Find out a little about dragons... In the Shadow of the Dragon King by J. Keller Ford (Blog Tour Guest Post & Giveaway) @chapterxchapter @jkellerford @month9books


I'm happy to be welcoming J. Keller Ford to the blog today to talk about dragons!
Check out her post and enter the giveaway below...
InTheShadowCover
In the Shadow of the Dragon King
(The Chronicles of Fallhollow #1)
by J. Keller Ford
YA Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
Paperback & ebook, 346 Pages
May 31st 2016 by Month9Books, LLC

Summary

Seventeen-year-old, Eric, is a kick-butt squire to the most revered knight in Fallhollow. Well he would be if Sir Trogsdill allowed him to do anything even remotely awesome. Determined to prove his worth, Eric sets out to find the mythical paladin summoned to protect the realm from the evil lurking nearby.

Sixteen-year-old, David, spends his days collecting school honors, winning archery tournaments, and trying not to fall in love with his scrappy best friend, Charlotte.

Right when things start to get interesting, he is whisked away to the magical realm of Fallhollow where everyone thinks he's some sort of paladin destined to fulfill a two-hundred-year-old prophecy. He's supposed to help kill a dragon with some sort of magic key. The same key that happens to adorn the neck of an annoying squire who's too wrapped up in proving himself to be much help to anyone.

With egos as big as the dragon they need to destroy, Eric and David must get over themselves, or watch everything they know and love, burn.

  
  
  
(Affiliate links included.)

Dragons

I love dragons. I think they are one of the coolest mythological creatures out there. And there are so many of them.

There are Eastern or Chinese dragons. Depicted as a long, snake-like creature with four claws, no wings and it might have the fins of some fish. There is the Naga which is a serpentine dragon. Then there are the lindworms that are serpent-like dragons with either two or no legs. And of course there are the western dragons, the kind with four legs, claws, horns and wings. It is the Western dragon that prevails in my books.

My main character is Einar. He is what I called a Timberlake Smoothback, and is a member of the chromatic dragons, which also include green, blue, red, and white dragons. Chromatic dragons are usually evil-aligned.

Then there are the metallic dragons. They are the gold and silver dragons which are usually good.

Then there are gem dragons, such as the amethyst dragons and they have some amazing abilities.

When I first developed a liking for dragons, I couldn’t believe how many there were. When I started writing this set of novels, I went back to my research and learned everything I could, like what they ate. What is their normal habitat? What were the mating rituals? Because I didn’t want my dragons in my novel to be ‘typical’, I thought about how I could make them different. What if I cross-bred species? What if I took elements of both lindworm and a western dragon, put them together and came up with my own species? Why not? I’m the author. I can do what I want.

And so the second dragon, Mirith, was born. He’s cool.

Whether dragons walk or fly, breathe fire or ice, whether small or large, they are all magnificent creatures to be respected and admired. Who didn’t think Smaug was awesome? Einar would tear him apart. Just saying. J

— Jenny

About the Author

J. Keller Ford

J. Keller Ford (known to all as Jenny) is a scribbler of Young Adult and New Adult speculative fiction. As a young Army brat, she traveled the world and wandered the halls of some of Germany’s most extraordinary castles in hopes of finding snarky dragons, chivalrous knights and wondrous magic that permeated her imagination. What she found remains etched in her topsy-turvy mind and oozes out in sweeping tales of courage, sacrifice, honor and everlasting love.

When not torturing her keyboard or trying to silence the voices in her head, Jenny spends time collecting seashells, bowling, swimming, screaming on roller coasters and traveling. Jenny is a mom to four magnificent and noble offspring, and currently lives in paradise on the west coast of Florida with a quirky knight who was silly enough to marry her, and a menagerie of royal pets. Published works include short stories, The Amulet of Ormisez, Dragon Flight, and The Passing of Millie Hudson. IN THE SHADOW OF THE DRAGON KING is her debut novel and the first installment in the Chronicles of Fallhollow Trilogy.


Tour-Wide Giveaway

One (1) winner will receive a scrabble tile book cover charm (US ONLY)
Five (5) winners will receive a digital copy of In the Shadow of the Dragon King by J. Keller Ford (INT)

No comments

Post a Comment

I love comments! I try to read and reply to them all. Feel free to agree or disagree and generally share your thoughts with me.