Literary Swoon, Day Four: Deborah Cooke

Photos courtesy of D. Sharon Pruitt and Deborah Cooke

A YA paranormal romance book that took me by surprise last year was Deborah Cooke's Flying Blind. With exciting aerial dragon battles, a girl with mystical powers, and cute boys, it's the perfect book when you're in the mood for a funny, lighthearted read! We're happy to welcome Deborah to the blog today as part of our Literary Swoon series, in which our favorite YA authors tell us about a romantic scene that they've never forgotten. Don't forget that this scene may contain a spoiler.

Deborah Cooke's Favorite Romantic Book Scene

One of the first romance novels I ever read was Angel in Scarlet by Jennifer Wilde. I was hooked! And that story stayed with me, all these years, because it's about a woman learning who she is and what she wants. It was probably uncommon as an historical romance then, but it would be really unusual now - it's written in first person point of view, and she has three relationships over the course of the book. She marries for love, only to be disappointed, then she marries for money, only to be disappointed again.

Throughout the story, she has a partner and confidant, a guy who is consistently loyal and true. She values him greatly - and at the end of the book, when she's thinking that love and marriage just aren't for her, she reasons that at least she has this wonderful man as her pal. In the last scene, she's having a bath before the fire, and this hidden hero, who has refrained from declaring his love because he thought the heroine could never love him, comes to declare his affections. 

It's a wonderful, romantic scene, when she sees the truth for the first time - we readers, of course, were on to him all along! - and they end up in the tub together. The ending is sexy and romantic and also fun, a real celebration that they've both finally gotten their hearts' desire. That's what love and romance is all about, isn't it?

Deborah Cooke is the author of the Dragon Diaries series for young adults. She has always been fascinated with dragons, although she has never understood why they have to be the bad guys. She has an honours degree in history, with a focus on medieval studies. She is an avid reader of medieval vernacular literature, fairy tales and fantasy novels, and has written over forty romance novels and novellas. Her current title Winging It is in stores now.

Check out the rest of the Literary Swoon series! 

Nova Ren Suma, author of Imaginary Girls
Gail Carriger, author of Soulless
Rebecca Lim, author of Mercy
Deborah Cooke, author of Flying Blind
Cynthia Hand, author of Unearthly
Shirley Marr, author of Fury 
Lauren Oliver, author of Delirium
Kendare Blake, author of Anna Dressed in Blood
The Midnight Garden Bloggers