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The Next Big Thing – Authors Tagging Authors!
Posted by solitaireparke
The Next Big Thing – Authors Tagging Authors!
I am thrilled to take part in The Next Big Thing: Authors Tagging Authors! I was tagged by the fantastic Caron Rider and I’m excited to keep this going! So now I have to answer the questions below, tag a new set of 5 authors, then they answer, tag authors, etc. I’m answering questions about my Urban Fantasy novel, The Emerald Dragon, coming soon!

What is the working title of your book?
The Emerald Dragon, Book One of the Dragomeir Series
Where did the idea come from for the book?
It came from an incredibly vivid dream that I had. I thought that it was time for not only books about dragons, but to explain that dragons are actually smarter than we are and interact at the human level.
What genre does your book fall under?
Urban Fantasy
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Main character – Tanis: Viggo Mortenson
Queen Mother : Morena Baccarin
Demi – human form: Dakota Fanning
Basiliskos – human form: Ving Rhames
Invectum – human form: Chris Hemsworth
Dragons – in dragon form: Themselves
And for the authors I have tagged:
Eden Baylee, Author of Spring Into Summer
Kay Glass, Author of Just One Bite
Michelle Muto, Author of Don’t Fear the Reaper
Alex Laybourne, Author of Highway To Hell
J.A. Schneider, Author of Embryo
Many thanks to my friend and fellow Indie Author Caron Rider for tagging me! I hope you’ll keep it going…there are so many talented authors out there!
Watch Out For the Peanut Butter!
Posted by solitaireparke

Tanis and Demi contacted me with what I thought was a joke. Okay, so I’m not laughing now, but anyway…several people at Mt. Drago have recently gotten sick, and I mean really sick. Turns out it’s the peanut butter. Not every brand, and there are some that don’t have Salmonella. Yeah, you heard me. Nearly all of the food that gets eaten by the people at the mountain comes from the outside world. From the same manufacturers as the ones you buy for your family. This is a wake-up call to all of our friends and their friends. Contact your local food stores and inquire. Get on-line and do some research. I’m going to give as much information as I’ve found, but I need you guys to spread the word. Little kids aren’t supposed to die from peanut butter.
The manufacturer that seems to have the highest number of recalls is Sunland, but it doesn’t stop there, oh no not by a long shot. Okay, let’s take this one step at a time. The first thing you need is a web address to prove to yourself the severity of which I speak.
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/MajorProductRecalls/SunlandNutSeedProductRecalls/default.htm
The above address will show you the number of products that have been recalled and a lot of other pertinent information. This is not restricted to just Sunland, it has become more widespread with multiple companies such as: Justin’s and General Mills among others. Please check your recently purchased food to make sure you don’t have one of the recalled items. Thank you for listening to Tanis, Demi, and of course…me.
Emerald Dragon Update
Posted by solitaireparke

Hello everyone! Yes, it is the elusive Solitaire Parke! The Emerald Dragon is taking a tad longer than I had expected, so I thought I would drop you a note and let all the people that have supported this project know that we’re still working very very hard at completing it. In the last week, I have finished inserting the two new characters created by the contest winners, Jacob and Joe. The new personalities have enhanced the book beyond my wildest expectations! The new characters, Hellop and Sergei, managed to insert themselves within the story in a seamless fashion, which pleased me very much. Both of them have taken up life in Mt. Drago and get along with Tanis and Queen Mother as well. Even Demi got in on the act and has reminded me several times to make sure that these two gentlemen receive Holders of Things. Now that we’re down to the last chapter, the enthusiasm in my house has reached epic proportions and I am working feverishly to get to the last line. After that, as everyone knows, there are several waves of editing and potential rewrites. When it gets to this last phase I will try to keep you apprised of an ETA as well as up and coming contests and free giveaways. Once again, a huge thank you goes out to all that have supported this project. Keep checking back because there are a lot of fun things coming!!!
Tanis vs. Ironman…So You Wanna Know Who Won, Huh?
Posted by solitaireparke
So I’m sure you’ve been wondering what the outcome would’ve been between Tanis and Tony Stark aka Ironman. Well, I received word from Tanis just yesterday that he and Tony decided to go ahead and duke it out! I’ll let Tanis tell you all about it…
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It seemed kinda silly to me, and Demi advised me not to do it…but there’s each man’s honor at stake here. After reading the comments on Solitaire’s blog, Tony wasn’t too pleased to hear that so many thought the Emerald Warrior could take him. I must admit that I was honored and surprised to hear it myself. So, when Tony suggested we lay this one to rest, I said yes to the challenge! The Emerald Warrior vs. Iron Man…has a nice ring to it, I think, and after talking with Tony about the proposed battle, he agreed too. He was a bit more animated about it, but hey, that’s Tony, right?
So, we interviewed a variety of different locations, all of which were away from civilization. We didn’t want anyone to get hurt, except maybe each other, and Tony thought how apropos it would be for me to lose in my own desert. Pretty nice of him really, and I don’t mind the home court advantage.
We set up shop one hundred miles away from Mt. Drago, while Queen Mother and Pepper watched from a remote location with equipment that both Tony and I contributed toward their convenience. Safer too.
Walter and I never take first blood, and after having said that, Tony shot me with one of those energy bolts that emits from his hands. So much for how this was going to get started. He had to have known those things weren’t going to do much damage, if any. Walter negated Tony’s electromagnetic shield and I fired our Disruptor. It slammed into Iron Man’s stomach and flipped him end over end until he hit an outcropping. His rocket boosters activated and he was up off the ground in a heartbeat. Seems that his shield was a bit quicker than we thought.
A moment later all I could see was a wall of flame as it engulfed my suit. Well, it engulfed itself around my suit; you see my proactive transmutational shield deflects almost everything. Things could take all day at this rate, so I unleashed the sonic resonator and collapsed the ground underneath him. One second he was there, and the next… Walter fired a rocket to cave the newly formed hole in, and presto bingo, no more Iron Man and no more hole in the ground.
A rumbling started pretty much where I was standing, and I had a bad feeling, so we went airborne to wait. Sure enough, a few seconds later I could see the top of his red and gold helmet rising up from the cavern we’d sunk him into. Just from his actions you could tell he was angry, not that I blamed him, but energy started waving off of him like invisible underwater currents. They pummeled me backward, and before we could alter our weight, we went down and he was all over me like a cheap tuxedo. Screens popped up inside my helmet telling me how much impact force was being exuded against me, and it was way more than I was comfortable with. I tried to punch in return, but it’s hard to do when you’re on your back. The faders that started off green and in the normal range, suddenly turned red telling me we were in trouble.
Neither one of us could see the other’s face so I had no idea how much rage he was experiencing, but if the sounds coming from his helmet were any indication, then he was really pissed. That was when the idea hit me. I told Walter to make it look as if we had overheated, and vent all of the internal atmosphere. The minute he did, Tony pulled back sensing his victory, and we chose that moment to reverse our electromagnetic polarity. Walter fired a Disruptor immediately into the Arc Reactor on Tony’s chest and he flew backwards, hitting the ground hard. He attempted to get up, but I could tell he was having more problems than he could overcome.
I walked over to him and wrenched his helmet off, knowing that without that piece, he couldn’t talk to Jarvis. Tony’s onboard computer co-pilot may only be a computer program, but it’s a damn good one, and I didn’t want it to come up with some hair brained method to damage me.
A long story short…victory goes to me, Tanis…the Emerald Warrior. Sorry to all the Iron Man fans out there, but this ain’t no movie, or as I recently saw on YouTube; Reality hits you hard bro! 😉
~ Tanis Theatra aka The Emerald Warrior
Tanis Vs. Ironman – Who Do You Think Would Win??
Posted by solitaireparke
Hello again! I have been having an enormous amount of fun with “The Emerald Dragon”. The contests, giveaways and new characters that some of the readers conjured up for me. It should have come as no surprise to me that comparisons would happen in regard to Tanis’ suit and the legendary Ironman. So in the spirit of fair play, and even more fun than we’ve had so far, I have agreed to a match between the two behemoths to determine which warrior is the greater of the two. That’s right, a battle of the titans of technology! Green and Silver vs. Red and Gold. Oh, don’t worry, no one’s going to get hurt, but we’ll finally know which is the greater of the two.

So, here’s how it works…Examine the arsenal for Tanis (The Emerald Warrior) and Ironman; what do they bring to bear? You might even find that the two are not as similar as you think. Now let’s pit the two together in combat! Crank up the lists, set up the arena and may the best man win!
| Tanis Theatra…The Emerald Warrior His weapon system has also changed over the years, but the basics of Tanis’ arsenal are all based on Transmutational energy. The armor itself is powered by microscopic transmuters that control the plates comprising the Advanced Encounter Suit (A.E.S.). In the de-reticulated configuration, all the plates move into the disc that resides on Tanis’ chest. The onboard Artificial Intelligence, “Walter”, resides in the center of the disc and controls what the suit does when Tanis is too occupied to run in the manual mode. Each microscopic plate moves in a preprogrammed sequence until the suit hermetically seals. Because of this, the suit can withstand space or submergence in water. The environment inside the suit is also controlled by the Artificial Intelligence. His weapons are listed below: |
Tony Stark…The Ironman The weapons systems of the suit have evolved over the years, but Ironman’s suit has always been powered by an Arc Reactor (Uni-beam Projector) located in Tony’s chest. The onboard Artificial Intelligence, “Jarvis”, was initially what ran the internal systems of Stark’s home, but was later uploaded into his armor (or at least according to the 2008 movie). Jarvis also controls the Heads Up Display (H.U.D.). The suit utilizes hard rocket propellant to achieve flight and has an internalized air tight environment which can withstand space or submergence in water. His weapons are listed below: |
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Now that you have examined each…Which has the better arsenal? Who would beat who? Who do you believe would win and why! I look forward to reading your comments! 🙂
Congratulations to the Winners of the “Holder Of Things” Giveaway!
Posted by solitaireparke

Thank you to all that participated in the giveaway! Congrats to Wulfie and Sherry, they have won their choice of either a coffee mug or 16×20 poster featuring the one and only “Demi” from the up and coming first Dragomeir novel…“The Emerald Dragon”!
Stay tuned for more “Holder Of Things” giveaways as well as some exciting posts featuring many other characters from “The Emerald Dragon”!
Wishing you all a fun and safe weekend! 🙂
Don’t Miss Your Chance To Win!
Posted by solitaireparke


Don’t miss your chance to win some exciting swag featuring the one and only “Demi” from the up and coming first Dragomeir novel…“The Emerald Dragon”! Two lucky winners will have a chance to win either a coffee mug or a 16×20 poster! The giveaway ends at midnight on Friday, 9/7/12! Just leave a comment with your email address and the answers to the three questions below!
- What are the most common items found in a “Holder Of Things”?
- Who typically gives a dragon their special “Holder of Things”?
- “Holders Of Things” are usually found where?
The winners will be announced Saturday, 9/8/12!
Oh, and please, don’t be shy! Demi just loves to hear from her friends online! 🙂
Posted in Contests/Giveaways
Tags: Demi, Dragomeir Series, dragon, dragons, giveaway, giveaways, holder of things, indie author, solitaire parke, The Emerald Dragon, wyvern
Can You Tell Me What a “Holder Of Things” Is?
Posted by solitaireparke
I think it’s about time I give you an update on what’s happening with the Dragomeir Series!
- Moving right along with “The Emerald Dragon”…the contest winners’ characters have been an absolute blast to write into the story!
- The first draft of “The Emerald Dragon” should be done in about a month – currently at page 350! Woohoo!
- Lots of exciting blog posts in the works and some killer giveaways! Speaking of giveaways…
Demi tells me that I have waited long enough to post the first giveaway! 🙂 She tells me that two lucky winners will have a chance to win either a coffee mug or a 16×20 poster featuring the prettiest emerald dragon in Mt. Drago…well, the only emerald dragon in Mt. Drago…still stumped?? Demi of course! 🙂

For your chance to win, leave a comment with the answers to these three questions: (If you need some help, you can find the answers in the second chapter of “The Emerald Dragon”)
- What are the most common items found in a “Holder Of Things”?
- Who typically gives a dragon their special “Holder of Things”?
- “Holders Of Things” are usually found where?
Please be sure to leave your email address in your comment! This giveaway will end Friday, 9/7/12.
Posted in Contests/Giveaways
Tags: Demi, Dragomeir Series, dragon, dragons, giveaway, giveaways, holder of things, indie author, solitaire parke, The Emerald Dragon
Holder Of Things
Posted by solitaireparke
*** UPDATE – As of 7/20/12, chapter 13 will be the last chapter posted online until the official release of “THE EMERALD DRAGON” ***

In the meantime, visit often because Demi tells me that when “A HOLDER OF THINGS” appears on the blog, she has gifts to give her online friends!
She even tells me that she has a mini holder of things full of amazing goodies for one lucky winner!
I have some fun posts and polls planned as well, so stay tuned!
**Contest Winners!** Meet Mt. Drago’s New Dragon Riders!
Posted by solitaireparke

Hello Everyone! I hope you are all having a great weekend! I apologize for going on hiatus for the last two weeks…I won’t trouble you with specifics, but let’s just say that I was caught up in some family drama. But I am back and raring to go!!
- THE EMERALD DRAGON CHARACTER CONTEST WINNERS!
Due to technical difficulties, there was an unfortunate delay in announcing the winners on the blog, but I would like to extend a big CONGRATULATIONS TO…
Jacob Overton & Joe Russomanno
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Here is Jacob’s character and dragon:
Character: Helup Ironfold; long ashen grey hair, grey eyes, big broad shoulders, strong arms, an all around big guy
Origin: He hails from Ptolomea where, as a slave, Helup was forced to work as a blacksmith by Erebus until he was called by his dragon and he escaped
Denizen
Dragon’s Name: Jilocasin Sybaris Cirfis
Nickname: Cirf (Surf)
Gender: Male
Species: Wyvern
Color: Grey
Age: 9 years old
Here is Joe’s character and dragon:
Character: Sergei Rasputin Cosmonov; Sergei is the son which resulted from the unions of the first woman turned demon Lilith and her mate Samael. A repented demon spawn who has been alive to witness the rise and fall of every human civilization. He stands over 6 feet tall with a sinewy rangy build black hair, hazel green eyes and in his true form skin red as blood. He prefers to handle things diplomatically but is no stranger to violence. He is known to wear a wide-brimmed hat and trench-coat made from a leather-like material. Think of a demonic looking Liam Neeson.
Origin: Raised by scouts in a town called Civibellum along the river Styx.
Dragon’s Name: Volansa Spirandi Bellator
Gender: Female
Species: Wyvern
Color: Red
So what exactly did they win, you ask??
- A post announcing the contest winners on the blog.
- Their character and dragon introduced into the story of “The Emerald Dragon” and will be mentioned periodically throughout the book thereafter.
- A mention of the contest winners on the dedication page of the book.
- A signed copy of the book sent to the contest winners when the book is released.
AGAIN, CONGRATULATIONS TO JACOB AND JOE!!
Be sure to visit the blog Monday for some exciting announcements concerning the “The Emerald Dragon”!


