August 2, 2012

Dragon Clans

Hi everyone and thanks to Shaunna for hosting me to talk about my newest release, young adult fantasy 'Dragon Clans' – the second book of the Dragon series.

Dragons are cool! I love reading and writing about dragons, my favorite mythical creatures. I've been an avid fan of Anne McCaffrey and her Dragons of Pern series for years.

The dragons of the Treaty Alliance have their own communities, histories and morals. They are the indigenous intelligent species of Nuer. They work well together, but the red dragons are not part of the Alliance and are considered a dangerous enemy.

In the first book of the Dragon series, 'Dragon Flame', the human settlers are welcomed by the four dragon clans. 'Dragon Clans' relates the story of Sie, an orphan who is rescued from the sea by the leader of the red Valdra dragons. The Valdra adopt her and she agrees to help them contact the Alliance. Will she need to interact with the humans of Nuer to achieve this?

 
A Young Adult romance released thru Desert Breeze Publishing. "Dragon Clans" is the second volume in the Dragon series.

Plucked from the sea by a red dragon, the human woman Sie joins the Valdra Clan. Her red friends wish to join the dragon Treaty Alliance, but the other clans consider the Valdra wild and aggressive. Byron, a human friend of the Mondra Clan, works with Sie to overcome the many obstacles in their path. Will the other clans be able to forget the Valdra's past betrayals and present day destructive behavior? They believe they have succeeded but the planet has its own way of disrupting their carefully laid plans.

Publisher's Link for further information: http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-325/Dragon-Clans-Sue-Perkins/Detail.bok

Buy Link: http://tinyurl.com/dragonclans

Webpage: http://www.sueperkinsauthor.com/

I hope you enjoy the excerpt below and don't forget to leave a comment to be in to win an ebook of 'Dragon Clans'.



Excerpt used by permission of author.

The waves washed over the boat, swamping the small vessel. Sie huddled in the stern, her knuckles white with cold, hands clamped to the wooden sides. The hood of her cloak had blown back some time ago, allowing the rain to plaster her red hair across her face. She didn't dare raise her hand to clear her eyes, this would mean letting go of the boat. Clothes soaked with rain clung to her body, and the chill went through to her bones.

What am I doing here?

At the front of the boat her two older brothers struggled to keep them afloat. The crashing waves filled the vessel with water and with food bowls in hand they tried to bail the water back into the sea. Gorva, the eldest, yelled at her to come and help, but Sie couldn't move for fear. She knew this would mean a beating later, but surviving the present held more importance.

Ever since her parents' death her life had been miserable. The older brothers had grudgingly provided a home for appearance sake, but they didn't want her with them. A fifteen-year-old cramped their style. She hated her life in their house as a drudge. If anything went wrong they blamed her, and the rebuke often ended with a smack across the face or worse.

They'd come up with this stupid idea and dragged her along. Dragons lived on the other continent, and they were convinced there would be dragon treasure to steal.

The two idiots hadn't planned anything, the normal way for their escapades. They'd set off in a boat too small for the journey across the ocean. The food had run out after a few days, and she'd borne the brunt of their anger, catching the blame for everything. Now the storm had descended on them with the sea and rain crashing and pounding their frail craft.

Someone help us, please! We're in the middle of an ocean in a terrible storm. The boat will sink soon. Please, if you can hear me, I need your help!

Sie knew no one would hear her mental scream. If they did, who would care enough to rescue them? A clap of thunder shook the sky, followed by a lightning flash into the sea. Huge waves crashed across the boat. Her younger brother lost his grip, and Sie heard him cry out as he disappeared overboard.

"No!" Gorva lunged to the side, but his movement made the boat lurch and dip lower, curtseying to the waves. Sie grabbed the sides as the vessel overturned and threw her into the water.

Her cloak tried to keep her beneath the surface, but Sie fought against the drag and rose up for air. Nearby, the upside down boat tossed in the waves, and she swam toward it, grabbing hold of the ridge along the upturned bottom. Once secure, Sie looked round for her brothers, but could see no sign of them. The tumultuous sea and the dark clouds scudding across the sky filled her view.

I'm going to die. A sob caught in her throat as an icy cold wave blinded her. No one knows where I am, and no one will know I'm dead. I might as well let go and drown quickly. I don't want a slow, horrible death.

A small part of her refused to give up, but time passed and her strength ebbed away. Her fingers began to slip and her cold fingers tightened their grip. How much longer could she hold on?

A shadow darkened the sky.

More storm clouds. How much more are you going to throw at me Mother Nature?

A wind beat down on her, and Sie looked up. Huge red talons reached for her and plucked her from the water. The scream died in her throat as the owner of the claws curled the talons around her. The loss of her brothers, death stalking her, and now this. Darkness crowded in and unable to take anymore, Sie fainted.

3 comments:

Suzanne de Montigny said...

I love fantasy. Looks really good.

jude urbanski said...

Wow, Sue, the book sounds exciting to say the least and Sie sounds like a very interesting and multi-fauceted character. Wish you well.

Sue Perkins said...

Thank you ladies, comments are really appreciated. Jude the book was fun to write too, just starting to write the third book in the series.

Oh My!

Oh my, it's been a long, long time since I posted anything here. Really, I do this now because I recently got a note, if you can call it...