Think you know about dragons? I am one.

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One of my hopes in starting this site is that modern dragons out there, living their lives in relative obscurity, will feel heard and understood.  Are you feeling stuck in the rafters?  Come on down.

Welcome!  This is one of those “why I started this website” posts.

Pleased to meet you!  I’m a reader, baker, and, also, a dragon

Here’s a little about me.  There are different types of dragons.  I should say upfront that I identify as a Western dragon.  Important acknowledgement:  I have nothing but appreciation and respect for my Eastern dragon cousins (sometimes called Chinese dragons), and I will do my best to see that you are represented here. 

Please forgive me, though, if I omit key points, or make mistakes.  Family reunions are always so awkward and too few and far between.  So while I’ve seen photos of all the cousins and have a foggy idea of what they’ve been up to, I’m a little uncertain on particulars. 

So anyway, you know I’m a Western dragon, which means I have these really awesome wings, and let me cut to the chase:  Yes, I breathe fire.  It’s a cool party trick but it does come with some downsides, especially in urban and suburban environments.  (Sorry, town of Guilford, Connecticut! More on that later.)

I’m spotted, scaly, and tufted.  I have a pretty cool lair.  But aside from those mere physical attributes, I’m also a thinking, feeling person, so let’s not focus exclusively on my body and abilities, okay?  I enjoy musical theater.  I like reading and baking.  I’m an amateur drainage enthusiast.  My best friend is an amphibian.  I go to work and then come home and want to relax.  I roast meat with fire that comes out of my own mouth.   You get the drift?  I’m just like you, except, I’m a dragon.

I envision this site as an outreach opportunity

I’ve decided to call this site “My Modern Dragon,” and I hope you will come to think of me as your very own dragon resource.  Or whatever.  I was going to say “friendly neighborhood dragon,” but first, that’s totally derivative of Spider Man, and second, I have no idea if I live in your neighborhood, and I don’t want to disappoint you if you try to borrow a cup of nice rich Durum flour to bake some awesome sourdough but I’m actually hundreds of miles away. 

Not that it would take me that long to swoop a few hundred miles, and honestly I really could use the workout, but I’ve been trying to get better at time management and offering kindness to strangers is a big weakness of mine.

Let me also say hastily that I’m not the only authority on modern dragons.  The site is called “My Modern Dragon,” and I think that’s a super fun and welcoming and catchy title, but I don’t want to suggest that I can speak authoritatively for all other dragons, or even all other modern dragons. 

Bonfires, no!  I just mean that I’d like to be a dragon you (kinda) know.  I think everyone should know at least one dragon.  And if I’m the one you get to know a little, through my writing here, then that’s great.  If other modern dragons feel inspired to come out of their lairs a bit and let other people get to know them, then I think that would do wonders for improving dragon-human relations. 

Because let’s be honest; through a lot of recent history that relationship has been, shall we say, strained.  I’d like to see if we can’t work together to fix that.

A website like this one is important.  Because you know, there are still plenty of hurtful stereotypes about greedy and violent dragons lurking about (ahem.  Smaug, looking at you) that, while perhaps based somewhat accurately on one or two nefarious individuals, give the rest of us dragons a terribly bad name and tend to get everyone else all torch-and-pitchforky.  Sigh.  Can we get past that, please?  

So this site is really an outreach project, and I hope to learn some new things about myself along the way, and I hope you will share your perspectives with me as well.  Here’s how you can contact me. 

I’m on the fence about enabling comments on the posts, because on the one claw, it’s nice to open up a conversation; and on the other claw, generally speaking, comments sections are terrible. Who really wants to argue with strangers on the internet?  (Okay, I know that can be fun, but really.  Time management, people.  If you suffer from too much time, go hatch a dragonet.  Dragonets are great.  Hatch thirty!)

My intended audience is you

So who’s the intended audience for this site?  Sometimes the posts here are directed toward other dragons; other times the posts are targeted toward none-dragons interested in learning about us dragons.  I am also hopeful that there will be some interest from the dracology community.  But really, everyone is welcome.  Stick around, read a little; I promise I don’t bite.  (HA! A LITTLE DRAGON HUMOR!)

Let me know if you’d like to do a guest post or contribute some dragon art

Oh!  I welcome guest posts.  If any of you dragons or amateur or professional dracologist are interested.  Please reach out to me if you’d like to do a post.  It helps if you have ideas for a topic and some art, but if you don’t, I can help with both of those things.  All that is required is curiosity and a willingness to research a dragon-related topic and report your findings.

Also, I’m always looking for great dragon art.  I don’t currently have a budget to pay for guest posts or art, but maybe that will change in the future and meanwhile anyone who does a guest post will receive my profound thanks and a mention on the My Modern Dragon Hall of Flame. 

I’m delighted you’re here, and that you’ve read this far.  Why not pull a chair up to the fire, grab a tankard of mead, and peruse these writings.  I’ll be here.

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