Book News first!
I have received my second 5 star review on Amazon! *crowd cheers* I am so excited that people are reading and enjoying my book. It makes me incredibly happy to hear about people connecting with my characters and the world that they exist in!
The second update is that I have started working on another project that is tied to the Ryder Chronicles. In the books there are references to events that happened previously when some of the characters are children, or things that happen "off screen" so to speak. So I've decided to take some of those stories, and actually write them out into short stories. Nothing too grand, just a couple thousand words each, nothing over 10k, package them up into little novellas and offer them on Amazon as well! Currently I am working on the first story, which focuses on Riona and Damien when they were younger. I am not sure when these will be available, hopefully the first Dragon Tale novella will be out around the same time as book 2 in February! Until then, please enjoy the un-edited first draft of a few paragraphs below. :)
And as always keep writing my friends!
“C’mon Riona! We
can’t be late!” The sound of her name broke whatever hold the late summer sun
had over her. She whipped her head around, causing her long chestnut plait to
wrap around her shoulders, to see Damien gesturing wildly toward town.
“Coming!” But she
had no idea how she was to get down. The wind tugged at her hair and from her
perch in the tree she had been watching the colorful wagons rolling in for the
end of the summer cycle fair. From the varied fabrics, and the glint of oddly
colored horses, Riona knew that the Sispwn would be there again. Her stomach
twisted in delight as she thought about the delicacies that would soon be
lending their spices to the air.
A twig snapped
under her hand, and Damien yelled at her again. He hated climbing trees, so she
always made the climbs by herself. Her nose filled with the crisp scent of pine
needles as she considered her best options for descent. Bare toes gripped the
rough bark as she placed first one, then the other foot on the branch below.
Squirrels chattered above her head, and she could have sworn a small pinecone
had not hit her on the head on accident. But she reached the ground safely, and
laced up her boots before running after Damien as fast as her twelve-year-old
legs could carry her.
The beating of
drums, sizzling food over pits, and the neighing of horses filled the air as
she came into the main area. Wagons of all sizes and shapes surrounded the area
while a large fire pit was central. It remained unlit, but bales of dried hay lay
heaped and ready to be lit at sunset at the close of the second day. In the
expanse between the wagons and fire pit people moved like ripples of water
around the tables and wagons loaded with wares for sale.
“There you are!”
Riona turned in time to see her mother striding toward her, long blonde hair
pulled back, and her bright blue eyes matched by the blue apron she wore. “I
need some help unloading.” Sighing, Riona dutifully followed her mother back to
the wagon.
Not only did
people from out of town come for the trading, locals did as well. In fact, this
was the fair where her mother made the most throughout the year. Some of the
hides had taken on a weird odor from being packaged so long, and Riona wrinkled
her nose as she laid them on the end of their wagon. Ellis, their workhorse,
stood nearby, his tail swished through the air occasionally at the flies.
“Put that over
there,” her mother directed, “and move that pouch to the other side.” Riona did
as she was told, but her nose filled with the scents of cooking food, and her
attention wandered.
“Can I go now?”
She turned brown eyes to her mother.
“Are you going to
behave?” Riona could only nod vigorously as her mother crossed her arms over
her chest. “Are you going to stay with Damien?” Another nod. “Are you going to
eat so much your stomach will hurt later?” She continued to nod, but tried to
stop and failed. Her mother laughed.
“Well, go on
then.” Riona smiled at her mother before bolting towards Talens, Damien’s
family’s tavern, where she was sure to find him.
“Be careful!” Her
mother’s voice just reached her over the noise of the people milling about.
Riona found Damien
exactly where she thought he might be: hiding behind a wagon and watching
Sispwn girls. As soon as she spotted his blonde hair, she slowed her run to a
walk and moved on silent feet. She had always been adept at moving without
making noise, and it usually came in hand with Damien. Riona waited until she
was right behind him.
“Boo!”
“Ahhhh!”
Riona clutched her
sides, and would have fallen from laughter had she not leaned against a barrel.
“That’s not
funny.” She cracked one eye open to find her friend scowling at her. Peering
around him, she noticed that the group of girls had disappeared.
“Oh, did I interrupt your spying?” Damien
grumbled a response under his breath, which she ignored. “C’mon let’s go get
some food. I can smell the roast mountain goat from here.” They grabbed each
others hand so as not to get separated in the sea of adults and managed to get
to the specific they wanted without incident.
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