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The Dragon and the Girl, Book 2

 

Middle School Grade Fantasy

Date Published: November 14, 2023

Publisher: Acorn Publishing

 

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Dire news arrives from Cantington. Rumors of dragon sightings are stirring
up fears based on old stories that depict dragons as blood-thirsty,
fire-breathing monsters. To protect his people, the Overking decrees that
all dragons must die.    

Twelve-year-old Eliana knows the truth about dragons. After all, her best
friend, Winston, is one! Fresh off an adventure where she saved her kingdom
using her ability to communicate with Winston’s family, she is now
excited to hone her skills through her Dragon Speaker apprenticeship. That
is until she begins having a recurring nightmare of a scar-faced soldier, a
poison-tipped spear, and an orb that glows in the dark. What’s even
more worrisome is that Winston is having the same nightmare.

When they hear of the Overking’s decree, they realize their dreams
may not be a coincidence. Eliana must quickly learn how to use her ability
to understand dragons to help new friends–and old–solve a
mystery about an ancient treasure and save the dragons from certain death.
Along the way, there are lessons to be learned about the dangerous desire
for fame, about the transitory nature of plans, and about how treasure can
mean different things to different people…and dragons.

 

True Treasure tablet

EXCERPT

The tip of the spear was mere inches from Eliana’s eye. A drop of poisonous liquid hung there, and in it she saw her own reflection. She tried to scream, to beg for mercy, to somehow stop Margred’s soldier from what she was about to do. Eliana’s cry clawed at her throat, but it was soundless, useless. In the soldier’s other hand was an orb, a glowing round stone that cast light on the soldier’s smile, a terrifying smile made crooked by the scar running the length of her face.

Someone grabbed Eliana’s shoulder. Shook it.

“Eliana.”

A barely audible whisper. Why could she hear her name carried on a breath but not her own screams? 

“Eliana.”

The hand on her shoulder was heavy and warm. And tugged gently on her quilt. Quilt? Why would her quilt be here in the Morgan Castle courtyard in the midst of the battle? She opened her eyes to the dim light of the sleeping room. Her father pulled on the quilt again.

“I know it’s early,” he said. “But Winston is here already. He’s out by the chicken coop.”

Winston. Chicken coop. Eliana felt like she was pulling herself from a murky bog, her dream fading. Yet another of the dreams that had started the night Winston flew her home from Morgan Castle.

Contrary to her nightmares, Eliana knew all was well now. King Halwyn’s horrible counselor Margred and the remainder of her soldiers were gone—had sailed north up the Pearl River. Everyone she’d poisoned had recovered, thanks to Cook’s special tea. Morgan Castle’s treasure had all been found, right where Margred had hidden it. Now King Halwyn could pay the annual tribute to the Overking of Canting at the Banquet on June the sixth, just three days away.

Eliana pushed tangled brown curls out of her eyes and tried to smile at her father. If all were well, why did she keep dreaming about the scar-faced soldier and her poison-tipped spear? And a cavern with a huge dark shape that would never move again?

Eliana slid out of her bed, careful not to wake her older sister Alethia. Her father wrapped a shawl around Eliana’s shoulders and held the sleeping curtain open for her. In the kitchen, Father’s teacup—one of the four Dragon Cups—was on the wooden table, along with a slab of brown bread.

Cadoc pulled out a chair and gestured for her to sit. He unhooked the water pot from the rod above the stove, poured the simmering water over the tea leaves in the cup, and slid it to her waiting hands.

“Same dreams?” he whispered, turning to hang the pot back on the rod.

She nodded and wrapped her hands around the cup with its intricate blue designs. The steam from the tea wafted up. It smelled like citrus.

“Have a little,” said her father. “And eat. Then you can go see why Winston is here so early.”

Eliana nodded again and took a few sips of the tea. It seemed to chase away at least some of the nightmare remnants.

“The nightmares . . . it’s your mind trying to understand what happened,” said Cadoc. “Even though everything turned out well in the end, what happened was . . . was what no child should have to experience.” He handed her the bread.

Eliana heard sadness mixed with frustration in his voice. Now he could no longer leave for work at the quarry every day assuming his family would be safe at home, doing the things they’d always done. A dragon was at this very moment dozing in their yard. And his daughter was a Dragon Speaker. Had flown on a dragon hundreds of feet above ocean waves barely covering boulders at the foot of the Dead Rise Cliffs. Had been in the middle of a battle with an evil woman and her spear-wielding soldiers, one of whom Eliana kept seeing in her dreams.

Delicate yellow light from the window fell on her father’s face and on the lines that hadn’t been there before. He stood, careful not to scrape the chair legs on the slate floor. He slung his leather tool satchel over his shoulder and took his coat off the hook by the front door.

He smiled. “I’ll go out this way so I don’t disturb Winston. He seemed tired, too.”

Winston. Her new friend, the young dragon with amazing turquoise and emerald green scales and feathers. Winston, who she could understand when she touched him.

 

498 words

Winston crouched in Eliana’s yard, holding his blocky head as still as possible so as not to disturb the rooster who stood precariously balanced between his ears. Eliana’s father had said his name was Henry the Fifth when he’d unlatched the door to the coop. Gray and white and clearly in charge, he still reminded Winston of his father.

After all the hens had erupted into the yard to begin their morning forage, the rooster had tipped his head to examine Winston with one shiny black eye. Then, without warning, Henry the Fifth had lifted his stubby wings and flapped his way to his current perch on Winston’s head. Clearly, the rooster no longer viewed Winston as a threat.

Now, the rooster shifted his weight, dug his claws into Winston’s scales, and emitted his loud, raspy call. Ererghh errrr eregrerrh errrrr!

The hens ignored him, but Winston’s sensitive ears rang from the assault. Inch by inch, careful not to unbalance the rooster, Winston used his powerful neck muscles to lay his head on the ground by the Fallonds’ garden. With one more awful call, Henry the Fifth made his way slowly down the length of Winston’s snout and hopped off.

Winston watched the rooster strut to the edge of the garden. The rising sun warmed the dragon’s scales. A slight breeze danced in the tufts of turquoise and emerald feathers on his neck.

I’ll just rest a little until Eliana comes out, he thought. His eyelids drifted upward. Soon, puffs of steam emerged from his nostrils, warming the air around his head. One of the chickens came and took a dust bath in the dirt beside his right nostril.

“Opal!”

Winston jerked from his doze at the sound of Eliana’s laugh. He raised his head to greet her, but instead began sneezing. And sneezing. Eliana scooped up the fluffy white hen and put her several feet away from him.

“I think she got dust in your . . . nose? Your . . . nostril? Whatever you call it. What do you call that?” She put her hand on his sun-struck scales so she could understand him.

“My nostril,” he said, attempting to sound more dignified than he felt. He sneezed once more, this time spraying the air with droplets of water mixed with dirt. Eliana backed away, obviously trying not to laugh again.

“Uummmhh mmm muhhhh . . .” Winston began.

Eliana reached to touch him again.

“It’s not really funny, Eliana . . . well, maybe a little bit funny,” he said.

“I’m sorry, Winston,” she said. “Just warn me next time you’re going to sneeze. I don’t want mud on my dress when we meet Doryu at Morgan Castle.”

Morgan Castle.

Winston’s scales rippled and his tail tightened around his body. He’d thought the nightmares only came at night when he slept. But here, this morning, even in Eliana’s sun-brightened clearing, the sights and smells and sounds of what had happened at Morgan Castle returned.

About the Author

Laura Findley Evans

Laura Findley Evans is the author of True North, Book 1 of The Dragon and
the Girl series. It all started when her grandchildren said one night (when
they were supposed to be sleeping), “Tell us a story.” And so
the adventures of a feisty young girl and an impossible dragon began. Laura
would like you to know that whatever she writes must be true, whether it is
real or not. She hopes you will discover the truth in whatever she writes.
When she’s not writing, Laura reads (a lot), cooks (mostly) healthy
dinners, and spends time with people she loves. You can visit her at
www.LauraFindleyEvans.com.

 

Contact Links

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Facebook

Twitter

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The Dragon and the Girl, Book 2

 

Middle School Grade Fantasy

Date Published: November 14, 2023

Publisher: Acorn Publishing

 

Dire news arrives from Cantington. Rumors of dragon sightings are stirring
up fears based on old stories that depict dragons as blood-thirsty,
fire-breathing monsters. To protect his people, the Overking decrees that
all dragons must die.    

Twelve-year-old Eliana knows the truth about dragons. After all, her best
friend, Winston, is one! Fresh off an adventure where she saved her kingdom
using her ability to communicate with Winston’s family, she is now
excited to hone her skills through her Dragon Speaker apprenticeship. That
is until she begins having a recurring nightmare of a scar-faced soldier, a
poison-tipped spear, and an orb that glows in the dark. What’s even
more worrisome is that Winston is having the same nightmare.

When they hear of the Overking’s decree, they realize their dreams
may not be a coincidence. Eliana must quickly learn how to use her ability
to understand dragons to help new friends–and old–solve a
mystery about an ancient treasure and save the dragons from certain death.
Along the way, there are lessons to be learned about the dangerous desire
for fame, about the transitory nature of plans, and about how treasure can
mean different things to different people…and dragons.

About the Author

Laura Findley Evans

Laura Findley Evans is the author of True North, Book 1 of The Dragon and
the Girl series. It all started when her grandchildren said one night (when
they were supposed to be sleeping), “Tell us a story.” And so
the adventures of a feisty young girl and an impossible dragon began. Laura
would like you to know that whatever she writes must be true, whether it is
real or not. She hopes you will discover the truth in whatever she writes.
When she’s not writing, Laura reads (a lot), cooks (mostly) healthy
dinners, and spends time with people she loves. You can visit her at
www.LauraFindleyEvans.com.

 

Contact Links

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Goodreads

Instagram

Purchase Links

Amazon

B&N 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

RABT Book Tours & PR

Comments Off on True Treasure Blitz

Filed under BOOKS

The Dragon and the Girl: True Treasure Reveal

 

The Dragon and the Girl: True Treasure cover

The Dragon and the Girl, Book 2

 

Middle School Grade Fantasy

Date Published: November 14, 2023

Publisher: Acorn Publishing

 

photo add-to-goodreads-button_zpsc7b3c634.png

Dire news arrives from Cantington. Rumors of dragon sightings are stirring
up fears based on old stories that depict dragons as blood-thirsty,
fire-breathing monsters. To protect his people, the Overking decrees that
all dragons must die.    

Twelve-year-old Eliana knows the truth about dragons. After all, her best
friend, Winston, is one! Fresh off an adventure where she saved her kingdom
using her ability to communicate with Winston’s family, she is now
excited to hone her skills through her Dragon Speaker apprenticeship. That
is until she begins having a recurring nightmare of a scar-faced soldier, a
poison-tipped spear, and an orb that glows in the dark. What’s even
more worrisome is that Winston is having the same nightmare.

When they hear of the Overking’s decree, they realize their dreams
may not be a coincidence. Eliana must quickly learn how to use her ability
to understand dragons to help new friends–and old–solve a
mystery about an ancient treasure and save the dragons from certain death.
Along the way, there are lessons to be learned about the dangerous desire
for fame, about the transitory nature of plans, and about how treasure can
mean different things to different people…and dragons.

 

About the Author

Laura Findley Evans

Laura Findley Evans is the author of True North, Book 1 of The Dragon and
the Girl series. It all started when her grandchildren said one night (when
they were supposed to be sleeping), “Tell us a story.” And so
the adventures of a feisty young girl and an impossible dragon began. Laura
would like you to know that whatever she writes must be true, whether it is
real or not. She hopes you will discover the truth in whatever she writes.
When she’s not writing, Laura reads (a lot), cooks (mostly) healthy
dinners, and spends time with people she loves. You can visit her at
www.LauraFindleyEvans.com.

 

Contact Links

Website

Facebook

Twitter: @LauraFindley

Goodreads

Instagram: @laurafindleyevans

 

RABT Book Tours & PR

Comments Off on The Dragon and the Girl: True Treasure Reveal

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The Dragon and the Girl: True North Virtual Book Tour

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Middle School Grade Fantasy

 

Date Published: December 2, 2021

Publisher: Acorn Publishing

THE LAST DRAGONS IN THE KINGDOM WERE KILLED A HALF CENTURY AGO.

At least that’s what twelve-year-old Eliana has grown up hearing. Imagine her surprise when one morning in the forest she finds herself eye to eye with a young dragon. When she learns the dragon’s father has been missing since the last full moon, she vows to help.

Together, they seek the King for guidance, but upon reaching the castle they realize the short, frazzled King has problems of his own. The kingdom’s treasure is missing and the tribute to the Overking is due in a few short weeks. If the King doesn’t pay, he will lose his kingdom to the Overking’s feckless nephew.

The dragon and the girl must discover courage—sprinkled with magic—to find what is lost before the kingdom falls into the wrong hands and people and dragons perish forever.

The Dragon and the Girl: True North  tablet

EXCERPT

In the forest, Eliana stood as still as her pounding heart would allow. She was so close to the dragon—for indeed it was a dragon—that she could see the slow blink of its eyes as the lids moved up and then down again. Somehow she was able to take in the fact that the creature was much smaller than the old stories portrayed. Its scaly tail and feathered wings were wrapped around its body so it looked to be only about as big as a draft horse.

In the old stories, the last dragons were said to have been killed before her parents had been born. But Eliana could feel its warm breath moving rapidly in and out of the tear-shaped nostrils on either side of its blocky snout. They were breathing in unison, she and this impossible dragon. 

 “You’re afraid, too,” she whispered, and the creature drew back, crouching lower on its powerful haunches; its shimmery turquoise and green scales and feathered wings quivered as it began to move away from her, deeper into the forest. 

         “Please don’t go,” Eliana said, using the soft, cooing voice she used to soothe Opal when the hen was frightened. “I won’t hurt you.” The dragon stopped, its pointed ears twitching. 

         “My name is Eliana. What’s your name?” The sound the dragon made then reminded her of the twins when they tried to talk with their mouths full of porridge. What was I thinking? she wondered. Of course it can’t understand me. But something—the way the dragon looked at her so intently—made her try again.

         “El-i-ana…Eliana. My name…” she placed her hand on her chest, “…is Eliana.” 

         “Umm-mmm-mm-um,” the dragon repeated, sort of. 

         “You can understand me!” Eliana cried, but clamped her hand over her mouth at the sight of the dragon crouching even lower as it seemed to be trying to cover its ears with its front legs. 

         “You can understand me,” she repeated, softer this time. It nodded its huge head and what looked like a smile curled the corners of its mouth. Eliana tried not to focus on the square, white teeth that were now clearly visible. 

         “What’s your name?” she asked, careful to move her hand slowly as she pointed at the dragon. 

         “Umm-mmm,” it replied, laying a taloned claw on its own chest. Except for the missing syllables, it sounded almost the same as when it had tried to say her name.

         She tried again. “What’s your name?”

         Again, the mumbled reply.

         “Soooo, you can understand me…” The dragon nodded vigorously. “But I can’t understand you.” The dragon looked almost as disappointed as she felt. 

         Feeling the effects of first the shock and then the excitement of meeting a real live dragon, Eliana sank to sit on the soft, green moss of the forest floor. A dragon? She shook her head. Despite what she’d always heard, this beautiful creature was very much alive.

The dragon stretched its neck so its eyes were once again staring into her own. Slender shafts of morning light found their way between the dark green tree branches and fell on the dragon’s scales and on its feathered wings pressed against his sides. The colors were like nothing she had ever seen before, seeming to gather sunlight to create shades unknown in nature. Without a thought about what she was doing, she reached out her hand and laid it on the creature’s neck. 

         “Winston. My name is Winston,” said the dragon.

         Eliana simultaneously gasped and pulled her hand away. Wisps of colors—the same as those of his glittering scales—streamed between her hand and the dragon. Within seconds, the wisps faded and disappeared. 

         “Your name is Winston?” she breathed. The sizable head nodded and the smile returned. 

         “How…?” Eliana looked at the palm of her hand. Winston moved slightly so that his neck was only inches away. She gently placed her hand on his scales again. 

         “It’s when you touch my neck that you can understand me, Eliana.” 

Eliana realized Winston was right: when he’d tried to talk before she touched him, she couldn’t understand him at all. It reminded her of the time she’d seen a traveler in the village who spoke what her mother had said was a language from another land. The sound of his speech had been fascinating, like music with high notes and low notes woven together. She could hear the man, but had no idea what he was saying. With her hand on the dragon, it was as if she had learned another language. Winston’s language. And her mind whirled with all the questions she wanted to ask him. 

About the Author

Laura Findley Evans

At six years old, Laura Findley Evans wrote her first story about a man named Brill who flew to the moon. When her teacher asked her to stand up and read it to the class, she learned just how powerful a story can be. A creative writing major in college, she has written many more short stories, some of which were published, and one that won an award. The Dragon and the Girl: Due North is her first novel. It began when her grandchildren said one night (when they were supposed to be sleeping), “Tell us a story.” And so she did. Laura would like you to know that whatever she writes must be true, whether it is real or not. She hopes you will discover the truth in this story. You can visit her online at www.LauraFindleyEvans.com.

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Facebook

Twitter

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Filed under BOOKS

The Dragon and the Girl: True North Blitz

 

The Dragon and the Girl: True North cover

Middle School Grade Fantasy

 

Date Published: December 2, 2021

Publisher: Acorn Publishing

THE LAST DRAGONS IN THE KINGDOM WERE KILLED A HALF CENTURY AGO.

At least that’s what twelve-year-old Eliana has grown up hearing. Imagine her surprise when one morning in the forest she finds herself eye to eye with a young dragon. When she learns the dragon’s father has been missing since the last full moon, she vows to help.

Together, they seek the King for guidance, but upon reaching the castle they realize the short, frazzled King has problems of his own. The kingdom’s treasure is missing and the tribute to the Overking is due in a few short weeks. If the King doesn’t pay, he will lose his kingdom to the Overking’s feckless nephew.

The dragon and the girl must discover courage—sprinkled with magic—to find what is lost before the kingdom falls into the wrong hands and people and dragons perish forever.

About the Author

Laura Findley Evans

At six years old, Laura Findley Evans wrote her first story about a man named Brill who flew to the moon. When her teacher asked her to stand up and read it to the class, she learned just how powerful a story can be. A creative writing major in college, she has written many more short stories, some of which were published, and one that won an award. The Dragon and the Girl: Due North is her first novel. It began when her grandchildren said one night (when they were supposed to be sleeping), “Tell us a story.” And so she did. Laura would like you to know that whatever she writes must be true, whether it is real or not. She hopes you will discover the truth in this story. You can visit her online at www.LauraFindleyEvans.com.

Contact Links

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Goodreads

Instagram

a Rafflecopter giveaway

RABT Book Tours & PR

2 Comments

Filed under BOOKS