Every Tuesday, get to know a bit about the stories behind the books you love, and discover your next favourite novel.

Sabitha: Looking for a queer fantasy adventure? Look no further! We’re talking to Vanessa Ricci-Thode about her novel, Fireborn. Vanessa, can you introduce us to your book?

Vanessa: Fireborn is a fantasy novel about a queer teen rebuilding her life and fighting to reshape the future after she loses everything. Like her mother and grandmother before her, Spark is a uniquely skilled pyromancer born immune to fire, with a deep family connection to the local dragon population. But her power draws the attention of a dangerous faction. Spark needs to learn finesse and to conquer old fears if she and everyone she cares for are going to survive.

Sabitha: What inspired you to write this book?

Vanessa: Fireborn was heavily influenced by the How to Train Your Dragon films and TV show, but with queer teens and a female lead.

Sabitha: Do you have a playlist for your book?

Vanessa: I listened to a lot of the How to Train Your Dragon soundtrack while writing it, to keep me in the spirit of the original inspiration for the book. And the Mad Max: Fury Road soundtrack came in handy when it was time for me to write this book’s climax. The climax includes a high-speed dragon chase through the desert, so Fury Road really set the mood.

Sabitha: If you could meet your characters, what would you say to them?

Vanessa: I would probably apologize. A lot. Especially to the main character Spark.

Sabitha: What book do you tell all your friends to read? Besides yours of course!

Vanessa: I’m obsessed with the Murderbot Diaries and recommend that everywhere. A less known book I also really love is World Running Down by Al Hess.

Sabitha:  How much research did you need to do for your book?

Vanessa: Spark is a blacksmith and I am very not, so I had to do a lot of research into how certain things are made and then figure out how and where Spark’s fire magic would fit into the process. I also did some research on aerial combat. Dragons are magic and don’t move quite like fighter planes, but having the basics and some terminology helped in describing some of the aerial fight scenes.

Sabitha: Do you have any suggestions to help people in our community become better writers?

Vanessa: Join a critique group, but make sure it’s the right fit!

Sabitha: Thanks for sharing your story and your process. We’re looking forward to reading! Where can the Night Beats community find you and your book?

Vanessa: You can buy Fireborn here. You can keep up with me at my website or my newsletter—subscribers get a free short story from the dragon’s POV. I use the handle vriccithode on all the social media platforms I use (currently mostly Discord and Bluesky),