Doodling Dragons

Excerpt from iBookBuzz nominated YA fantasy The Last Great Wizard of Yden…

When class began, the history teacher, Mr. Dace, droned on and on about the curriculum, policies, and procedures. After fifteen minutes, Jon started to tune out. He opened his binder and lost himself in a detailed drawing of a dragon.
“We’re going to end our semester with a field trip to the Tri-­County Museum,” Mr. Dace said.
The classroom erupted with excited chatter.
“Many of you will see this as a chance to goof off,” Mr. Dace continued. “But you will be writing a term paper on one of the exhibits.”
Mr. Dace strolled up and down the aisles as he spoke. He paused at Jon’s shoulder just as he was drawing a beautiful plume of smoke rising from the nostril of a dragon. Unfortunately, Jon was oblivious to the teacher’s presence.
“Doodling dragons is no way to get through life, Mr. Hansen,” Mr. Dace said.
Jon’s head snapped up. The entire class was watching, including Brett and Fred. Brett’s expression was unreadable, but Fred was licking his chops as if he couldn’t wait to eat him for lunch. Jon hoped his face wouldn’t explode from the blood rushing to his cheeks.
“Sorry,” he mumbled.
His classmates snickered. Mr. Dace went on to pass out the syllabus and first assignment. After the lunch bell rang, Jon felt like slinking off somewhere and melting into a hole. His book bag was jammed under his desk, and he bent to retrieve it. When he straightened up, he was startled to see Brett waiting for him.
“Hi,” she said. “You probably don’t remember me, but we met at the mall.”
“Oh, yes, I do.” He attempted to sound casual. “Nice to see you.”
She examined his drawing. “That’s a great dragon. Maybe you could draw one for me sometime?”
“Anytime.” Anytime at all, he thought.

For his sixteenth birthday, all Jon wanted were the keys to the family car. Instead, he got a lousy magic ring…

Artistic prodigy Jon Hansen yearns to fit in, but when he stumbles onto a supernatural kidnapping, his life changes forever.  Unfortunately, his search for answers uncovers a magical secret—one that makes Jon a danger to everyone around him.

The Wolf Clan wizard Efysian has been draining the magic from Yden. On a quest for eternal power, he’s willing to kill to feed his addiction.  To harness the ultimate source of energy, he travels to Earth.  This time, however, he has a persistent witness to his crime.

Can Jon survive long enough to outwit the most evil wizard the magical world has ever known?  Or will Efysian add the young wizard to his gruesome collection of trophies?

The Last Great Wizard of Yden, a full length fantasy novel. E-book available now through Astraea Press, Amazon, BN.com and other fine outlets ($2.99 MSRP). Now available as a trade paperback too! (HERE)

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