Dragon Pirate – Epic Dragon Fantasy readers are Awesome
DRAGON PIRATE – Epic Dragon Fantasy
Dragon Pirate, Riders of Fire Dragon Masters book launches today!
9 June 2022
What can one lone woman, disguised as a cabin boy, do against a notorious pirate captain with a fierce sea dragon and a bloodthirsty crew?
When Rusty’s uncle is killed by the Scarlet Hand, she’s taken aboard the Fiery Dragon as the new cabin boy.
She vows revenge.
But never suspects she’ll fall into the Scarlet Hand’s snare.
If you like swashbuckling pirates, sea dragons and danger on the high seas, set sail with Dragon Pirate.
9 June 2022 2pm-10:30pm Eastern Time
(10 June 2022 6am-2:30pm in NZ)
We’re having a launch party in my Facebook group: Riders of Fire: Eileen Mueller’s Fan Zone, so please join us. There’ll be fantasy games, prizes and fun! It should be a blast!
Angel Haze is hosting the party with me, to celebrate her recent release of Reign of Shadows, Battleborn Mage book 1. I know her fans have been waiting a lifetime for this exciting adventure! Angel is the founder of the Indie Fantasy Addicts facebook group of 7000 members, where we hang out and have loads of fanatsy fun.
So, join us in my Riders of Fire Facebook group for our epic party full of fantasy fun, games and prizes!
My Readers are Awesome! So Many Names!
What an adventure it’s been writing this book. It’s been wonderful, largely due to my fabulous readers! Here’s why…
I asked for pirate characters and you created many. I asked for tavern names and was flooded with great suggestions. I asked you to create islands, name them, and name ships. You’ve given me animal companions, pirate cusses, named a scorpion, and given me fleet-building tactics (many of which I’ll use in another book). You’ve even created a Naobian deep-fried delicacy!
You’ve named a dragon! And yes, some one made up a terrible joke! Tony Slater’s a hilarious guy! I Integrated that joke into a tavern scene—his is the joke Rusty tells about pies. Thank you.
The Challenge
It’s been challenging to incorporate as many of your suggestions as possible into Dragon Pirate, and it’s been so much fun. I have the BEST readers! I LOVE hanging out with my readers in my Facebook group. I LOVE writing for you. I LOVE your feedback on my books. I LOVE your enthusiasm for Riders of Fire, Riders of Fire Dragon Masters, the Dragon Shifters’ Hoard and my Riders of Fire Dragons series. We have so much fun together in my Facebook group.
What did you create in Dragon Pirate? This is a huge cast!
Treat
Kelly Erickson created a Naobian deep-fried delicacy: snakelings in spicy dipping sauce. Yummy! I hope she sends us the recipe!
Water Scorpion
The scorpion that the Scarlet Hand discovered crawling over his feet was a joint collaboration. From 27 entries, James McGinnis suggested aquascorpio. Paula Schaefer and Tiffany Shand both came up with deathstinger! So, deathstinger aquascorpio it is. A truly terrifying little creature. Rusty had great nerve handling it.
One day, I’ll tell you the story of the water scorpion I showered with in Indonesia. I stayed very calm, which was not at all the reaction of the staff running the $2-a-night backpaker’s hostel I was staying at! Their shrieks could probably be heard throughout the Pacific Ocean. Highly deadly indeed. (The shrieks or the scorpion? Maybe both).
Taverns
Seafight: Pirate Tavern – by Grzegorz Rutkowski.
Oh, what fun there is to be had in fantasy taverns! There’s nothing like a decent pirate brawl! The Leaky Keg on Pirate Island was named by Jens D RacherBaümer and Paul Mouchet was responsible for naming the Drunken Parrot in Metropoli.
The real question is, shall we also make these two readers responsible for cleaning up the chaos that the Bloody Cutlasses leave in their wake every time they visit a tavern?
Pirate Island
The inspiration for the difficult passage into a lovely inlet came from Craig Harder. I created the chasm as a result. Mandie Sagen suggested an island where retired pirates live. Of course, I had to make them broken-down, retired pirates with eccentric habits, keen for a brawl … Let the fun begin!
The Isles
The isles in the Naobian Sea: Karen Hoke named Firewing Isle; Tracey Harden named Scaleclaw Isle; and I named Talon Isle and Dragon’s Maw Isle. There will be more isles to sail to in Dragon Captain. You gave me so many brilliant names! Thanks.
Cusses
Cheryl Allsup came up with, “fire-riddled dragon bum,” which I shaped into “fire-riddled backside of a dragon with belly gripe.” Kelly Erickson suggested, “wingless surface lubbers.” Lorie Kuzma suggested, “worm-riddled bilge rat.” Mandie Sagen suggested, “slimy, rat-infested land worms,” much to Spider’s delight. Barbara Laing suggested, “bottom feeder,” which became “scum-sucking, bottom feeder.” Sandy Fosdick’s “leech-riddled water horse,” became: “That flaming leech-riddled water horse and stinking rider!”
It was so much fun to see what people created. I’m sure I could have incorporated more bilge rats! They also seemed to be a favorite.
Ship Names
Some of the ships docked at Metropoli were named by my readers, including The Golden Mermaid by Anne Caprani-Langkilde, and Star of Glory by Jan Cantle. The Crimson Fin was named by Nicole DragonBeck. Great names—thanks everyone.
What About Your Pirates?
One of the difficulties with having readers create pirates is that my readers created pirates worthy of being the captains of their own ships! They had great characteristics, talents, intriguing back stories and larger-than-life personalities. Not to mention, striking looks. With so many stars running around on deck, there would’ve been constant fights to hog the limelight. I had no choice but to splice pirates together out of your genetic pool and my own ideas!
So, here we go. The basis, and usually the name, for each pirate was suggested by a reader, however these pirates have grown to be a different to their initial DNA!!
A huge thank you to Martha D Johnson for creating Larkspur with his violet eyes, willowy figure and long dark hair. I couldn’t include him having wings and fangs, however, I did keep his skills with a dagger.
Lefty was Nicole DragonBeck’s idea, including his cat! John Grasso suggested Volto. Unfortunately he couldn’t be an elf, as elves haven’t found their way through a world gate to Dragons’ Realm (yet), however, I did keep the rapier, leather trench coat, and his double-tipped ear due to a sword slice.
Gunthar and his pet gecko were Jackie Tansey’s idea. I couldn’t resist giving Gunthar a wooden leg when Jackie suggested that he hops. Please forgive me for getting his gecko drunk on rum! It was so much fun. I used GG’s name for Talvor, however the character was Will’s dad, not the cool one GG suggested. Honestly, there were just too many pirates running around aboard the Fiery Dragon. I did use GG’s suggestion for Grins Cabeya, including those wicked poisoned darts.
Jan Cantle suggested Hairy Stu with his Santa Claus snowy halo of hair. Mo was from Barbara Laing. I’m sorry he had a bitter end. Joffa the Crow was suggested by Mandie Sagen, charcoal and all! Andrew Agnew gave me Tiny. I’m so glad Andrew’s created him with no tongue—not me! I’m glad I can do more than honk! Johnny Blue came from Lorie Kuzma. I dyed his hair strawberry blond, but made sure he hung onto those sapphire-hilted daggers that matched his eyes. Swan, the handsome rouge, charmed his way onto the Fiery Dragon with the help of Patrick Goodwin.
If there are any crew I’ve missed, please let me know. I had many more great characters that readers gave me, including a plethora of female pirates—enough to crew an entire ship of their own.
Hmm… roll on Dragon Captain! You may see some of your characters turn up yet! I have special announcement to make about the series expanding… ooops, I’m getting ahead of myself. Not yet! All in due time.
First, let’s grab our copies of Dragon Pirate and Reign of Shadows and head to the party!
Thanks again to everyone for being awesome!
