Q&A with Salamanda Drake
Salamanda Drake Talks About Dragonsdale
Q: When did your love of dragons begin?
A: When I was five, my father, a dragon trader, began taking me to fairs and showings around the island of Bresal, where we live.
Q: Did you ever have your own dragon?
A: I worked as a volunteer at Finn Haven Farm, sweeping out, grooming, and exercising the dragons. My family could not afford to buy me a dragon of my own, but I was lucky enough to become a member of the stable's riding team, and began to compete in showings.
Q: When did you begin to write?
A: When I was thirteen, I had a serious accident while training that kept me from flying for a few years. While I was recovering, I began attending showings as a junior correspondent for the Finn Haven Post-Messenger, reporting on competitions and writing the weekly "From The Dragon's Den" columns.
Q: Do you have any hobbies?
A: Reading, walking, playing the harp-and watching the skies.
Q: About Salamanda Drake
A: Salamanda Drake is sixteen years old and lives with her father, a dragon rider in the Isles of Bresal. Her love of dragons began at the age of three, when her "Da" began taking her to fairs and showings around the islands. Discovering she had a special way with even the most unruly of creatures, she soon learnt that (in her own words) 'The only way to train a dragon is to be patient and never give up.'
She spends much of her free time (sometimes when she should be at school) sweeping, grooming and exercising her father's dragons. Salamanda has a Trustbond with Hillsweeper, a Firecrest dragon, and together they are now competing at Showings. They have high hopes of representing Finnglass at the Island Championships.
Contributor: Scholastic Inc.
Reviews
Dragonsdale
Written by Salamanda Drake
Illustrated by Gilly Marklew
In the first book in the "Dragonriders of Bresal" series, readers are introduced to Cara, a girl who wants to be a dragon rider more than anything. But ever since her mother died from a dragon riding accident, her father has insisted that Cara never be allowed on a dragon, even though he is the Dragonmaster and owns Dragon's Dale dragon farm. Cara spends her days training new stable hand Drane, assisting her friends Breena and Wony, and even helping the horrible Hortense, daughter of the High Lord Torin, and a girl who seriously mistreats any dragon she has ever ridden. After a fight with Hortense, Cara finds herself on the receiving end of a plot for revenge. Hortense is determined to have Cara's favorite dragon, Skydancer, for her own, or no one will be able to have him. Will Cara find the strength to help save Sky, even though it means going against her father's commands? In this new series the old tropes of horse stories for young girls are turned instead to dragon stories. Though the plotlines are familiar, the imaginative world and newness of the situation of dragon riding and showing will be enough to draw both fantasy and horse lovers to this series. 2007, The Chicken House/Scholastic, Ages 8 to 12, $16.99. Reviewer: Kathleen Foucart.
ISBN: 978-0-439-87173-0/0-439-87173-5
Updated 09/20/07
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