Author: Nicole Conway
Publication date: August 26, 2014
Publisher: Month9Books, LLC.
What kind of power is lurking inside him?
After a year of training to become a dragonrider, Jaevid Broadfeather has been sent home to rest during a three-month interlude. But when he returns to find the king drake has chosen Beckah Derrick as his new rider, Jaevid realizes something big is about to happen. Every fiber of his being is pushed to the breaking point as Jaevid battles through his avian year, preparing for the final graduation test of the battle scenario. But there is more standing in his way than a few pushups and fancy sword moves.
Jaevid must face a new fear as he is tormented by a gruesome nightmare of a mysterious gray elf warrior murdering the royal family of Maldobar. It seems obvious to him that this is some kind of message about how the war started long ago—until Felix assures him the king is very much alive. With his strange powers growing stronger by the day, and that violent dream replaying in his mind every night, Jaevid no longer wonders if he will pass his avian year or not . . . he wonders if he will even survive it.
The truth will soon be set loose.
10 THINGS READERS DON’T KNOW ABOUT ME
1. I LOVE manga!
This isn’t a recent development, I’m afraid. I’ve been obsessed with anime and manga since I was in middle school. I still have a lot of my old books and DVDs. My favorites? Gundam Wing, Outlaw Star, Fruits Basket, From Far Away, and Chrono Crusade . . . to name just a few!
2. I never give everything about a character away right off the bat.
When I make a character, I take great pride in hammering out every detail about him or her. It goes far beyond just a basic profile. You can rest assured that every single one of them has a back story, a reason, and a secret. It may not be obvious right away, but to me that’s half the fun of writing/reading a novel—each character is like a present you get to unwrap slowly.
3. I write fan fictions in my spare time.
I’ve never put many of up them up to be viewed by the public until recently. But now I do have some of them posted on my deviantart page! It’s just a fun little side-hobby, like brain-candy!
4. I’m an enormous nerd.
There are what I called “dignified” nerds. These are people who just dabble in the nerdy arts, but don’t let it consume their every waking thought. And then there are the Magic the Gathering / Warhammer-playing, cosplay-wearing, Disney-obsessed, Tengwar-writing, marching band-participating, super nerds. I am one of those. One tour around my office will give that away immediately.
5. I still don’t “get” Twitter . . . or Tumblr either, for that matter.
I do try, folks. I try tweet regularly and keep my fans and friends in the loop. But please take them all with a grain of salt because, honestly, I have no idea what I’m doing half the time. I’ve given up on Tumblr, though. Maybe someday, someone will explain it to me!
6. I was homeschooled.
Up until sixth grade, I was homeschooled by my mother. So basically, all my weirdness is her fault—which is totally fine, cause I love who I am! Anyway, she always spent extra time reading to me as a child, and this is most likely what made me aspire to writing stories later in life.
7. I only have one CD in my car.
It’s an mp3 disc packed with every Disney song known to man. I sing very loudly in the car. So come roll with me sometime, we’ll rock out to Aladdin or Frozen.
8. My handwriting is absolutely atrocious.
I make doctors’ handwriting look good. In fact, it’s probably passable as it’s own language. It’s a mixture of cursive and shorthand. So good luck to anyone who wants to read my journal! You’re going to need one of those CSI forensic decoder people.
9. I really want to meet Benedict Cumberbatch someday.
No, I’m not a crazy fangirl. I don’t have a million pictures of him on my computer or anything like that. But he has been a major part of three of my favorite things ever—Star Trek, the Hobbit, and Sherlock. So I’d love to give him a hug and thank him for doing such a wonderful job on them! It would be awesome to just sit and pick his brain about them for a few minutes. Mr. Cumberbatch, I’d be extremely honored if you would play Jace Rordin if my books ever became a movie! Ha ha!
10. I’ve never read Eragon.
People initially compared Fledgling to Eragon quite a bit—which is rather flattering since I understand it’s a good series. Although now that my series is well underway, I guess they see that they aren’t similar at all. But to be honest, I’ve actually never read Eragon. I’m always very conscious of cross-contamination when I’m writing a book, so I won’t read anything even remotely similar to it while I’m working on it.
Originally from a small town in North Alabama, Nicole moves frequently due to her husband’s career as a pilot for the United States Air Force. She received a B.A. in English with a concentration in Classics from Auburn University, and will soon attend graduate school.
She has previously worked as a freelance and graphic artist for promotional companies, but has now embraced writing as a full-time occupation.
Nicole enjoys hiking, camping, shopping, cooking, and spending time with her family and friends. She also loves watching children’s movies and collecting books. She lives at home with her husband, two cats, and dog.
