Jamie A. Waters's Blog

I’m officially 12 weeks post-op—and finally starting to feel like myself again. My neurosurgeon even gave me the green light to attend...

I’m thrilled to announce that Book 5 of The Dragon Portal series, Dance of Wings , officially released on June 19th, 2025! Woo hoo!! This...

Exciting news to share with you... DANCE OF WINGS is now available for preorder from your favorite retailer! Reserve your copy here: >>...

Hey there, my fabulous Dragon Portal enthusiasts,

I know you're sitting on the edge of your seats, anxiously awaiting the next escapade in the world of dragons, magic, and mayhem. But alas, life has decided to write its own plot twist in my story.

Remember those weird health issues I mentioned a while back? Well, they took me on a surprise detour to the hospital for a week—post book-signing, no less. While I'm doing better now (and a huge thanks for all the well-wishes), my eyes and head are still staging a rebellion when I park myself in front of a computer screen. It's like I've been hit with a Confusion Spell every time I try to write more than a paragraph.

As much as it pains me to say it, this means Dance of Wings will be a little late to the party. I know, I'm gutted too.

Now, for the technical stuff:

If you've preordered from Amazon: You'll likely get a message saying your preorder is cancelled. It's an Amazon thing; they're sticklers about delaying release dates. If you've preordered from another retailer: You're golden! Your order will simply update to the new release date.

Speaking of the new release date, I'm aiming for December. But keep an eye out for updates, as a lot depends on what my cadre of medical wizards tell me in the coming weeks.

I truly hate disappointing you. Writing The Dragon Portal series is my passion, and I promise to get Dance of Wings to you as soon as humanly (or dragonly) possible.

Thank you for your unwavering support and patience. You're the best readers a writer could ask for, seriously.

Much love,

Jamie

I was asked to write a featured blog post in the upcoming Space Coast Book Lovers newsletter. If you haven't had a chance to attend yet, I highly recommend it! I'll be one of the attending authors this June.

I'm often asked how I come up with my story ideas or my fantasy worlds. The answer is pretty simple: I find inspiration in everything!

I love all things fantasy -- books, games, movies, even music. One of the first fantasy books I read as a teenager was the Magician series by Raymond Feist. It was my sister, Tracy, who first introduced me to these books. (If you've stopped at my table at SCBL, you've probably met her. She's as much of a book addict as I am.)

I fell in love with the world Feist created and couldn't get enough of the series. After that, I moved on to another series he co-wrote with Janny Wurts (Daughter of the Empire). There was a touch of romance in that series, and I realized... that's what was missing from a lot of the other fantasy books I'd read. I wanted that combination of romance and magic, because you can't have one without the other. That's what started my love for romantic fantasy.

I draw a lot of inspiration from games too. I've been a hardcore gamer geek since I was a kid. Ultima, Everquest, World of Warcraft, Skyrim, Dragon Age... they all captured my imagination. (We won't talk about the really bad Ultima fanfic I used to write. hehehe)

I loved exploring the lore from each of the different races, their belief systems, even the different languages or accents the creators incorporated into these games. All of it captured my imagination.

In my daily life, I still try to incorporate magic into my surroundings. My house is full of fairies, dragons, and other things that inspire me. I love reading about folklore and mythology, and often collect books that help inspire my stories.

I also try to write in places that fuel that inspiration. There's nothing like sitting in a gazebo in the middle of a fairy garden and drinking tea while writing a scene with dragons, fairies, and other magical creatures.

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Whenever I travel, I love learning about the history of places and often create alternative twists that I incorporate into my stories.

With the current book I'm working on (Dance of Wings), I used a recent trip to Greece as inspiration for the Sky Cities, the home of the dragons. When I visited the Acropolis in Athens, I couldn't help but think -- this would be a great place for a dragon to hang out. I could see everything for miles. Marble doesn't melt/burn as easily as wooden structures, and if any dragon kids get unruly, their parents could always toss them in the Mediterranean to cool off.

With magic, anything is possible. I'd love to know what inspires you!

I'm working on finalizing my schedule for next year. Take a peek below to find out where I'll be and how you can get signed copies of your favorite books.

Tickets go on sale soon for these events. Quantities are limited, so make sure you reserve your ticket as soon as possible. I can't wait to see you!

BOOK LOVERS CON 2023

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Dates: June 1, 2023 - June 4, 2023

​Location: Houston, Texas

​Tickets On Sale: October 31st, 2022

Reserve Your Spot!

SPACE COAST BOOK LOVERS 2023

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Dates: June 22, 2023 - June 24, 2023

​Location: Cape Canaveral, Florida

​Tickets On Sale: NOW!

Reserve Your Spot!

WRITERS ON THE RIVER 2023

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Date: July 15, 2023

​Location: East Peoria, Illinois

​Tickets On Sale: November 4, 2022

,Reserve Your Spot!

DC BOOKSTARS CASINO ROYALE 2023

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Date: October 7, 2023

​Location: Oxon Hill, Maryland

​Tickets On Sale: February 1, 2023

Reserve Your Spot!

I'm so excited to show you the cover for my next book, Dance of Wings (The Dragon Portal, #5)!

Dance of Wings is scheduled for a Summer 2023 release, but you can preorder it now and have it automatically delivered to your favorite ereader as soon as it's available.

About the Book:

Death awaits those who fly too close to the sun...

Something’s wrong with Sabine’s magic. The portal seals have begun to fracture, poisoning the magic of their world, and endangering those dependent upon it. Time is running out for Sabine and her companions to find the last artifact. ​A cryptic clue found in the underworld is their only lead. But the magical race entrusted with the relic’s safekeeping was annihilated by the dragons centuries earlier.​Determined to find any trace of the mysterious artifact, Sabine agrees to face down the dragons in their own den.​Can love withstand dragonfire?​Sabine may have fallen for the charismatic dragon who captured her heart, but his people are harboring a deadly secret.​The dragons have no intention of allowing Sabine to imprison them ever again.​No matter the cost.

Learn more: https://www.jamieawaters.com/dance-of-wings

I mentioned before that each book in the Dragon Portal series takes place in a different part of Sabine's world. Each place they travel has its own set of rules, culture, and characters.

That's a big part of the reason why it takes me so long to write each of these books.

In Facets of Power, I knew going in that it was going to take place within a mountain city. I began trying to visualize what it would be like to travel into the city.

Drawing upon influences like J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (yep, I went there), and even video games like Bioware's Dragon Age and tabletop games like Warhammer, I was able to get an idea about how the dwarves of Razadon would build their crystal and stone cities.

For all weapon-related matters, I usually refer to my son and his group of merry men and fellow gamers. They love D&D (Dungeons and Dragons). They helped me understand weapons a dwarf might use and even how their government might be set up. With their assistance, I was able to visualize each weapon infused with magical crystals.

For naming each character (because I stink at names), I went to some online fantasy generators to get ideas about typical dwarven names. Each surname needed to be a family name and something tied to each particular guild. I created notecards for each guild leader, listing their name, alignment, and a brief description of their character. If you hop on over to my Facebook reader group (Jamie Waters' Book Dragons), you'll have a chance to help me come up with names for new characters and places!

I'm the queen of whiteboards. I have one in my office scribbled with notes about my current WIP (work in progress). I have another one in my bedroom I use when inspiration strikes at 3am (that happens waaaaay too frequently). My whiteboards became FULL of notes about dwarven life.

For the individual characters, I try to find pictures to help inspire me. Dagmar's character was modeled after Ly Kivihall's Innkeeper's Daughter. Astrid's character was inspired by Ona Kristensen's artwork. Stunning artwork, don't you think?

What inspires you in day-to-day life?

I think I wrote and rewrote the beginning of Shadows and Twilight at least half a dozen times. I kept seeing two different scenes playing in my head. They were both extremely vivid, so I sat down and wrote both to see which one resonated more.

They both did.

That began the bizarre process of writing this book out of order. Before writing this series, most of my previous books had been written in sequential order (i.e. Chapter 1, 2, 3, etc.). But Shadows and Twilight was written in scenes. After writing each scene, I then had to piece them together. It was a bit like working on a jigsaw puzzle.

I started out with a loose outline or general idea about what was going to happen. My stories always deviate a bit (Blossom loves stirring up trouble), but this went way beyond the norm. In particular, there was one huge event in the underworld that came as a complete and total surprise to me. After I wrote it, I just stared at my computer in shock at the crazy revelation that had been revealed. No idea where it came from. All I knew is that it FIT. It was that missing puzzle piece. But wow, did it throw me for a loop.

I’d love to know if you can figure out which scene.

Yay! Happy book birthday to Shadows and Twilight (The Dragon Portal, #4). It's now available at all major retailers!

Have you already ordered your copy? I'd love to know what you think!