Chris d'Lacey's Blog, page 4

This week's word is: VISITS2

Hello, dragon fans.  Gadzooks has gone to lie down in a darkened room, exhausted after another hectic week of school visits.  So it's my turn to write the blog. A-ha!
The last seven days has been a little less exhausting than the week before, mainly because we only had three visits to do, and they were all great.  We left our Devon home late on Monday afternoon and journeyed first to Cardiff in South Wales.  Over the years we've made lots of trips to North Wales but rarely the southern end.  Gadzooks was particularly excited about this trip because a certain television programme is filmed in Cardiff - the dragon's favourite - Doctor Who!  I think he was hoping to see a flying dalek or the TARDIS materialising in the hotel car park, or at the very least be provided with a sonic screwdriver with which to open the door to our hotel room.  Sadly, there was none of that.  Neither did we have time to explore the city, but we did at least go over the magnificent Severn Bridge, one of the largest suspension bridges in the world.  There's something very restful about driving over a wide body of water (the Bristol Channel), especially at night when there is little traffic about. 
At school the following morning, in leafy Llandaff, we knew we were in for a good session when we stepped out of the car and saw two grey squirrels bounding about in the school grounds.  For once, I wasn't carrying any acorns in my pockets (I often do - conkers, too) but the squirrels looked pretty well fed and went about their business completely unaware that the author of Snigger and the Nutbeast was in their midst. We were then met in reception by two fantastic school librarians, Ceri and Kelly, who told us the squirrels were a regular feature of the school and that we could expect to see lots of them during the day.   Entirely appropriate, of course.  Anyone who has ever been to one of my talks will know that I often show an image of a squirrel when I tell the story of how THE FIRE WITHIN came to be written.  At the Cathedral School in Cardiff, that moment in the presentation received the biggest cheer ever! It was a delightful day all round, but next time we will definitely stay a little longer and explore the city.  Maybe we'll bump into a cyberman!
The next day it was onto England's second city, Birmingham, and a very different school in the Oldknow district there.  Over the course of the day, we spoke to 600 children between the ages of 7-11. For many of these boys and girls, English was not their first language.  So it might have been assumed that the talks would be a little more challenging or the children less responsive.  No way!  What an amazing bunch of students.  Attentive, well-behaved, and overflowing with interesting questions.  There was one who wondered if I'd ever bought Mrs Author harpoons for Christmas - at least I think he said harpoons.  Maybe it was spoons!  This was an incredible school in more ways than one.  We often go into places where there is an aquarium in reception, or maybe a hamster running round a cage in a classroom.  This school had its own zoo! There was an aviary filled with cockatiels and budgerigars, a large run of chickens, a giant rabbit (allegedly - it was asleep in its cage) and a reptile house which housed lizards, snakes and a tarantula.  I politely declined to sit the, erm, spider on my hand.  It looked quite happy where it was, thank you!  I was also interviewed at this school in a custom made radio studio.  Two bright young girls quizzed me about writing techniques and character construction.  I was very impressed.  We must say a big thanks to Kosar, the librarian who organised the visit.  In her library she had some ENORMOUS images of famous authors and/or books.  On one of them was a picture of Grabber! Gadzooks was pleased to see that.

The Oldknow goat 

In between the journey to our next destination, Stockingford in Nuneaton, we had an interesting chat on Twitter to Philip Reeve, author of the brilliant Mortal Engines series and many more books besides.  Philip is one of those authors we have a lot of time for.  He did some amazing illustrations for three small books of mine which were released before the dragons ever saw the light of day (Hrrr! Ouch! That was Gretel scorching my ear.) If you're ever lucky enough to find a book called The Table Football League (long out of print) you can chuckle at my daft text and Philip's superbly witty drawings.  We're hoping to meet up again soon, an occasion which will no doubt merit a blog post all of its own.
So, last but not least, we dropped into Stockingford Junior School and did one huge talk followed by an even longer signing session.  It would be wrong to measure the success of an event by the number of books that are sold, but it is very satisfying when children want to read The Chronicles or the Wayward Crescent books after hearing about them.  And these guys bought them in some number.  Thank you Annie for inviting us back in and putting me in front of such enthusiastic children. And a huge thanks to art teacher, Jusna (I hope I've got that right!) who was a star with the books.
We got home exhausted on Friday evening after a four hour drive.  We were greeted by the dragons and Mrs Author, of course, and we also discovered two nice boxes, one of which contained a number of FIRE WORLD paperbacks from the USA, and in the other was six advanced copies of THE FIRE ASCENDING. Yes, it has been printed and will be going into distribution very very soon. It looks awesome.  Not long now!  Until next time, when Gadzooks will be back, happy reading.  Hrrr!

This week's word is: VISITS

Hello, dragon fans.  We had a splendid time last week visiting schools in England as part of the World Book Day celebrations.  The author topped up the screenwash and aimed us north - for approximately three and a half miles! Yes, our first stop was local, at the lovely Galmpton Primary School in Devon, an old stone building just, well, a stone's throw from a National Trust property called Greenway, which used to be Agatha Christie's house (a famous English crime writer).  There he spoke to some lovely children and even showed me to one class! Would you believe he kept me in bubble wrap in a BOX and made me stay solid throughout the entire visit?  I wasn't even allowed to blow a smoke ring (fire regulations in schools, apparently). So we made a few new fans, including three teaching assistants from Germany who were all quite keen to have the author's autograph.  They were very pleased to know that the first three books are now out in paperback in Germany.  Hrrr.  Thank you Margaret and Stuart for inviting us in and Matthew at the Torbay Bookshop in Paignton for providing books. Just the first of many visits in the bay, we hope.
From Galmpton, we moved onto the historic town of Bath.  Bath has a thriving arts and literature scene and was once favoured by another hugely famous English author, Jane Austen.  Several times during the week the author told the story of how, at the age of 14, he was introduced to reading by a teacher who encouraged him to finish 'Pride & Prejudice', Ms Austen's best-known work.  From there our hero went onto 'The Hobbit' and 'The Lord of the Rings' and the mighty 'Gormenghast' trilogy by Mervyn Peake.  Ever wanted to read a gripping gothic fantasy? Try 'Titus Groan'.  We think it's amazing, scary and surreal, just like parts of DARK FIRE.  Also, on a point of interest, two of the characters, aunts called Cora and Clarice, were the inspiration behind Aunts Primrose and Petunia in FIRE WORLD...
In Bath, we visited the impressive King Edward's school where the author was asked to adjudicate a dragon competition.  The children were incredibly creative, as you can see... 


We're not quite sure what's going on with the sticks in the dragon above, but we liked her all the same!  King Edward's was a wonderful experience, and we'd like to thank, Liz, James, the children (of course) and the mums who helped to sell books. Hrrr! Not forgetting the delightful Anna Wilson, who helped to set it up in the first place. Mwah.
After a little sight-seeing in Bath, it was off up the motorway to the West Midlands and the Black Country town of Wolverhampton.  Here, on World Book Day itself, we stopped at Tettenhall College and met their lovely librarian Debbie and her help on the day, Trish.  Despite the author feeling a little unwell, we had another fantastic day. Here, the author was asked possibly the most bizarre question he's ever encountered: If you could have a pub, what would it be called? He replied cleverly, mentioning the fact that his father used to run a pub called The White Horse, then segued from there into the story of Lucy and Tam on Scuffenbury Hill, followed by a reading from DARK FIRE.  Gosh.  Even I have to admire him when he thinks as quickly as that. 
And finally our little jaunt came to a close in the district of West Bromwich, also in the Midlands.  The author visits many different types of school, from the very wealthy to the very poor.  George Salter Academy would be towards the latter end, a place where the children have very few privileges.  But, as the author was at pains to point out to his attentive audiences, he came from a lowly background yet rose to be a well-known writer (with an even better-known dragon companion, of course).  The lesson is: no matter your walk of life, it can be done, guys.  All you need is a passion for stories.  Thank you Janet and Vicky for looking after us.  Until next time.  Happy reading.  Hrrr!

This week's word is: TRAVELS

Hello, dragon fans. Once again it's that time of year when authors emerge from their candlelit garrets to go out and talk for World Book Day, which this year falls on Thursday March 1st.  As I scribble this down, our author is busily counting out pairs of socks and changes of under- well, we don't need to go there, do we? for a little stint 'on the road'.  This is not a formal signing tour - don't get too excited - but a string of school visits that will take him to various parts of the country.  On Tuesday, for instance, he will be back in the historic city of Bath.  More about that next Sunday, no doubt.  Mrs Author is rubbing her hands in glee, because for the next few days, while he's out from under her feet, she can get things done.  We expect changes on our return.
You might say, "What's the point of World Book Day?" when books are there, around you, all the time.  Well, it never does any harm to highlight the obvious.  Yesterday, for instance, the author was wandering around the house saying, "Has anybody seen my glasses?" We all looked at one another and sighed. Gwendolen eventually took pity on him and said, "You're wearing them."  See what I mean?  Books are good - 'the cheapest form of entertainment' someone once said.  But authors don't go out to preach that fact on WBD, they simply go out to celebrate.
It would have been fantastic, of course, if THE FIRE ASCENDING could have coincided with this year's event.  But we still have to wait another month or so for that.  So many of you are writing in and asking about it.  Don't worry, the book is on course for publication on April 5th (UK) and May 1st (rest of the world).  Any day now, we hope to see an advance copy.  One reader sent in a very thoughtful email today hoping to hear that David would not turn into some form of 'messiah'.  We can assure you he doesn't.  It's fairly safe to say that David becomes the sort of man that everyone would like him to be by the end of the book.  He's grown up, certainly, but in TFA he loses the aloofness he had in the middle of the series and is rather lovable by the end.  He has to go through some trials to get to that point, but he does survive.  Properly, as Lucy might have said.
Oh, and we must say a big thank you to German publishers Coppenrath for sending us copies of the first three books which have now appeared in paperback over there.
Finally, this week, a picture.  The author loves to see the images you draw and every now and then we like to feature one on the blog.  So here is Thoran the ice bear, as drawn by Madison.  Note the watch by his feet.  Lovely.  Would you pick it up and follow the bear...? Until next time.  Happy reading.  Hrrr!

This week's word is: LETTERS

Hello, dragon fans. Just for a change this week, we thought we'd let you look at the other side of the author's life, which is to deal with correspondence.  As many blog followers will know, it's easy to contact our hero by mailing him through the ICEFIRE website.  He still deals with around 100 emails a week from fans, and answers them as soon as he possibly can.  On top of this, he gets a stream of mail through the regular post (passed on by his publishers) - particularly after a school visit.  We thought we'd share some of the comments from a recent visit, just to give you an idea of how children and older students respond to his talks.  Here goes...
Strangely, authors are often perceived as being rather boring individuals.  Maybe it's because they spend so much time alone talking to clay dragons.  Who knows?  Children at one school were once asked by their teacher to write short descriptions of what the author would be like before and after a visit.  The before list contained, "a yawn", "will probably wear a suit" and "not understand us".  The after list went something like, "amazing", "great storyteller", "funny", "couldn't believe he lived on an estate like ours" and "completely barmy!"  This kind of thing is often borne out in the letters.  One young student recently wrote: "When writers or poets come to our school they often bore us with their ways of writing a 1000 page novel, or put us to sleep with their lack of a personality, so of course when we were told that a writer was here to talk to us I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised with your refreshing take on writing and reading and couldn't stop laughing at your comical anecdotes. I feel now that when we are told to write a story it won't seem so much like a struggle to pick up my pen."  Hrrr!  This kind of response makes the author very happy. And so does this: "Your talk really elated me, so that night I actually rummaged around my house and eventually found all my casual stories."  This is what The Last Dragon Chronicles is all about: inspiring people to find their creative spark. While it's true that David Rain whizzes through time and across universes doing battle with evil forces and misguided sibyls, he's always seeking inspiration through, erm, me (ahem).  Arthur's use of Gawain's claw, me scribbling on my notepad, the whole idea of imagineering are really just facets of a greater concept: that through creativity we find inner harmony - the fire within - or as another student put it: "You showed me that anyone can write if you let 'the writing take over'. Also you showed me that something simple can explode into something that will change your life and eventually you will notice that the explosion brought peace and excitement." Very true. Until next time.  Happy reading. Hrrr!

This week's word is: OUTTAKE

Hello, dragon fans. Not much in the way of news this week, though the author has been very busy putting the final touches to the US edition of RAIN & FIRE. By rights, this should be Mrs Author's job, but unfortunately she is suffering from something called pleurisy, which is making her very exhausted. She is lying on the sofa downstairs watching Dancing on Ice on TV, feeling a little bit sorry for herself.
So, as everything has been very quiet, the author has instructed me to show you the last section of the big outtake from THE FIRE ASCENDING. This, like the other extracts we've posted, originally formed a section of Part 5 of TFA in which Alexa told the story of her time at Wayward Crescent and basically EXPLAINED everything, particularly the bridge between DARK FIRE and FIRE WORLD. She still does this, but in a slightly different and quicker way in the finished book. We don't think TFA has suffered for removing these extracts, but they do make interesting reading all the same AND they are exclusive to the notepad. Only yesterday, the author and Mrs A decided that these outtakes would not feature in the US RAIN & FIRE. So this is the only place you will read this stuff. If you go back through the posts you can patch it all together as one piece and amaze any friends who like the Chronicles but don't follow the blog.  Anyway, here it is.  Last week's section ended where Co:pern:ica had taken a difficult 'spin' because Aunts like Gwyneth had risen to power. Until next time. Happy reading. Hrrr!

Once again, the Higher needed to act.  They extended their influence and introduced limits.  The boundaries of Project 42 were reset.  No one, they decreed, would imagineer outside 'The Grand Design'.  Co:pern:ica, the beautiful if broken reflection of Earth, was condensed into a central urban community.  Memories of animal life were erased.  Books, especially reference books, were kept in buildings known as librariums and all but banned from everyday living.  Televisual media focused on the present.  The 'Dead Lands' as the barren parts came to be known were condemned to be a wilderness (and disgracefully used as penal colonies).  The word 'history' dropped out of the new world's vocabulary. 
            Everything changed.
            The Aunts, however, were still allowed to rule (some sense of order was considered beneficial) but from now on they would be monitored too.  The Higher studied the eagle, Gideon, the bird enhanced by the auma of Gawain.  They found him noble and wise; the perfect candidate to supervise the Aunts.  They took him from his early timepoint on Earth and let his template flourish on Co:pern:ica.  And so, firebirds came to Project 42.  Charming, tame, pretty to look at, they were a welcome splash of colour in a world increasingly dominated by grey.  People considered them of no importance.  Scientists like Harlan Merriman knew better.  He had noticed the firebirds' astonishing ability to fly through any imagineered construct, but he did not know how.  The truth was, the birds could travel through time – quicker than any Aunt could imagineer.  For some of them, this was a crucial talent.  One of the drawbacks of Project 42 was that the parallel universe 'tugged' at its corresponding timeline on Earth, curving space and creating ripples in the overall continuum.  A small band of firebirds, led by a cream-coloured female called Aurielle, was charged with repairing any disruptions.  Ripples happened rarely and made little impact on the nexus when they did.  But there was one ripple the Higher truly feared.  One that could unhinge the entire project and bring the Ix flooding into Co:pern:ica.
            This was at the timepoint Isenfier.
            The pressure upon the nexus was never greater than when Gadzooks marked his notepad at Scuffenbury Hill.  True, he had halted the progress of the Ix, but he had also introduced a tremendous strain to the membrane of space between Earth and Co:pern:ica.  Even the Higher could not conceive of what might happen if the membrane opened or the writing dragon was forced to let go.  Something had to give.  And eventually it did.
            A small Ix:Cluster breached the continuum and ran amok in Co:pern:ica, causing havoc.  It took over the body of a dying firebird, turning it black – the worst mistake it could have made.  Black firebirds were never part of Project 42.  The Cluster had drawn attention to itself. 
            One of those to notice it was Aunt Gwyneth.  In her typically artful way she attempted to capture the bird, but then became trapped in a battle of wills as she struggled to control the evil inside it.  A tense interaction developed.  The commingled minds exchanged information.  The Ix learned what the Aunt knew about Co:pern:ica.  And she learned about her counterpart on Earth…
            By now, significant developments were taking place on Co:pern:ica.  First, Harlan discovered a dragon claw, sealed in a stone tower in the Dead Lands.  Around the same time, David located the tapestry of Isenfier hidden in the eyrie the firebirds occupied.  It described the scene at Scuffenbury Hill, exactly as it was meant to be.  From it he deduced that the dragon with the pencil was the source of the beacon pulsing through his mind.  In a flash, his wider consciousness awoke to the moment on Earth when Gadzooks had scribbled 'sometimes' on his pad.  At last, the signal was heard.  But if David travelled back to Scuffenbury too soon his auma would 'fuse' within the time continuum.
            What to do?
            The answer, as always, rested with the sibyl.  By devious means, the dragon claw fell into Aunt Gwyneth's clutches.  And in one last act of vengeance, she used it.  She drew upon its powers of transformation and wrote herself back into existence on Earth.
            I, Gwyneth, sometimes known as Gwilanna, live.
            The timeline trembled.
            Parts of the Isenfier tapestry faded.
            The legend of the Last Dragon Chronicles changed. 

This week's word is: BRRR!

Note, that's brrr, not hrrr!  Winter has come to the Dragons' Den and there has been a good deal of hurring going on.  G'reth poked his head out of the window yesterday and needed to have his ears thawed out by Gruffen.  It is pretty cold in England right now - and we're in the warmest part of the country.  Dragons, of course, like snow.  We haven't seen any here, in Torbay, though there are huge amounts in the Midlands where we used to live.  Mrs Author says she's glad to be out of it.  Talking of Mrs Author, she is hard at work right now on the final changes to the US edition of RAIN & FIRE.  We are hoping, as we've said before, that this book will feature some of the material that was cut from THE FIRE ASCENDING, though serious blog followers are getting hefty extracts here, and another part will follow at the end of this posting.
It was National Libraries Day yesterday, so we thought we'd show you the above: a little facebook posting from one of the dragons' favourite school librarians, Nikki, in Cambridge.  Notice how she's carefully chosen lines from FIRE WORLD to illustrate the benefits of reading.  The author says, "Happy librariums day to you, Nikki, and all of you who still passionately believe in the power of books - especially 'tree' books. Has anyone discovered a way for an author to sign an eBook yet...?"
We were very pleased this week to see THE FIRE ASCENDING mentioned in a publishing industry magazine called The Bookseller where it was highlighted as 'one to watch'.  We certainly think so.  There is a buzz in the ether about the book, not just from here in the Dragons' Den but from you, the fans.  It's as if everyone is willing this to be a huge bestseller and rocket back onto the New York Times bestseller lists.  With your help guys, we can do it!  Hrrr!
And finally, before we reveal the extract, we thought you might like to know that this very afternoon the author made an entry on a website called TeachingBooks.net. On this site, authors are invited to leave an audio message describing how they pronounce their name.  If you've ever wondered how to say d'Lacey, you'll now be able to hear it in a mixture of his 'telephone' voice and his native northern accent.  Duh-lay-see.  It looks rather French, and it is.  The d' means 'of the' in French, whereas 'lacey' loosely translates as 'lake' or 'light'.  So he is Chris of the lake or Chris of the light, whichever you prefer.  Personally, we like Chris of the last biscuit in the tin as it always seems to be him who gets it.  We'll give you the proper link when it goes up.
And now for a little more of the outtake we've been running. If you cast your mind back three posts you'll recall that the Higher (the Fain Collective) came up with a spectacular way to defeat the Ix.  They imagineered a parallel version of Earth that they called Co:pern:ica.  They hoped the human souls would migrate to the new world, leaving the Ix isolated on Earth.  On Co:pern:ica, things are a little different, as anyone who's read FIRE WORLD knows...


            Having set Co:pern:ica in motion, the next task for the Higher was to start the transition.  They prepared a unique fire star (a portal through spacetime) which they suspended above the Earth like a second sun.  Only people like David could see it for a while, and it was closed down during his time in Ki:mera.  Before they opened it again, the Higher arranged a 'sign' to guide humans to it.  A Wearle of imagineered dragons was sent to Earth to colonise the 'Arctic', but this only created worry and confusion.  (The false association of dragons with evil also proved to be an inhibiting trend.)  The Higher thought again.  After more research and powerful meditation, they altered their strategy and decided instead that the migration should be led by an illumined being.  An angelic creature, not unlike a dragon, that humans upheld as a symbol of righteousness.  A child, blessed with the power of flight.  That child, of course, was me (Alexa). 
              In principle, the plan was sound.  As the timeline developed, many aspects came to fruition.  But all was not well with Project 42.  The Higher, despite their inestimable wisdom, had made one fundamental error.  They had forgotten (or ignored) the laws of chaos.  They had put aside one of the most crucial yet perplexing functions of living systems: that nothing ever happens quite the way it is intended to.  The new world was about to spring a flaw.
            At first, the system blossomed as expected.  The auma fields settled to their symbiotic levels.  The atmospherics clicked into place.  G'ravity was set to its optimum intensity.  Co:pern:ica began to spin.  But as the various elements began to gel together, Co:pern:ica reacted like any free-living organism: it generated its own identity.  It developed a 'mind' of its own – a rough equivalent to the Earth spirit, Gaia.  It had no 'name', this spirit, for the alternative humans which wandered the new world were too 'young' in their construction to identify any holistic entity, let alone put a name to it.  But right from the start the Higher began to notice spontaneous disruptions occurring within their allegedly 'closed' system.  More worryingly, in a world of supposedly general equality, some templates were gaining prominence over others.  When the Higher analysed their equivalents on Earth, the word 'sibyl' cropped up over and over again…
            Curiosity got the better of the Fain collective.  Rather than modify Project 42 (or abort it), they allowed the system to organise itself.  They gathered in the Is and warily observed their flower of the universe.  Co:pern:ican society advanced at pace, but showed worrying signs of self-indulgence.  The prominent templates continued to gain.  One in particular commanded the Higher's greatest attention: the sibyl that on Earth had been known as 'Gwilanna'.
            On Co:pern:ica, the template called herself 'Gwyneth', a member of a self-elected council of 'Aunts'.  In the new world, a woman rose to be an Aunt if her powers to imagineer were demonstrably superior to other women.  The Higher encouraged imagineering; they saw it as a form of evolutionary progression – a means for their templates to become 'co-creators' with the auma of the universe.  The ability to materialise objects from thought was a skill that had long been forgotten on Earth.  Restoring this skill was regarded by the Higher as another incentive for Earth-based lifeforms to enter Project 42.  Sadly, the templates proved them wrong.  The tendency for dominance by rule of might flared once more.  Instead of living in harmony and simply imagineering what they needed, Gwyneth and her dubious cast of Aunts began imagineering to excess, so they might rise above and subjugate others.  To the Higher's amazement Gwyneth even developed a means of absorbing the auma of dying creatures, mainly small animals.  One or two deaths made little difference.  But as her hunger for power increased and her secret leaked out to the other Aunts, animal templates began to disappear.  So did the vital habitats they lived in.  Before long, half the new world was barren. 
            Co:pern:ica had taken a difficult spin.  Gosh! Until next time.  Happy reading.  Hrrr!

This week's word is: MAROON

 Tulips from Agent EdHello, dragon fans. I know what you're thinking: Maroon! He's changed his mind and is going to write an eighth book and the cover will be a maroon dragon.  Hooray!  Sorry.  Nothing to do with covers at all.  I refer instead to the fact that the author has gone into decorating mode.  In the past few weeks he has bought not one but TWO new sofas and they are both coloured maroon.  I kid you not.  Since completing the proofing of THE FIRE ASCENDING, he's been spending time painting and papering the walls of the rooms the sofas are in.  We are all on tenterhooks wondering which of us is going to get sprayed with droplets from his paint roller next. This morning, he dropped some paste on the new grey carpet (maroon, grey, good contrast, yes?).  Mrs Author does not know about this.  SHUSH!  He just managed to clear it up and push a chair over the wetted pile before she walked in with her breakfast.  "What are you doing on your knees," she asked, "- with a flannel...?" He replied, "Erm, dusting the skirting boards..." which of course meant he had to do the whole room.  He should stick to writing books.  At least that would keep him out of trouble.
It would be tempting to think that the flowers you see were the author's way of saying sorry for the paste episode, but they actually came from Agent Ed, who spent a couple of days in the Den this week.  It was great to meet Ed again.  Despite the fact that Devon is basically 'closed' in the winter, we still managed to get out and see a few sights.  Importantly, over a home-cooked dinner of pasta bake and tarte citron, Ed and the author discussed their plans for world domination (of the book scene).  It seems that everyone would like to see our hero write another full on fantasy series.  The author unveiled an idea we've been musing on that Ed seemed to think would be very well-received.  Not wholesale fantasy, but leaning more towards intrigue and adventure - with a strong dragon element.  We will be presenting this to the author's publishers over the next few weeks.  Watch this space...
Finally, we feel honour bound to point out something to the scientific community.  Recently, the dragons have been glued to the TV set watching Professor Brian Cox (a man who must have discovered the enchantments of time because he seems to grow younger every time he's on the telly) talking about stars.  Brian likes stars.  He's a physicist and he knows a lot about them.  He knows a lot about the beginnings of the universe as well, but his time machine still hasn't allowed him to answer the conundrum of what happened in the millimillimillimilliseconds after the so-called 'Big Bang'.  So he should have been tuning in to that well known British TV science show 'Horizon' which aired an episode on just this subject recently.  What did happen at the time of the Big Bang? Another very youthful physicist tried to explain.  He drew a 'timeline' of the universe on a blackboard – 13.7 billion years on a chalk line three feet long.  Then he moved to the far right end of the line and said, "This is where we are now, in the present day."  He marked an 'X' on the line.  Then he moved an inch back from 'now', put another 'X' on the line and said, "This is when the dinosaurs lived…  And this is when DNA emerged…" (Another 'X') "This is when atoms were forming…" (Another 'X')  "And this," he said, moving to the left hand end, "is when the Big Bang happened.  But it's this infinitessimal moment of time before the explosion occurred that we don't understand."  He stood back, juggled his chalk in one hand, then stepped forward and made another 'X'.  "Here be dragons," he said.  We are thinking of sending him a copy of The Fire Ascending just to put him out of his misery.  It's all explained in there. Until next time.  Happy reading.  Hrrr! 

This week's word is: HOROSCOPE!

Hello, dragon fans.  We deliberately didn't put up a blog post yesterday, but saved it for today instead when the new Chinese year begins.  For those of you who don't know, the Chinese have an astrological zodiac that uses animals to deliniate its twelve parts.  Eleven of the signs are well known animals such as monkeys or tigers or dogs.  There is only one 'mythical' creature represented, which is the dragon, of course, ahem.  Depending what year you were born in, you fall into one of the twelve signs.  The author you might be surprised to hear, was born in the year of the horse, which probably explains why he likes horse racing so much!  But any of you born in 1976, 1988 or 2000 come under the sign of the dragon.  Interestingly, The Fire Within came out in the year 2000.  You can google up the Chinese zodiac for yourselves if you want to know the characteristics of 'dragon types', but just for a bit of fun, Gwendolen has come up with her own 'horoscope' based on the more familiar star signs.  Enjoy!  Until next time.  Happy reading.  Hrrr!
ARIES: You are so impulsive that you have probably pre-ordered your copy of The Fire Ascending already. If not, what are you waiting for?
TAURUS: You are traditionally good with money, so you've no doubt saved the necessary pounds or dollars to buy TFA the day it comes out.  Well done. But just in case there's a rush at the book store, why not pre-order a copy now?
GEMINI: The sign of the twins. Having trouble working out what the heck is going on with the alternative characters in Fire World? Don't worry, it's all explained in TFA. Why not pre-order a copy now and know that in April/May your mind will be set at rest?
CANCER: The home-loving sign. How you must be missing the atmosphere in Wayward Crescent. Get your order in for TFA today, but be ready for a few surprises at number 42... All is not what it seems.
LEO: No-one hrrrs better than a Leo (except a dragon of course). You are natural leaders. Print out the TFA cover and show it to all your friends, just so they know that you were there first (they'll know, because you'll have written, "I'm cool, I pre-ordered The Fire Ascending. Hrrr!" on your leaflet.
VIRGO: Dependable, solid, hard-working Virgo.  Why not find a Leo and lend them a hand promoting TFA? You'll feel so much better in yourself.
LIBRA: Oh, dear. Love is in the air for Librans, as always. But who should you swoon over, David or Tam (or Zanna or Lucy)? Who are the real heroes of TFA? Better pre-order your copy now. You don't want to hear it second-hand from an Aries...
SCORPIO: Oh, to heck with it. Just give in to those gothic impulses, you know that Zanna would love it if you did.  And guys, you might want to check out the Shadow Prime, Voss. You'll only find him in TFA. Yep, play safe. Pre-order a copy now...
SAGITTARIUS: The most fun-loving, extroverted sign of the zodiac. Why not organise a Last Dragon Chronicles party, where you and all your friends can dress up and act out scenes from the books? Make sure you have a laptop available somewhere - for anyone who gets so excited that they feel the need to pre-order a copy of TFA...
CAPRICORN: Would you believe there are GOATS in TFA? I don't mean people born under the sign of Capricorn, actual goats. They turn up in the bit where Agawin travels back in time and meets... oops, you nearly had me there! If you want to know more, you know what you have to do...
AQUARIUS: You are ruled by the planet Uranus which makes you quirky and into all things mind-expanding, but it's time you stopped trying to imagineer a pre-publication copy of TFA and just ordered it! You won't find out how to imagineer properly until you read the book. Honestly!
PISCES: Ah, Pisces. The most 'out there' sign of them all. Liz's words 'dream it' could have been written for you, couldn't they? Well, stop dwelling on the opening extract of TFA and wondering how on earth it fits into the series, just treat yourself to a pre-ordered copy of the book.  Amazon would love to hear from you!

This week's word is: OUT-TAKE

Hello dragon fans.  It's been such a busy week in the Crescent that we've hardly had time to stop and think.  The author is lying down in a darkened room with a cold flannel over his head, saying he is 'proofed out'.  What he means is, he's finished checking not just the US edition of THE FIRE ASCENDING, but the UK one as well. Everything is now on course for publication in the Spring- in both countries.
So, while he's out of action, we thought we'd send you another little clip from the section he had to chop out of the book.  You may remember that Gwendolen posted a large piece of text that was leading up to an explanation of the parallel world, Co:pern:ica.  Well, here's a bit more that follows on from the other bit (plus a short overlap).  It's in Alexa's viewpoint again. If you want to refresh your memories, go back and read the blog post titled HAPPY first.  We think you'll like this out-take.  It tells you something about David Rain...  Until next time.  Happy reading.  Hrrr!

            The rise of the Ix sent ripples of fear throughout the fabric of the universe.  The Higher were confused (and somewhat dismayed – a condition completely alien to them).  Never before had their intellect been challenged or dangerously corrupted. 
            They had to act. 
            They looked at ways of containing the outbreak.  Perhaps they should destroy the Earth?  A series of volcanic eruptions would have produced enough toxic ash to poison the atmosphere and choke the planet out of existence.  But killing was a concept abhorrent to the Fain.  Besides, the Ix would probably survive.  They were, after all, a force in the likeness of the Fain themselves.  The destruction of the Earth was not an option.  The Ix must be isolated, caught and transformed.
            But how?
            While they meditated over their course of action, the Higher made one significant decision.  Because the Ix were a product of the human psyche, the Higher created a powerful construct who could move among humans and monitor the actions of Ix on that plane.  They planted their agent in a critical part of the Isenfier timeline.  His role was to track down Ix assassins that would cluster to dragons as the Fain had done. 
            His name was David Rain. 
            Given false memories to help ease him into the household of Elizabeth Pennykettle (chosen because of her links to Guinevere) David wasn't brought to full awareness until the spear of ice had entered his heart.  It is important to stress that David was not charged with destroying the Ix; his role was to keep them and any lifeform attracted to them (ravens and sibyls, for example) diverted while the Higher's most spectacular scheme was underway.  Any physicist's mind would have split in two if they had tried to comprehend what the Higher were conceiving with the strategy they labelled 'Project 42'.  An astonishing plan that would stretch even their resources to the limit.  Not since the birth of the universe itself had anything like it been attempted before.
            They were developing an alternative version of Earth. 
            Calling on every thread of creativity they had, the Fain encapsulated all the probabilities of multiverse theory and imagineered from it a single, unified, parallel world.
            They named this world Co:pern:ica. 
            The Higher's idea for it was simple, but profound.  They intended to raise Co:pern:ica to a level of perfection that humans would call 'paradise'.  A place so full of harmony and joy that their souls would willingly migrate to it, leaving the Ix:Cluster behind and isolated.  Templates of existing human forms, based on the data filtered from the multiverse, were all made ready.  Interestingly, due to what Arthur called 'quantum fluctuation', they appeared as different versions of themselves.  My family was a good example of this.  Arthur, for instance, was known as Harlan; Lucy Pennykettle was Penny; Zanna was Rosanna (Rosa for short); Elizabeth, Eliza; Bonnington, Boon.  The one exception was David, who, because of the nature of his being, was always called 'David'.  He could switch between the worlds as fast as he could think, though he was not always aware that he had done it... 

Monday's word is: PROOFED!

Hello, dragon fans.  Forgive the very short blog post yesterday.  We really were up against a tight deadline, reading through the proofs of THE FIRE ASCENDING - the US edition! Bizarrely, the US team is slightly ahead of the British one with this book, but TFA will still be published first in the UK (April) followed a month later in North America and Australia.  It would have been dragontastic to get simultaneous worldwide release, but that kind of thing is out of our hands. We're just glad that no one will have too much longer to wait.
So, what is a proof? I hear some of you asking.  Well, before a book goes for printing, the layouts are checked and rechecked for errors.  This is done by someone called a copyeditor, but we read through the story as well, of course. This is the author's last chance to fiddle with the text, which he normally does right up until the last second.  Can you imagine it?  "STOP THE PRESSES! I FORGOT TO PUT A VITAL COMMA IN ON PAGE 249!" However, this time he was very good.  He made hardly any changes at all, which shows how much he thinks of this book.  His editors like it too.  One of them called it 'fantastic' and the other one called it a 'masterpiece'. Wow. Bet you can feel his head swelling from where you are.  Seriously, there is so much to like about TFA it's hard to know where to begin.  The author tweeted this week that you should look out for part six, the bit where someone vital gets captured and a werewolf turns up and a major character is created from a rag doll... And there isn't a dragon in sight! Not in that section, anyway.  I am going to try to persuade the author to let us include little snippets of the story (really little snippets) in some of the blog posts up to publication, just to give you all a taste of what's coming. Here, for instance, is the epigraph, the quote from the front of the book:
Time is like water; it finds its own levels...
That's a direct quote from one of the characters - but who?
Have fun guessing!  Until next time, happy reading.  Hrrr!