Hello Friends!

If I've got my dates right, I'm supposed to be posting for the very first time on this new blog today. Since the subject is fantasy, I'm tempted to ask what you all define as fantasy? The definitions of sub-genres like paranormal, fantasy and sci fi tend to be a little elastic to many people, but I find most fans of the genres have definite ideas about what falls into which category.

For myself, I tend to think of anything with a vampire or werewolf as paranormal. Also, the "darker" urban fantasies that have demons a la Buffy tend to strike me as paranormal too. Anything set in outer space seems to me to be a sci fi story first and foremost, though things set on a future Earth can be either sci fi or sometimes fall into the realm of fantasy or paranormal, depending on the focus of the story. (Am I confusing you as much as I'm confusing myself?) LOL

When it comes to fantasy though, I start with the ingredients of epic fantasies like Tolkein's Lord of the Rings - elves, wizards, warriors, trolls, goblins, orcs, dwarves, etc. - and fairy tales of the Sidhe (elves), Bainsidhe (banshee), fae, leprechauns, mermaids, selkies and the like. Both seem to me to be pure fantasy. But then you have dragons. Mmm. My favorite! ;-) Dragons fall into that fairy tale realm, but some of my dragons are also shapeshifters. I leave it up to the reader to decide what sub-genre that puts them in. ;-)

For those of you who don't know me, I've written a series called Dragon Knights and yes, it contains dragons, knights and maidens fair. My dragons communicate with their knights. They're definitely the good guys. They partner with their chosen knight for life and when the knight finds his mate, so too can the dragon finally claim his own dragoness. Together the knights and dragons form a large, extended family, and the children - whether human or dragon - are raised by them all together. What a cool way to grow up, huh?

Thanks for joining us on our brand new blog. In the weeks to come we'll have lots of fun activities - maybe a giveaway or two, interesting questions to answer, and lots of discussion of our favorite genre: fantasy!

Until next time,
Bianca D'Arc
www.biancadarc.com