About the Book
Title: Trapped on Draconica
Author: Dan Wright
Genre: Fantasy
Barely into his teens, Ben Anthony has not had it easy. With his father in prison, his mother struggling to keep him under control and his friends little more than criminals in the making, Ben is already on a self-destructive path. But his life is about to get much worse.
Teleported to the world where dragons once ruled, Ben finds himself the target of the malign Baalarian Empire – of which Emperor Gothon seeks to capture him for reasons yet unknown. Teaming with warrior Princess Daniar Dragonkin, her altruistic sister Erowin and the revenge seeking Leonidan Prince Kalak, Ben sets out on a reluctant quest to find his way home. And thus begins his incredible adventure…
Excerpt
Ben
Maria Anthony had lost count of how many times she had this conversation with her son. She would have thought that he would have got it by now. “Stealing!” she shrieked at the top of her lungs.
Ben rolled his eyes back into his head and groaned. He didn’t see what the big deal was. It was only a couple of packets of sweets – it wasn’t like he’d taken any money. But his mum always had to make a big deal about these things.
“For goodness sake, Ben! You’re thirteen years old!”
“So?” Ben asked, shrugging.
“So?” Maria cried, almost hysterically. “At your age you should be thinking about an education and job prospects! Not what sweet shop you want to do over next! Which reminds me, the headmaster called again, he told me that he hasn’t seen you at school all week!”
“We didn’t feel like going,” Ben replied, nonchalant.
“Didn’t feel like going?” Maria was so aghast she couldn’t even control the volume of her voice anymore. “Who didn’t feel like going? You and that bunch of hooligans you hang out with?”
“Don’t talk about my mates like that!” Ben shouted back defensively.
Her aggressive approach didn’t seem to have any effect – and Maria didn’t enjoy it when she lost her temper. So she took a deep breath and tried a calmer approach, despite every vein on her neck being ready to burst. “Ben, I only want what’s best for you. But can’t you see those ‘friends’ of yours only lead you into bad habits? This is the fifth time in the last fortnight you’ve been in trouble with the police. Chief Inspector Williams says next time he’ll have to press charges and you could end up going to court!”
“They can’t charge me, I’m too young,” Ben scoffed.
“That’s not what Williams told me,” Maria sternly retorted. “Why Ben? Why would you do this?”
Ben shrugged his shoulder. “I dunno.”
“Is that what you want to do with your life?” Maria asked. “You want to just… become a criminal like your father?”
“Oh, I’ve had enough of this!” Ben leapt up from his chair and bolted towards the door.
“Ben, come back here! I’m not finished!”
“Get lost!” Ben shouted back.
“Ben, I’m your mother! Don’t talk to me like that!”
About the author
Dan lives in the United Kingdom – born in the historic town of Canterbury, Kent. He picked up a love of Fantasy stories after reading such classics as The Lord of the Rings, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe and numerous Roald Dahl novels.
His biggest influences are Douglas Adams, Alan Moore, Stan Lee, J.R.R. Tolkien, Joss Whedon, H.P Lovecraft, Hiromu Arakawa and George R R Martin. He is highly influenced by Anime, Video Games and Comic books. He has also written a fan parody series on YouTube called Totalitarian Warlords and Termination Squadron.
As well as writing, Dan plays guitar in a metal band. He likes all kinds of music—but he mainly listens to rock and metal, rap, some pop music and also film and video game scores. He also loves Disney and Pixar movies—often finding himself singing along to the tunes, or crying manly tears!
He is also a slave to his cat, who takes up a lot of his time when he isn’t at work or writing!
To learn more about Dan and the world of Draconica, visit the following places:
Blog: http://pandragondan.weebly.com
Draconica Website: http://draconicaseries.weebly.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TrappedonDraconica
Twitter: @PandaDanWright
Tom Woodman
A good extract from a book that has the gift for combining fantasy with realism and character.