Synopsis

For hundreds of years, the wicked goddess Ariana has plotted the eradication of dragons and the other gods of Camriiole, but legends and prophecies speak of her destruction at the hands of a girl born to the righteous gods. Ariana scours the lands for any signs of the girl, while gathering and creating an army of magical beasts to exact her vengeance on those who have wronged her. Dragons hold power over the gods, making their magic inert in their presence, but Ariana’s powerful army does not share this limitation and many dragons have fallen to her might.

KORAGI DOMERIE, a promising young seamstress, longs to open her own tailoring shop in her home village of Cordak. Like most girls in the village, she has an eye for TEBANIS INIRE, the handsome militia captain with a crooked smile and a fierce sword arm.

Hooded thugs attack Koragi during the annual harvest festival in the capital city of Eiskre. Tebanis mysteriously takes the form of a black dog to track and rescue her. He takes her away from the city on horseback, but they arrive back at Cordak to find the village devastated. A massive golden dragon lies dead in the smoldering ruins.

The knowledge that she is the god-child of legends forces Koragi to cast aside her simple life. She grieves for the loss of the only mother she has ever known. Her death and the deaths of countless villagers drive Koragi to travel with Tebanis to Raitom, the City of Swords.

Alongside Tebanis, Koragi battles the agents of the dark goddess Ariana as she embarks on a quest to find her Pearls and gather allies and power enough to stand against the wicked goddess that plagues Camriiole.

The first installment of
The Dragonbond Chronicles details Koragi's journey to find the Pearls that will unlock the magic sealed within her so that she can stand up against the evil goddess Ariana. Future installments will feature Koragi and her friends as they navigate a world that can't seem to find peace.

Outline

The following is a very general outline for the chapters in Dragonbond. Beyond Chapter 17 - Haven, the story propels forward through war between dragons and the battle against the evil Ariana.

Chapter 1 - Seamstress
Koragi packs wares from her mother's shop to go with the trade caravan to the city, Eiskre.

Chapter 2 - Caravan
The villagers travel to Eiskre, encountering some goblins and wolves along the way. 

Chapter 3 - The Festival Ball
Koragi dresses up in her finest and rides a wagon to the Ministry building, where the festival ball takes place.

Chapter 4 - Firetooth
A guard in uniform then forces Koragi to follow him outside, where a pair of waiting thugs throw a bag over her head and drag her away.

Chapter 5 - Hound
Firetooth tortures Koragi for information about Tebanis that she does not have. The interrogation ends when a hound suddenly attacks the hideout and Firetooth escapes. 

Chapter 6 - The Dragon
Tebanis takes Koragi back to the villagers and they all leave early to return to Cordak. Tebanis puts Koragi on a horse and takes her ahead of the caravan.

Chapter 7 - Gods and Magic
Tebanis and Koragi depart Cordak and travel toward Raitom to meet a swordsman who can train Koragi. Evil creatures attack them along the way.

Chapter 8 - The City of Swords
The pair reaches Raitom to find the city on high alert. Guards take them into custody and march them through the city to the stockades so they might explain their sudden and strange appearance to city officials.

Chapter 9 - Summons
After a couple weeks in Raitom, they receive a summons from the Viscount of the city, demanding their presence during a Council meeting.

Chapter 10 - The Scourge of Elvenkind
The Council mistakes Koragi for an elf in disguise. The Council is furious and attempts to apprehend her.

Chapter 11 - Shadows
Koragi experiences a vision of where her first Pearl may be found.

Chapter 12 - Desperation
Tebanis and Koragi fight off fell beasts and race for Eiskre, where they proceed to seek an audience with the Duke and his family.

Chapter 13 - Truth
Koragi reveals the truth to the Duke and pleads for his help in locating the first Pearl.

Chapter 14 - The Sewers
Koragi and Tebanis travel to meet a Knight, Sir Dieren, to enter the sewers and find the lair of the criminal organization so they can retrieve the Pearl.

Chapter 15 - The Silver Pearl
Koragi retrieves her first Pearl and releases the first seal.

Chapter 16 - Flight
Koragi, Tebanis, and Dieren travel north and east toward a port city so they can take a boat to Thornin.

Chapter 17 - Haven
Koragi and Tebanis are captured by Ariana's agents...

Chapter 18 - Darkness
Chapter 19 - Toport
Chapter 20 - Stransin
Chapter 21 - Summer and Flames
Chapter 22 - The Ivory Pearl
Chapter 23 - The Golden Pearl
Chapter 24 - Rally
Chapter 25 - War
Chapter 26 - The Bond
Chapter 27 - Guardians of Camriiole

Audience

My primary readership is young adult to new adult - roughly ages 16 to 29 - and predominantly female. The protagonist of Dragonbond is a female who grows from a meek girl to a strong and confident woman, while experiencing some extremely dark and dangerous perils along the way.

I believe young women prefer a heroine to whom they can relate. When I look at a book with a female protagonist, my first thought is, "I really hope she doesn't need rescued every five minutes." My second is usually, "And I hope she doesn't cry or pass out all the time!" Strong female leads are necessary, and though it's tried-and-true to put romantic elements into the story, it has to be done in a way that it's not the primary focus - unless, of course, your genre is Romance.

The story of Dragonbond has some darker moments, but it's nothing terribly graphic. Young adult and new adult audiences will enjoy the realistic emotion that comes with these scenes.

Promotion

As a member of a few writing and gaming communities, I have a solid foundation for where I can market my work. My gaming communities revolve around Fantasy-genre Role-Playing Games, so most of the people I connect with regularly in those areas are already primed for Fantasy-genre material. It helps, also, that most of them are aware that I have been writing a book and are eager for me to start sharing links to it.

I also have an active Twitter account from my author handle, with almost 1,000 followers. I will Tweet about my book and offer a few giveaways to enhance interest. Similarly, Facebook advertising is quick and effortless. Spend a little money and your reach can double easily.

Conventions and local news and festivals are a great place to sell your work. Once I have a stock of books, I will take them to conventions and I will arrange book-signings. As an artist, I can also market my work through digital design and drawings for those who respond better to visuals.

There are a few webcomics I know that have open advertisement slots I can fill, as well. The traffic some of these sites get is phenomenal. I will utilize everything I can to spread the word.

Competition

Early in T. A. Barron’s series,
The Lost Years of Merlin, tell the story of a young man in search of his purpose in life. He travels beyond the familiarity of his home and embarks on a quest to understand what is impossible to understand. The stories of T. A. Barron’s Merlin compare to my story of Koragi in the way that circumstances thrust them from their homes and they must go forth and make their own ways in the worlds. The early books aimed at a somewhat younger audience, I believe, but the general premise speaks similarly. Where Dragonbond differs the most is where Koragi feels her fate is already decided. She knows more about what she is supposed to do than how she is supposed to do any of it. Prophecies and dragon seers saw her destiny centuries before she was even born. Koragi must fight her own misgivings about these prophecies and legends and be her own woman.
Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory wrote a tale of two warriors upon a dragon who seek to stop a great evil despite their overwhelming lack of experience in
The Phoenix Endangered. These characters resonate with me in comparison to Koragi. She has fallen into a quest that seems impossible and mad. How can a young woman who has never seriously considered magic and gods and elves and dragons ever hope to defeat an ancient, evil goddess? How can she possibly ever actually become a goddess? The entire venture frightens her, and the mannerisms of the trained warriors she meets along the way are a constant reminder of her inexperience and inadequacy. Koragi’s tale differs most significantly in that she is often a pawn that greater creatures wish to use in their own wars and endeavors. She has to navigate the wishes and expectations of ancient, terrifying dragons while simultaneously proving to them that she is worthy of the duties that have fallen onto her shoulders.
The Emperor’s Blades, by Brian Staveley, tells the story of three young progeny of an emperor who has been slain by some dark entity. The struggle the three of them face surrounding the mystery of who murdered their father is poignant and frustrating at the same time. Oftentimes Koragi’s struggle to face a foe she doesn’t know or understand leaves her feeling helpless and utterly alone. But Koragi’s story goes on to explore utter defeat and loss, the harrowing reality of losing the things dearest to her in the middle of her fight. It stifles her progress and forces her to rely on old creatures more powerful than she can comprehend, and to come to trust them in spite of the seed of darkness that has settled in her heart.
The Dragon’s Path, by Daniel Abraham, harbors a compelling back story about a world once ruled by dragons. In Dragonbond’s Camriiole, dragons have long-since faded from their once prominent roles. Rulers of the land and sky, dragons betrayed dragons a millennium ago and the long-standing feud between the royal bloodline and the “riff-raff” resulted in a massive decline in population. In Camriiole, the dragons did not enslave the humans, however. Rather, half of them seem to want to destroy the humans and elves and other races, while the other half fight to keep them safe. There are still dragons present in Camriiole who seek to make their mark on the world. They didn’t wipe themselves out entirely as Abraham’s dragons seem to have done.
I enjoyed
Uprooted by Naomi Novik immensely. One similarity I have appreciated lies in Agnieszka’s enduring desire to save her home and loved ones, as well as her emotionally-driven manner. Emotions are a powerful driving force in both Uprooted and Dragonbond. Agnieszka has her outbursts toward the Dragon and Koragi’s emotional outbursts sometimes cause far more damage than she intends when she’s not paying close enough attention. Sometimes Koragi does real harm, and it forces her to try to be more mindful of her emotions. Agnieszka never really tones her emotions down, but I think she doesn’t have magic that can vaporize someone if she’s angry enough.