Dragon Island: Football Season centers around a group of dragons and their magical skills as they compete in a unique and action-packed football season. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

Actually, my younger cousins were the inspiration. I asked them if there was a specific book they wanted me to write, and they asked for dragons. I wanted to make it very personalized to them, too. I decided to go with football because its their favorite sport. They actually chose the colors, names, and formatting for the dragons, too. They were very involved, and it was so fun to do with them. They were so excited for this book, and they have said it’s their favorite, making me a very proud aunt.

Did the idea of the teams and tournament come first, or did individual dragon characters come first?

Definitely, the teams and tournament came first. The amazing Brainstorm Productions came up with the formatting for the dragons when they were working on the illustrations. Then my little cousins chose the dragons for their own characters and for each of the other characters. My little cousins were very involved in this book with their own creative ideas; it was a family event to work on. I was very lucky to have their input and to have Brainstorm Productions bring it to life.

The dragons changing colors to match their team uniforms is such a fun visual idea. How did that concept emerge?

I really did not want to do the usual and pick one for each team. To me, that’s not fun=) I like being different and coming up with creative ideas. I thought about what could make it different and fun, but not too crazy for a reader or challenging for an illustrator. That’s what made me think, “What about an ombre look, where the dragons start as one color and change into a different one when they get together for their teams?” That’s different and easy for the reader to picture. I was hoping it would be easy for whoever illustrated it, and Brainstorm Productions exceeded my expectations with it.

If children connect most strongly with one idea in the book, what do you hope that is?

Definitely the idea of teamwork. It’s there with the dragons deciding to learn sign language for their teammate who is deaf. It’s there in the playful banter between the teams, but in the end, they wing high five and go for ice cream. There’s so much emphasis on winning, and I absolutely love how my little cousins handle losing; they are so gracious about it. I am so proud of the example they set for their teammates. I wanted to showcase that in the book and have the reader see it is ok to lose and still be laughing and joking and going for dragon ice cream. I also wanted to show that if a teammate has something different, then let’s all learn how to interact. To show how beautiful embracing that difference can be. I feel like the idea of teamwork in more than one way is a lesson that can resonate with anyone. And an important lesson to teach our children. My little cousins are growing into amazing young men who are a beautiful example of how our children can be raised.

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