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The Dragonrider Chronicles
Book #1
Release Date: April 29, 2014
Publisher: Month9Books, LLC.
Synopsis:
Can one boy stand between two kingdoms at war?
Jaevid Broadfeather has grown up as a wartime refugee, hiding from the world because of his mixed racial heritage. He feels his future is hopeless, until a chance encounter with a wild dragon lands him in Blybrig Academy—a place usually forbidden to anyone but the rich and royal. But Jaevid’s case is special; no dragon has voluntarily chosen a rider in decades, so the proud riders of Blybrig must begrudgingly let him join their brotherhood despite his bloodline. Lieutenant Sile Derrick, a sternly tempered man with a mysterious past, becomes his instructor and immediately takes a peculiar interest in Jaevid’s future.
While struggling through the rigorous physical demands of training, things begin to go awry. Jaevid witnesses the king’s private guards kidnapping Sile in the dead of night. When none of the elder riders are willing to help him, Jaevid begins a dangerous adventure to save his instructor.
Everything Jaevid learned at the academy will now be put to the ultimate test.
The knight, however, was still staring right at me. He gave me a strange look, narrowing his eyes some and tilting his head to the side slightly like he was sizing me up. It made me blush from head to toe, the tips of my pointed ears burning like torches under my long hair. This was a warrior who had probably fought against gray elves for years, and I knew what I looked like.
He curled a finger at me, calling me toward him. It made me cringe as I obeyed. I hedged toward him, my shoulders hunched up because I half-expected him to hit me just out of pure resentment for what I was. But he didn’t.
When I got close enough, he grabbed my chin in one of his gloved hands, cranking my head around so I had to look up at him. I was shaking all over, wondering if this was it for me. Maybe he’d crush my head like a grape in his hand. Or maybe he’d throttle me to death. Either way, I was pretty sure Ulric wouldn’t go out of his way to save me. He might have even thanked the knight afterwards for saving him the trouble.
About The Author
Thanks for stopping by,
Nicole Conway
Release Date: April 29, 2014
Publisher: Month9Books, LLC.
Synopsis:
Can one boy stand between two kingdoms at war?
Jaevid Broadfeather has grown up as a wartime refugee, hiding from the world because of his mixed racial heritage. He feels his future is hopeless, until a chance encounter with a wild dragon lands him in Blybrig Academy—a place usually forbidden to anyone but the rich and royal. But Jaevid’s case is special; no dragon has voluntarily chosen a rider in decades, so the proud riders of Blybrig must begrudgingly let him join their brotherhood despite his bloodline. Lieutenant Sile Derrick, a sternly tempered man with a mysterious past, becomes his instructor and immediately takes a peculiar interest in Jaevid’s future.
While struggling through the rigorous physical demands of training, things begin to go awry. Jaevid witnesses the king’s private guards kidnapping Sile in the dead of night. When none of the elder riders are willing to help him, Jaevid begins a dangerous adventure to save his instructor.
Everything Jaevid learned at the academy will now be put to the ultimate test.
Guest Post
A Character Interview with Felix
Farrow
He’s the
son of a powerful duke, a fledgling dragonrider, and Jaevid’s best friend—meet
the charming Felix Farrow!
So, for those of us who aren’t as
familiar with you, can you give us a little introduction? Describe yourself for
us.
“Yeah,
sure! No problem. Well, my name’s Felix. My dad is Duke Farrow, but people tell
me I look a lot more like my mom. I just turned seventeen before I started
training at Blybrig Academy. I’m about five foot and nine inches tall, blonde
hair, brown eyes, and not too bad looking if I do say so myself. How’s that?”
That’s just fine! Now, we all know
Jaevid’s side of the story, but how did you end up being a dragonrider?
“It’s not
all that uncommon for nobles to join the king’s forces, especially as a
dragonrider. It’s really expensive to get ahold of a dragon hatchling these
days, let alone pay for outfitting, so you don’t see many commoners riding
anymore. But my parents were pretty furious when I told them I wanted to be a
dragonrider. My dad never served in the military; he’s a little too soft around
the waistline for that. Plus he hates getting his hands dirty. Mom just gave me
that I-didn’t-raise-you-this-way look like she always does. I don’t think
either of them really understood why I would bother with it when I was already
set with a destiny to be the next duke. But I won’t bore you with my sob
stories. I hate feeling useless. So I joined anyway, and there’s not much they
could do to stop me.”
You mentioned purchasing a
hatchling? Is that how you met your dragon, Nova?
“Basically,
yeah. I mean, in the old days, all dragons chose their riders voluntarily.
That’s the only way you could even be a dragonrider. But times changed, and
people figured out how to start breeding them kinda like horses. These days, you
rarely see dragons voluntarily choosing their riders anymore. Nova didn’t
choose me. I picked her out from a hatching with a bunch of baby dragons, and
she didn’t like me much to start with. I’ve got a few scars from bite marks,
and she scorched my eyebrows more than once. It took a while to earn her trust,
but I was in it for the long haul. I’m pretty good with girls, anyway.”
What’s your favorite pastime?
“Oh, you
mean besides chasing nosy little halfbreeds around the kingdom so they don’t
get themselves killed doing something stupid? Hm. Well, I guess I like going to
parties. It’s nice to get to unwind, blow off a little steam, and break a few
hearts before riding off into the sunset.”
Yes, well, you’ve really gotten a
lot of attention from female fans. And they’re all asking the same thing: Is
there anyone special in your life right now?
“Hah! No
way. But I’m always looking for Mrs. Right. I don’t guess you kept any of those
female fans’ names handy, did you?”
Uh, I’ll have to check on that. So what
do you look for in a significant other?
“To be
honest, I don’t know. Someone interesting, I guess. I like a girl who knows how
to have a good time, and isn’t afraid to speak her mind. It drives me nuts when
they’re too shy, or don’t ever smile, or won’t look at you when you’re trying
to have a conversation. I mean, a little bashfulness is cute, but girls are way
prettier when they smile.”
Do you see yourself getting into a
serious relationship anytime soon?
“Nah. Not
likely. I’ve got too much riding on my career right now—literally. It wouldn’t be
fair to drag someone else into all that. Dragonriders have to think in the
short-term, cause we aren’t guaranteed to be around for anything long-term.
It’s pretty lousy, but it’s just the way things are for now.”
It must be difficult to have such a
dangerous job. Does the idea that you might get killed in combat scare you?
“Sometimes.
I don’t know anyone who isn’t afraid of dying. But that’s the point of all this
training, you know. We’ve got a job to do. If a guy doesn’t have what it takes
to do his job even when he’s scared, then he’s got no business being a
dragonrider. We have to be strong.”
And what do you consider your
greatest strength?
“I’m good
at a lot of stuff. Because of my social rank, there’s always a lot of pressure
for me to be the best at everything. My physical strength is probably the
biggest thing I’ve got going for me right now. I’ve always been pretty strong.”
Okay, what about your greatest
weakness?
“I’m sure
Jae would get all cocky, as usual, and say something about me being a hardhead.
He’s one to talk. I wouldn’t have gotten into half the trouble I’ve been in if
it wasn’t for him. But he’s probably right. I’m pretty stubborn. And I have a
hard time letting stuff go. I guess that would be my biggest weakness.”
Do you think you’ve turned out the
way your parents expected?
“Ha ha!
Nope, definitely not. They had high expectations for me from the start, none of
which involved dragons. And maybe I’ve had too much fun disappointing them. I
just hate feeling like I’m being trapped inside someone else’s idea of who I
should be. I don’t like being parked on my rear end, sitting on some silk
cushion, while everyone else has all the fun and adventure. So yeah, I’ve
probably turned out the exact opposite of how my parents wanted. But they’ll
get over it. I’m not hurting anybody, and I’d rather do what I want now because
sooner or later I’ll have to take over as duke anyway. Then I’ll finally be
right where they’ve always wanted me—trapped at home.”
You’ve mentioned him a little
already, but tell us about Jaevid. We all know he’s your best friend, but what
do you really think about him?
“I think a
lot of things about Jae. I mean, from the start, he seemed pretty interesting
to me. It’s not often you see a halfbreed the size of a twelve-year-old lined
up with a bunch of dragonriders. I thought he must be crazier than I was. Now,
I know he definitely is. I don’t understand a lot of the things he does, but
deep down, I think he just wants to do the right thing. I’m lucky to be friends
with him, and I’ll always have his back.”
Has Jaevid’s mixed race ever been an
issue for you?
“Nah. And
believe me, you’re not the first person to ask me about that. Jae’s even put me
on the spot about it a few times. But he could be purple and covered in
eyeballs for all I care. I won’t treat him any different because of his race.
It’s what people do that makes them who they are. I’ve been around Jae enough
now to know that he’s the kind of guy to always fight for what’s right, and
always puts other people before himself. I think that speaks more about him
than who his parents are.”
One more question, to wrap things
up. Do you have any secrets you’re willing to share?
“Secrets?
Uh, I don’t know about that. I’m not the secretive type. But if I have to say
something . . . I guess I’ll just tell you that I’m allergic to strawberries. I
don’t really advertise that, though. It’s not very manly, right? Big tough guy,
decked out in battle armor, riding a dragon, but he can get killed by a stupid
little strawberry? That’d ruin my whole image!”
Stop 8: Scavenger Hunt
The knight, however, was still staring right at me. He gave me a strange look, narrowing his eyes some and tilting his head to the side slightly like he was sizing me up. It made me blush from head to toe, the tips of my pointed ears burning like torches under my long hair. This was a warrior who had probably fought against gray elves for years, and I knew what I looked like.
He curled a finger at me, calling me toward him. It made me cringe as I obeyed. I hedged toward him, my shoulders hunched up because I half-expected him to hit me just out of pure resentment for what I was. But he didn’t.
When I got close enough, he grabbed my chin in one of his gloved hands, cranking my head around so I had to look up at him. I was shaking all over, wondering if this was it for me. Maybe he’d crush my head like a grape in his hand. Or maybe he’d throttle me to death. Either way, I was pretty sure Ulric wouldn’t go out of his way to save me. He might have even thanked the knight afterwards for saving him the trouble.
Nicole
is the author of the children’s fantasy series, THE DRAGONRIDER CHRONICLES,
about a young boy’s journey into manhood as he trains to become a dragonrider.
She has completed the first two books in the series, and is now working on the
third and final book.
Originally
from a small town in North Alabama, Nicole moves frequently due to her
husband’s career as a pilot for the United States Air Force. She received a
B.A. in English with a concentration in Classics from Auburn University, and
will soon attend graduate school.
She has previously worked as a freelance and
graphic artist for promotional companies, but has now embraced writing as a
full-time occupation.
Nicole
enjoys hiking, camping, shopping, cooking, and spending time with her family
and friends. She also loves watching children’s movies and collecting books.
She lives at home with her husband, two cats, and dog.
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