The Hungry Dragon Cookie Company

The Unconventional Heroes Series Side Stories #1

by L.G. Estrella

The Hungry Dragon Cookie Company – it sounds crazy, but it might just be Timmy’s ticket to financial security and a fully renovated castle.

To earn a pardon and avoid prison or execution, Timmy, Grand Necromancer and Lord of Black Tower Castle, has been completing missions for the Council with the help of an elite team of truly heroic individuals.

There’s Katie, his apprentice. She’s brilliant, cunning, and maniacally devious. She’s also ten years old, extremely adorable, and loves billowy robes and the colour pink.

There’s Avraniel, the pyromaniac elf who is responsible for more property damage than anyone in Everton’s history (including dragons, natural disasters, and demon gods).

There’s Gerald, the hyperventilating bureaucrat who is at the top of every monster’s menu.

There’s Old Man, a retired legendary swordsman whose hobbies include bonsai trees, fishing, and the occasional duel to the death.

There’s Amanda, ancient vampire and sophisticate who knows all about the Council’s founding because she was there when it happened.

And then there’s Spot. He’s cute, cuddly, and friendly. He loves tug-of-war and fetch. He’s also a fire-breathing dragon who can devour an entire cow in about thirty seconds.

The Hungry Dragon Cookie Company is a collection of fourteen short stories that take place before, during, and after the first three parts of The Unconventional Heroes Series. Each story hopes to answer important questions like:

How does a company involving cookies and dragons even work?

How did a trans-dimensional, protoplasmic horror and a Grand Necromancer become friends, and how did that horror develop an addiction to cake?

How does an ancient vampire acquire the comely, young virgins she needs to maintain proper vampiric health without looking like a total weirdo?

Answers to all of these questions and more will be revealed. With unconventional heroes like Timmy and the gang around, life is never boring.

Genres: Fantasy, Audiobook, Humor, Short Stories, Fiction, Magic, Dragons

364 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 4, 2018

About the author

I'm a reader and writer with a keen interest in psychology, history, physics, and economics. I'm especially interested in the intersection of these different areas (e.g., the psychology behind the sub-prime mortgage collapse).

In terms of fiction, I enjoy reading horror, fantasy, science fiction, Westerns, and thrillers. I believe that every genre has its good points, and I want to be able to incorporate all of these strengths into my own writing.

I currently live in Australia. When I'm not writing, I'm busy trying to fend off all of the deadly wildlife.

If you're interested in my fiction, you can find it on Amazon here.

Reviews

[Jessica Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Long Live Katie and Timmy! All Hail the Ninja Rats!

This is one of my favorite humorous fantasy series! This new collection of stories woven about the Unconventional Heroes Series is chock full of fun. The stars of the series are the necromancer Timmy, and his pink loving, pint size terror of an apprentice, Katie. Katie comes complete with a tribe of Ninja Rats. The Rats excel in espionage, mayhem, magic, sword fighting and other weapons, mysticism, invisibility and magic. The newest lake near Timmy's castle is testimony of their extensive Ninja explosives expertise. Give this series a try! You won't regret it!!

[Liv · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just excellent! 🩷

Listing below a few points for why this entire series is excellent:

1. Spot is a fierce dragon with a deep love for cookies 🍪 ( well he's still a kid but he'll get there)

2. Sam 🐙 is a protoplasmic horror from another dimension with a fondness for cake 🎂 (he also really likes Timi, they are friends🩷)

3. The invisible ninja rats 🐁(do I really have to say more ? ) The ninja rats who can turn invisible 🫥 🤓😸💣

4. Chomp the 3 headed dog 🐕 who is such a cutie 🥰

5. Old man 👴 (our lovely samurai with a fondness for bonsai trees🌲 and fishing 🎣)

6. Amanda the ancient vampire 🦇 who needs calm virgins to assist her for the food part 😂👧🧛‍♀️

7.Mr Sparkles, the man eating flower 🌹 who is fond of Avraniel

8. Avraniel, the pyromaniac elf 🔥 who can burn everything in sight and pretends to be really bad but is such a softie( her kids: Spot, Chomp, Mr Sparkles). 🔥

9. Gerald, the best bureaucrat to ever exist, who can kick ass with a frying pan 🍳 and faints quite easily but not before he screams his head off. 📖📑📚🍳

10. Timmy, the grand Necromancer of Everton, who is an excellent strategist (really truly excellent 👌 strategist) and who can put up with all the lot above. 🧟🧟‍♂️✨🪄🧞🐡🐙🐉

[Shreyas Deshpande · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ratings:-4.5 Stars

[Caleb · Rating 5 out of 5]

More fun with the Unconventional Heroes crew here. There were a couple short stories back in the first book (at least with my copy of the audiobook), so I already kinda knew how L.G. Estrella handles them in this universe, but to have this huge abundance of stories all on their own was honestly really nice. Everyone gets a chance to shine here, or well, they do in the regular story too, but it's cool here because they are more self contained stories.

I'm not going to go into full breakdowns of them all, because that ruins some of the fun, but I will say that it was nice to get a look into certain character's lives before the events in the main story, or to get background information that fleshes out certain characters more, or even to just get a fun little romp story with everyone like we do in what I'm just going to call "The Beach Episode." That story probably adds the least to anything, but it's also one of the most fun of this entire collection.

I'm not sure why there isn't an entry for the audiobook version of this book, but as I've said in my reviews of the previous books, Fred Berman is back with another amazing performance. He is the voice of these characters in my head forever now, and I can only hope that he will continue to be so if more books in the series come out beyond the four (and two collections of short stories) we have now.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

I probably would have benefited from reading the three main novellas before these small side stories, but I suspect that only removed some of the joy. The stories were self-contained, which led to an awful lot of repetition, but that is a only a tiny niggle. They were all fairly fun with some over the top-ness when it was called for, and I really enjoy this authors turn of phrase. Can't wait to start with the main novellas now.

[Katla María · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5*

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic cozy , comedy as always! Who can say no to Spot when he wants a cookie ?

[Jennifer Roth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic fun!

This is relaxing light fantasy, but still very well thought out. Each character has unique and interesting qualities, and I've never run across such a gamut of monsters before!

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an excellent idea to provide side stories of these rich characters with such individual history. I listened to the books in order, with this between 3 and 4 and definitely recommend you do the same. There are items in 4 that are better understood with these stories.

[Roberto · Rating 4 out of 5]

I nice complementary book, read after the 3rd book.

[x x x · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun things

Tough to follow unless you just roll with the stories. Once you have mellowed enough to let it go then you will really enjoy this take on the worst profession in magic.

[Roberto Flores · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has a bit of everything.

Getting to be part of the old stories you only heard about, seeing characters in a new light, just having a bit of fun. This has it all. Just perfect.

[Chetana · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐️

I always have the same thing to say when I read something that is great or had the potential to be great. I wish I got more details or saw the little moments between the big ones. Boy did this collection of stories deliver. This is a great way for an author to give us an insight into the lives of our favourite characters and also one into inside jokes or references made in the main storyline.

This book had some great stories about all of the characters and I absolutely loved getting to know them. Even Sam the interdimensional protoplasmic horror had one! This not just gave me more input into each character and how they. interact with each other and why they are the way they are it also made me fall for Timmy a lot more. After all he went through with his master, it warms my hear that he is not repeating the cycle of abuse with Katie.

For a series that is equal parts fantasy and humour, it sure doesn't shy away from some very deep topics. They are addressed well for the context they are in and I am looking forward to reading the next book.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the world of The Unconventional Heroes series, and this collection of side stories was a perfect companion to the main series. We get stories with nearly every main character, and they all add something new to the overall story of the series. My personal favorite had to be the one in which we meet some of Gerald the Bureaucrat's family, the one in which we see a younger Timmy adventuring with schoolmates Vicki and James, and of course the titular tale in which Spot discovers chocolate chip cookies.

My only issue, as it was with the fourth book in the series, is that some stories were overlong and in my opinion didn't need to be. Some areas could have been trimmed down and retained much of the story without dragging along.

Still, great collection, and if you love the series as a whole, check this one out.

[Randall Medlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Absolute Blast! This is a short story collection of stories about the characters currently calling Black Tower Castle home. I think all of the characters were included in various stories, and the stories occurred at different times. Some of them happened before book 1, some in-between books 1 and 3, and a few after book 3. The author started each tale with a blurb to give you and idea on the chronological placement of the tale. If you have enjoyed the books in the mainline story, you will enjoy these short stories. It was absolutely worth the read.

[Andy Zach · Rating 4 out of 5]

LG Estrella shows us she can write short stories as well as novels. This book is full of bite-sized morsels of humorous fantasy goodness. You don't have to read any of her novels to enjoy these, but if you're already familiar with the characters, you'll enjoy them much more.

The title story, 'The Hungry Dragon Cookie Company' is told from the point of view of a very young dragon, Spot. He loves cookies and he discovers a baker who is great at baking them. The story proceeds from there.

Don't miss out on munching out on the rest of these stories.

[Gretchen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed listening to all the previous books in this series. It’s light and amusing. This book was a series of stories and they were a hit it a miss for me. I think it was because I found it to be dry during the “downtimes”. I enjoyed it when there were interactions between the characters but some of the explanatory/descriptive sections were boring. I’m going to start right up with the next book in line though. I’m guessing and hoping that since it’s a novel (vs compilation of short stories) that it’ll be as enjoyable as the others.

[midnightbookreads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Comedy Fantasy Short Story Collection
These stories serve the purpose of character building outside of the main novels of the series.
The stories may have been part of a mailing list at one point while waiting for other novels of the series. Some of these stories are fun while others just drag. Overall, not essential to the overall series, but if you want some stories to just pick up and finish in 30 minutes then this book has stories for you.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall the book is a nice close up look at the "between the books" moments in the characters lives. A couple of the stories were a bit rough, probably from earlier in the author's career. The best stories were the about cookies, the beach, Timmy's adolescence (horrifying but well written), Avraniel's past adventures and the ones that allowed for Katie, Timmy, and Gerald to have some character development.

[Kiersten Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this companion collection. The short stories focus on giving depth to existing characters in the Unconventional Heroes series and also introduces a few new characters. The adventures are fun and I especially enjoy when the author spends time explaining how different types of magic and objects work, as well as discussing various magical creatures. The type of magic in this series is one of my favorites! I hope this author keeps writing!

[David Provan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Better than the main series

I've enjoyed the main series. But it works so hard on missions and combat that it lacks character development and detail. You can find those here. In the main series the combats are so drawn out and painfully detailed that you can just about hear the gaming author rolling his dice. I wouldn't be surprised if he/she worked them up with friends.

[Zdzisław Meglicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hesitated between 2 and 3 stars. I gave 3 out of the largesse of my heart. The book is poorly written, the author's grasp of grammar and vocabulary is sub-par. The stories, yes, these are disconnected stories, are OK but only OK. They'd be better if they weren't drown in meaningless verbal diarrhea.

[Shannon Wolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another awesome effort

Short stories can be a bit of a pain, but sometimes it is nice to get a little more background on favorite characters. This instalment really wet my appetite for the next book in the series.

[Matthew Briner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some good short stories to fill in gaps

I'd rather that they had been arranged more chronologically, but regardless they were great supplements to the full novels. Looking forward to further developments in this series.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spot referring to Avraniel, "His mother was a kind, caring person..." Methinks his perception may be a bit off.

Loved these stories that delved into both past and present adventures by the characters. Several did not highlight Timmy or Katie but had one of their crew as the featured protagonist. Avraniel actually did perform a good deed in the past. The Old Man has been around the block more than once. Spot is learning that he is not invincible (yet) He also discovers that he likes cookies almost as much as Sam loves cake. Gerald continues to find himself in dangerous situations when he would rather stay home reading and writing. Even one of Avraniel's killer plants has a chapter.

A very nice addition to The Unconventional Heroes series. Looking forward to many, many more.

[Mandy & Lo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun continuation of the series! You have the opportunity to explore each of the characters more, which I fully enjoyed! I’ve grown really attached to this cast characters. Easily one of my favorite book series!

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely LOVED this! Can't wait for more.

[Michael Glenn Maskill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good series

Funny and enjoyable series. Good story development and characters. Highly recommend whole series. I hope this author continues this series in particular.

[Melissa Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just as good as the full length books. Fun, adventurous and informative. Excellent!

[Mark Magagna · Rating 3 out of 5]

No real danger for the characters - the stories are mostly studies of the various characters.