The Dragon and the Girl, Book 2
Middle School Grade Fantasy
Date Published: November 14, 2023
Publisher: Acorn Publishing
Dire news arrives from Cantington. Rumors of dragon sightings are stirring up fears based on old stories that depict dragons as blood-thirsty, fire-breathing monsters. To protect his people, the Overking decrees that all dragons must die.
Twelve-year-old Eliana knows the truth about dragons. After all, her best friend, Winston, is one! Fresh off an adventure where she saved her kingdom using her ability to communicate with Winston’s family, she is now excited to hone her skills through her Dragon Speaker apprenticeship. That is until she begins having a recurring nightmare of a scar-faced soldier, a poison-tipped spear, and an orb that glows in the dark. What’s even more worrisome is that Winston is having the same nightmare.
When they hear of the Overking’s decree, they realize their dreams may not be a coincidence. Eliana must quickly learn how to use her ability to understand dragons to help new friends–and old–solve a mystery about an ancient treasure and save the dragons from certain death. Along the way, there are lessons to be learned about the dangerous desire for fame, about the transitory nature of plans, and about how treasure can mean different things to different people…and dragons.
What is the hardest part of writing
your books?
Trying not to
panic when I don’t know what happens next! I am a “panster,” which means I write
by the seat of my pants, rather than plotting the book ahead of time. It’s
exciting because I’m on the journey too, but there are occasions when I just
don’t know what comes next. I have to take a breath (or several breaths), go
for a walk, and remind myself that this is just part of the process. I even
have a sticky note on my laptop keyboard that says, “I don’t know YET!”
What songs are most played on your
Ipod?
This might be
shocking for many people, but I don’t listen to much music. I like it quiet
most of the time, even when I’m not writing. But especially when I’m writing. I
have an air filter in my office that makes a nice soothing white noise, which
is calming to me. When I do listen to music—mostly in the car—I like holiday
music at Christmas time, and country and jazz the rest of the time. Love Dave
Brubeck!
Do you have critique partners or beta
readers?
I absolutely
have trusted friends who read my work for me. My sisters both read very early
drafts. I have a small cadre of what I call alpha readers who also read fairly
early on in the process. It’s super helpful to have conversations with these
readers about character development, whether or not the plot makes sense, and
even sentence structure.
What book are you reading now?
I generally read more than one book at
a time. Currently reading:
Jane Eyre
Ann Patchett’s Tom Lake
Thorton Wild’s Our Town
(reread because of Tom Lake…)
Elly Griffith’s Ruth Galloway
Mysteries, Book 14
Chronicles of the Hidden Realms: Return
of the Light, by Leah
Ann Brown
How did you start your writing career?
I wrote my first short story when I
was six years old about a man named Brill who built a space ship and flew to
the moon. When my first grade teacher asked me to stand and read it to the
class, I got my first taste of sharing the written word with others. For many
years of my life, I wrote short stories for grown ups, several of which were
published. My launch into writing for 8-12 year olds stated when my
granddaughters (who were stalling going to sleep) said, “Tell us a story.” And so
began the tale of a young girl and an impossible dragon.
Tell us about your next release.
Now that Book 1 and 2 of The Dragon
and the Girl series is out in the world, I am looking forward to starting Book
3. There is still much to discover about dragons, Dragon Speakers, and what
lies beyond the Southern Land.
About the Author
Laura Findley Evans is the author of True North, Book 1 of The Dragon and the Girl series. It all started when her grandchildren said one night (when they were supposed to be sleeping), “Tell us a story.” And so the adventures of a feisty young girl and an impossible dragon began. Laura would like you to know that whatever she writes must be true, whether it is real or not. She hopes you will discover the truth in whatever she writes. When she’s not writing, Laura reads (a lot), cooks (mostly) healthy dinners, and spends time with people she loves. You can visit her at www.LauraFindleyEvans.com.
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This looks like a great novel. Thanks for hosting.
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