Haven Lost — The Dragon’s Brood Cycle,
Vol. 1
by Josh
de Lioncourt
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Legends
never die; they just go into hiding …
Sixteen-year-old
Emily Haven, heroine of the girls’ hockey team at Lindsey High, has spent her
young life keeping two secrets: her rapidly deteriorating home life and the
seemingly supernatural power that makes her a star on the ice. When she begins
seeing visions of a lost and ragged boy reflected in mirrors and shop windows,
a series of events unfolds that tears her from twenty-first century Minneapolis
and leaves her stranded in another world with horrors to rival those she has
left behind. Lost amidst creatures of fantasy and legend, she is forced to
confront the demons of both her past and future to unravel the riddle of the
mysterious boy and embark upon a journey to uncover long forgotten histories
and the dark, cloaked figure in the shadows behind them all. Caught between
opposing forces of a war she does not understand, Emily must find new strength
within herself and, above all, the will to remember her friends.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt
“Hello?” she whispered, but she couldn’t hear her own voice
over the low whine that was building in her head. The knowing hadn’t abandoned
her. It hadn’t abandoned her at all. If anything, it was stronger than it had
ever been.
Her muscles spasmed with the force of it. The whine in her
head rose to a crescendo that made her feel as though she’d become some kind of
weird human tuning fork. She began to shake uncontrollably, and the floor
seemed to sway and heave beneath her feet, like the deck of a ship on rough
seas.
She fell to her knees in front of the mirror, unable to tear
her eyes away from the strange boy with the pony-tail and the torn and ragged
clothes. She could see every minute detail of his attire, from the thick red
and black thread that had been used to mend his jeans and jacket, to the filth
and tarnish on the old-fashioned fastenings.
He reached out toward her, and as he did, her own reflection
in the mirror winked out. Only his face stared out of the dusty glass. His eyes
were full of hope and sadness, and seemed the eyes of a much younger child.
Those eyes spoke of suffering and loss, and Emily’s heart called out in
recognition. She thought she saw the flicker of flames behind the boy, and then
she was reaching out to him as well.
Their fingers met. She clasped his in her own, feeling their
warm, rough reality, and wanting to give comfort as much as receive it. Such a
simple action. Such a mundane, human gesture. And with that ordinary decision
made, two worlds changed forever.
“Yes,” she whispered, and watched as the breath of that word
fogged the glass between them, spreading until it filled the world with a
cloudy, white mist.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Josh de
Lioncourt was born and raised in California and enjoys writing projects in a
wide variety of fields, including fiction, music, software, blogging, and tech
articles. He has written on Apple accessibility for Macworld and
Maccessibility, hosts or participates regularly on several podcasts, and writes
and records music with Molly, his other half. Josh enjoys the works of Stephen
King, the music of George Michael, Masters of the Universe, and Los Angeles
Kings hockey. He currently lives in Pennsylvania.
Interview:
Interview:
1.
Where are you from?
I
grew up in sunny southern California. After spending most of my life there, I
met my other half who happened to be from Pennsylvania. Now, we live in rural
PA. It’s an entirely different world from the Golden State, but there’s no
question that it is a peaceful sort of place. Plus, it is deep in the heart of
hockey country, so that appeals to me as well.
2.
Tell us your latest news?
Currently,
I’m working on the second volume of the Dragon’s Brood Cycle. The follow up to
“Haven Lost” picks up where the last book left off, and I’m extremely happy
with how the story is coming along so far. I’ve been over the moon about the
reception “Haven Lost” has received to date, so I’m excited to be able to
continue down that road with readers.
3.
When and why did you begin writing?
I’ve
been writing, one way or another, for pretty much as long as I can remember. As
a very young child I created stories by drawing pictures, more or less comic
book-style, or inventing adventures for my Masters of the Universe action
figures to go on. Later, I began writing down my tales in school. In the 4th
grade, I won a district-wide competition with a science-fiction story I’d
written entitled, “Journey to Another Planet”. It was, more or less, exactly the
sort of thing you’d expect from a ten-year-old, but there’s no denying it was
one stepping stone toward writing the sorts of things i do today.
In
addition to stories, I also love to compose music, poetry, and software. I seem
to always need to be creating something, and I’m happy to be able to share some
of those things with others.
4.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I
don’t know that there ever is a magic moment when one realizes they’ve become a
writer. I think writers are born more than they are made, though certainly a
born writer can be made into a better one. The human race is driven to tell
stories. The earliest cavemen told stories with their paintings on cold stone
walls, long before the written word had been dreamt up. The mediums
change—novels, comics, movies, songs, video games—but the stories themselves
are constant. There will never be a generation that doesn’t tell stories of one
kind or another, and it is a wonderful, magical thing. It’s something that
separates man from the beasts. That’s a cliche, but at least it is a true one.
All
of this is to say that I’ve always been a storyteller, though the mediums have
expanded for me over the years as well. I think that is the key. Writing is
simply a tool we use—one of many—to tell each other stories.
5.
What inspired you to write your first book?
“Haven
Lost”is my first full length novel. The idea for the story was knocking around
inside my head for over two decades. Over the years that followed the planting
of the first seed, more and more of the details began filling themselves in.
Characters who appeared in other stories I wrote wound up being destined,
finally, for this book, and Emily, the heroine, meets them throughout her
journey.
Those
characters, my growing love of hockey and the fantasy genre in general, and my
own life experiences all played a part in shaping and, ultimately, inspiring
the novel as a whole. There are some aspects of the story, most particularly
where regards Emily’s inner turmoil, that I did not realize were drawn from
difficult times in my own life until after the book was complete. I’m sure, in
the years to come, I will be able to pinpoint more of the sources of
inspiration for various components of “Haven Lost” that I never imagined had
played a part.
6.
what would you like my readers to know?
In
a world where there are more books to read than any one person can absorb in a
lifetime, I appreciate the chance to tell a story more than I can say. In
“Haven Lost”, Emily Haven is given the opportunity to flee the terrors of one
world into the trials, but also joys, of another. Likewise, the telling of
Emily’s story allowed me to escape into my imagination, with all the magic and
trepidation that entails. I hope you will all come along for the ride.
The
dragon is only just waking.
General Links
Blog:
http://Lioncourt.com
Twitter:
http://Twitter.com/Lioncourt
GoodReads
Author: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8333122.Josh_de_Lioncourt
Dragon’s Brood
Cycle: http://DragonsBrood.net
Buy Links for
Haven Lost
Josh will be awarding a $20 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour
A great interview.
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting!
ReplyDeletethx u for hosting...sounds a great book ...
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the interview, I was great :)
ReplyDeletethx for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteI like the storyline for this book. It looks really interesting!
ReplyDeleteWhen do you expect the second volume to be done?
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the interview.
ReplyDeleteLike the excerpt. Will have to look into this book.
ReplyDeletei loved the interview!
ReplyDeletereally enjoyed the excerpt. Can't wait to read the book.
ReplyDeleteI like the interview with the author.
ReplyDelete