Author Interview: Dana Swift and When Dealing With Dragons Giveaway and IWSG Post

 Happy Wednesday, Everyone! Today I’m excited to have Dana Swift here to share about her new YA fantasy, When Dealing With Dragons. Dana did a guest post with her agent when she was a debut author, and I’m excited to interview her this time. I enjoy fantasies with dragons, and this one has gotten great reviews. I’m excited to read it and just reserved it at my library. 

Here’s a blurb from Goodreads:

 

Bonding with dragons gave humans magic to craft metal―now, two school rivals have to work together to protect a priceless secret, all while fighting their growing attraction to each other, from Dana Swift, author of Cast in Firelight.

Copper-crafter Farren Walsh is set on following in her father's footsteps to become a dragon veterinarian. The only thing more powerful than her love for these magnificent creatures is her hate for those who exploit them for their precious metal. That includes her classmate, an arrogant dragon racer named James Murphy, whose silver-crafting family represents the worst of human greed and dragon abuse―plus, he's the biggest competition for the college scholarship she desperately needs.

When James strongarms his way into interning at her family's dragon sanctuary for the summer, it puts everything at risk. Farren isn't just the plain copper-crafter she seems. She's hiding a secret that could not only change her life, but their society as a whole. And James, trying to find refuge from his controlling father, harbors his own secret, years-long crush on Farren. Hating James might be harder than she thought, but Farren can't risk getting too close: the fate of an endangered species is at stake.

When Dealing with Dragons is a delightful young adult dual-POV romantasy about cross-class romance, finding family, and creating a better world for creatures big and small.

 

Before I get to my interview with Dana, I have my post for the Insecure Writers Support Group. 

Posting: The first Wednesday is officially Insecure Writer's Support Group Day. 

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!  

The awesome co-hosts this month are: Victoria Marie Lees, Sarah Foster, C. Lee McKenzie and me! 

Optional Question:  Do most of your story ideas come from one place (the news, dreams, etc.) or do they hit from all over the place? 

My ideas come from all over the place, and asking “What if?” I think there’s so many story ideas if you’re open to them. 

Interview With Dana Swift 

Hi Dana! Thanks so much for joining us. 

1. Tell us about yourself and how you became a writer. 

My name is Dana Swift and I’m a YA Fantasy author publishing my third book. That statement is still wild to me. I can hardly believe I accomplished the dream I’ve had since I was seven years old. I’m not exaggerating when I say I’ve wanted to be an author since I was seven either. It’s a little bit of blessing and curse knowing exactly what you want to do when you grow-up and that career being something as rejection-filled and difficult as a traditionally published author. But I did it! I’m living my dream! 

As to how I accomplished said dream? Well, I wrote since I was young, went through heaps of rejection like a lot of authors, joined a critique workshop that really helped hone my craft, and eventually got an agent and my first book deal. And now, my second book deal with Wednesday Books is publishing my new YA romantasy, WHEN DEALING WITH DRAGONS. 

2. Where did you get the idea for When Dealing With Dragons? 

The initial spark actually came from my Mom. We were watching All Creatures Great and Small together and she leaned over and asked, “Why can’t you write a book like this?” She loves heartfelt, warm, romance stories, but I’ve always gravitated to fantasy and magic. I replied I could write something like this, but I tried to make her understand that my brain would always want to add magic. “Like Dragons! I’d want to add dragons.”

Thus, dragon veterinarians were the first seeds of an idea for this story! 

3. I love that show! It’s cool that your mom and it helped you come up with the idea for your story.Share about your worldbuilding process. You have created fantasy elements, like dragons, as well as things from our modern world, like phones and cars. What made you decide to blend both aspects into your story? 

The blending of some of those contemporary elements came from the inspiration cited above. I truly set out to do what my mother had wanted. All Creatures Great and Small meets dragons. And that book/show is set around the 1930’s with the addition of cars and phones. Another reason to add a little more modern technology was because I had done an older fantasy world in my debut series and I wanted to try my hand at a time period less than a hundred years ago. And maybe a part of me wanted to give these characters more modern conveniences too! 

4. Dealing With Dragons is told from the dual POVs of Farren and James. Did this create any challenges in plotting out your story? What advice do you have for other writers wanting to write from dual POVs? 

I really love dual POV’s for love stories. A lot of my ideas center on how to make the dual points of view fun. For instance, my first book the two main characters didn’t know each other’s identities. In this book the two characters have vastly different perceptions of each other. So, in chapter one you see from Farren’s perspective of how and why she dislikes James. Then in James’ perspective you see how and why he has a massive crush on her. 

So first I recommend a reason why both character’s POV’s need to be on the page. And that reason doesn’t have to be profound. It can be as simple as it’s more fun this way! But since additional points of view gives the reader more information than the characters, you are now writing not to surprise the reader, but instead building anticipation for the character’s reaction to what the reader already knows. For example, in When Dealing with Dragons since you know James has a crush on Farren the big reveal isn’t that the crush exists, but you turn the page to eventually find out how Farren will react to said crush.   

As for plotting, yes it can be challenging. There are multiple times where I write the same scene from both perspectives in the editing process. My other piece of advice in crafting dual or multiple points of view is keep the plot moving. It’s rare that you need two characters giving their own perspective on the exact same scene, especially if they were both present for it the first time. Thus, you just have to pick which point of view would be most interesting for that moment. 

5. Those are great tips. Reviewers really related to Farren and James as characters and found them very sympathetic. Share a bit about how you developed them as characters. Do you have any tips on how writers can create fully developed, likable characters, as you do? 

I’m so glad people find my characters likeable because I think every character I write has a little bit of me in them. But only a little bit. 

Farren came to me with her profession and a goal in mind––she wants to be a dragon veterinarian. From there I built out her personality. I wanted this FMC to be generous and compassionate. As much as I love a sword-wielding heroine, it was so nice to showcase strength in kindness and caring for animals. For James I wanted to flip the typical charismatic MMC and give readers someone shy, awkward, and sweet. He’s also shorter than the FMC, which I’m so happy readers like because I wasn’t sure if I was going to get pushback on that. 

As for tips on character building, I’d say don’t be afraid to start writing even if you don’t know everything about your characters yet. For me, most of the details come alive in first draft dialogue when they talk with other characters. As for likability, if you give your character a goal in which a lot of people would admire like protecting animals (or in this case dragons) then readers are more prone to get on board with them since their goal is likeable. 

6. Your agent is now Kelly Dyksterhouse. How did she become your agent? 

I got my first agent by pitching face-to-face at the DFWCon writing conference. After I parted ways with my first agent I went back into the querying trenches in Summer/Fall of 2023. I signed with Kelly on another book actually, and then wrote When Dealing with Dragons later. 

Actually, Kelly Dyksterhouse was a big reason this book is the book it is today. I started this project as more of romance with dragons and she pushed me to create a magic system, which changed the world and the plot completely. I love her to pieces! 

7. What was the process of going on submission for Dealing With Dragons like? How was this experience different for you than for your debut book? 

Funny enough, I’ve sold both my debut and third book exactly one month after going on sub. This time was very different, however. During my first experience, I didn’t know what to expect and was in utter shock when I got my offer. Delacorte was the first and only publisher to offer and they were so wonderful we accepted fast. 

With this book I understood publishing a lot more so the tears of joy were less surprise and more pure elation that I could continue my career and publish more books. This time around two houses showed interest. But Wednesday Books is my dream publisher so as soon as they preempted an offer I didn’t dwell on the choice for long. In both cases I never had to struggle with choices. I’ve been lucky enough that the right people have found my work and championed it. Just as I’m lucky for every reader who discovers my work and enjoys it!

8. Many kidlit authors write for different age groups and/or different genres. You say in your bio on your website that you’re a YA fantasy author. What made you decide to write only for YA and only in one genre? 

Well, I am obsessed with young adult literature. I just truly love the pacing and voice and audience. To write for teens is a true privilege. And I also love that adults (like me) love YA as well. It’s literally the best of both worlds. 

However, one day I hope to write in other age categories! I’m hopeful one day I’ll have an Adult Fantasy on shelves! As much as my mom would love for me to write a contemporary mystery or romance, I think the fantasy is here to stay for now. Dragons and magic just make everything better! 

9. It sounds like your mom influences your writing. How are you planning to promote your book? How has your approach to marketing changed since you were a debut author? 

I’m the kind of author who says yes to anything. Want to interview me? Want me to be on your podcast? Want me to zoom in for a book club? YES. 

During Covid, I learned how to make my own graphics and I’ve learned so much more about the industry. As much as I’m still that author who says yes, I also have learned that the best thing someone can do for their writing career is writing the next book. So, this time I’m actually trying to maintain a better balance so I’m not only writing or only promoting, but doing a little bit of both. 

However, I have to say, this time I’m just so excited I’ll be able to travel and go on a book tour. Meeting people in person, and meeting people who have read my book/s? Oh my gosh, nothing is better!!! June 30^th can’t come soon enough! 

10. What are you working on now? 

Oh! The companion novel to When Dealing with Dragons. I wrote WDWD as a standalone, but my editor and UK editor both wanted another book set in this world, so I came up with a new couple and the events of that book fall just months after the end of WHEN DEALING WITH DRAGONS. I’m editing it right now and I really love it, especially the banter between the new couple. 

Thanks for sharing all your advice, Dana. You can find Dana at: 

Linktree with all my links: https://linktr.ee/DanaSwift 

Instagram @danaswiftbooks

TikTok @danaswiftbooks

Website: www.danaswiftbooks.com 

Giveaway Details

Dana and her publisher are generously offering a signed ARC and bookmark of When Dealing With Dragons for a giveaway. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower of my blog (via the follower gadget, email, or bloglovin’ on the right sidebar) and leave a comment by June 13th. If I do not have your email (I can no longer get it from your Google Profile), you must leave it in the comments to enter the contest. Please be sure I have your email address.

If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or other social media sites and/or follow me on Twitter or Bluesky or follow Dana on her social media sites, mention this in the comments, and I'll give you an extra entry for each. You must be 13 years old or older to enter. This book giveaway is US. 

Upcoming Interviews, Guest Posts, and Blog Hops 

Monday, June 8th, I have a guest post by Rebecca Caprera and a giveaway of her MG Eva to the Max 

Monday, June 15th, I have an agent spotlight interview with Madelyn Knecht and a query critique giveaway 

Tuesday, June 16th, I’m participating in the Dad-o-Mite Giveaway Hop 

Monday, June 22nd, I'm hosting a giveaway of Laekan Zea Kemp's MG The Chimosas Only Book Club 

Wednesday, June 24th, I have an agent spotlight interview with GiannaMarie Dobson and a query critique giveaway 

Monday, June 29th, I’m participating in the Sparkle Time Giveaway Hop 

I hope to see you on Monday!