Fellow author Huckleberry Rahr and yours truly hitched a ride on an obliging green dragon to Menomonie, Wisconsin, where Ann Vogl, Chief Dragon-rider, holds down the fort at a lovely independent bookstore called Dragon Tale Books. Intermittent rainfall made travel a little dicey, but our noble steed kept us safe and dry all the way there. The latter feat was achieved with the assistance of a red phoenix who accompanies Huckle everywhere on her journeys.

Dragon Tale Books is worth visiting. It’s a cute little place; nice and cozy. The storefront display draws you in and the quirky décor – including the eponymous dragon tail – entices you to stick around and explore the collection of new and used books. You can even do a scavenger hunt to find cards hidden behind displayed books with funny sayings on them. And if you’re feeling nostalgic for “vintage” sweets, there’s a candy store just down the street. I indulged in some candy dots, which swept me back to my childhood in the late 80s and early 90s. If you’re looking for photos–I did snap a few–then you can find them at the end of this newsletter.

We set up our book-signing operation in the back room, where we spent our free moments pursuing children’s books. I was pleased to see so many Wisconsin authors represented in the collection. Naturally, there were books involving dragons, and I enjoyed the colorful artwork featuring dragons hung on the wall. It was fun to chat with the patrons as they came through the store. Some were even interested in our books. We gave away many bookmarks, which serve very well as business cards for authors.

And if you happen to be looking for something to read this week, I have some suggestions. Fair warning: some of these I have read, but most I have not.

Reading Material

Black Bane by Zee Kelley

A quest to stop the black bane.

An adventure unfolds in this epic fantasy short story of wondrous creatures, clashing cultures, a mysterious evil force, and four distinct races fighting against an unknown enemy determined to destroy them all.

During the previous full moon, the ancient salvus trees prepared to display their fall colors and stood sentry over the Florix tribes who lived in the branches below. But, as fast as storm clouds rolling in, a fatal black sludge attacked the plant life, poisoned the water, and left the forest people sick and dying. Painful black boils appeared on farmers’ and herb-gatherers’ hands and arms, and in mere days the killing disease spread to entire families. Within a month, the bane decimated entire villages. Nothing would stop the spread of death. Not even their healer’s magic.

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Bookstore Excursion Pictures

As promised, the photographs from Dragon Tale Books… in a slide show!

Obligatory Cat Photo(s)

That’s all for now, folks!