Liz Flanagan

The Pirate's Dragon: Legends of the Sky #3

About Author

Liz Flanagan, an award-winning author who writes about strange worlds and fantastical creatures, joins ReadingZone to introduce her new book, The Pirate's Dragon, the final book in the Legends of the Sky series. Liz also writes the Wildsmith series..

As well as being a writer, Liz teaches writing. She previously worked in publishing and ran Arvon Centre's Lumb Bank centre, a writers' retreat.

Interview

The Pirate's Dragon (UCLan Publishing)

March 2024

Discover a world of dragons, magic and pirates in the latest Legends of the Sky story from Liz Flanagan, The Pirate's Dragon! Find out how a chicken helped inspire the Legends of the Sky series, where children bond with baby dragons, and what kind of dragon she might have if she lived on the island of Arcosi.

Read a chapter from The Pirate's Dragon

Review: 'This is a thrilling rollercoaster ride of a story, a perfect conclusion to the series.'

Q&A with Liz Flanagan

"I love writing all kinds of books, just as I love reading all kinds of books, but I think my favourites
have been fantasy stories with magic and adventure."

1. Thank you for joining us on ReadingZone, Liz. Can you start by telling us a little about yourself - your loves and loathings, and what gets you out of bed in the mornings?

When I'm talking to children in schools I show a photo of me aged about three years old, enthusiastically embracing a kitten. I haven't changed much: I have loved animals - and books! - all my life and I still do. I live in the town where I grew up, and walk my dogs in the hills I explored as a kid.

What gets me out of bed in the mornings - ha, my family and my dogs needing to go out! As for loathings, that's harder, though I'm a bit of a dormouse who likes to sleep a lot, so I guess anything that keeps me awake - from world worries to noisy birds!

2. How did you start writing for children and young people - and what kinds of books do you enjoy writing?

I loved to write at school, starting in around Year 4 when we had a brilliant teacher who encouraged us to write a lot in class. However, I lost my confidence when I studied English - my critical brain was too switched on and I didn't realise about first drafts being messy and playful.

I only started writing seriously when I had children of my own. I love writing all kinds of books, just as I love reading all kinds of books, but I think my favourites have been fantasy stories with magic and adventure.

"Try writing in your voice about the things and the people you know. No one else can do this -
it's your super-power!"

3. As you've also taught writers, what are your top three tips for aspiring authors - and what's the best way to encourage creative writing?

1. Read lots, for fun. Whatever you enjoy doing, you'll find a book about that. Whether it's non-fiction, graphic novels, audio books, scary books - just read! If you can't find your ideal book, try asking a librarian, teacher or bookseller for help - I believe there's a perfect book for everyone.

2. Don't judge your first draft or compare it to a finished book. An author might write 10 or 20 drafts with lots of help from editors. A first draft is always full of interesting mistakes, so let yourself play and see what you notice about your first attempt - you can take the elements you like into the next draft.

3. You are the expert on your life! Try writing in your voice about the things and the people you know. No one else can do this - it's your super-power!

4. What inspired your Legends of the Sky series, featuring dragons and the children connected with them?

You might laugh, but I first got the idea from my pretty little white broody hen. She went from being friendly and fluffy to being a fierce mama who growled at me when I tried to check her eggs. I was astonished by her transformation and her self-sacrifice: broody hens sit for 21 days, hardly eating or moving from their nest.

I found this quite inspiring, so when you meet the fierce mother dragons in Legends of the Sky, you will know who gave me the idea! I'm also inspired by a lifetime of loving fantasy fiction.

5. What happens in each of the books and in the latest book, The Pirate's Dragon, and how are the characters connected through the books?

In Dragon Daughter, everyone believes that all dragons are extinct. And then servant girl Milla witnesses a murder and finds herself caring for the last four dragon eggs in the world. But there's a power-hungry duke who wants a dragon of his own…

In Rise of the Shadow Dragons, it's Jowan's twelfth birthday on Hatching Day, and he is sure that a dragon will choose him. But when Joe is disappointed, he loses his temper with terrible consequences. Joe becomes an exile, hiding in secret tunnels below the city - and there he makes an incredible discovery. When an erupting volcano threatens to destroy all he loves, can Joe and his unusual dragon save everyone? Joe is the cousin of Milla in book one, so there's a thread connecting the stories.

In The Pirate's Dragon, Serina has just bonded with a baby dragon when pirates raid Arcosi and steal all the eggs - and her fragile dragon! She jumps on the pirate's dragon and is carried away to Skull Island, where everyone believes her people are the baddies. Raff is the son of the pirate queen - can he and Serina trust each other and persuade their people to work together to defeat a shared threat? Serina's parents are the children from book one all grown up and now the duke and duchess - I hope it's fun and satisfying to see how they end up!

"Throughout the series there are themes around power and injustice -
who gets to rule, and is this fair?"

6. What are the key themes you explore through the series?

Throughout the series there are themes around power and injustice - who gets to rule, and is this fair? But I hope that these ideas are dramatized through exciting adventures.

7. Why did you decide to focus on that bond between child and dragon in these stories?

To me, that's a very enticing idea - that you might have a lifelong bond with a beautiful creature who chooses you. I think it's a mixture of having valued strong bonds with animals when I was little, but it's also partly based on the strong love between parent and child - when the dragons hatch and the children feel that immediate, fierce, protective love. Having a dragon gives the child characters incredible power - that's also fun to have in a middle-grade story!

8. Which dragon(s) are you particularly drawn to, and if you lived in Arcosi, what would 'your' dragon be like?

Ha, I think my dragon would be like Iggie, Milla's dragon in book one, because blue is my favourite colour. I'm not a strong swimmer, so I wouldn't suit a shadow dragon like Ren in book two, who can both swim and fly.

"I have been lucky enough to travel widely, visiting friends in other countries;
Arcosi is a mixture of some beautiful places I've been to."

9. How did you develop the world in which Arcosi is set? Did you 'map out' the world and the island, is this a good way to begin creating ideas for a fantasy novel?

I have been lucky enough to travel widely, visiting friends in other countries, so Arcosi is a mixture of some beautiful places I've been to. I went to the Italian town of Assisi when I was fourteen, and that obviously stuck in my mind - both for the name and the beautiful buildings. But it's also based on the steep hills around my home town with their cobbled tracks. I did map out the city, and I asked my daughter to paint a version of it because she's a much more skilled artist than I am!

10. Are you writing or planning other books set in fantastical worlds? What do you enjoy doing when you're away from your desk?

I have been writing the last two novels in the Wildsmith series, which are fantasy stories for readers aged seven and up, beautifully illustrated by Joe Todd-Stanton. Each story has a different mythical creature in it, so it has been amazing to see Joe's art. Book 3 has a selkie in it, and Joe's pictures of the seal-girl are just stunning!

I love to walk, and to go running with my dogs. I love to read, of course! I tend to have about three different books on the go for my different moods and times of the day. And maybe you can tell from my descriptions of food how much I love to bake - and eat the results! Thanks so much for inviting me to chat.

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