What happens when you take a warrior culture inspired by the samurai and transport it into the distant future?

That’s part of the idea behind Starfire Dragons, the seven-book science-fiction series by my latest Beyond the Page guest, Dawn Ross.

Despite the name, there aren’t actually dragons in the series. Instead, the dragons are symbolic of the futuristic warrior culture Dawn created. The story follows three primary characters, including a young warrior caught between the loyalty demanded by his family and the relationships he begins forming outside it. dawn-steve dawn-steve

But the origins of Dawn’s storytelling go back much further.

Growing up, Dawn says she was bullied and began creating heroes in her imagination. What started as adventures and an escape eventually developed into elaborate stories and characters that stayed with her. dawn-steve

That love of characters remains central to her writing today. Dawn enjoys getting inside her characters’ heads and exploring how different personalities respond when they’re placed under difficult circumstances. Sometimes those characters even take her somewhere she hadn’t originally planned. dawn-steve

We also get into the realities of being an independent author. Dawn shares the painful story of losing $10,000 to someone posing as a literary agent, what she learned from the experience, and why writers need to carefully research the people they trust with their work. dawn-steve

And her persistence has paid off.

Dawn describes herself as an introvert, but over the past few years she has gradually pushed herself into conventions, in-person events and other forms of marketing. She says she sold around 500 books when she began making that push in 2024, around 1,400 the following year, and at least 3,000 so far in 2026. dawn-steve

We talk about all of that and much more—including worldbuilding, editors, negative reviews, Patreon, Star Trek, books, anime and why a local farmers market turned out to be a surprisingly good place to sell science fiction.

Check out my full conversation with Dawn Ross on the latest episode of Beyond the Page.