Alex London: There are countless inspirations for any novel, but this one combined so many influences that fueled my imagination when I was middle schooler. It combines my love of cyberpunk like Akira and Blade Runner and even Johnny Mnemonic with my love of fantasy, of dragon lore, and ultimately of stories set in that middle school time, when young people start to come into their own and realize how much bigger, complicated, and wonderful the world is than they ever dreamed. I wanted to write a story that would have appealed to me in middle school, but that would’ve also expanded my imagination for what kind of a world was possible.
Please describe the content of Battle Dragons: City of Thieves and what can readers expect from it.
The short pitch is that it’s The Fast and The Furious meets How to Train Your Dragon, but it’s very much its own thing. Battle Dragons tells the story of 13 year old Abel and his friends and family, who get caught up in the criminal dragon battling underworld of Drakopolis, the mega-city where they live. Dragons do everything there, from haul freight and transport busses, to work in mines and serve the ferocious military. There are corrupt dragon-riding gangs—called kin—and corrupt secret police whom the kin pay off. There are sibling rivalries and new friends and high stakes dragon riding action. There are also, I hope, a lot of laughs! I had so much fun with the world building, I hope readers enjoy some of the little details with which I amused myself. I’m particularly fond of the brands of candy bar and of the Dragon Drag Queen, who makes a brief, but fabulous, appearance.
Why do you feel middle-grade series with powerful and unique themes are so popular and have such a voice right now?
I don’t think their popularity is unique to this moment. Middle grade readers generally have open minds for all kinds of stories, as long as those stories are gripping and honest. You can write about dragons or you can write about first-crushes or best friend break-ups, as long as you write with emotional honesty and immediacy and humor. Young readers will follow you anywhere as long as you don’t lie to them about things that matter. I can invent dragon riding gangs as long as the voice of the thirteen year old protagonist feels like a real kid’s voice, with real hopes and fears and needs.
And of course, the appeal of series at that age is that you never love a book as much as you do in the middle grades (and you also never hate one as much), so when you find one to love, of course you want to spend more time in its world and with its characters. A series gives you the chance to immerse yourself more deeply in the worlds you love.
What’s next for you in the bookish world?
Right now, I’m working on Book 2 in the Battle Dragons series! It’ll be even more exciting, higher stakes, and action packed with the first one, with (I hope) just as much heart. Our characters and their communities are in for a wild ride…literally, as this one involves not just dragons battling, but dragons racing. Think Seabiscuit, but breathing fire and ridden by the Hells Angels.
Who is your current favorite writer? Why?
I couldn’t possibly choose a favorite writer or even a favorite book. There are too many I love, though some I do keep closer to the bed. Ursula Le Guin is forever an inspiration, and I’m recently in love with Martha Wells’ Murderbot Diaries. Right now on my nightstand, I’ve got VE Schwab’s The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, a nonfiction history book about vice and crime in Hot Springs, Arkansas called The Vapors by David Hill and a history book by Hugh Ryan called When Brooklyn was Queer. I just finished The Only Good Indians, a terrifying, moving and totally engrossing horror novel by Stephen Graham Jones. In middle grade, I’m about to dive in to The Last Gate of The Emperor by Kwame Mbalia and Prince Joel Makonnen.
Any writing advice for aspiring writers?
The only universally applicable writing advice I can think of is: Be kind to yourself.
Up next, K. Ibura!