Fabulous Beasts: How my cats inspired the dragons of Witchland.
My darling boy, Marcus (RIP) inspired the character of the wild dragon Emrys in WITCHLAND.
Eliza leaned back in her chair. It was hard and uncomfortable, and the seat could do with more padding, but she had the best view of the dance floor and all the men here. She winced as Erevus crawled down onto her lap, claws pricking through cloth. ‘Erevus! How many times must we talk about your claws? I swear you sharpen them just for me.’
Her dragon just looked at her, then rested his head heavily on one arm, fang-tips pressing the back of Eliza’s wrist.
Extract from WITCHLAND by Juno Goldstone.
I’ve always enjoyed reading about dragons and especially enjoy novels that depict them behaving a bit like cats. There are so many incredible dragons in fiction. Viserion, one of Daenerys’ dragons in George R R Martin’s ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ series, is a particular favourite, because he’s openly affectionate with Daenerys and I adore that scene when he’s still small and wants cuddles. The way her young dragons play-fight reminds me of kittens rolling around together. Another of my favourites is Sintara, the queenly young dragon in Robin Hobb’s ‘The Rain Wild Chronicles.’
I can’t know if these authors intended to make their dragons cat-like, but I certainly did when I created my dragons for WITCHLAND.
Dragons, like cats, strike me as independent-minded and often imperious. They have no need to please anyone and expect plenty of praise of their magnificence! Both dragons and cats come when it suits them rather than their human, and they are loving towards the people they trust.
In WITCHLAND, Eliza’s dragon Erevus is very cat-like. He can change from full dragon size right the way down to the size of a little owl. He often chooses cat size because it’s convenient for flying around inside Peverley House, and for curling up on Eliza’s feet at night. His fondness for leaping up to settle around Eliza’s shoulders is inspired by one of my cats, Marcia, who frequently throws herself into my arms when she’s particularly pleased to see me, then shimmies round onto my shoulders or back (but never when there’s a camera on to record it).
Marcia, whose imperious ways and habit of jumping on my shoulders/back inspired Eliza’s dragon Erevus.
My other cat, Magic, leant some of her character traits to Golden, the magical fire salamander who can also change her size and has a talent for taking over people’s pillows, leaving you with only a tiny corner of it!
Magic, who has a talent for stealing most of the pillow/sofa/bed and leaving me with just a tiny corner of it.
And my dear, very much missed boy cats, Marcus and Midnight (RIP, sweet lads) also provided inspiration. Marcus (Marcia’s brother) was a very loving cat, but shy and anxious at times (an anxious nature can be genetic for boy cats, and Marcus’ mother was a feral cat). Much as I adored Marcus, my sister was the one he bonded to, and in his later years I was the giver of his daily medication. So, I was often on the receiving end of one of his Evil Looks.
Marcus giving me one of his trademark Evil Looks!
No cat before or since has been such a Master of Evil Looks as Marcus! Marcus’ stubborn but loyal nature, and his distrust of anyone other than his dearest loved ones, fed into the character of the wild dragon Emrys, who has a cameo in WITCHLAND and a much larger role in the next two books in the series.
Midnight (RIP) my sweet boy.
And Midnight? He gets a mention in Book 3, when we meet Emma Woodley, a Lesser Witch* who serves at the Royal Court and befriends the reincarnated Merlin. Midnight is Emma’s cat, and I’m looking forward to including him in future books.
* A Lesser Witch is an ordinary witch, not a member of an aristocratic Bloodline family. They aren’t as powerful as Bloodline witches. When supplementing their inherent magic, Lessers Witches can only access the surface energies rising from the earth.