Hey all in human land. Sparkin here.

I just did a before bed fly over, sorry, not over human lands, just within the protective shield dome that covers all of New Dragon Land However, I did see something you may want to know about.

There are a horde, herd, gaggle, pack, oh . . . I do not know what you humans call it. There is a group--that works--of cyclops now living in the Superstition Mountains near Phoenix, Arizona. Their main village is near Goblin Mountain, which is also in the Superstition Mountains. However, you may have even seen one, because a few of them have put on "glamour" and venture into the valley to spy on you all.

What is "glamour", you might be asking right about now? Well, it is the simplest, and easiest of all magics that any good or evil magic folk can use to disguise what they look like. Kind of like a shape-shifter. Glamour can make you look like whatever you want. A cyclops just shrinks his size from the usual 12 to 20 feet, yes, kind of like giants, and yes, giants are real too. They also use the illusion that they have two eyes and two eyebrows. This is good because this makes them see double, which is your only clue that the person you are looking at is really a cyclops. They tend to bump into things, and often go cross-eyed.

Be very chary of anyone that tends to be extra clumsy and crosses their eyes quite often. They most likely won't bother you, because their job is to observe humans and to find out what is going on your world. But make no mistake, they are D-A-N-G-E-R-O-U-S!

If you do come across one of them, please let me know. How do you do that? You leave a comment here on this blog.

That is it for tonight. Time to climb into my spun gold cloud bed. I hope I wake up with my dull grey scales polished this time. That is what the gold is supposed to do, but alas, it does not seem to work on me.

Someday . . . someday . . . I will shine.  

Humans in Danger in the Superstition Mountains.

by Sparkin

Hi Friends of Dragons,

Okay, we have a dangerous situation going on. My Da was out on a fly around today, and saw a disturbing sight.  Goblins and several Cyclops had rounded up some human hikers and were herding them into a cavern in the Superstition Mountains.

Da alerted the rest of the Danchun and the Ancient Ones. I will update you as soon as I find out what they are going to do about it.

In the meantime, I think I will sneak out and do my own fly around. I want to make sure the humans are safe.

Wish me dragon luck!

GETTING READY FOR CHRISTMAS!

by Sparkin Stoneloch

Did you know my clan name is Stoneloch? Well, it is, but that is not what I am writing about today. I want to tell you how excited I am about Christmas. I have been invited this year to help Santa. Yes, you read that right. Each year dragons help pull sleighs, hundreds of them. Santa's helper elves deliver presents on Christmas Eve along with Santa. I mean, how do you think Santa gets the whole world covered? Dragons pull many of the sleighs because there are only so many reindeer.

Back to this year though. I get to help Santa,not just one of the elves, deliver toys. How did this happen you ask? I am just the one to tell you.

Rudolph had an accident during flight training. He broke his nose. Now don't worry. He is fine, and so is is nose, but it will take some time for it to heal and in the meantime, his nose will not light up. That won't stop him from leading the team of course, but it does mean that Santa needs a dragon to use his fire to light the way when we get into fog, or blizzards.

That dragon is me! Sparkin of the Stoneloch dragon clan. So, watch out your window Christmas Eve, and you just might catch a glance of me flying alongside Santa, and his sleigh being pulled by Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixin, Comet, Cupid, Donder, Blitzen and of course Rudolph.

Merry Christmas to all you nice humans. If you are not a nice one, Merry Christmas to you too, but it would be good for you if you were nice because Santa is watching.

Sparkin Is Taking The Day Off From Flying

Hi Dragon Believers Around the World,

Today is 117 degrees. For real! So, I am floating around Tamarask Lake today. Yes, we dragons can swim. We actually swim almost as good as we fly. In fact I just finished-and almost won-a race with Morena. She's a mermaid. She can really fly in the water.

It gets this hot in Arizona a number of times each summer and the best thing to do is to get all your lads together and have a frolicking water fight. Fenton and Doornoch, showed up about an hour ago, and we had a fireblast, I mean a waterblast.

One of the most amazerful thing dragons can do is fill up our fire-shooters with water then blast it out. Fire follows so you get a huge column of WARM water followed by a flames. Not many humans have seen a dragon do this. In fact, I am not sure that any human has seen a dragon shoot water flames.

Maybe someday, you will see me do it in your minds eye when you read about me in my book.

That is . . . if my silly writer gets me out soon.

Sparkin

It Is a Hot Summer and . . . Watch out of Freaky Fog Eye!

By Sparkin of the Stoneloch Dragon Clan

Hi All My Dragon Friends!

Things are HOT here in the Superstition Mountains of Arizona. No matter though, we dragons are blessed to have the ability to fly through cool clouds, and I mean cool from water collecting high in the sky. We also LOVE water and there is an amazerful lake in Dalrimple (Dragon Land). We swim almost daily with Morena, a mermaid of course. We dragons have great lungs so I can stay under water for almost a half hour. You should see the bottom of the lake. The mermaids live in shell homes decorated by pearls and some incredibly colorful water plant life. The pearls glow, so it is actually quite bright near the bottom.

So . . . no worries about the Arizona heat for dragons! We are all having a fantabulist time.

However . . . the other day, I flew over to visit "Chief" the Noodle --remember a "Noodle" is the go between humans and magical creatures. Anyway, Chief rode his flying painted pony along side me. He told me that Freaky Fog Eye, the local school janitor has created a dragon catching cage. It is often set up on the roof of the local swimming pool. I will avoid flying by it like a plague of gibbering giblets or a gang of goblins.

If you see Freaky Fog Eye, or any of the other Gatekeepers of Shadows, please let me know!

Your flying friend,

Sparkin

Sparkin of the Stoneloch Dragon Clan

Sparkin Needs a Vacation

Hi Friends,

I need what you humans call a vacation. We refer to it as a fly-away. My family, the Stoneloch Clan, is planning on going to Rocky Point in Mexico this Spring. We fly side by side with Mum and Da on the outsides and me, and the triplets in between. My two little sisters, Starlee and Skylee ride on my parents backs. They aren't big enough to fly yet. Da said there have been signs of dragons near Rocky Point, so he will check it out while we float in the lovely wave-waters and chat with the mermaids.

Oh, Mum just said it is time to turn off the lights and climb into my golden cloud bed. Talk to you soon,

Your friend,

Sparkin the dragon

It is cooling off in the atmosphere!

Hi Dragon Friends,

I took a late circle around New Dragon Land this evening and I do believe the weather is finally changing here in Arizona. It was cold, crisp and clear as far as the eye could see, and dragon eyes can see incredibly far. When I am up near the top of the Shield Dome, you know, the protective dome that surrounds all of our land, I can see all the way up to Flagstaff to the north, Thatcher to the east, Tucson to the south, and a whole lot of desert to the west.

Not too many days from now, my scales will frost up while flying. I don't mind though. My Mum always has an amazerful fire burning in our family lair. The fireplace is big enough for me to plop right in the coals and warm up. No worries. My scales are fire proof. They have to be because I am a fire blazing dragon. Cool right? I mean hot right?

Well good night for now. See you in dragon dreams.

Sparkin is on the move!

Hi Mortals,

Hmmmmmmm, that is weird. We dragons are immortal, unless of course something unusual happens. But alas, that is not the way of it today for today is a beautiful day for flying.

My mermaid friend, Merana, was floating in Azure Lake. She asked me what it is like to fly. As I circled around her in the air, I realized it is most like swimming around in the water, other than air is not as thick, and so my movements can be faster.

Merana did a amazerful surface dive, flipping her tail and a stream of water into the air. Which hit me square in the face--the water--not her tail. After about a minute, she resurfaced and said she agrees. She can imagine gliding along in the sky on wind currants as she slices in and out of the water currents.

This brings me to you mortals. Do you swim? If so, imagine yourself flying in the sky while you are swishing all around in the water. I think you will get an idea of how wonderful it is to fly.

Maybe someday you can go for a ride on my back . . . maybe.

Sparkin, the dragon here. I love to fly. I do tons of thinking while I am flying. Flying frees up my mind.  Today, I realized that I am the only one stopping myself from doing good and even great things. So I made this up in my head . . .

DARE TO BE MY POSSIBILITY!

Do you dare to be your possibility?

See you in the clouds!!!!

Some "Happy" Ideas

Hi Friends,

Busy times right?  Here are some nuggets about happiness. I wish I could tell you who said these. Hey, if you know, write it in the comments.

"Life is good, if we live in such a way to make it so."  I agree. "If it is to be . . . it is up to me."

"True happiness is a conscious decision."  So true. I don't think you could make the decision to be happy, or any decision if you are unconscious.

"Happiness is a condition of the soul. This joyous state comes as a result of righteous living."  Too true! Are you ever happy when you do bad things? Not me.

"A good life comes as a result of the way we do things, of the words we choose to say, and even of the kind of thoughts we choose to have."  Looks like it all boils down to our choices. I work hard on making good choices. Sometimes I just need to slow down and look at the whole picture. I get myself in trouble sometimes when I rush into stuff before I really think about it.

"Be good to yourself. You are all you have got."  Not sure about the grammar, but this is true. I like to be kind to others so why not be kind to myself. I mean, I am my toughest critique.

"I am worthy of respect.  I don't have to do anything special to deserve it."  Wow!  That is an eye opener. Being the only dull grey dragon on this planet, I h ave always felt I need to prove myself. Hmmmmm . . . this is one I am going to work on.

Do you have a good quote about HAPPINESS? If so, write me a note in the comments section.

HAPPY FLYING!!!! (Flying makes me happy.)

Sparkin

SCREECH, SCRATCH, SCRABBLE, SCRAMBLE

by Sparkin, the Dragon

SCREECH, SCRATCH, SCRABBLE, SCRAMBLE
Sorry you had to wait until this week to find out what those four scrappy words meant.

I was in the middle of a battle, yes, a real battle with the horrible Gatekeepers of Shadows. I did all of those things and in just that order. You see, that evil society let loose a bunch of "Black Shiners." (You may know them as black widows.)  They are horrific, and that is putting it mildly. Those creepy crawlers wiggle under my scales and try to bite me. Not much luck on the biting though since my skin under my scales is pretty tough. But no matter, those little black things with their spindly, jiggly legs are just flat out frightening. (Yes, even we strong and amazerful dragons find some things scary.)

Well, as you can tell, I escaped the Gatekeepers of  Shadows, or I wouldn't be able to write to you this week. Sure, there is a ton more to the story, but I have to take off right now. There is a storm blowing in, and I want to be back in the Stoneloch Lair before it hits. It is tough to ride the winds of a storm.

See you soon,

Your friend in the sky,

Sparkin, the Dragon

SCREECH!

by Sparkin, the Dragon

SCREECH! SCRATCH! SCRABBLE! SCRAMBLE!
Check back next week to find out what this means.

A Great Day in the Superstition Mountains

by Sparkin - the dragon

Hi Guys, Yes, I know, it's about time I visited Dragon Dreamer again. Sorry, summer is one of the best times to be a dragon, well . . . any time is great to be a dragon really, but summer is amazerful. No school, you know. That is enough right? I get up fairly early, although it really is a bit of a sleep in, since I don't get up as early as when there is school. It is kind of like every day is Saturday. I get my morning chores done, and help me Mum with whatever she needs. Sometimes I even get to do "fly arounds" with me Da. Fly arounds are my favorite.

First, Da and I check to make sure the Dome is holding, you know, no goblins, Cyclops or humans breaching its magic protection. Then Da and I usually fly through the Shield Dome taking us out of New Dragonland, and into your world. I LOVE YOUR WORLD! Sure, it is pretty dry outside of my home in the Superstition Mountains, but it is still way amazerful. I mean you have those cool cacti –the plural for cactus, we learned that in Humanology- with the arms that reach out and try to catch my feet when I fly by. It is a game I like to play with them. They do not move very quickly, but still try to snag me anyway, and when I whoosh by, it makes their cactus needles shiver and they actually giggle. I bet you did not know that cactus move let alone giggle. Well they do.

The other day I saw a rattle snake. A real live and ANGRY rattle snake! I know it was mad because the front half was weaving in the air, and its jaws were wide open with these mega fangs flashing. I heard it first. It was about as long as my tail . . . ummm which is about five feet in human talk. Big rattle snake right? Da and I were just soaring along minding our own business and I heard it. It really did have a rattle on the end of its tail and it shook it fast. I asked Da what it was and he told me to catch the next wind draft up out of the snake’s way and he would tell me. So we circled high above it as me Da told me that it is a poisonous snake, but it only bites when startled or frightened. Sounds good to me. Rattle snakes shake their rattle to warn you that you are getting too close, you know, in their territory or something. It was mostly beige and brown, with diamond shapes all along its back, which Da said that means it is a Diamond Back Rattle snake. Amazerful right?

Well, Fenton is yapping for me to practice some Brackle Bramble games so bye for now. Oh, and I hope an agent takes a liking to me soon, so I can come visit you soon.

Flyer of the Sky,

Sparkin

Tonight's Flight

Hi, it is me, Sparkin.

It is quite late by human time, but not so much for dragons. I just landed on my balcony from my usual night fly-around. I am happy to report that I didn't see any goblins out and about near any homes tonight. In fact, the best news is that they have been building a new tunnel in Goblin Mountain so we propably will not be bothered by them for a long while. You see, goblins are not the brightest beasts of the bunch. They use their hands to dig. Yes, they have long, sharp claw-like fingernails, and toe nails, (they use their feet to dig also) but this is not the most efficient way to dig a tunnel through what is mostly black onyx. So . . . you see, it could even be years before they bother any of us. Good news right? 

Now before you get too comfortable, let me remind you that there are always a few rascal goblins that will sneak out to do some toe twizzling to let off some steam, so do be a bit chary. (Chary is a real dragon word. You will read more about it in my book, THUNDERTAI'S TAIL: THE LEGEND soon I hope.)

Don't let this picture scare you. It is only a picture. Real goblins are much furrier than this fellow, but it is pretty close to how they really look.

Time for a quick run through the waterfall then nestle in my golden-spun cloud bed.

Your amazerful flying friend,

Sparkin.

The air around the Superstition Mountains is getting warm once again!

Hi all,

Sparkin here.
Just a quick one to let you know I am enjoying the warm Arizona winds while I keep an eye out on the evil Gatekeepers of Shadows.  So far . . . so good. The Powerstones are hidden and safe.
I will keep you posted.

Your friend,

Sparkin

Stormy Day

Today is a precarious day for flying with massive, chunky thunderheads flattening out the roof of the sky. Sparkin landed gently, he is a soft lander, and waited patiently for Chase to see him in the back yard by the waterfall, which is rather tough since Sparkin is dull grey, the waterfall is dull grey, and the day is dull grey. Chase crashed out the back door in a hurry to feed Copper Candy trying to beat the storm, but alas, too late . . . rain sloshed from the sky in glops as big as pancakes. Sparkin roared with laughter as Chase slid around on the grass then plopped on his rump. Chase jumped to his feet smiling. Any day was a good day when Sparkin came to play.

Sparkin is floating around in the sky as he awaits his next journey.

Sparkin is soaring high around the United States as he awaits news from a very capable agent. Good thing Sparkin is a patient dragon because the waiting is killing Sparkin's mentor.

Sparkin

There's a foreboding tingle in the air as Sparkin swoops in and out of the clouds tonight. A dark vortex is moving closer to the Superstition Mountains and the Diamond Citadel. Light and dark magic creatures are preparing for the best and the worst. Hide under the covers in the night. It is the safest place to be.

What's Up With Sparkin?

By Cindy R. Williams
A quick update on when Sparkin will be flying around on books shelves:

I spent the day updating edits, and preparing the first four chapters, along with a synopsis and my top five or six query letters to send to Elana Johnson, the query guru. I have written over 60 query letters for the book, and they all look like mush, or maybe it's my brain that has turned to mush. I need some fresh eyes to help me make heads, tails or maybe it's dragon scales of the query letter. No matter, the point is, Sparkin is still circling the unseasonably warm Gilbert sky.

Sparkin Travels the Roads of Arizona

by Cindy R. Williams

I took the big plunge into vanity, vanity license plates that is. When it came time to renew my plates, I did it online, which by the way was awesomely easy. (Yeah, I did just use an "ly" word here, but you know how they say you have to know the rule to break it. Well, I know the rule and I chose to break it cause that is pretty much how I talk.) Now back to my vanity plate.

When you renew online, there's a place where you can click to personalize your license plate. On an impulse, I clicked it and decided to see if a few things were available. I tried stuff like "WilliamsFamily", but of course that was way too long, so I tried "Williams" and also Willsfam", but both were still too long. ADOT only allows seven characters. Then I got thinking about having a plate with something to do with my writing on it. "Author" was taken and so was "Writer". I didn't like the idea of using either one of them with some random number, so I moved on.

My middle grade fantasy, Thundertail's Tales, has occupied the main recesses of my mind for the past three years so I tried "Sparkin" the name of the dragon that takes the young hero on some pretty wild adventures. It could be a good marketing tactic.

Voila, it was available. I thought long and hard --at least for one minute that is --about any possible connections to something unsavory or untoward, but figured the worst thing "Sparkin" could be linked to was going into a dark closet and chomping down on wintergreen lifesavers to make them flash and spark when I was younger. Sparkin was also used on dates by the same couples that ran off into the woods to snipe hunt. Not me of course, but I did witness some pretty slobbery kissing going on do to sparkin and snipe hunting, but that is fodder for another blog or story.

It took about four weeks for my new license plates to arrive. When they did, I felt like a kid on Christmas. I opened the yellow packing envelope and gazed down lovingly, yup another "ly". It was almost like seeing my book in print as I admired the Arizona sunset behind the big capital letters S P A R K I N. Almost like seeing the name in lights.

My sweet husband was delighted for me and promptly replaced my old plate. ADOT sent me two of the same plate so I put the second one in my writing place where I can admire it and dream of how maybe someday I will be driving around in my mommy-mobile-mini-van and someone will point at my license plate and say . . . "Hey, that's the name of the dragon in the book I'm reading."

Here's hoping that dreams come true.