David as Kirito for Fellowship of Fantasy’s Cosplay

Two years ago, my youngest son participated in Fellowship of Fantasy’s cosplay contest and won with his representation of Kirito from Sword Art Online. His prize was multiple audiobooks by Fellowship of Fantasy authors. One night at the dinner table, he looked at me and said, “Mom, have you read any of H. L. Burke’s books? You should read Beggar Magic.” I followed his advice and have never been happier. I’ve added several of her books to my book lists over the course of the years. You can find my input on Nyssa Glass on this blog about books for children’s book week. The top three recommendations in this post of five books for March are H. L. Burke’s. Finally, her Spellsmith & Carver trilogy can be found on this post for four fall reads.

With that said, you can imagine how excited I am to present a new book by H. L. Burke. Spicebringer sounds very intriguing.

The Blurb:

Let me share with you what I’ve learned:

A deadly disease. A vanishing remedy. A breathless journey.

All her life, Niya’s known she will die young from the fatal rasp. She survives only with the aid of vitrisar spice and a magical, curmudgeonly fire salamander named Alk. Then an ambitious princess burns down the vitrisar grove in an effort to steal Alk so she can claim her rightful throne. Joined by Jayesh, a disgraced monk, Niya and Alk must flee to the faraway Hidden Temple with the last vitrisar plant, or all who suffer from the rasp will perish.

But even as Niya’s frustration and banter with Jayesh deepen to affection, the rasp is stealing away her breath and life.

For a girl with limited time and a crippling quest, love may be more painful than death.

Doesn’t that sound good? I love a good love story, and this sounds like it’s going to deliver that.

The Cover:

About H. L. Burke:

Born in a small town in north central Oregon, H. L. Burke spent most of her childhood around trees and farm animals and was always accompanied by a book. Growing up with epic heroes from Middle Earth and Narnia keeping her company, she also became an incurable romantic.

An addictive personality, she jumped from one fandom to another, being at times completely obsessed with various books, movies, or television series (Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Star Trek all took their turns), but she has grown to be what she considers a well-rounded connoisseur of geek culture.

Married to her high school crush who is now a US Marine, she has moved multiple times in her adult life but believes that home is wherever her husband, two daughters, and pets are.

Where to find her:

Facebook page

Facebook Reader Group

Twitter

Instagram

Website

Where to pre-order Spicebringer:

Where can you get your copy? I’m glad you asked. Just read away–or click for your favorite retailer. Ooh, and there’s a special autographed paperback copy offer!

Amazon Kindle

Barnes & Noble Nook

Kobo

Apple iBooks

And the Paperback offer: Regularly 17.99, autographed paperback preorders are 14.99 with free shipping discount (free shipping to US locations only)

Uncommon Universes Press – autographed paperback preorder: https://uncommonuniverses.com/product/spicebringer-autographed-paperback-preorder/

Plot:

Tania, an ordinary 9-year-old, washes ashore after being swept overboard on a family vacation. She finds herself in a wooded area with little people her size. To her surprise, she discovers they’re much older than herself and definitely not human. These new friends soon become her only way to find her way back to her parents. They trek through forests, across streams, up and over mountains, and along beaches. The elements conspire against them and in the end Tania almost gives up hope of seeing her family again.

The reality:

When I first wrote Journey from Skioria, my daughter was 9-years-old. I traveled from Langlois, Oregon to Gold Beach, Oregon once a week. My mind wandered to what it would be like for a kid to hike that without roads. Everything in the journey has a basis in reality–from the mountain and beach at the base, to the quick engulfing fog, to the landslide that hinders their passage.

Anyone who’s visited the Oregon Coast or even the Northern California Coast knows the forests grow thick and tall. To an average observer these forests contain evergreen trees and that’s it, but at a closer look, you’ll discover more at least on the Southern Oregon Coast.

Myrtlewood:

Typical myrtlewood tree in Southern Oregon.

Unlike most evergreens, this is not a conifer. Instead it grows in a coloring book round shape with large flat oval leaves. These leaves shift from the deep green to a yellow color and fall off, but unlike maples, oaks, and other deciduous trees, they don’t change at the same time. Besides the shape of the tree and its leaves myrtlewood can be identified by its pungent odor. The hardwood comes in a variety of colors from blond to gray depending on the soil (according to myrtlewoodgallery.com) The travelers encounter myrtlewood at the base of the mountain and discuss its uses in carpentry work.

You can enter to win a myrtlewood bookmark and necklace by going to my facebook page and commenting or sharing the pinned post.

Huckleberry:

In our area two types of huckleberry bushes grow rampant–red and black. The red huckleberries usually taste sweeter and have a lighter green leaf. The black ones tend to be tarter and can grow up to ten feet tall. It’s these that I had in mind when I created Terra.

Rhododendron:

Even my friends on the East Coast know this shrub for yards, but my neighbors know two kinds of rhododendrons–the shrub and the wild ones. Wild rhododendron entwine their way through the evergreens, huckleberries, and myrtlewood to find their way to sunshine. In late winter their color pops and explodes in the most unexpected of places often above the roofline of houses. With this in mind Avary came into being.

The book:

Journey from Skioria is available on all outlets. Remember it’s a middle grade fantasy. That means it was written for younger kids or for parents to read to younger kids. That doesn’t mean adults won’t enjoy it, but it’s not the action-packed adventure like Dragon’s Future or the Harry Potter series. Just like with siblings, each book is unique.

Make sure to grab your ecopy before Friday, September 8 when the price jumps from 99 cents to $2.99.

Purchase Now

And to celebrate, I’m doing one more giveaway!

To celebrate the release of Dragon’s Heritage, I’m doing a #giveaway.

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This one is a combo pack. Dragon’s Heritage advanced ebook and Dragon’s Future audio book. The two go hand in hand. Dragon’s Heritage tells the story of Duskya and Ruskya between the prologue of Dragon’s Future and chapter one. It’s told in Duskya’s words as a youngling but seen through the eyes of her granddaughter, Mere.

The story came about due to amazon reviews and reader questions. Everyone who reads Dragon’s Future comments about the confusing dragon names and the ‘y’s in all the names. Dragon’s Heritage has the answers to why this is. Other readers have said they want more of Duskya. Dragon’s Heritage gives us more of Duskya–both as a younging and as a grandma. It also answers some questions about what happens to dragon rider children as well as Calamadyn twin descendents.

Need more incentive to enter the contest or pre-order your own copy just in case you don’t win? Here’s an excerpt.

So, what do you have to do to enter for your chance to win Dragon’s Heritage and an audio book of Dragon’s Future? With Dragon’s Heritage the Dragon Courage series comes to a close, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t more stories in the world. I’m currently thinking of stories from the Carr. Since Dragon’s Heritage is a reader inspired story, tell me your ideas for stories you’d like to hear. If you haven’t read the Dragon Courage series yet, (here’s the link to a free download of Dragon’s Future), roam the rest of my blog and comment here about what kind of blog posts you’d like to read more of. For another entry, follow my blog. If you already have done that, just comment that you have.

You’ll want to follow the comments, because I’ll announce the winner on Monday morning both here and on my Facebook page. So, leave your comments below.

Irish Dragons of Fame

Since I’m of Irish heritage, I decided to take a look at dragons in the wonderful island. It’s fairly easy to find them considering their flag has a huge red dragon on it. I discovered there are two different views of dragons. There’s the original Celtic and druidic thoughts of dragons and then when Christianity came to the island the idea of dragons changed.

View of dragons before Christianity

According to draconika.com ancient Irish believed dragons came from a parallel universe. When dragons took a path that came close to our world or slept somewhere in our world, those places became more powerful. In essence, dragons brought energy and power to the land. They protected the land as well and became symbols of wisdom and strength.

However, when St. Patrick came to Ireland, he brought with him Catholocism. Druid worship and Catholocism didn’t mix well. As people converted, they brought dragons with them, but the idea of dragons changed.

View of dragons after Christianity

The legend states that St. Patrick drove out the snakes from Ireland. Another name for dragon is snake or serpent. Irish dragons are snake-like creatures some with wings and others without more like a sea serpent. What if St. Patrick drove dragons out of Ireland? An interesting idea. After Catholocism took hold in Ireland, dragons no longer held a place of honor. They became known for strife, trouble, and infertility. This view goes along with the King James translation of the Bible that calls Satan a serpent and a dragon.

Legends of Dragons in Ireland

Ireland has several legends of dragons. They seem to all explain various natural happenings. This follows along with the idea of dragons being next to gods in Irish mythology. One story tells of a sea serpent that harrassed a village by yawning bad breath over the land every morning. When the king’s men couldn’t stand against it, a small boy decided to play Pinochio and took a boat out to the dragon. When the dragon yawned, the boy sailed down into the dragon all the way to the liver, where he built a fire. While the dragon writhed and burnt, the boy escaped. After a while, the dragon slowly fell apart creating Iceland and the islands between Ireland and Iceland. Another tale explains the flooding in a valley as a dragon that a monk enchained in a lake.

German Dragons

Unlike Ireland’s early history, dragons in Germany seem to be the greedy, evil type that people try to outsmart. These stories coincide with our classical fantasy writers, Lewis and Tolkein. I know the German composer Wagner influenced both of those authors.

Puk and Black Worm

The Puk seems to be the only really benevolent dragon. It’s a small sprite style dragon that lives in homes and brings stolen goods to the head of the household. I’d love to have this dragon living in my house. I don’t really have stolen items, but things seem to disappear or get misplaced. If I had a Puk living here, he’d be able to help us find things.

I could only find one tale of the Black Worm. He loved his horde of treasure. A man tried to steal his treasure, but became greedy and called to his wife to help. His call woke the dragon. The startled man ran, dropping his loot. The dragon and the treasure sunk into the ground never to be found again.

Firedrakes

One of my favorite middle grade/young adult book is The Dragonrider by Cornelia Funke. It’s the tale of a dragon and a brownie to find a new home for the dragons. Along the way, they’re joined by a boy, a hermunculous, a professor and his daughter and wife, and a dragoncologist. The dragon’s name is Firedrake. I don’t know if Ms. Funke had this German dragon in mind or not, but I do know she’s from Germany.

Other famous firedrakes include Smaug and the dragon Beowolf defeats. Firedrakes love treasure and caves.

Lindworms

Lindworms seem to be a very vile dragon. They may or may not have wings, but they definitely have claws. They attack churches and dig up graveyards! I would not want to meet one or fight one. Ugh! No wonder these bad nasties are considered a bad omen. They are known to eat livestock, which makes sense.

Comparing the two

Ireland and Germany in the big scheme of things are not that far apart geographically, and yet, it is enough to have differences in their dragons and to make one wonder, could dragons have really existed at one point in time?

If both countries have legends of beasts that caused havoc and there are enough similarities, wouldn’t it stand to reason that these creatures are based in reality? What are these creatures? Both cultures have them as powerful creatures and both eventually have them as to feared. The two countries have dragons with and without wings, and both have serpent-style dragons.

If both countries have tales of creatures of great power and size that may or may not have wings and were serpent-like, the odds of there being actual creatures that these stories came from are quite high.

Feel free to share what you think with me. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

You can see the other posts with more proof that dragons existed.