MHS graduate, award-winning artist and author releases Dragon Song, a new book for teens

Jennifer Carson, 1993 Manchester High School graduate and parent of a MHS student, is also an author and artist. Having previously created works for young children and middle grades, with her fifth book, Dragon Song, she is branching out into fiction for teens.

What if the whispered voice inside your head was the only thing in the world that rang true? For Sophie Lincoln, that voice belongs to a dragon.

After witnessing the brutal kidnapping of her mother as a child, the investigators, doctors, and even her dad, convinced her that she has confused certain events in her life and that Bailean, her best friend and a dragon, is just in her imagination. Crippled by anxiety and anger, she believes them, until nearly fifteen years later, when she inherits her grandmother’s house nestled in the rural town of Castleton, Vermont.

Lawrence, the boy next door, and his grandmother talk about dragons and magic as if they really exist, and soon Sophie is a believer again. Just when Sophie seems to be settling into her new town, she is pushed into another world through a tapestry hanging in her bedroom by a man from her past, barely remembered but for a shiver of fear.

After a vertigo-inducing trip through the tapestry, Sophie lands in Brindle, a world where dragons and magic exist for everyone—but the King of Brindle is a jealous creature and has executed nearly all those born in the grasp of a dragon. Now he has his sights on leashing Sophie’s special gift to tighten his cruel grip on the village.

Will Sophie learn to trust herself, the small voice in her head, and a neighbor boy who seems too good to be true? Or will she be a prisoner of the King of Brindle forever?

Jennifer Carson’s imagination has always been full of fantastic creatures. She brings them to life not only through her storytelling, but also in award-winning fiber sculptures. You can see more of her work and her other books on her website, www.thedragoncharmer.com.

For more information, book events, or to schedule an author appearance or interview, please email Jennifer at jencarson75@gmail.com.

Author Jennifer Carson reading her picture book Ducky's New Ball last February at the Manchester District Library.

For as little as $1 a month, you can keep Manchester-focused news coverage alive.

by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and founder of the Manchester Mirror.