The Books I Read - Just for Fun - In November

Started 11/26                                                           Finished 11/29
I don’t know what I expected, but this book wasn’t it. It was more! I’m glad it started with another author’s note. It grounded me. It helped me follow the twists and turns of the plot. I expected Cimorene to lead the story, but Patricia picked a new leading character. She wanted to broaden and deepen the story. She was right!  

Book 2 begins with Mendanbar, the King of the Enchanted Forest. He sets off on a quest to save it from the Wizards. His 1st stop – the caves of King Kazul and Cimorene. Be prepared – You’re on a magical journey that won’t stop until the Enchanted Forest is safe once more.

PS – I decided to rewrite/revise my bat story with the original five chapters. I need to explore it first before I look for ways to grow it. I believe in story magic, and I’m willing to let it take me wherever my story is meant to go.

​Amazon’s Description:
This time the wicked wizards are draining power from the Enchanted Forest. “This riotous sequel to Dealing with Dragons evinces the same wacky wit and skewed fairy-tale elements with the addition of a touch of romance. Once again, Wrede offers a story that will delight fantasy fans, particularly those who have relished Cimorene’s adventures in the first book of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles.”--Booklist

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Started 11/20                                                   Finished 11/26
A couple pages in, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to reread this book, but Cimorene, the main character drew me in, again! Now I’m hooked! I have to read her adventures, all the way to the end!

PS – I loved the author’s new introduction – it’s the story behind the story. Patricia Wrede and Cimorene had a real adventure just finding their way into this book! I hope they’ll help me find the adventure in my story.

PPS – I’m three days in, and dragon magic is working! I moved the setting from Lienen to Tecklenburg. It has history and atmosphere, from the ruins of an old German castle to the Teutoberg Forest where Herman the German battled ancient Rome.

My story’s grandmother changed too. The bats called her a witch in the old version. Now I think making her into a real one, opens a world of possibilities. I also changed her granddaughter’s name from Hannah to Anna, because a real Countess Anna lived in Tecklenburg Castle. She didn’t want witches burned, and my grandma and her Anna won’t either.  Imagine what I can do with that angle!

Finally, I did some research and picked out one kind of bat. I also discovered that all bats need help. Did you know they’re in danger worldwide because of wind farms? In Germany too! I read that if they turned the fans off when bats are out, it would save their lives! AND we’d only lose 1% of the power wind farms produce. WOW! Who knew this book could get my juices going and fill my head with ideas? WAHOO! 

​Amazon’s Description:
Meet the princess who rescues herself and the female dragon who would be king in this first fantasy adventure in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles.
 
The traditional duties of a princess fail to please Cimorene, the daughter of a very proper king. She is quite sure that there’s more to the world than curtseying and courting. And what she finds in her chosen career as a dragon’s princess is sometimes more than she can handle. But fear not! Our intrepid heroine has just what it takes to keep her dragon, Kazul, safe and happy, while learning to fireproof herself, organize the treasure trove, and stay free from the clutches of pesky princes. 
                                         This updated edition features a new introduction by the author.​
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Me as a Reader, and a Writer – This is me, at a book event. I’m not just a reader anymore . . . I’m a writer. It changed the way I read, the way I write. Reading and writing are like opposite sides of the same coin. They work together.

I just finished a series about dragons, but I’m now starting another dragon series. Go figure! I thought I’d take a break, but today I started the first book in a series, again, even though I read it last year. I also bought the other three books in that series. Why? Because I thought it could help me as a writer.

I wrote my 2nd bat story ten years ago, and I haven’t touched it since. I pulled up the first chapter last week and revised it. It was easy . . . I’ve grown as a writer in the last ten years. My  critique partners said I needed to push the characters, but I knew that. Ten years ago they were flat, and they still are. I was surprised that a couple people thought I should grow the story, a lot. I didn’t see the potential, last week.

This week I outlined my five chapters (I designed it as an easy chapter book) and sent it in . . . The response was universal! I need to grow this story . . . it’s way bigger than my original plot. I knew I needed to up the stakes and add complexity, but now I know . . . if I want this story to find its own depth, I need to let it grow. To become more than I can imagine now. WOW!

After I finished my critique group, I didn’t know where to turn, where to find ideas. Then I remembered that books have always been my mentors so I found it. My next read is imaginative, creative, and a fantasy. It’s a great place to start rebuilding my story. I also thought I should look at fractured fairy tales, fantasies with princesses and witches. Maybe even bats and bugs. Here’s to my new voyage, and however long it takes!
         
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Started 11/16                                                      Finished 11/19
If you like intrigue and mystery, you’ll love Book 8. Elizabeth is home, but the people responsible for her kidnapping, and the dragon smuggling are still on the loose. Intelligence points to the Keepers’ Cotillion – the next date in a smuggler’s notebook.

Add in challenges for baby Pemberley – a trio of dragons are fighting to take away her estate. I’m on chapter 33, but the plot is still thickening. I can’t wait to see how it will all be resolved.

​​Amazon’s Description:
Territory challenges. Dragon battles. Baby dragon debutantes. When will the chaos end?

Dragon Sage Elizabeth Darcy longs for life to return to normal, at least as normal as it could be for a Blue Order officer who lives with more household dragons than most small villages. Having two sisters and an infant dragon to present as debutantes to the Order, make ‘normal’ difficult. The fine ladies—she-dragons one and all—of the Cotillion Board make it impossible.

Sir Fitzwilliam Darcy, Knight of the Pendragon Order never envisioned his oath to ‘protect and serve the interests of the Blue Order and dragonkind’ would demand immediate action. But only a Keeper can defend Pemberley’s territory against threats far too big for a baby dragon to manage. Threats against the Pendragon Accords themselves. And only the one closest to the Dragon Sage can protect her from the sinister forces menacing the Order, possibly from within its own ranks.

Can Darcy and Elizabeth ensure the Cotillion strengthens the Order rather than laying the groundwork for its demise? Meryton meets Pern in a fantastical regency romp bound to delight readers of Jane Austen and Anne McCaffrey alike. Book 8 of Jane Austen's Dragons

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Started 11/9                                                    Finished 11/15
Book 6 starts with the she-dragons of human society. Who knew the Patronesses of Almac’s from other romance novels, would appear in this book and cause problems? Or, that real dragons would be easier to deal with?

But there’s more afoot . . . there’s a conspiracy going on in the Blue Order. People are selling live dragons, and/or their body parts. EWW! Somehow Elizabeth, her nephew, and his fairy dragon are kidnapped and taken aboard a ship heading to Bermuda. Escape seemed impossible until Darcy, the Wentworth’s, and a few minor dragons came to the rescue.

The best part, as always, was the interaction between the characters. It felt right! Occasionally, when the author told about the dragon trade instead of showing its awfulness, it felt preachy. It didn’t happen often, and the author always returned to the important part – the story! 

Amazon’s Description:
Smugglers. A kidnapping. A fire-breathing fairy dragon? The Blue Order is falling apart at the seams.
After months in Bath mentoring Dragon Keepers and Friends, Dragon Sage Elizabeth Darcy actually anticipates traveling to London for the Keeper’s Cotillion. Which says a great deal considering the she-dragons who make up the Cotillion board would very much like to show the Sage her proper place.

The she-dragons, though, are no match for what Sir Fitzwilliam Darcy finds waiting for him in London. Threats to the Order on every side, and Lord Matlock demands he keep them secret from Elizabeth. No one keeps secrets from Elizabeth.

In the meantime, Anne and Frederick Wentworth arrive in London with hopes of finally being accepted in good Blue Order society, unaware of the burgeoning maelstrom about to engulf them. Darcy manages to keep matters under control until a fairy-dragon’s prank unleashes sinister forces who perpetrate an unthinkable crime that could spell the end of the Pendragon Accords and usher in a new age of dragon war.

Can Elizabeth and Darcy, with the Wentworths’ help, restore balance to the Blue Order before the dragons decide to take matters into their own talons and right the wrongs themselves?
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​Started 11/2                                                    Finished 11/9     
I took a break from Maria and her dragons to read Persuasion. I wanted to look at the original to see how Maria worked her magic. My writer’s conclusion – She took the bare bones of the plot and the characters from the original. Then she wrapped them in dragon clothing to fit her story. My writer’s application – I should do the same thing with a story I’ve been trying to find my way into. Fingers crossed!

Now back to Maria and those dragons! Book 5 was about how Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth met their dragon friends and became part of the order. In Book 6 the dragons are weaving their ‘warm-blooded friends’ back together again. I’m a third of the way through, and I love what I’m reading! It’s fun!
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​Amazon’s Description:
Keeping a hibernating dragon should have been a simple thing. Should have been, but it was not. Apparently, nothing involving dragons was ever simple, at least not for Anne Elliot, junior Keeper to dragon Kellynch.

With the estate in debt, Anne’s father in denial, and the dragon’s treasure missing, Kellynch’s awakening is shaping up to be nothing short of catastrophe. Not to mention, there was the pesky matter of her own broken heart and resentment against the old friend who had caused it.

Captain Frederick Wentworth had spent his life making something of himself in the Navy. With the war that kept him employed at an end and a small fortune in prize money, he found himself beached and at loose ends. What was he to do with himself now—take a wife like Laconia, his dragon Friend, insisted? Not when none compared to the woman who had broken his heart.

Working as an agent of the Blue Order, managing dragon matters across England, seemed a much better alternative. At least until investigating one such matter sent him directly in the path of Anne Elliot, the woman who had ruined him for all others.

Now a royal dragon rages, a sleeping dragon lurks, and too many treasures have gone missing. Can Anne and Wentworth lay aside resentment, pride, and heartbreak to prevent Kellynch’s awakening from ending in bloodshed—or worse? Jane Austen meets Pern in a fantastical regency romp bound to delight readers of Jane Austen and Anne McCaffrey alike. Book 6 in the Jane Austen's Dragons series.

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