Dragons of the Ashfall

It wasn’t always a novel.

Once it was a short story. One of the first that was published that bore my name. It premiered in Wings of Change. Its title: “A Dragon Bigger than My Stories.”

It was about a girl in a clockwork city. She was ground down. She longed for solitude.

And then she found a dragon egg.

The girl’s name was Manda. She fed her dragon stories. He grew until they could finally leave the city of coal and smoke… until a threat meant that Manda sacrificed herself to save everyone else. Because that’s what heroes do.

Ah, but I loved that setting. Manda’s story was done. There was no more to tell about her.

But that setting…

So I went back and reread what had been published. And I read it again. What other stories did these characters hide? What stood around the corner from their orphanage or the grindery? What would come of their city after Manda’s sacrifice?

And so a novel was born.

Oops. Sorry. I was wrong.

And so four novels were born.

Monday you can preorder the ebook of Dragons of the Ashfall, the first book of The War of Leaves and Scales. What happens to a clockwork city after the clockwork stops? What happens when a people worn down by gears discover that there are dragons?

And do the orphans left behind matter at all?

I’ll be sharing more about the creation of this novel and continue talking about the writing process, but for now, I just wanted to talk just a little bit about what’s coming. Thanks for your patience and your interest. And remember, you can preorder the ebook Monday. The physical book will be available for order on December 1!