Dragon Point

Well, I'm writing a new story, and I'm really excited about it.
Here's just a snippet to get you started. 

“I saw a dragon today. It’s not every day a girl gets to see a dragon, but I’m not your typical girl and this isn’t your average dragon. Before I get into the details of the mysterious beast and the amazing story of what happened, I must take you back to a beginning. All adventures should have a good beginning, and this one has a most curious one.”

 It was a cold, windy day and not a single cloud appeared in the bright azure sky. Baby cobalt kissed the horizon, while deep cerulean ruled the atmosphere. The golden sun god sent its rays in fat, voluminous beams coaxing thousands of sapphires to sparkle upon the rippled water. Poseidon’s presence was felt as the Renascence cut through the dark waters disembarking from Waterline Marina, slowly meandering around Ballard Park, and then into the beautiful Indian River. 

My Own Fairy Tale

I can do so many amazing things. I’ve accomplished countless great things in my life already and have the ability, talent, and drive to be successful at many more. I never run from a fight, I stand up for who I am and what I want, and I try to be as fair as I possibly can in an unfair world. So, why am I so scared? Why do my hands literally shake at the thought of exposing my fiery heart and letting someone in?

I don’t lack for self-esteem. I have come to love myself greatly. I’ve learned to appreciate myself for the rare beauty that I am, respect myself for my opened mind, and know without doubt I’m worth fighting for. I’ve learned to love and appreciate the simplistic beauty of a soul, to see beyond masks, and choose to love anyway – just as they are, not trying to change them to fit into an old fantasy or idea of who they should be. But deep inside there is still this scared little beast who doesn’t believe she’s capable of being loved, of being chosen, that the glass slipper will fit, or the curse be broken with a simple kiss.

Here’s the hard part. I’m not without love. I am already very much loved. I have some good friends who love all the complicated mess that makes me who I am. They’re in my corner. They believe in me. They see me… all of me, my true self, and love me anyway. I know if they could, they’d wave their magic wands and transform my life into the dream I desire, but they can’t. They’re not fairy godmothers, mice who turn into men, pumpkins who transform into carriages to take me directly to my Prince Charming. In my world, I have to make my own damned clothes, hike all the way to the castle, declare my right to be there no matter what anyone else says, ignore all the stares and judgments from all the snobs because I’m different, walk with my head high among the whispers, and keep telling myself that I’m worth it and somewhere among all these frogs there is a Prince just for me.

It’s hard attending this ball. I’ve witnessed time and again other princesses kiss their frogs and have them transform into beautiful princes. So far, all the princes I’ve kissed have remained frogs. While our meeting, conversation, and dance has been beautiful and even magical, it hasn’t been enough to break the spell. Yet I still hope. Not that a kiss will save me or wake me from a deep sleep… but that it will set me on fire and I unfurl my wings and soar into the heavens. What prince ever loves the dragon?

Till next time,



~T.L. Gray

Review - The Dragonswarm - Aaron Pogue

Book: Dragonswarm (Dragon Prince #2)

Author: Aaron Pogue

Publisher: Consortium Books

Genre: Fantasy

 

 

 

 

 

Book Description:

Publication Date: December 20, 2011

The Kingdom of the Sarianne teeters on the brink. While its tyrant king plays out his petty vendettas, rebellion foments on the edges of his domain. Politics and power struggles gamble civilization on the tides of war.

Yet war is not the greatest threat to civilization. A far older enemy rises. The dragons are waking and these fiends of Chaos will swarm across the world of men, razing it to bedrock just as they have done in ages past.

But this time the world of men has a champion in Daven Carrickson. Once a beggar and still a fugitive from the king's justice, Daven is also a hero with unrivaled powers. A brush with one of the deadly dragons left him forever bonded to the beast and able to tap into the ever-shifting maelstrom of Chaos that roils beneath man's fragile reality.

It is a dangerous connection, one that threatens to consume him. Can he pay even that ultimate price if it means the salvation of humanity?

Review:  

I try to read books that are part of a series consecutively, if I can, but in and of itself, that’s a problem, especially if only part of the series has been published.  That is not the case with this particular novel, being the second book in a trilogy, so there’s no excuse.  Dragonswarm by Aaron Pogue had the misfortune of being read directly following the Kingkiller series by Patrick Rothfuss.   Having said that, Pogue did an excellent job in having Daven pull me out of the magic cloud of Kvothe and drop me into the swarm of dragons – whose names are impossible to pronounce.

If you’re a reader who is more inclined to love a story that is more centered on action and plot development, than character-centered, much like epics like Lord of the Rings by Tolkien or the Gunslinger Series by King, then this is a story for you.  A majority of the writing focuses on the magic, the dragons, the quest, and the ensuing battle.  Pogue is able to create a great visual.

Being a character-centered reader and writer, I would have loved to see more development in the relationship between Daven and his lady love, his schoolboy friend, and more conflict with the King and the leaders at the Academy.  However, I loved the connection Daven had with, and against, the dragons.  I’ve never seen dragons depicted in this particular light before, and found it mesmerizing. The magic shared between the two is also a very imaginative element.

This was a good read.  I enjoyed it, and I would definitely recommend it.

Till next time,

~T.L. Gray

Author of the Arcainian Series