Haven Lost — The Dragon’s Brood Cycle, Vol. 1
by Josh de Lioncourt
Legends never die; they just go into hiding …
Sixteen-year-old Emily Haven, heroine of the girls’ hockey team at Lindsey High, has spent her young life keeping two secrets: her rapidly deteriorating home life and the seemingly supernatural power that makes her a star on the ice.
When she begins seeing visions of a lost and ragged boy reflected in mirrors and shop windows, a series of events unfolds that tears her from twenty-first century Minneapolis and leaves her stranded in another world with horrors to rival those she has left behind. Lost amidst creatures of fantasy and legend, she is forced to confront the demons of both her past and future to unravel the riddle of the mysterious boy and embark upon a journey to uncover long forgotten histories and the dark, cloaked figure in the shadows behind them all. Caught between opposing forces of a war she does not understand,
Emily must find new strength within herself and, above all, the will to remember her friends.
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Excerpt:
She led the way down the passage, holding her candle high to cast its light as far around her as possible. After a few feet, a reflection caught her eye, and she turned to hold the candle up to the wall on her right.
It was covered with an enormous, intricate mural that seemed to stretch far beyond her small circle of light. Before her, depicted in life-size, was the image of a man with a dark beard, clad in heavy and ornamental plate armor. The forest—or was it a jungle?—looked as though it had come to life round him. Thick green vines bound his hands and feet. The tall stems of white roses had grown up around him, wrapping their thorny stems about his torso and squeezing until a jagged crack ran in a diagonal across his breastplate. In the background, the trees seemed to be leaning over him, wrapping their sturdy branches around his throat. He was clearly trying to scream, and the abject terror captured in his eyes sent a chill up the back of Emily’s neck. Suddenly, the mermaid sculpture didn’t seem so bad.
“Jaisus!” Celine cried again, stepping up beside Emily and staring at the painting, before words failed her.
“What is that on his chest?” Emily asked, reaching out and running a finger down the crack in the man’s armor. It ran through an image of something crimson emblazoned on his breastplate, but it was impossible to tell what it was. Some sort of insignia, perhaps?
“Looks like an animal or somethin’,” Celine offered, frowning at it. “God, this place is creepy!”
She turned away with a shudder.
Author Interview
Where does your inspiration come from?
Inspiration for my stories comes from a lot of different places, although I don’t always realize that while I’m writing. Often, when I go back and read over what I’ve produced, I’m surprised to find that parts of it reflect real aspects of my life. It’s very rare for me, personally, to sit down and write something that I’m consciously aware is inspired by something else.
The mechanics of telling a story are a little bit different in this regard. I definitely have a range of authors who I consider particularly wonderful storytellers, and I try to learn from their material what works and what doesn’t. I think, as a writer, it is important to read a great deal, and to read widely. Stephen King, Mark Twain, Anne Rice, and literally dozens of others, have had profound influence over the voice and style I’ve developed for myself, especially in the structuring of a story.
Would you ever want to change genre’s and if so what would you like to experiment with?
I have a bit of a funny view on genres. While “Haven Lost” is certainly a fantasy novel at its core, there are plenty of other aspects from other genres that make an appearance. In particular, science-fiction and horror are key players in the story, along with many others. Like with inspiration, though, this is not something that I make a conscious decision about. It just happens organically.
All of that is to say that I don’t really consider myself an author of any single genre. I like to experiment with blending genres, pulling what works from this or that type of story, and creating something new. In Stephen King’s “The Dark Tower”, there’s a common refrain: “All things serve the beam.” This is what is foremost in my mind as I’m writing a story. All things must serve the story—the journey of our hero.
Are your characters/ideas drawn from people that you know personally in any way?
Occasionally, I’ll read back through a chapter and think to myself, “Wow … that’s exactly what so-and-so would do.” It’s rarely a conscious thing, but I think all writers draw from real life, real people, and actual experiences.
In “Haven Lost”, there is one particular aspect of our heroine’s journey that culminates in what, I hope, is a powerful moment at the end of the book. I didn’t realize until I was writing the final scene and felt this tremendous surge of empathy for her just how much I’d drawn from my own experiences in crafting that part of the tale.
Where would you like to be in 10 years with life or career?
My goal has always been, and I expect will continue to be, to find purpose and happiness in life. Our time in this world is short, and I want to spend mine making a difference. Sometimes those differences are small, such as entertaining someone with a story, and sometimes they are profound. I want to be able to look back over these next ten years and be satisfied with how I spent the majority of my time.
What book or books are you reading now?
At present, I’m reading “Prince Lestat”, the latest in the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice, which is more than a little like having an old and dear friend come and visit after a protracted absence. I’m also in the midst of working my way through the “Bloody Jack” series by L.A. Meyer, which is a truly marvelous set of stories. I’m surprised, and slightly dismayed, that it took so long for them to ping my radar, as I’m thoroughly enjoying every word.
What do you do with your free-time when you are not writing or brain-storming?
I love music, and my taste skews decidedly British in that regard. I love the work of George Michael, Elton John, Sting, and many, many others. I’m a huge hockey fan. My teams are the Los Angeles Kings in the NHL and both the men’s and women’s PennState Nittany Lions.
On the geekier side of things, I am a huge fan of Masters of the Universe, Star Trek, and Harry Potter. I feel right at home at Comic Con. 🙂
What is your fondest memory from childhood that left an impact on your life?
This is a tough question. There are so many ways in which I was blessed as a child, and so many memories that left a profound impact on my life. Visiting the UK and meeting George Michael backstage during his Faith concert tour are certainly among them.
When I was six-years-old, I became very ill. It was at this point that I lost my vision. Filmation, an animation studio that was producing the “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe” cartoon series at the time, heard about the fact that I loved the show and my illness.
Two of the voice actors recorded a message to me, in character, and sent it to me on a cassette. They wished me well, offered their friendship, and generally made a very sick kid a whole lot happier.
The complete story, along with the recording, can be found at this link: http://masterscast.com/?p=320
Josh de Lioncourt was born and raised in California and enjoys writing projects in a wide variety of fields, including fiction, music, software, blogging, and tech articles.
He has written on Apple accessibility for Macworld and Maccessibility, hosts or participates regularly on several podcasts, and writes and records music with Molly, his other half. Josh enjoys the works of Stephen King, the music of George Michael, Masters of the Universe, and Los Angeles Kings hockey. He currently lives in Pennsylvania.
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This author is new to me.
New to me as well. I found Josh’s personally story amazing and very inspirational. I am so glad that I not only got to learn of a new author, but that I could share with you his book and his inspirational interview.
I liked the interview.