I’ve waited for Dragon’s Cure to have a wider audience for ten years now. I originally wrote it at the request of my daughter, Dawnya. She wanted a story with Duskya in it. At the same time, Dawnya was fourteen years old and beginning to be interested in boys. I wanted to give her a story that would impact her thought processes and yet not preach at her or be Mom telling her what to do.

The story unfolded with the idea of a dragon rider who didn’t want to be a rider. My husband is good at asking “What if” questions. He asked what would happen if a dragon chose a rider, but the rider walked off. That inquiry created Serena, the rider who didn’t want to be a rider. To give her a realistic reason for not wanting to be a rider, I had to give her a backstory. A trust issue seemed to be the easiest. Knowing from experience that many adult survivors of childhood abuse show characteristics of needing to be in control, I chose this as the basis for Serena’s trust problem. Along with abuse often comes the problem of bitterness. I know I struggled with holding bitterness in my heart.

The two stories intertwine to create my personal favorite of the Dragon Courage series. Duskya’s daughter, Carryn, learns about growing up; while Serena struggles to find people she can trust.

Serena heads out on her own, escaping an abusive relationship, the last thing she expected was to hear voices…from a dragon.Tweet

Today, Dragon’s Cure is available. The Kindle version is on sale for $1.99 until Saturday. After that, it will be $2.99. Join me in welcoming the newest addition to the Dragon Courage series.

This arbitrary point in time may be a bit soon for some children and not soon enough for others. My seventeen year old son is non-pulsed about the whole graduating business. It’s another day in a line of days in his life. Nothing spectacular. My nineteen year old daughter was quite ready for the event to happen. I’ve known a sixteen year old who was ready and did graduate and move on to college. She became the youngest certified paramedic in the state of Oregon. Each child is different, but each needs this marker in his or her life to say, “I am an adult”.

In the Dragon Courage series, coming of age is a big theme. My riders vary in ages from 25 in Dragon’s Future to 22 in Dragon’s Heir to 18 in Dragon’s Cure. The theme holds true–each of the dragon riders need a point in time to see him- or her-self as an adult. The final book takes this theme to the extreme and Kyn creates an event to help the young riders prove themselves capable of the responsibilities and privileges of a full-fledged rider.

So, whether you’re a dragon rider or a regular human being, at some point in time you’ll need to be able to say, “I’m an adult”. Is this a graduation ceremony, a youngling challenge, or just a parent giving you a gift and saying, “You’re a man now” or “You’re a woman now”? That depends on your background. If you’re a parent, consider what you can do to verify and confirm your child’s maturity. With our now twenty-one year old, my husband gave him a gift that our son would cherish. They had a talk about the responsibilities of manhood. Later, when our son messed up, my husband was able to refer back to the gift and the implications behind it. Our son came to us and agreed his actions were not in accord with an adult.

I can’t say that it will always go easy–this parenting thing–but it will have its rewards. For those of you who are old enough to be parents, but don’t have any kids of your own or their all grown up, consider acting as a parent to some young person. Take them under your wing and be a parent to him or her. You’ll find that it is just as rewarding.

Dragon Courage art by Kandi J Wyatt