Blog Stop & Giveaway: The Dragon Shield by Dianne Lynn Gardner

Published February 12, 2013

Today, Dianne Lynn Gardner, author of The Dragon Shield, joins us. Enjoy the excerpt, and don’t forget to enter the giveaway at the end of the post!

About The Dragon Shield by Dianne Lynn Gardner

Ian’s Realm: The Dragon Shield

As a young man, Ian returns to the Realm to help his friends, and to fight against the tyranny that has befallen them. But the Realm is a different place, the forest is dying, the Kaemperns have lost the shield that protected them from the dragon, and Ian has a hard time proving his allegiance when trouble follows him through the portal. His struggle to do right buries him in confusion, and he must fight his own will to prove his integrity.

“The Dragon Shield is packed to the rafters with incident and peril. Ian’s resolve is tested like never before, the camaraderie of his supporters and their combined efforts will keep the reader engrossed…There is a constant battle being waged between hope and despair and you are never quite sure how things will develop. By the novels end I felt that things were only just beginning for Ian and I wanted more – a mark of Gardner’s skill as a storyteller.” Review from the Independent Review UK Daniel Cann.

Excerpt:

When Ian returns to the Realm, and finds himself a prisoner alongside Brad, a boy he seemed to have picked up as a hitchhiker from the real world, he’s awaken by the dragon and the realty of the state of affairs that the Realm is now facing.

A full moon and the wind woke him. The flap to the window beat viciously against the skin of the walls, the door rolled eerily to the tune of the gale. Pieces of bark and dust flew in through the window. Ian jumped out of bed to tie it closed and was traumatized by what he saw.

Flames rose in the distance, wielding out of control. Smoke hovered over the forest, a thick incense of burning evergreen. Worse than the fire, a dark shadow flew over the inferno, weaving in and out of the destruction like a killer whale breaking the surf. Then he heard the screech, a terrifying shrill. He had heard that sound the night his father went back to the prairie to fight the dragon. It was the sound of death.

“What’s that?” Brad asked as he jumped up and ran to Ian’s side. The boy’s face paled and his mouth dropped open. “Oh no, oh no.” His cries turned to sobs until his body trembled and Ian had to rest his hands on the boy’s shoulders to steady him.

“You’re safe here,” Ian assured him.

The wind picked up speed, and as it did the flames spun in a furious circle, like a funnel, a tornado of fire. It lifted the dragon high into the sky. Thunder rumbled and lightening tore through the clouds. Brad gasped.

Ian closed the flap to the window, tied it tight and shut the door.

“Go to bed. Morning will come,” he said walking the boy back to his fleece and covering him. Thunder rolled in the heavens and Brad let out one last cry of fear.

“It’s OK.” Ian whispered.

But the lump in Ian’s throat told of his own fears. It wasn’t long ago that Elisa hinted the war had begun, and now Ian realized that her connection with the Realm was greater than he had suspected. The Kaemperns had already made their move. How long they had been fighting, he didn’t know, but this was probably the battle his father wanted to be a part of. How close they were to finding the sphere that would seal the window to the Realm was anyone’s guess, but he reckoned his part in the battle was soon to come.

Ian’s hands trembled as he tucked the covers tight around Brad. He felt somewhat helpless being held prisoner here alongside a frightened boy. His only hope was that Amleth would understand their predicament and release them. Perhaps then he could send Brad home. Otherwise, it was his duty to keep the boy safe, and he wasn’t exactly sure he could do that.

Author Bio

Dianne Lynn Gardner

Author-Illustrator

Young Adult Fantasy-Adventure Fiction

Dianne Gardner is both an author and illustrator living the Pacific Northwest, Olalla Washington. She’s an active member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and the National League of American Pen Women. She has written Young Adult Fantasy novels as well as articles for national magazines and newspapers and she is an award-winning artist.

Dianne spent many years living out in the desert wilderness of the American Southwest, lived in a hogan made from adobe and cedar for thirteen years, co-owned 25 horses both pure bred and Native American ponies, traveled horseback and by wagon throughout the Navajo reservation, herded sheep and goat, worked in the forest planting trees and piling, farmed on barren soil and even lived in a teepee for a short while. She spent many long years using survival skills as a way of life.

Later she studied pastoral counseling and was a Pastor’s apprentice at a mainline church. She and her husband have been feeding the homeless for over twelve years. Today she shares both her survival experiences and her love for people, especially young people, into her writing as a way to not only to give her readers a firm understanding of her stories’ characters, but a rich appreciation of nature.