Literary Underworld Blog Tour

“Going to Try with a Little Help from My Friends”

by Jackie Gamber, author of Book I and II of the Leland Dragon Series

Sometimes, we don’t have enough oomph, on our own, to meet life’s challenges. But having friends, the right kind of friends, who have walked the walk with us, and talked the talk with us, can be the stop-gap between the challenge and our weakness. Sometimes seeing the fight in the eyes of a comrade, and knowing their belief in us, can be motivation to dig down a little deeper to find just enough strength to give it another try.

Writers need those sorts of friends as much as anyone. Maybe more (but I might be biased). The writing industry is a tough one, made even more challenging by the upheaval of digital and electronic technologies meeting the granite of “the way it’s always been.” That’s another thing writers have in common with everyone: we adapt or die.

In this third installment of my “Friends” blog series for the Literary Underworld blog tour, I give a tip of my hat to my friend and writer ally, D.A. Adams, for hosting me today!

You may be asking yourself “What is the Literary Underworld?” It’s a website and bookstore unlike the kind you might be familiar with. Literary Underworld is a place where you can buy books directly from the authors who write them! In this way, your purchases help support authors, small presses, artists and other creative folks during these especially trying times. And it’s a group of people linking elbows, sharing space, and urging each other on; like the best kind of friends.

As for me, I write the kind of stories I like to read. Science fiction, fantasy, the dark, psychological sort of scary, and all the ways those can blend. I’ve been published as poetry, flash fiction, novellas, and novel-length, in professional online and print venues. I’ve also been an award-winning publisher and editor. Currently, I’m writing Book III of the Leland Dragon Series (Seventh Star Press) and a steampunk fantasy novel (New Babel Books). Due out soon is an issue of Shroud Magazine I edited entitled “Scary Psyches”.

But it was in writing and researching the first book in the Leland Dragon Series, Redheart, that I was made aware of the plight of dragons in our modern times. Media hasn’t been kind to them. Books, movies and news articles sell better, of course, with a dark spin on these introverted, mysterious creatures.

We have more in common with these misunderstood creatures than we realize.  The human condition applies to them, as much as us.

In my involvement with FODERP (Friends of Dragon Equality and Rights Protection), I’ve had the honor of meeting many wonderful dragons from around the globe, and to become a spokesperson for outreach and awareness. I’d like to share some of the most common questions people ask me about dragons, with answers to help de-mystify and clarify true information.

How big are dragons, really?

The largest dragon order, the Squamata Fortuna has been recorded to be as long as 88 feet and 165 tons. This is nearly the size of a blue whale, the largest known mammal. However, a more common size of dragon is roughly half that, with the smallest, Squamata Illfortuna, weighing it at only 10 pounds, known as the common garden dragon.

What do dragons eat?

Dragons are omnivores, like humans. This means they eat plants, but not necessarily all plants. They can’t digest some substances in grains. They also eat meat, which is a bulk of their diet, and, in particular, pork.  They’ve also been known to eat a handful of Good ‘n Plenty®, which are fat-free.

Are they intelligent?

Dragons have been determined by scientists to meet the general criteria of intelligence which is “the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly and learn from experience.” Furthermore, a typical dragon brain weighs in at about 6.8 kg, whereas a human brain weighs around 1.5 kg. If that isn’t enough informational support, we might also keep in mind that dragons have never been known to blow off their own paw by holding a cherry bomb or to hold a bullet in their teeth and whack it with a hammer just “to see what will happen”.(see http://www.darwinawards.com/)

I hope by sharing these questions and answers with you I have helped shed light on dragons, and piqued interest in discovering more about them. After all, dragons are people, too. They need friends, just like the rest of us.

Be sure to stop by the Literary Underworld today at http://www.literaryunderworld.com/ and check it out! And use this special discount code to do your shopping for yourself and your friends:

LUBLOGTOUR

Jackie Gamber is the award-winning author of “Redheart” and “Sela”, Books One and Two of the Leland Dragon Series, now available! For more information about Jackie and her mosaic mind, visit http://www.jackiegamber.com

And meet Jackie elsewhere on the world wide web at:

http://www.amazon.com/author/JackieGamber

http://www.twitter.com/JackieGamber

http://www.facebook.com/jackiegamber

http://www.lelanddragons.com