Upcoming release sample: DANCING ON MY GRAVE

 That evening, Kai came upstairs for a break and reported some fuss across the street for an hour or so. Heinrich, the most troublesome of the shop owners in the Windows building, had grumbled and stomped up and down the sidewalk, insisting the security cameras, one inside the lobby and one outside by the doorway, were broken. He had online access, and nothing was visible on the screen. When the security firm that maintained the cameras came out to do repairs, they discovered someone had sprayed the motion sensors and the lenses with black paint, rendering them useless. And no one saw the vandalism being done.

Eden made note of the incident, and sent an email to the security firm, to find out if they had contracts with other businesses in Cadburn, and if any other security cameras had been attacked. Her first reaction was to blame it on more petty nastiness from someone who supported Roger Cadburn and feared Conrad would run against him in a few months. Yet how would rendering the cameras useless harm Conrad? 

She was gathering more questions to ask him, the next time he could be nailed down to one place and forced to talk.

Ye Olde Dragon's Library: Episode 05

 In Episode 5, Ash prepares to head out on her quest. She is stunned to be given all sorts of little gifts from quite a few of the servants in the castle. Even people she thought didn't like her.

She also receives a good deal of advice, and grows curious when a good portion deals with the enchanted forest and the enchanted castle. Boiled down to the basics, the advice is always: Run away. The problem however is that she doesn't know which castle and forest everyone is referring to, because with all the reading she has done, she knows there are quite a few enchanted castles and enchanted forests throughout the world. When she can finally ask for specifics, she learns a great deal.

Now that you've had a chance to listen to the episode ... what do you think of that advice, and that information? What do you think Ash should do? Everything within her power to avoid the enchanted castle? Or should she look for it?

What are her chances of getting out of Castle Fairhold before Lathia's nasty servants catch up with her, and probably force her to travel with Lathia and do all the work on the quest?

Another question: Interested in obtaining the final version of this adventure in print or ebook or audiobook? There will be changes along the way, thanks to your input, either questions or suggestions, and remember, any suggestions you make that I use will get you a mention in the acknowledgements at the front of the book. You can get the finished book ahead of everyone else, at a discount, if you join my Patreon group -- and get even more inside information along the way, along with exclusives when they're created, like new short stories, maps, maybe character sketches, maybe access to a hardback version. It all depends as we go along ...

Look for Ye Olde Dragon's Library on Patreon, or follow this link: patreon.com/user?u=26078473

THANKS FOR STOPPING BY -- And remember to come back next week for episode 6!

Upcoming release sample: DANCING ON MY GRAVE

 “Uh, looks like he has a date.”

“Yeah, with a really strong dose of –“ He let out a disgusted groan, but when he turned his wheelchair to look up at her, his expression was entirely mischievous. “Really, really strong mental drugs, y’know?”

“You’re such a mean little boy.”

“Yeah. And proud of it.” Rufus let out a sigh and bent forward, giving a hard push with his arms, and slalomed his way through the incoming afternoon traffic to get to the bookstore side of the coffee shop.

Eden gnawed on his comments and what she had seen as she retrieved a mocha whip and headed back up to the office. Something just struck her as wrong, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. Other than Conrad not contacting her when he got back into town. Not a word on the problems he and his brother had been dealing with. She was still facing roadblocks in obtaining the basic information on Conrad’s adoption. His adopted parents had hesitated for only a day before signing release forms to make their side of the adoption accessible and open to investigation. Someone on the other side was keeping the door locked. What had Conrad’s birth parents needed to hide? She wondered if Conrad’s brother knew that he had asked for the investigation, and if he did, his feelings on the matter. Was he insulted, thinking his story wasn’t believed?

She got to work on several requests for her assistance and waited for Conrad to make contact.

Off the Bookshelf: LETTERS FROM FATHER CHRISTMAS, by J.R.R. Tolkein

 

For more than 20 years, J.R.R. Tolkein wrote and illustrated letters for his children, sent from Father Christmas. 

This is another side of the creator of Middle Earth, the whimsical side, telling stories about the antics of mischievous polar bears and gnomes and evil goblins trying to take over the North Pole, and disasters interfering with the delivery of Christmas presents.

This is a glimpse into the lives of the Tolkein family as the children grow up and no longer write letters to Father Christmas. As WWII interferes with obtaining supplies to make presents, and then difficulties finding the children to deliver those presents. There were several moments that threatened tears, seeing the changes, as one by one the children's names vanished from the greeting at the beginning of the letter.

What fun, having a father like Tolkein, who drew fun pictures to illustrate the adventures and disasters, and make up an "Arktic" alphabet for the North Polar Bear to write in, and then a goblin alphabet, and the Polar Bear mis-spelling words, and writing interjections in Father Christmas's letters, sometimes disputing what he said, and other times criticizing the poems he wrote. The labor of love that went into these letters is inspiring.

Reading this book and enjoying the illustrations should become a regular family holiday tradition.

Upcoming release sample: DANCING ON MY GRAVE

Saturday, June 18

 

“Now I’ve seen it all.” Rufus stopped short after making a right turn from the elevator and stared at the front of the coffee shop.

Eden nearly ran into him, coming out of the elevator behind him. She stepped up, resting one hand on the back of his wheelchair, and turned to look at what had him slowly shaking his head.

Conrad was walking out of the shop with that too-skinny Simone Radcliffe hanging on his arm like she needed him to keep her upright. That dopey grin he wore did not belong on his face. Especially focused on Simone. Eden shook her head, flashing back to what Sarah Fontaine had said a few weeks ago about Conrad waiting for Becca Sheridan to return from her short-term missionary trip.

“I didn’t know he was back in town,” she said, as the two walked out the front door and seemed to vanish for a few seconds, into the brilliant early afternoon sunlight.

“Neither did I,” Rufus murmured. “He didn’t get back to me, when I told him I finally got things cleared up with the office system. But if he figured he’d talk to me … why didn’t he come on up?”

 

Ye Olde Dragon's Library: EPISODE 04

 

Episode 04: Ash's meeting with Granny Phlox and Hazel ends too soon when Lord Winston accuses her of fleeing "justice." She hurries back to the castle. The two girls stand before Justiciar Camwell and learn the terms of their quest, which include being bound to spirit rings, to watch their progress.

Question for listeners:

Now that you've met Leena and Lathia, the sisters, would you like to see some extra material featuring them? Maybe some short stories about their adventures before and after they appear in Liars' Quest?

You'll hear updates on Lathia's activities in the quest, thanks to magical communication between the spirit rings, but would you like to see what happens to her, instead of just the condensed version that the ring shares with Ash? aka: the juicy details.

Would you like to see Leena in training among the maiden warriors? Maybe have her and her fighting band encounter Ash several years in the future? Maybe have Ash and Leena's fighting band go on a mission for the king?

CAST YOUR VOTE! Here in the blog comments, let me know. Give me some ideas for adventures -- if I use them, your name goes in the acknowledgments page in the published book. And if you're a member of the Patreon group, you'll get those short stories for FREE before they're released for sale in ebook .... 

Here are your links to either listen to the podcast on the Ye Olde Dragons website, or join the Patreon group.

Thanks for checking in!

Upcoming release sample: DANCING ON MY GRAVE

 

“You sure?”

“The way I see it, this can only do me good. Get out of town, away from the whole political machine before Prince Roger can drag me in.”

“Does that mean you’re planning on running for trustee?” Eden perked up. “Finally?”

“I’m considering it. The best way to keep my nose clean is make it hard for him to set me up for some public humiliation, like he used to do when we were kids.” Conrad shrugged. “Then there’s the whole mess with Becca.”

“What’s wrong with her?”

“Total silence. I’m hoping it’s just Internet stupidity, emails getting lost in the ether, and Simone isn’t up to the mental games she was playing in middle school before she went mental. She’s gotten hacked at me for no reason, just out of the blue confronts me and yells at me for not calling or stopping by when I said I would. I never said I would. Ever. I avoid her.”

“Yeah, that’s a good reason to get out of town,” she murmured.

“And Rufus doesn’t need me breathing down his neck while he’s trying to figure out what’s wrong with the company computers, and on which end.”

“He’s the best.”

“You ought to know, you trained him.”

“I can’t take all the credit.” Eden shook her head. “The guy’s a genius, he just needs a few road signs. Sometimes you have to whack him over the head with the road signs, because like a lot of geniuses, he can be oblivious when it comes to common sense, but … yeah, he’s got a great future ahead of him. Just as long as the CIA doesn’t drag him away into some clandestine operation.”

“Yeah, he’s a good kid. Glad he’s family. He and Devona are good for Grandma. I’m glad their mom came into her life when she did, needing a family. They sure needed her, when my long-lost uncles cut them off.”

Off the Bookshelf: THE ROWAN, by Anne McCaffrey

 

Audiobook

It's been years since I read this book by the Lady of Pern (if you don't know what Pern is, shame on you -- go look it up and read as many of the books as you can. You've led a deprived life!), so when I had a chance to get the audiobook version, I snatched it. Yeah, it's been so long I forgot a lot of details, so in some ways it was like reading a new book.

Always a delightful experience with an admired author.

The Rowan is one of several books that started as short stories and then McCaffrey expanded into full-length books -- and then a series of books. This particular "universe" deals with Talented folk and their various adventures exploring their powers and finding acceptance in a world that at first doesn't trust those with unusual gifts. And sometimes tries to confine them and commandeer their abilities.

We first meet the Rowan as a child orphaned in a horrific accident that wiped out the mining town on her colony world. She reveals her high-level telepathic power when, frightened, hungry, and cold, she sends a telepathic call for help. For days. Healing from that trauma, and other traumas and mistaken beliefs inflicted on her, takes her into her adult life. Rowan is a T-1, one of only a handful of the most powerful telepaths, entrusted with moving people and communicating across solar systems as Earth spreads out across the galaxy. But all that power doesn't guarantee happiness, until she meets a mind of equal strength and talent ... yeah, there's a little bit of a love story woven in here, but most of it is the tale of healing and growth, and being in the right place at the right time to essentially save the human race.

I think I'm going to have to put aside some time to go back and read all the stories in this series. It's been too long since I visited.

Upcoming release sample: DANCING ON MY GRAVE

 “I didn’t say that.” Eden offered him a smile. The business smile, as Kai called it. Cool and calm and confident, that could slide over into threatening at a moment’s notice, and freeze demanding creepazoids in an instant, if necessary.

“You don’t have to. Sometimes those business smarts Grandpa trained into me come in handy, figuring out people and situations in other areas. You’ve gotta be good at reading people when you work real estate. All the horror stories you hear about the renters-from-hell, you don’t want that happening to you, so you learn to sniff out the delinquents and troublemakers and vandals before you sign the lease.” He leaned back in his chair, and raked his fingers through his fine, pale curls. “And figure out how to say no to the really big troublemakers without giving them an opening to sue you for prejudice or something else.”

“I have a few remote connections to people with access to higher security clearance,” Eden began. 

“No, it’s okay. I’ve got a few ideas I need to follow up on first. Steve mentioned something … still need to figure out if it’ll help with my other problems, or just make them worse. The only way I can do that is to meet him face-to-face.”

Ye Olde Dragon's Library: Episode 03

 

Each week, you'll hear the adventures of Ash, an orphan servant girl with a missing past, and hints of magical potential. When she is accused of a crime, both she and her accuser are revealed as liars. They end up on a quest with a list of deeds to accomplish, to prove who is telling the truth and who is the liar.

 

Episode 03: Ash and Lathia face Justiciar Camwell, where both are condemned as liars. As they wait to learn the requirements of the quest they must go on, Ash is sent to visit Granny Phlox, who raised her, for advice and warnings.

 

Listeners: 

What do you think the conditions of the quest will be? 

What sort of advice do you think Ash will receive from Granny Phlox? Will it do any good?

What do you think Ash's stars mean?

What danger do you think she is in, after hearing what Lord Winston did to his wife and daughters?

Should Ash run away and join the warrior maidens?

What do you think will happen next?

 

Want to support the podcast?

Find us on Patreon: Ye Olde Dragon's Library

patreon.com/user?u=26078473

Upcoming release sample: DANCING ON MY GRAVE

 Monday, June 6

 

“All the indications are that there’s something federal involved in the mix,” Eden said. She kept her head bowed over the far-too-thin stack of printouts from all the research she’d been doing for Conrad and studied him from under her eyebrows.

She needn’t have bothered being so discrete. Conrad didn’t see her. He frowned, new furrows in his forehead and around his mouth, staring at a spot a few inches off the surface of the conference table between them. They were alone in the office upstairs from Book & Mug for the moment. Troy was due back in another half hour from a trip to Michigan. Eden looked forward to hearing if he had learned anything new from a tenuous lead about their hidden backgrounds.

“Most of what I’ve been learning has been the shadows cast by the information I can’t get at. Kind of like deciding the shape of something from the hole it left when it passed through other things. I thought at first the difficulty came from the adoption records being sealed. Now …” She slid the bankers clip back onto her copy of the reports and sat back in her chair. “Either your brother is involved in something dangerous, and he’s being protected --” 

“Or he’s dangerous in and of himself, and the further I have you dig, the more danger you could be bringing on yourself.” He nodded and only flicked his gaze up to meet hers for a moment.

Off the Bookshelf: NO HELP WANTED, by Margaret Epp

 

Blast from the past -- I read this book when I was in elementary school. It was a prize I won for memorizing Bible verses. Funny, how long it took me to read the book way back then ... and how quickly I read it now, when I managed to get a beat-up copy, and revisit a childhood favorite.

If our heroine, Shannon's story were told today .... wow, it would have progressed very differently. No cell phones, no email, no computers, no way to track people's activities, no social media to instantly look up people and find out, hey, that face doesn't go with that name!

Shannon, age 14, is living with her aunts and not happy about it. Especially when suddenly her father has stopped writing. She misses their regular weekend camping trips, but apparently her fussy aunt persuaded her father that he wasn't raising her to be a proper lady. When Shannon discovers that her aunt has been keeping her father's letters from her, and preventing her letters from being mailed to her father, she begins a series of questionable decisions. 

After Shannon discovers that her father plans on getting married, she decides to check out Jane, the woman who will soon be her stepmother. A series of helpful events and coincidences allow Shannon to sneak away from home, and using a false name go to work at the summer camp where Jane is working. Problems arise when a spoiled rich girl from the neighborhood shows up, using Shannon's name to hide out from her guardian and make trouble. The situation grows grim before everything is straightened out and all the lies are confessed. So many places along the way where Shannon could have told the truth, confronted people with their lies, and prevented trouble. But she didn't. 

This was quite an adventure and a little frightening for an eight-year-old reading the book for the first time. As an adult ... I wanted to take most of the characters and shake some sense into them! How perspectives change with the years. Still, it kept me reading, and that's the mark of a well-told story.

Upcoming release sample: DANCING ON MY GRAVE

“It’s bad enough that Radcliffe girl is dogging his steps. Sometimes I’m afraid Becca went to help with that school to get away from her.”

“Radcliffe?”

“Simone. The one who leads that tap dance club. Glittery little …” Sarah’s upper lip curled up for a moment.

“Simone. Right.” Eden had to think for a moment, before recalling a thin, sharp-faced girl who always had something glittery on her clothes, no matter the weather or season. She showed up in Conrad’s shadow more and more often lately, whenever Eden saw him. “I can’t imagine Becca running away from anyone, least of all a rival.”

“Oh, there was some nasty mess when they were in middle school, and Simone blamed her, brought it up constantly. Another girl was hurt by a boy who was trying to romance her and Becca and Simone, all at the same time. Now what was his name …” Sarah’s lips pursed as she thought. She sighed and shook her head. “He’s gone, the girl’s gone, and Simone keeps using the whole ugly mess to try to slap Becca around, even though it was never her fault. And Becca can’t seem to shake off the guilt that she never should have felt in the first place.”

“You really care about her, don’t you?”

“I adore the girl. If Conrad ever slows down enough to figure out what’s good for him, I’m hoping those two make a permanent partnership. They’re good for each other.” She nodded for punctuation. “And then he found out he was adopted, from that idiot, Frank.” She sniffed. “That’s one of my three stubborn, self-righteous sons. The nerve of them, waltzing in a week after their father’s funeral and declaring themselves in charge, I should just step aside. And then stopping just short of threatening legal action when Conrad stood up for me and wouldn’t let them in the office, much less hand over the passwords and keys and checkbooks.” She shuddered, visibly shaking off the icy fury that cracked some of her usual sweet serenity. “I’m worried for Conrad. You’ll help me look out for him, won’t you?”

“You know I will.” Eden grasped Sarah’s hand and squeezed it.

Ye Olde Dragon's Library: Episode 02

 

In this episode:

Lathia makes so much noise, Lord Winston and Lord Digory come running. She accuses Ash of attacking her, which Ash denies. Justiciar Camwell gets involved and convenes an inquiry into the incident.

Listen to this week's episode on your favorite podcast app, or go to my website and listen there:

www.YeOldeDragonBooks.com

So, what do you think will happen next? Will Ash get a fair trial? The justiciar doesn't seem to have much sympathy for Lathia, but at the same time he's ignoring what others say about her record and reputation. What should Ash do? Run for it, or stand and fight?

Remember to check back next week for Episode 03 -- it's going to get really interesting ....

Of course, I hope you already think this is interesting!

And please consider joining the Ye Olde Dragon's Library Patreon group, to help support this podcast, pay for the production and distribution costs, and get some goodies along the way!

Upcoming release sample: DANCING ON MY GRAVE

 Tuesday, May 10

 

“Eden?” Sarah Fontaine rested a thin hand on Eden’s elbow, just as she reached for the bag left on the end of the counter at Book & Mug by the delivery girl from Celestial Dragon.

“Hi, Miss Sarah.” Eden smiled despite the sudden electric zing of apprehension that shot through her at the elderly woman’s composed, delicately regal expression and posture. “Something I can do for you?”

“Could we talk? Privately?” Sarah looked around the coffee shop, four-fifths empty just before the afternoon rush began.

“Sure.” She took a firm grip on the handles of the bag and gestured with a tilt of her head for Sarah to follow her to the brass cage elevator around the corner from the front counter.

The metal gate rattled open, Eden gestured for Sarah to step in first, and in moments they were riding up to the second-floor office. She didn’t try to disguise the searching look she gave the woman. Something was gnawing at her. Sarah hadn’t so much recovered from the loss of her husband, Albert, as she had simply carried on. Eden wondered now if that resilience and serenity she envied in Sarah was more mask and determination than reality.

“What can I do for you?” Eden led her guest over to the seat next to her workstation.

“I’m not as sure as I would like to be, of the answer you’ll give me …” Sarah settled into the swivel chair and rested her tapestry handbag on her lap. “Conrad has been meeting with you quite often, over the last few weeks. I hope – please tell me it has to do with business and not personal reasons?”

“Uh … it’s entirely personal for Conrad, but not for me. And that’s about all I feel comfortable telling you. I’m sorry,” Eden hurried on. Something skipped in her chest when Sarah closed her eyes. She reached to lightly grasp the elderly woman’s wrist and was relieved when Sarah opened her eyes and smiled. 

 “I won’t press you. I hoped he had hired you to do some investigative work for him, and not … well …” She shrugged. “Honestly, I was worried he had given up waiting for Becca to come back to town.”

“Me and Conrad? No.” She tried not to laugh, sensing it would insult the woman. After all, Conrad was really the only grandson she had. He had confided in Eden about the reconciliation efforts of one of his Fontaine cousins, but until that actually happened, Conrad was pretty much all she had. One daughter was dead, the other lived in Montana, and whatever had caused her sons to turn their backs on her and Albert so many years ago, it couldn’t be gotten over and healed in a matter of a few days.

Off the Bookshelf: WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON, by Grace Lin

 

Audiobook

Narrated by Janet Song

(For those who are paying attention, yes, I've changed my book review day from Sunday to Thursday. Sundays now are for new episodes of my storytelling podcast, Ye Olde Dragon's Library. I hope you'll stop in and listen!)

I loved the first book I discovered by this author, When the Sea Turned to Silver, so yes, I had to snatch this one when it became available on Audible.

Our heroine is Minli, a young girl who believes in wonder and magic and dreams, despite growing up in a sad, mud-brown village where everything is a struggle and there seems to be little reason for joy. One day, she dares to take a chance. First, she buys a goldfish, to bring good fortune into her home. Her mother only sees the waste, spending coin on a fish that needs to be fed, when they barely have enough to feed themselves. Minli decides to set the fish free -- and when she does, her adventure begins. The fish tells her how to find someone who might be able to help Minli change her family's fortune, and bring joy and color to her village. Minli sets off on a journey, with no guarantee and little hope that she will return, much less succeed.

Along her journey, Minli faces danger and fear with courage. She tries even when the situation seems hopeless. She shows mercy and sympathy. She can see what few around her notice. There is magic everywhere, and her faith and her courage encourage others to help her.

At every step of her journey, a new story rich with Chinese mythology is related to the readers, and eventually all the stories tie together. This is a lovely, rich tapestry of history, culture, and imagery, heroism, sacrifice, and faith.

My only complaint? The story ended far too quickly!

Upcoming release sample: DANCING ON MY GRAVE

Book & Mug Mysteries #2

Becca Sheridan comes home from overseas with big hopes, but Conrad Price, the center of those hopes, has changed. For one thing, he has kicked her square dancing club, the Four Corners, out of Windows on the River, the venue they have used for years. It's little comfort that he also kicked out the Tippy Toes tap dancing club, led by Becca's high school rival, Simone Radcliffe -- because now Conrad and Simone are an item.

 

Or are they? Over the months that follow, Conrad seems to be two people. His grandmother, Sarah Fontaine, grows afraid of him. Then estranged Fontaine relatives return to Cadburn Township, wanting to take away the family busines. Is Conrad trying to fix the family rift, or make it worse? Is he trying to get back together with Becca, or does Simone still have him wrapped around her glittery fingers?

 

When Sarah dies on vacation, and there is no body to bury, Becca starts asking questions she should have asked months ago. A Fontaine uncle vanishes, then there's a dead body in Cadburn Creek. Is Conrad trying to make things right with Becca or not? And just what is in the letters Sarah left behind, to be read at the settling of the family trust?

 

When Four Corners is allowed to return to Windows on the River, Becca should be dancing for joy. But something just doesn't feel right. What else will she uncover as she and friends from Book & Mug dig into what has been hidden all these months in Cadburn Township?

 

Ye Olde Dragon's Library: Episode 01

 

WELCOME to the first episode of the Ye Olde Dragon's Library storytelling podcast -- and welcome to the New Year!

LIAR'S QUEST, the book you will be hearing for the next few months, is based on the short stories that have appeared in the Fairytale and Classic Monster anthologies published by Ye Olde Dragon Books.

Funny thing -- and you'll be hearing bits and pieces of back story during the run of the podcast -- but I had notes for a book variously called The Beastly Beauty or The Beastly Beauty and the Disenchanted Prince and other ideas for several years. When we decided to do the first Fairytale Anthology, When Your Beauty IS the Beast, I pulled out the notes and decided to write the story of the daughter of the heroine, hence the title, Daughter of the Beastly Beauty. What followed were more short stories of Belladonna, known as 'Na, and the friends she's picked up along the way -- starting with Ambrose and Fang the Bunny. Coming this spring is Fairytale Anthology #3, Perchance to Dream, with stories based on Sleeping Beauty. 'Na's newest adventure will be titled either Beauty in a Box, or Box of Beauty. (cue: evil laughter)

So ... now it's time to tell the story of 'Na's parents, and how they became Lady Ashlyn and Lord Zared. It's shaping up to be a really loooong story. Like maybe 3 books, by the time they're allowed to settle down in their happily ever after ... if not peaceful domestic bliss. Because face it folks, they're living in the enchanted castle, in the enchanted forest, and the castle is full of temperamental magic books and rooms upon rooms full of troublesome magical artifacts. Think Warehouse 13 without the purple goo that deactivates the really problematic items.

Episode 01: We meet Ash, a servant girl who's been passing herself off as a boy, because face it, boys get much more sensible clothes and they get to have a lot more fun in a semi-medieval world. However, things are about to change, and Ash is about to be catapulted into an adventure she doesn't really want. All thanks to that spoiled brat, Lathia, who needs some serious hormone therapy ...

PLEASE COME BACK and comment, ask questions, chat, right here in the blog. This story is in the process of revisions, so if I use your suggestions -- and if I ask for help with things like finding better names for people and places -- your name will go in the acknowledgments section of the published book.

If you don't have a podcast app, or your podcast app isn't carrying Ye Olde Dragon's Library yet, you can listen to the podcast on the Ye Olde Dragon Books website: CLICK HERE.