important. I know the people who run shelters for abused women sometimes have these shorter, Christian romance novels on hand for the ladies. They help point the women to spiritual truths, and they reveal what a relationship between and man and woman can be. Some of these women have never had a male in their lives that modeled respectful behavior.

Is there anything you’d like to mention that I haven’t thought to ask?

I’d like to invite readers to come to the website. We hope to encourage literacy for younger readers through the interactive forums, the recommended book list, and Appreciate a Dragon Day. There is a recipe page, short stories, more info on Amara, and even free stuff.

Thanks so much for coming to GraceReign, Donita. The above website link will take readers to your dragonkeepers site. Readers can also Learn more about Donita as the person at this link.

It has been a delight visiting with you, Donita. I can’t wait for DragonKnight to hit the stores! Keep writing.