The Fire Within (The Last Dragon Chronicles #1) (1) - Hardcover

Dear readers, people are sometimes confused about the nature of this book. They see a dragon cover, they expect high dragon fantasy - they find a squirrel rescue drama & strange clay figurines (of dragons) instead. If you think that's not for you (try reading the reviews), please jump to the next book, ICEFIRE, or the third in the series, FIRE STAR, where you'll get all the dragon myth you want. This book is called THE FIRE WITHIN for a very specific reason: it's about the joy of writing stories and the power of discovering your creativity, which I believe is important to every child you reads a book. It attempts to answer the question: where does inspiration come from? and uses a dragon as a means to an end. It's gentle, slightly twee in places, and not everyone's 'cup of tea' as we'd say in the UK. But it kicked this writer off on an intuitive journey of exploration which has evolved into a major fantasy series, and I would like to think that young people who read it might be similarly inspired. So thank you to all the hundreds of people who have written and told me how much they love it: read on & have fun! Adults and avid fantasy buffs: please read it for what it is, not for what you hope it will be. Chris d'Lacey 1.7.2005

Chris d'Lacey is the author of several highly acclaimed books, including the NEW YORK TIMES bestselling Last Dragon Chronicles: THE FIRE WITHIN, ICEFIRE, FIRE STAR, THE FIRE ETERNAL, DARK FIRE, FIRE WORLD, and THE FIRE ASCENDING. Additionally, he is the author of the middle-grade series The Dragons of Wayward Crescent, also published by Orchard Books. He lives in Devon, England, with his wife, where he is at work on his next book.

Visit www.scholastic.com/LastDragonChronicles to learn more about Chris d'Lacey's books.