Hey! Dragons of Earth is here!

At first reading, that might sound like awful grammar. You might think it should say “Dragons of Earth ARE here." But, no! I’m talking about the second book in the Dragons of Nibiru series: DRAGONS OF EARTH. It has arrived!

Here’s a quick account of the book’s arrival, and its first adventures:

It all started when the long-awaited copies of the second book in the Dragons of Nibiru series arrived on my doorstep—literally—on Thursday, July 11. Yippy!!!!

I have to thank my good friend Lara Smith for their safe arrival. The delivery truck carrying the new books actually showed up the night before (the 10th), in the pouring rain. I was out of town at the time; the delivery driver phoned me to say he couldn’t make it up my steep driveway in all the wet, so he would  be leaving the shipping cartons (1000 books worth!) at the foot of my driveway. Disaster!

I called my neighbour, Lara, told her what was happening, and asked if she could give me a hand. With no hesitation whatever, she jumped to the rescue. First, she drove over to my place, met the delivery guy at the foot of the treacherous driveway, and together they loaded the books into the back of her pickup. She wasn’t finished being a super-neighbor, though; she went two steps further!

Knowing there was a good chance the rain would continue through the night, Lara drove the books back to her home and covered them with a sturdy tarp. Next morning , she returned to my house—all the way up the steep driveway—and unloaded those 1,000 books onto my back porch. Solo! Then, just to be sure they’d be safe until I got home, she covered the cartons with a sheet of plywood. 

Now, from the magnitude of this good deed, you’d think Lara and I had been neighbors and friends for years. Not so. I only moved into the area a few months ago! I have to say that I’m touched and truly grateful for all she did. I wanted to give her a token of my appreciation, so when I finally met up with her a day later, I gave her a signed copy of the book she’d rescued, and its predecessor too: The Dragons of Nibiru. All accompanied by assorted other goodies. Thanks again, Lara!!

Before I was able to catch up with Lara in person, the very first signed copy of Dragons of Earth went to my friend Tawney, as a birthday gift. Tawney has been waiting patiently to read about the continuing adventures of Celine, Fianna and the rest; I surely hope she enjoys the read!

 
The first store to receive copies of Dragons of Earth was Bookingham Palace,  in Salmon Arm, BC. I drove over there on Friday morning to deliver them to the store’s manager, Peter Marsan. Peter has been a terrific source of encouragement and support, which I appreciate enormously.

The first copy of Dragons of Earth sold was purchased by Maggy Davidson, owner of Spirit Quest Books, also in Salmon Arm. It was from Maggy’s store that I purchased the wonderful dragon statues that figure prominently on the display table at all my signing events. I also want to thank Maggy for her faithful support throughout the adventure of creating this series. At Maggy’s invitation, I’ll also be joining her at a book convention next June, in Denver, Colorado. I hear some big publishing companies attend that convention—so it will be fun to see what might develop. I’m sure it will be educational, interesting and fun, no matter what.

Then, to wrap up the first few exciting days with Dragons of Earth in hand, I held the book’s very first signing event at the wonderful Chapters store in Kamloops, BC. Manager Peter Pagnotta and his staff have been helping me right along on my journey as a new author, going all the way back to the days before the first printing of The Dragons of Nibiru. The signing at their store was thoroughly enjoyable. It was particularly great to greet fans of the first book, eager for their copies of the second in the series. Special thanks to Daniel, Devon, Holly and Tasha: I so appreciate your support, and your loyalty to Celine and her friends. It was great seeing you again, and getting a chance to talk with you. I look forward to seeing you again soon, for the release of the third book in Celine and Fianna’s saga:  Dragons of Remini.

Very soon, you’ll be able to get your own copies of Dragons of Earth—print and e-book—from bookstores across Canada, and from Amazon.com.

Come on back here soon, for more news. I know there’s going to be plenty.  :D

Meanwhile, all the best, happy reading, and happy sharing!

Lorna

Hi All,
 
I had a great book-signing tour in the Lower Mainland over the long weekend just past (June 28-30). I met many great people and had a lot of fun. I discovered I have a new fan, too. He’s not yet a fan of my books (too young to read them yet), but he surely seems to be a fan of dragons and dragon treasure. And I’m now a big fan of his! His name is Maximus.
 
Here’s how it happened: During a book-signing at Indigo (bookstore) in the Metrotown Mall, Burnaby, BC, a young boy came to look at some of the dragons, crystals and other items on my signing table. After a little while, he left with his favorite of my bookmarks. Now, at signings, I often give visiting kids a handful of the jewels and gems I use to decorate my display: their own special dragon treasures to take home. I didn't have the opportunity to do this for Maximus, because his family was in a bit of a hurry.
 
Several minutes after he left, Maximus returned to my table and showed me a handful of colorful beads he had found on the floor. He wanted me to display them on my table with the rest of the treasures!
 
In more than 250 book-signings, over the last 1½ years, this is the first time anyone has brought me anything to display on my table. The flow has always been the other way: people happily take things away. That’s completely fine—the things on my table are meant to be given away. This was just a pleasant new experience.
 
I love my little Maximus treasures, and I’ll proudly display them, front and center, at all my book-signings in the years to come.
 
Thank you, Maximus, for your thoughtfulness and generosity. I know you will grow up to be a remarkable young man, and I would be honored if you would visit me again at a future signing event. You should know that I also plan to name a planet after you, in one of my future books; it will be called Maximus IV. Your name (as you might already know) comes from the Latin language, where it means “greatest.” I would say you are already living up to that name!
 
It was a pleasure to meet you, Maximus.
 
I wish you nothing but a wonderful future.
 
Lorna