Bryan Davis is the author of fantasy/science fiction novels for youth and adults, including the bestselling Dragons in Our Midst series. Other series include The Oculus Gate, The Reapers Trilogy, Dragons of Starlight, Tales of Starlight, Astral Alliance, Time Echoes Trilogy, and Wanted: Superheroes, several of which have been bestsellers.
In this interview, Bryan talks about the positive impact he wants his writing and Christian characters to have on youth.
FF: This new series, Dragons of Camelot, is written for kids ages eight to twelve, but your previous books in this story world were written for YA audiences. How did writing for these different age groups impact your approach to storytelling?
The most obvious difference is the length of the stories. Most of the books in the other series are at least twice as long as The Sacred Scales, book #1 in Dragons of Camelot. For the younger readers, I wanted to offer spiritual truths that are in the stories for the older readers, but I didn’t dwell on the inner struggles, hoping to provide the spiritual nurturing without the risk of slowing the pace of the story. Also, I was more careful to provide definitions for words that are considered appropriate for higher grade levels, sometimes by making it obvious in context or having a younger character ask for the meaning.
FF: How does this story fit into the larger Dragons in Our Midst story world?
The first series, Dragons in our Midst, occurs in the modern world, with a couple of flashbacks to medieval England during the time period that Dragons of Camelot takes place. In the second series (Oracles of Fire), the first book, Eye of the Oracle, starts way back just before the great flood and extends thousands of years to modern times, including a significant section in the medieval age, again, when the Dragons of Camelot occurred.
The third series, Children of the Bard, again goes back to the time before the flood, in Song of the Ovulum, the first book in the series. It also has a short sequence in the medieval time. Then the rest of the series is in the modern world. Dragons of Camelot stays in the medieval times exclusively, and it sets up many of the events in the other three series and sometimes adds to them, providing insight into mysteries that readers of the other three series might have wondered about. Because of this connection, readers can start with Dragons of Camelot and then move on to Dragons in our Midst, or they can read any or all of the other three series before reading Dragons of Camelot.
FF: The characters in these books speak freely about their faith. Why did you decide to write about Christianity in your books?
I believe Christianity is the bedrock of truth and provides all of the answers that humans long to know. Pastors and other godly teachers strive to communicate these truths to their audiences, but many people have difficulty applying them to their lives or even simply remembering the principles over the long term.
I have found that infusing these truths into stories makes them memorable and provides illustrations of how the principles are fleshed out in real life. Even in fantasy stories, the main characters are always humans who have the same kind of fears, doubts, and other potential pitfalls. When readers see characters overcome these problems by employing spiritual truths, readers have models for behavior that resonate in the mind and are branded in their memories.
FF: The Sacred Scales emphasizes the importance of prayer. What advice do you have for young people who want to make prayer more central to their lives?
With regard to understanding the importance of prayer, young people have a disadvantage. They have not witnessed over the years the many times God has answered prayer. That’s why it is critical for Christian parents and other relatives to tell young people of the great answers to prayer they have seen in their lives.
Unfortunately, many young people don’t have that kind of godly influence. They have never heard about the power of God that often comes as an answer to fervent prayer. Showing faithful characters who pray and receive answers provides models for the need to kneel. It also illustrates the faith to watch for answers and then give God the thankfulness that he deserves.
My advice for young people is to make every concern a matter of prayer, to pray every morning for opportunities to serve God, to pray every evening for rest and protection through the night. Make prayer a matter of habit, though never allowing it to become rote recitals. Talk to God like he is in the room with you, because he is. I try to include at least one godly character who acts in this manner in each story so that readers will have models that they find captivating and exemplary.
FF: What makes your books stand out from other fantasy books?
The main difference between my stories and most others I have seen is that I allow my Christian characters to live godly lives and illustrate what it means to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Of course, they sometimes have fears and doubts and might make mistakes because of lack of experience or wisdom, but they don’t intentionally disobey God.
I grew tired of seeing “Christian” characters in stories who exhibit sinful behaviors, thereby providing poor role models for readers. I want to invite readers to step up to a higher level by incorporating the power that God gives them to walk in the light.
FF: You are known for your dragon books. Why do you write about these creatures rather than other mythical beings?
I have never had a particular draw toward dragons. My dragon stories began with a dream I had about a boy who could breathe fire. When I told my oldest son about the dream, we brainstormed about how to turn it into a story. We decided that the boy was the son of a former dragon who had been transformed in the time of King Arthur.
Therefore, the presence of dragons in my stories came about because of a dream about a human and the need for a dragon to be in the story to give the human the power that he had. Over the years, I became known as a dragon author, and I have grown to admire the dragons that I created, not necessarily dragons from other stories.
FF: What authors have inspired your writing?
C. S. Lewis is my favorite author. I love how he incorporated faith into fantasy stories via The Chronicles of Narnia. I also loved To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I was fascinated by how she successfully communicated great truths through the eyes of a little girl. I also loved Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc by Mark Twain. His ability to show a catalyst character (Joan) through the eyes of an admirer and illustrate how God can use an unlikely hero to do great things were captivating.
FF: Fantasy titles are regularly the bestselling books for YA and kids audiences. Why do fantasy stories resonate strongly with young people?
Young people are seeking something worthwhile, an eternal calling to be heroes. Christian worldview fantasy stories provide larger-than-life portrayals of heroes who display the same virtues readers will mimic to become heroes in their own worlds. Such stories are filled with light and hope. They are visions of reality, the mind’s dramatic sketch of what we were meant to be. They are a blend of survival and worship. They demonstrate faith, hope, and love wielded in integrity and nobility and illustrated in ways that readers will never forget.
I think young readers are drawn toward these ideals, wanting to escape to a better world and maybe let that better world make them better people to influence their real world.
FF: Why is clean fiction important for young people?
Young minds are influenced by repetitive examples of behavior. They often act like the models they experience. It is rare for young people to act in ways that are absent from their sources of input. Therefore, if they read fiction that positively portrays extramarital sex, profanity, greed, treachery, etc., they will get the idea that these behaviors are normal, and they will act accordingly.
If, however, their media inputs are “clean,” that is, they portray goodness in a positive light and evil in a negative light, their minds will be more likely to be ennobled by the positive examples.
FF: What advice do you have for aspiring fantasy authors?
I receive many manuscripts from aspiring writers, and most of them have defects that are similar. The most common is a good story beginning. Writers should start a story with the main character trying to achieve a purpose that is in keeping with that character’s ordinary world. This way, readers can learn that character’s qualities and begin to cheer for him or her to accomplish that goal.
The writer should foreshadow an event that will change that character’s world and send them on a journey to achieve a greater goal, which will give them impetus through the rest of the story. Readers will be hooked, because they will begin to be concerned for the character and want to see them through.
In short, develop your story and story world through the eyes of a character who has a problem to solve and let that character introduce readers to their world.
FF: When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?
About 30 years ago, when my children were young, I wanted to encourage them to learn to write. Although I wasn’t a writer at the time, I understood the value of being able to put thoughts into a written format. Writing trains people to communicate in a coherent and cogent manner, a skill that will take them far in whichever careers they choose.
I decided to write a story with their input, allowing them to suggest ideas for the story’s progress all along the way. As a father of seven, I wanted to infuse virtues into the story, and I was impressed with how the story influenced my children toward better behavior.
That’s when I realized that writing stories could have a great impact on young readers. That discovery ignited a passion in me to become an author, because I wanted my labors to have a greater impact on the world than I was having at the time as a computer professional.
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The Sacred Scales
Dragons of Camelot #1
Bryan Davis
Publisher: Tyndale Kids
Genre: Fantasy, Middle Grade Kids
Release Date: June 3, 2025
Available Formats: Paperback, Audiobook, eBook
ASIN: B0DJY7L159
ISBN-13: 979-8400504235
Book Summary:
In King Arthur’s Camelot where dragons are outlawed, a poor apprentice boy and a dragon-raised orphan girl unravel an evil plot to exterminate dragons from this world and the next.
Hawk spends his days trying to survive as a lowly apprentice in the harsh employ of Master Andrew―a sly shopkeeper making illegal bargains with dragons. But when Master Andrew is hired by Lady Morgan to cheat the dragon Clefspeare out of his promised gemstone payment, Hawk’s faith in God spurs him to action.
Sabina hasn’t had contact with humans in years, not since the kind-hearted dragon Legossi rescued her from the ruins of her burned village. But the forest is no place for a young girl to come of age, so Legossi agrees to have a knight take Sabina to Lady Morgan’s estate. Yet Sabina quickly realizes Lady Morgan has a sinister scheme to wipe out dragons in this realm and beyond. Can Hawk and Sabina warn the dragons and foil Lady Morgan’s plans before it’s too late?
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