Song of Flames - About the Story
Originally posted during my Song of Flames book tour in 2023.
Song of Flames is a duology about two sisters, their adventures, growth, and romances with magical beings. This story is about Venya, the eldest sister, and her unexpected romance with two special dragons who want her for their mate. This is my second MMF romance, and it was a hoot to write. The characters came alive for me, and it was one of the easier projects I’ve worked on. I enjoyed diving into the sister dynamic, their friendship, love, and how they supported and encouraged each other to be better people and find their happiness. I don’t think there’s enough depictions of positive women relationships, and I was satisfied with the results of my own attempts.
As with most of my books, this story has been kicking around in my head for a while. It went through a lot of updates once I started writing it. But one thing that always remained the same was the opening chapter, where Venya climbs up a cliff and wakes her dragons. It amused me to play on the old trope of a thief stealing a piece of treasure from a dragon, thereby awakening that dragon’s ire. It happened it Beowulf, and it happened in The Hobbit (because Professor Tolkien took inspiration from a lot of Old Norse and Anglo-Saxon works).
It started out as a single story but morphed into two when I realized Venya’s sister also deserved a story (I’m sure many of you can see a pattern, it’s a struggle to restrict myself to a single title). But that also allowed me to tie up any loose ends that might linger after Venya’s story concluded. There’s a time jump toward the end of the story, and I wanted to fill in the gaps as well as give Venya’s sister, Alaiya, her own time to shine. And since I’ve written the first (very rough) draft of Alaiya’s story (Song of Howls), I can safely say that adding a second book did a lot for the world building, character evolutions, and coming full circle to a satisfying conclusion. And just as a heads-up, Alaiya’s story will be a FF romance, which is the first one I’ve done! I love challenging myself.
I really enjoyed the dynamic between the three leads, Venya, Abyss, and Ray. I’ve always been tickled by the grumpy/sunshine contrast, and I wanted the dragons to embody those personalities. Also, all the characters are wounded in some way and help heal each other. Many of my stories deal with characters who have self-esteem issues or doubts about their self-worth. I think it’s a universal struggle that we all face at least once in our lives. My greatest delight is writing stories that touch on those subjects, and then show how my protagonists overcome their insecurities to become stronger people who let themselves love deeply. It’s cathartic, you could say.
Venya is very special to me, and she’s definitely living the life I wish I could have—loving and loved by two awesome dragons. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Watch out for the sequel, Song of Howls, due out in 2024.
Until next time, stay safe, stay sane, and may dragons guard your dreams,
M.D. Grimm
