Fun fact:
There was a time I considered weaving dragons into The Divided Region.
Thankfully, I woke up from that nightmare and scrapped the idea before a single dragon complained of heartburn. However, this sentiment is often met (especially on social media) with gasps and spirited replies like:
"Boring. Never going to read your books."
Or even better:
"YoU'rE nOt A rEaL fAnTaSy AuThOr iF yOu DoN't HaVe DrAgOns!"
And sometimes, among the sea of despair, I'll receive more sensible comments like:
"Why?"
To which I'd reply with something akin to:
You know those used tissues that should have been discarded several hours ago — the ones now shedding in your pocket?
Yeah, that's what dragons are to me.
At least in this season of my life.
There's nothing inherently wrong with them (hell, I used to love Spyro the Dragon as a wee lad), but like photocopying a photocopy of a photo…
The trope starts getting a little… hazy and tiresome.
So, instead of falling in line and following every other author, I did something truly radical.
I wrote a series that is not only free of dragons, but also murders a few other genre norms.
For example, you will NOT find the following in The Divided Region:
+ 600+ page books
+ A dozen POV characters
+ Complicated, intricate magic systems
+ Or a storyline dominated by romance and soft, mushy characters
Does that mean TDR will scoop up awards left and right?
Unlikely.
Will it attract a severely underserved segment of the fantasy market?
ABSOLUTELY.
And that's exactly why I am unapologetic about the "shortcomings" of my work. If you have no problems with dragon-less fantasy that is light on endless meandering and spicy scenes, then you might just want to give The Divided Region a whirl.
You can get started with Exiled (Book #1) right here:
https://djjwatsonstore.com/products/Exiled
Or if you'd prefer to grab it at your favourite retailer, go here:
https://books2read.com/dividedregionexiled
DJJW