Behind the Wings: Interview with Best-Selling Author Tui Sutherland

Author Tui Sutherland pictured with a drawing of a dragon (photo credit: Andrea Gracey)

Tui T. Sutherland is best known as the author of the New York Times #1 best-selling series Wings of Fire. The idea that started it all was simple: she liked dragons. The books that Sutherland read were usually from a human’s perspective. “I really wanted to write books where dragons are the heroes,” Sutherland said.

Building the World

During the creative process, she watched earth documentaries to get a better idea of what a world for the dragons could look like. Sutherland wanted to ensure none of the dragons were exactly the same and looked at today’s reptiles for inspiration, adding bits of lizards or snakes to the dragons. The environments that the dragons lived in also helped with determining their names. For example, the Seawing dragons live around the water.

The Finer Scales

Sutherland wanted to add a prophecy or twist to the story. Even when it felt like there was only one way, she wanted to give the dragons control over their own decisions. “I like the idea of being in a prophecy, but not having to do what it says,” Sutherland said.

An example of this is when the dragon character, Sunny, has so many ideas she wants to share, but not many would listen to her. In the end, she shared some of these ideas. Sutherland can also relate to not being listened to by others.

Beyond the Dragons

Sutherland’s favorite books when she was younger were Anne of Green Gables and Dragon Song. With the book Anne of Green Gables, she felt connected to the character Anne and the sense of optimism that Anne has and the world of stories. In Dragon Song, she really liked how there were different dragons and fire lizards.  She liked them because she found it cool how the lizards were all different.

Sutherland had wanted to become an author from a young age but there was a point in time where she wanted to become an astronaut. Later, she realized that she wanted to just write about it. She has not yet written a book about going to outer space and astronauts. “Don’t give up and keep doing it because you love it,” Sutherland exclaimed.