Lyra Ashcroft has wanted a dragon since she was seven and has never emotionally recovered from not getting one. She grew up on epic fantasy and the specific heartbreak of series that were all quest and no kissing, and decided somewhere along the way to write the books she actually wanted: enormous stakes, a bonded beast with opinions, and a romance that could set the sky on fire.

Her Emberwatch Riders novels are dragon-rider romantasy in the vein that has taken over the shelf: a merciless military academy, cadets who genuinely might not survive the year, dragons that are characters rather than transport, and enemies-to-lovers that burns slow before it scorches. She believes a dragon should be terrifying, a war should cost something, and a heroine should be underestimated exactly once.

Her books are for readers who devoured Fourth Wing and needed the next fix, high heat, high stakes, a bonded dragon with a will of its own, and an HEA earned through fire. The danger is real, the banter is sharp, and the dragon always steals the scene.

Lyra lives in the mountains with her partner, an enormous and deeply unhelpful dog named Ash, and a bookshelf that lists to one side under the weight of fantasy hardbacks. She still wants a dragon. She has made her peace with writing them instead.