Monthly Archives: April 2015
Want to Improve Your Online Presence?
In my Internet travels I am always on the lookout for sites that are not only helpful to me as an author/writer, but that may also be interesting to other readers. Today’s little gem is called “KATHARINE WRITES, Be Online Better.” Katharine is a writer, blogger, and online presence strategist, and her website is packed with great insights on a multitude of topics – one of them being Blogging. Here is a great link to check out if you’re a newbie to blogging or if you just want to improve on what you are already doing. So take a look – Katharine has quite a bit of information that you might find helpful. Don’t forget to scroll down the page to her “TOPICS” section to find other useful information on
- Blogging
- Social Media
- Freelancing
- Copywriting
- Marketing
- And much more. So check this out –
http://katharine-writes.com/category/blogging/
Do you know of any other terrific websites that would be interesting or helpful that you would like to share? Please leave me a comment!
Who is The Ariella?
In the Dragomeir Series Book One, “The Emerald Dragon,” you will find a character called Queen Mother, The Ariella, which means Queen of the Dragons. She stands about five feet five inches tall, but carries herself like she is much taller, and weighs about a hundred and ten pounds. With dark brown hair and green eyes, she can appear pretty hard core, and can be a formidable opponent in a fight. She is, however, a real “softy” when it comes to her dragons. She is a very powerful woman and a Dragon Rider to two of the kings of their species, the black and white Wyvern Dragons, Basiliskos and Invectum, respectively. As the Queen Mother presides over the many Riders and their Dragons at Mt. Drago, Mt. Femmes, and Mt. Arcadia, you can imagine that her position is one that is very demanding and quite hectic on a daily basis.
In spite of her title, there are some who wonder if The Ariella is more than what she appears to be. There are many mysterious meetings, and she appears to know people that are in direct conflict with her entire Empire within the mountains. Even the Dragon Rider, Tanis, who has been very close to her for many years, is beginning to suspect that something is being kept secret from him. What is the real purpose behind the acquisition of other Creatures who are being brought into their world? Why does she appear to be acquiring an army, and why do some of the strangers that are arriving at Mt. Drago seem to know her? There are many unanswered questions about The Ariella.
Join Tanis and his Dragon, Demios, as they maneuver through the day to day struggles and adventures in the wonderful world of Dragons, incredible Creatures, and unusual planets, and find out if The Queen of the Dragons, The Ariella, is actually who she claims to be!
You can find “The Emerald Dragon” and coming very soon, BookTwo of the Dragomeir Series, “Flight of the Aguiva,” along with much more at –
Location – Location – Location – THE SOUTHWEST DESERTS
The primary location of my book, “The Emerald Dragon”, is in the deserts of the Southwestern United States. So the following is a short description of those deserts for anyone that might find it interesting. My lead character, Tanis, finds it to be one of the most beautiful places on earth.
The Sonoran Desert covers large parts of the Southwestern United States in Arizona and California, and of Northwestern Mexico in Sonora, Baja California and Baja California Sur. It is the hottest desert in North America, with an area of 280,000 square kilometers (110,000 sq mi). The western portion of the United States–Mexico border passes through the Sonoran Desert. It is home to the cultures of over seventeen contemporary Native American tribes, with settlements at American Indian reservations in California and Arizona, as well as populations in Mexico.
The desert includes 60 mammal species, 350 bird species, 20 amphibian species, over 100 reptile species, 30 native fish species, over 1000 native bee species, and more than 2,000 native plant species. The area southwest of Tucson and near the Mexican border is a vital habitat for the only population of Jaguars living within the United States.
The Sonoran is the only place in the world where the famous saguaro cactus grows in the wild. Cholla , beavertail, hedgehog, fishhook, prickly pear, nightblooming cereus, and organ pipe are other types of cacti found here. Shrubs include the creosote bush, bur sage, indigo bush, and Mormon tea. It also has wildflowers such as desert sunflowers, sand verbena, and evening primroses. There are also desert willows, palo verde trees, ocotillo, and desert ironwood.
The Mojave Desert includes both the infamous Death Valley and slightly less infamous Las Vegas Valley. An existence in the Mojave means coping with a range of extreme conditions. It is considered a hot-cold desert, meaning it’s hot in the summer — but also extremely cold in the winter, dipping below freezing at night. These extremes have led to plant and animal species that are uniquely adapted to the Mojave. The desert averages about five inches of precipitation a year. Death Valley, which is about 282 feet below sea level, is the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere, and is in the Mojave Desert. It is also the hottest and the driest point in North America. In fact, it is the second hottest place on the Earth; 134 degrees Fahrenheit is the highest temperature ever recorded here. This region also consists of several high-rising mountain peaks, like the Telescopic peak, which is about 11,000 feet high.
The desert is home to numerous unique and interesting plant and animal species that have adapted to this arid landscape. Although the Mojave isn’t home to a large amount of plant life, it is home to numerous unique and interesting plant and animal species that have adapted to this arid landscape. It is home to mistletoe, a well-known Christmas decoration, and also to the slow-growing Joshua trees, which are actually not trees, but water-storing succulents. These plants grow to between 20 and 70 feet in height and live around 150 years.
The Mojave is home to the camel spider, the short-horned lizard, rattlesnakes, king snakes, a wide variety of lizards and the desert tortoise. Small desert mammals include the antelope squirrel, the kangaroo rat, jack rabbit, desert cottontail, the coyote, kit fox, and the bobcat. Large herbivores include big horn sheep, mule deer and wild burros. Predatory birds include the red-tailed hawk, barn owl, golden eagle and roadrunner. Scavengers include vultures and ravens. Herbivores include Gambel’s quail and the mourning dove.
You’ll discover a whole new world in the desert at Mt. Drago, the home of Tanis, and his dragon, Demios, in Book One of the Dragomeir Series, “The Emerald Dragon.”
Book Two, “Flight of the Aguiva” will be out very soon! The adventure continues . . .
Solitaire Parke - Sci-Fi/Fantasy Books 