Dragon fantasy and dystopian books are right up my alley. So combine the two and BAM! You have an amazing storyline by middle grade author Mari Mancusi. In this interview we discuss not only what inspired writing New Dragon City and Dawn of the Dragons, but also why it is important to 'accept the fact that other people are going to feel different than you and figure out a way to still include them in your life.'
Find middle grade author Mari Mancusi
http://www.marimancusi.com/
https://newdragoncity.com/
https://www.instagram.com/marimancusi
https://x.com/marimancusi
https://www.tiktok.com/@marimancusi8
New Dragon City by Mari Mancusi https://www.amazon.com/New-Dragon-City-Mari-Mancusi/dp/031637668X/
Dawn of the Dragons by Mari Mancusi https://www.amazon.com/Dawn-Dragons-New-Dragon-City/dp/0316588164/
The Official Wednesday Cookbook: The Woefully Weird Recipes of Nevermore Academy by Mari Mancusi (Author), Jarrett Melendez (Author) https://www.amazon.com/Official-Wednesday-Cookbook-Woefully-Nevermore/dp/0593797884/
Omega City by Diana Peterfreund https://www.amazon.com/Omega-City-Diana-Peterfreund/dp/0062310860/
Chapters
00:00 Meet middle grade author Mari Mancusi
03:02 What is New Dragon City about? What is the prequel, Dawn of the Dragons about?
08:45 Why is it important to approach misunderstandings as a theme?
13:49 How could a real life child relate to a character from your book? A book about divorce
16:02 Why is it important to try and see things from the dads point of view?
18:50 Why is it important to have multiple types of people in a society?
22:33 Why do you love fantasy?
23:29 If you could bond with an animal, what would it be?
25:37 What is next for Mari Mancusi?
28:10 Mari’s book recommendation.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
Two Guys, Five Rings: Matt, Bowen & The Olympics
Two Guys (Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers). Five Rings (you know, from the Olympics logo). One essential podcast for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. Bowen Yang (SNL, Wicked) and Matt Rogers (Palm Royale, No Good Deed) of Las Culturistas are back for a second season of Two Guys, Five Rings, a collaboration with NBC Sports and iHeartRadio. In this 15-episode event, Bowen and Matt discuss the top storylines, obsess over Italian culture, and find out what really goes on in the Olympic Village.