#lou hoffmann

Key of Behliseth by Lou Hoffmann is the 1st novel in the The Sun Child Chronicles series of young adult portal fantasy, free for a limited time courtesy of LGBT specialty publisher Dreamspinner Press' Harmony Ink imprint for teen readers.

This is being made free to help promote the newly-released 3rd novel, Ciarrah's Light.

The series is a portal fantasy, starring a homeless gay teen from our world who winds up stepping through a wizard's door into a magical fantasy realm at war. This installment sees him discovering the world's existence and learning of his obligatory destiny and the unsuspected ties which led him there as he begins to come to terms with his new role and powers.

Offered worldwide through October 30th until midnight Eastern Time, available DRM-free directly from the publisher's webstore and also other major ebook retailers.

No Really.

I mean for heaven’s sake, people, let’s think rationally about this. They’re reptiles. Scaly, cold-blooded. Certainly not cute and fuzzy. And they might be smart but they’re conniving as hell (like in Le Guin’s Earthsea cycle), right? And as destructive as an Armageddon (Like Smaug in Tolkien’s The Hobbit. And what about those dragons George R. R. Martin set loose?

Seriously, Puny humans hardly stand a chance against them, but there’s always a Saint George in every crowd, or else someone to befriend the beasts like Eragon with Saphira, or Merlin with The Great Dragon and later poor, sickly little Aithusa (who can still kick human butt).

I’m not being at all critical—I love dragons too. I just don’t know why. So you tell me: what is you love about dragons? And which is your favorite ever? And what about rainbow friendly YA books with dragons? Can you make some recommendations? I can think of Annabelle Jay’s The Sun Dragon Series and Sulayman X’s Tears of a Dragon—both available at Harmony Ink Press. There must be more?

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May as well mention there are dragons in The Sun Child Chronicles. The brave and beautiful warrior/uncle extraordinaire, Han Shieth, has to fight them at times. But he’s also descended from them, which is not as gross as it sounds and is a story that will be told someday. Meanwhile, here he is in Wraith Queen’s Veil meeting a very distant ancestor, who doesn’t seem to fit the mold at all.

“What about you, Warrior? What do you want?”

Han sputtered in the violet pool, taken off guard. Before he could recover, the lizard-like creature crawled out of the pool and climbed down to him. As she passed through the colored pools, her scales shimmered through the hues, ever so briefly matching each precisely.

“What’s the matter, Wizard’s Shield? Never seen a dragon before?”

“Big ones,” Han said, and immediately felt stupid.

“Green? Gold? Oh yes, the red are in your bloodline. I remember, yes—that’s why I know your name. Well, Warrior, I think you should know that I am the mother of them all.”

“But you’re small.” Duh.

“I am always, only, ever, as big as I need to be.” She flipped her tail at Han—possibly on purpose—as she turned to ascend once again. “So let’s make a deal, eh?” Having reached the uppermost pool, she pivoted suddenly, fixing her impossible-to-ignore dragon eyes on Han, forked tongue hanging out lasciviously.

“Umm—”

“Speak when spoken to, young man.”

A Cat Burgler, or, Why Han Shieth Wants a Truck (a Key of Behliseth Excerpt)

Okay, I posted the first contest early, so this is simply an excerpt. This is an important moment in the story, but I think it’s good for a laugh or two as well. Love to hear your thoughts!

Thurlock started to talk. “We have to bring him here; it’s the only way we can keep him safe. And we’d best do it quickly.”

By the time Han came from the kitchen with the kettle and his own coffee, the…