Welcome to the 2023 ARIA Author Showcase and Giveaway Event! 

  

  

How to enter – Comment on the daily showcases to enter the daily giveaway. Comments close one week after the initial Showcase post. GRAND PRIZE drawn on Dec 8th (1 -$250, 1 -$100, or a 1 -$50 Amazon gift card. One grand prize pp) – For every showcase you post on, you automatically gain one entry to the grand prize. 30 Authors = 30 entries.    

D.R. Perry will be at the Rhode Island Author Expo   

On to the Showcase! 

 

What name do you like to write under? D.R. Perry 

Where do you call home? Rhode Island 

What genre(s) do you write? YA Contemporary and Urban Fantasy 

What genre(s) were you drawn to when you were younger Was there a reason that genre(s) appealed to you the most? I was drawn to suspense/thrillers when I was younger. 

What were some of your favorite books growing up? Why?  My favorite authors included Madeline L'Engle, Robin McKinley, Jane Yolen, and Anne McCaffery. They always had female characters I related to on an emotional level. 

What are some of your favorite books today? Leigh Bardugo's Alex Stern series has become a fast favorite recently, along with Legendborn Saga by Tracy Deonn. I also loved Bunny by Mona Awad. These are Dark Academia books, a genre I've read for a long time. 

What inspired you to become a writer?  When I found out being an author was a job, I wanted to be one. It was a long and winding road to get there, though. I wrote my first novel at age 39 while caring for my newborn child back in 2013. 

Weir Dragon Acedemy 

Always be yourself, unless you can be a dragon. Speaking as one, it’s not that simple. My sisters and I grew up oppressed by a bloodthirsty tyrant in another realm. Now we’ve got a trickier challenge, one I’m more worried about. Starting boarding school. I’m unprepared but not surprised; I’ve always been strange. The only adult who disagrees is Uncle Cosmo. He says life’s like art; everything’s valid and it’s all about perspective. Nobody my age shares mine. My sisters see school like a forest. I see its flaws like trees. Pointing them out is risky. If I stand out too much someone’s bound to cut me down. But is fitting in even possible when I hatched this way? 

Tell us a little about how "”Wings of Shadows 1 – Weir Dragon Academy”  came to be. Did it start with an image, a voice, a concept, a dilemma or something else?  I first thought of these lost dragon kids when I hashed out the Revealed World cosmology. Their absence was a plot point since book one in this world, but I only got a better idea of what they were like while writing the Gallows Hill series. Once I wrote their first appearance as a group, I knew they'd get a series. It starts here with Wings of Shadow and will continue for eight more books. 

Which scene, character or plotline changed the most from first draft to published book? Astor Silver. He was supposed to be a shy dude with under a metric ton of pressure who motivated Linden to act. Instead, he turned out to be a preppy snob who antagonizes her. He grapples with totally different emotional problems than I'd planned, too. 

Which character was the most challenging to create. Why? Wren Hemlock, Linden's sasquatch friend. The Revealed World has many beings of the wilds which hew closely to familiar myths and legends. Wren's people differ greatly, and the challenge makes it more fun to write. 

What do you like best about being a writer? Hearing that one of my books or characters made someone feel seen. The reason I write these particular stories and characters is because I or someone close to me needed, needs, or will need them someday. A good book is like Hoggle Ludo, Didymus, and Ambrosius from Labyrinth. Should you ever need them for any reason at all, just turn the page.. 

If you could collaborate with any author past or present, who would it be? What would the title of the book be? (If possible) - Give us a one sentence blurb. Stephen King probably, he’s one of the greats! I would definitely collaborate on a thriller. 

You can follow D.R. Perry here - 

https://www.drperryauthor.com 

https://www.facebook.com/drpperry 

https://www.instagram.com/d.r.perry 

D.R.  is giving away The entire first year from one of their academy series. That's either three singles if it's Messing Academy or Weir Academy, or a three book omnibus for Gallows Hill or Hawthorn.”.  To enter comment below --> 

 

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