That Evil Practice Known as Editing

We write and write and write, working so hard, long hours, days on end, sleepless nights, much coffee consumption, and then it is finally over…

Or is it?

After working on a long book, there is no better feeling than finishing it. Something I rarely do but get so much pleasure out of it once it is done. I feel like celebrating, telling everyone I know, jumping up and down and squealing a little…then a realization comes to me that brings me back to my feet, painfully.

Editing.

Oh editing, I hate it. Writing is so much fun, but then once all those plot ideas are filled, those characters have finished their long journeys, those times of inspiration have past, those endless hours of tapping away on the keyboard joyfully have come to an end, it is time to climb down from those drifting clouds, put away that time of bliss, and get to business.

Time to edit.

For me, editing really breaks the blissful clouds that I rode on while writing, making me instead fall into a thick hole of mud, for as I reread through my story, look at the parts I thought were quite good, examine my plot I was so pleased with, visit my characters that I imagined were great, I realize I was utterly wrong. My scenes make no sense, my plot has way too many holes in it and is much too cliché, my characters are growing too drab, it all comes crashing down. I get so depressed and discouraged, wondering if it is even worth bothering spending all the time it would take to make this story even somewhat decent, or to just forget it and write something else…only to do the same thing.

Editing, well, is hard! You want to think you just need to add a comma here or there, but really it often takes great amounts of time and work, sometimes to the point of completely rewriting. Snipping out entire paragraphs and changing whole scenes is overwhelming, not to mention depressing at times. Yet it must be done.

So how am I going to go on with it? I have a few things that help with motivation.

One thing that drives me the most is my annoying perfectionist ways. I am a perfectionist, it is true, especially when it comes to cleaning. My brother jokes about me having OCD as far as cleaning goes; it just has to be done, and it has to be clean!! Everything. I am a neat-freak to the ultimate level. This not only goes for my room and the house, it also goes for my stories. I want them to be clean. I do not want any grammar flaws or misspells, weird sentences or plot holes, it needs to be perfect. Though I do annoy myself with my perfectionist ways, it is one drive that helps me to edit. Having everything clean, polished, and readable is great!

Another thing that helps with my editing process is that feeling of accomplishment I know I’ll have at the end. Just like when I finish writing a story, finishing it completely, edited and all, will be a feeling I cannot even imagine. (Oh yeah, have I mentioned I have not actually ever wholly finished a story, as far as editing goes? Eheh.)

One more thing I love is revisiting my characters and recounting their adventures with them. I love my characters. To a writer, characters are like the writer’s children or dearest friends. Reading back through my stories is like visiting an old friend. It is quite enjoyable. And going through those adventures with them again is very nice as well. I often get in the mood to edit just so I can see my characters again, or read a part of the book I liked.

Keeping those three things in mind helps drive me through that dreaded editing process.

Despite all this, one strange thing I have discovered about me is that I quite enjoy editing other’s work, even though I hate doing my own. For some reason it is so much easier to spot other’s mistakes. That sounds dreadful, but it is true. You might very well find a missing comma in someone else’s sentence and not even notice you have made the same mistake with your own. I actually enjoy editing other’s things so much I threw around the idea of becoming an editor at one point. That sounds totally crazy to me being as how I always say I hate editing and am dreadful at it, but that really just goes for my own things. But…I probably will not become an editor.

So why bring up editing today?

I have just recently finished writing a story, last Wednesday in fact, and it is now time to edit. Though I am a bit scared, I am actually almost looking forward to it. I think my favorite set of characters I have ever written about is in this story. Even though it has only been a week since I finished writing this book, I already miss them greatly. Still, I know it is going to be a lot of work. I want this book to be good, so I am going to try to do some very serious editing. Kinda scary…

In order to help my motivation I think I will keep up with my process on my blog here. Maybe share a sentence I found I liked now and again, or tell about any difficult editing I had to do that day. I don’t know what all, but it will definitely help me get through it.

So, in conclusion, editing is hard, yes. It is a lot of work and makes you see your once wonderful, fantastic story, into a muddied monster of doom and despair. Yet, in the end, once that mud has been scrubbed, chiseled, and perhaps even sawed off, your story can once again float in the clouds, shining brightly with cleanness, as you embrace that magical feeling of accomplishment.

Time to start editing…

My Grand Adventure of Writing

You have probably already figured this out, but I love to write! This blog will probably be a lot about my writing. I might sometimes post something about my characters, perhaps a sentence from my stories here and there, update on what I am writing or editing, give excerpts or a synopsis occasionally. Who knows? So I thought I’d post about the beginnings of my writing to now and what I like to write about. I figured it would be good to post about my writing first before delving into all that. Also, I thought if I update my blog with what is going on with my writing it will motivate me to write and to write blog posts. So it is a win-win deal there. And trust me, I often need lots and lots of motivation.

My adventure in the wacky world of writing began when I was at the age of nine. Someone in my homeschool group was passing out these papers that…well…I honestly have no memory what they were for, but I do remember they were advertising a bunch of different contests revolving around horses. You could draw a picture of a horse, take pictures, or write a story about horses, and such things as this. This got me thinking, why not try writing a story? That should be fun, right? So it began. I got out a fresh notebook, one of those Lisa Frank ones with a tiger on the front, went outside on this little grassy hill, and started a story about a girl finding a horse and befriending it. I adored horses (still do, actually!) so was enjoying this very much.

I had an absolute blast writing this story. Like I said, this was the first time I had ever really written a full story like this, and I realized how amazing writing really was. Nearly every evening I would go on that grassy hill with notebook and pencil in hand and write until it got too dark to see the words in front of me.

Then a problem arose. The beginning of a problem I still face even now with every story I ever write. A problem I wish I could fix but fear will never go away.

It was too long.

That contest wanted a short story, mine was becoming a novel. Well, that was okay. I did not need to enter this contest. Who cares about that? I had just discovered the joys of writing and I was going to keep on and make this story even longer.

And so I did.

For months on end I wrote and wrote, bringing that notebook with me in the car, outside, wherever I went. Writing was fun. I began wondering why I had never tried this before. I had always loved reading, why not writing? Nevertheless, I had discovered my love for writing and have not regretted finding that contest once.

As time went on and I got a couple of years older, I decided to rewrite that story. I mean, my first full fledged story written when I was 9 was not exactly spectacular. My rewrite was not either… But at least I was improving, that is what counts, right?

At about ten or eleven was when I delved into writing fantasy. I had always loved fairy tales and such things when I was little, unconsciously knowing how much I really loved the fantasy thing. Not until I saw Lord of the Rings that is. It quite literally changed my life.

At the age of ten, Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring came out on DVD and my mom and brother were watching it and they decided I could join them as long as I closed my eyes during quite a few scenes. I cannot even express it. This was the beginning of my obsession with fantasy. Probably unhealthy obsession at that. (And my definitely unhealthy obsession with LotR.) I immediately started reading The Hobbit then Lord of the Rings, grew terribly crazy about fantasy elves (woodelves especially), and just all around insane about fantasy.

Why did I just jump from talking about writing to Lord of the Rings? Because all my conversations jump over to LotR in the end. Teehee, okay, really I just have to explain where my fantasy obsession came because that is such a big part of my writing. The only (important) part really.

So yes, I was now a fantasy nut and realized I must begin writing fantasy. Actually, I discovered I wished to write nothing else. I started a story called The Grand Adventure (original, right?) about a girl getting sucked through a magical mirror into a fantasy world and going on a—you guessed it—grand adventure. Though dreadful as it is, I am quite fond of that story. It is something I literally worked on for years. First writing it all in a notebook, then revising it on the computer, all the way to completely rewriting it, which I sadly never finished doing. Still, it will always have a fond place in my heart.

I wrote a couple of other things after that one, things I never finished. I , sadly, have a terrible tendency to never finish stories.

Finally, when I was 16, I started a story that was actually a story that might, possibly, perhaps be worth reading. That is to say, it is not just a little, silly story I started when I was real young. This was a full fledged fantasy story called Orthadia. Now, three years later, will you believe I am still writing this story? 222k words in and only halfway through. Yep. But I am determined that one day I will finish Orthadia. I am rather fond of it, though it most likely is terrible. But someday it will be finished, even if I am 88 years old when it happens. Ridiculously long and all.

Now then, there is this website called NaNoWriMo.org which stands for National Novel Writing Month that I discovered a couple of years back. At this site, thousands of people participate in writing a 50k or more novel within the month of November. A ridiculous task that only insane writers will strive for. For, after all, all writers are quite insane. As crazy and difficult as this thing is, it is beyond fun. Once November gets closer I will definitely put up a full blog post about NaNoWriMo.

Anyways, I discovered this awesome thing but decided to wait until I was graduated to participate. Last year that time came. I had graduated in May and it was now September. Time to start thinking about this crazy thing often called NaNo.

Let’s just say I had the time of my life and am greatly anticipating this coming November. For my NaNo (as the novel you write for the month is often called) I, of course, wrote a high fantasy book about dragon riders. (Have I mentioned I am obsessed with dragons?) This was going to be the first book in a series of 8. I plan on starting the second one this NaNoWriMo.

Though, being as how I was writing like a mad monkey, making my NaNo turn out ridiculously messy with grammar flaws littering every page and sentences that looked like a toddler wrote them, NaNoWriMo helped me with my writing in numerous ways. While, yes, I had always loved to write since that day I discovered it at the age of nine, I did not realize how truly passionate I could be. Not until last November. NaNoWriMo was so much fun, and—you know what?—it actually made me finish a book. I realized I could finish a book in a reasonable amount of time. It made me realize writing for long periods of time is fun. It made me discover my passion for writing again and even more so this time. Now half of the time I am talking about my writing to my family and friends, or in my room on my laptop typing away. I was telling my mom just the other day that if I could pick any job in the world it would be a fulltime, well-known author. I have just gotten so passionate with writing now.

Very soon after I finished my NaNo, I started another book sometime in February or March and have just finished it a few days ago and raring to start the next. Actually finishing books and wanting to write near everyday is a new thing, and I am lovin’ it!

There are a couple of flaws with my passion for writing though.

First, I write too long stories!!! You just don’t even know. Remember when I said Orthadia is 222k words and not near done? Yep, that tells it all there. My NaNo, which is going to be 8 books should be rather short each book. I was not planning on going anymore than 100k words each. Guess what it turned out to be? 211k. I mean…seriously? Ugh! I cannot have 8 books each that long! To give you an idea, I believe Lord of the Rings is roughly around 400k words. This problem started from the very beginning with my first silly, little horse story and has just gotten worse as it goes on. This other story I just wrote I was so determined to make it no more than 80k. It ended up being 100k. I guess that is better than the others, but still. Why am I so incapable of writing short things? Even semi-long things? Nooo. They have to be ridiculously long. Ho hum.

Second, I am a perfectionist, my worst critic. I am never happy with what I write. I work forever on a story then realize my plot is way too cliché or totally ridiculous, my sentences are blah, I am completely unoriginal, yadda yadda. I am just never satisfied with anything. I personally think my stuff is terrible, and this depresses me greatly. Maybe I am wrong, but I doubt it…

Though I would do anything to be a published author. Or even get one thing published. But I seriously doubt that will ever happen. You know what though? That is okay. I do not write to publish. I showed myself that at the very beginning when I realized I could care less about sending in my little horse story to that contest and instead just enjoy writing it. I have held on to that. I love writing. It is what makes me happy. I write fantasy because it helps me get away from the real world, if only for a time. It is my happy place. I would go insane if I could not write. So I am never going to stop writing just because I might not get anything published or no one even reads any of my writings. I am going to write until my poor fingers fall off from all the typing. Writing is  a deep passion of mine. And I will be doing it forever.

I am sure that some are born to write as trees are born to bear leaves: for these, writing is a necessary mode of their own development.
- C.S. Lewis

Song of the Ovulum Book Review

This review contains slight spoilers but nothing that should ruin the story for you.

Synopsis
It has been fifteen years since Billy, Bonnie, and the rest of the gang discovered the truth about their dragon heritage and went on a dangerous and amazing adventure. After saving the word and even other worlds with it they thought it was finally time to settle down and live the rest of their life in peace. Unfortunately, they were wrong.

The world put up with the idea of dragons and humans with dragon traits for a while, but soon began seeing them as a threat. Now the people enslave all those with dragon blood, leaving these old heroes separated from their loved ones, or imprisoned and tortured.

After struggling through turmoil in foster care, 16 year old Matt joined military school where he proved to be one of the best. Now a strange man comes up to him claiming Matt has dragon traits and asking for help to save Matt’s parents he never even knew he had. Can Matt use his military training to help these odd people who are supposedly his parents?

Lauren, after going through foster care herself, finally had adoptive loving parents and a seemingly normal life. In one night all that crashes around her when a winged man and ghost-like woman capture her and destroy everything she knew and loved, claiming she has a mysterious gift that they need use of. Something she does not even know about herself.

In a tight, secure base the characters struggle to release their loved ones and put right all the wrong that was done. But is it possible within a base filled with guards, guns, spotlights, and even tanks?

From Bible times to present day, odd humans with even stranger special traits, old foes and new, faith and newfound love, and a raging battle against dragons and high-tech machinery, Song of the Ovulum is a fast paced novel you will get dragged into immediately.

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Summary
Song of the Ovulum is a contemporary, Christian, fantasy novel and is the first book in the Children of the Bard series, a continuation of the Dragons in Our Midst and Oracles of Fire series by Bryan Davis. This series takes place fifteen years after the last series ends, introducing new characters while also reuniting with old.

If you have not read the Dragons in Our Midst and Oracles of Fire series I highly suggest you do before picking this book up. While there is a summary of the last series in the back of Song of the Ovulum there is still some confusion that might take place for the reader. Nearly all the old characters return while very many mentions from old events are referred to. Besides, the other series are fantastic! A review for the Dragons in Our Midst and Oracles of Fire series can be seen two posts under this one, in the ‘Book Reviews’ link on the side, or you can click Here.

Plot
As the synopsis suggests, Song of the Ovulum is mainly set in a high secure, military base specially designed for imprisoning dragons and “anthrozils”, humans with dragon traits. While many old characters appear, the main characters you see are Matt and Lauren as they try to help the others free Billy, Bonnie, and Ashley (three anthrozils themselves) from this dangerous prison while attempt not being captured themselves. Not only is this a near impossible task because of the many armed guards, fences, and spotlights, there is also unearthly villains stalking their paths and causing much trouble.

While the heroes in present day are going through great lengths and struggles within the dangerous facility, the story also jumps back to Bible times, starting all the way to a couple of days before the flood. Here the reader is introduced to Joran and Selah, a brother and sister who are known as Listeners, having the unique ability to make barriers from song and music with the use of a special lyre. They know that the flood is coming and are dreading being swept up into its waters and drown with the rest. Both are quite surprised when they are instead swept inside a strange object known as an Ovulum, a glass orb of sorts. As the siblings attempt to find their key of escape from this curious place, they step through events in time, from the great flood to medieval days all the way to the present, learning many lesson with each step.

Just as all of Bryan Davis’s other stories, this book pulls the readers in immediately and will not allow them to let go. Excitement, danger, heartache, and love are all woven into Song of the Ovulum that makes one beg for more.

Characters
Being a continuation of the other series, Song of the Ovulum brings in many old characters as well as introduces new ones. I found this most exciting. I got a thrill every time one of the old characters appeared and kept anticipating seeing more and more, they were all as lovable as before and make for wonderful story telling. Then you have your new characters. Bryan Davis proves his amazing talent for character making once more. I loved every single new character introduced right from the start and that love just grew more and more as the story continued. Mr. Davis never makes for flat characters, which is one of the many reason why all his stories as so wonderful.

The villains introduced, old and new, were just what I want a villain to be, scary but intriguing. Bryan Davis does not make your run-of-the-mill villains. From a winged-man, an ancient mad scientist, to a near ghost lady, the readers are captivated by these strange people and absorbed into the story wanting to know more and more what these evil beings’ plans really are.

Other Material
Song of the Ovulum is a Christian story with many Christian values written expertly within it. The biggest theme of this book is God’s great mercy, and is told in a beautiful way that brought tears to my eyes.

The love the characters showed one another in Dragons and Our Midst and Oracles of Fire was one of the greatest reasons I loved those books, and this series is proving to be no different. Such self-sacrificing and willingness to do anything for one another helped put that same passion within my own heart.

I loved this book intensely, and it was amazing to see all those characters I love so much back again, but there is one thing negative about it. While it is great to read about all the characters again and have even more books from the Dragons and Our Midst and Oracles of Fire series, it is also rather sad. After reading the last series I think most readers wanted the dear characters to finally live ‘happily every after’ after all they had been through. Unfortunately, that is far from what they got. While, yes, I was glued to the pages and hypnotized with the story, as well as squeeing for joy every time another old character made an appearance, I was also rather sad throughout it for their sakes. Nevertheless, I still highly suggest reading this new series if you enjoyed the others.

Appropriate Ages
Though love and mercy flow within the pages of Song of the Ovulum, this book is filled with imprisonment and suffering, making it not the best read for younger ones. Though not seen often, there is much mention of ‘science’ experiments done on the anthrozils and torture in the terrifying prison. Things get rather intense as the characters attempt to sneak around the secure facility. Then you have guns, tanks, and fire breathing dragons battling together.

I am making this sound graphic, it is not really, but I would not suggest it for young people. Teens and adults alike, on the other hand, will find it most enjoyable.

Just as the Dragons and Our Midst and Oracles of Fire series, I would suggest the very least be 14 years in age.

Conclusion
Bryan Davis did it again, bringing back his old beloved series and making it new and exciting. This book was spectacularly written, with an exciting plot and amazing characters, old and new. If you have read the Dragons and Our Midst and Oracles of Fire series and enjoyed them then Song of the Ovulum should be your next book purchase.

I cannot wait for the next book!!

Random Musing – Time Wasting in a Trillion Years?

Since I am me with all my randomness (which is a lot, let me tell you), I thought occasionally I will have sessions called ‘Random Musings’ where, you know, I post one of my many, many, many random musings that pops into my head. So here is my blogs first Random Musing.

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So, the other day I was watching one of my most favorite TV shows, Doctor Who. In this show they travel through time. In one episode there was a mention of the year 5 billion, so that got me thinking, say the world goes on for trillions and trillions of years. Okay, the world is really old, we have robot servants (that will of course become too smart and enslave mankind some years later, naturally), hovering cars, and toothbrushes that brush your teeth in your sleep, cool, but here is my thought…

What on earth do they do when someone asks the year? Say the year is 5135237972234? Let’s picture this for a moment.

Random dude named Dudevarlio (this is the future, of course their names are different) who is trying to write the date on a check: “Hey, Boblarg, what is the year again?”

Random robot named Boblarg: “It is the year five trillion, one hundred   thirty-five billion, two hundred thirty-seven million, nine hundred seventy-  two thousand, two hundred thirty-four, duh!

Dudevarlio: “Oh right.” *Begins writing date on check*

Ten minutes later.

Dudevarlio: *Hands check to cashier*

Cashier: “You put five trillion, one hundred thirty-five billion, two hundred thirty-seven million, nine hundred seventy-two thousand, two hundred thirty-three on the year; it is five trillion, one hundred thirty-five billion, two hundred thirty-seven million, nine hundred seventy-two thousand, two hundred thirty-four.”

Dudevarlio: *Facepalm*

Do you see the problem here? Tongue twisters and time wasters to the maximum.

Eventually, if God chooses to keep Earth around that long of course, there are going to be way to many numbers in the year. What will people do? All of everyone’s time in the future will be taken up just trying to say what year it is. New Year’s celebrations will have to wait as the new year number is being called out because it could take five minutes to even say the year.

Can you picture it? The clock strikes midnight and someone calls it, “Hurray! It is the year five trillion, one hundred thirty-five billion, two hundred thirty-seven million, nine hundred seventy-two thousand, two hundred thirty-five!” *deep breath*

Everyone else: ZZZZzzzzzz….

Yeah, this could be a problem.

Maybe they could just say the single numbers, as in: The year five one three five two three seven nine seven two two three four. That takes a little less time, but it is still rather difficult.

So, what do they do?

Nothing, there are robot servants and self-working toothbrushes, who cares about the year?

Dragons in Our Midst/Oracles of Fire Series Book Review

This review is near spoiler free and should not ruin your reading experience of this series.

Synopsis 
When Billy discovers he has dragon genes and finds that dragons slayers still exist in the current modern times, he is thrust into an adventure that changes his life forever.

Bonnie has known of her dragon past for a long time, and has suffered greatly for it already; but when she transfers to a new school her life takes an ever more dangerous turn and is never the same again.

A boy with the ability to breathe fire. A girl with astounding dragon wings on her back. A crazed dragon slayer who will stop and nothing to kill them. Why do these humans have dragon genes in the first place?

Amazing adventures, puzzling riddles, impossible mysteries, endearing characters, and a strong faith that takes them every step of the way—the Dragons in Our Midst and Oracles of Fire series are definitely not something you will want to miss out on.

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Summary
The Dragons in our Midst/Oracles of Fire series is a contemporary, Christian, fantasy series set in 8 books written by Bryan Davis. The first four are known as the Dragons in Our Midst series, while the last four changes to Oracles of Fire. Though the name changes halfway through, they are all still very much one series and not something you would want to read separately or stop halfway through.

Now, you must know, I read a lot and love many books, but this series is, without any doubt, my absolute favorite of all time. I am not even sure I can put in one review how good these books really are, but I shall do my best.

Plot
One of Bryan Davis’s most gifted talents is being able to weave a plot. Many stories we read are often very cliché and predictable. Sometimes it is too easy to guess what is going to happen next which makes for boring reading. Bryan Davis has no such fault. His plots get so utterly deep, impossibly complicated, and near heart-pounding exciting that you will find yourself staying up at atrocious hours turning page after page (I know I do!). There is no cliché plot to be found in this series nor is there anything predictable about it. These books are not something you grow tired of because it is not moving on quickly enough or your just getting wary of it. Each turn of the page brings yet another wave of excitement and mystery.

Material
As far as material of the plot, this series has quite a range of interesting things. Though I read like a mad person, I am actually very picky with what I read. Firstly, I want clean books, but also I really do not like much else but fantasy. I am not big on things set in the real world or in modern times, preferring captivating fantasy worlds with enchanting creatures instead. Yet the Dragons in Our Midst/Oracles of Fire series is set in the real world and modern times. So why do I love it so much? Well, because these books are just too amazing for words!

As the name obviously suggests, dragons are a very big part of this story, and what’s cooler than dragons on Earth in modern times? Then you have humans with dragon traits. I mean, a girl with dragon wings? Wow. Why do people have dragon traits you ask? You have to read the books to find out, silly. Anyways, other than the greatness of dragons (I am a huge dragon fan, by the way), there is a good deal of Arthurian Legend woven into the story, to which I am very fond of. Connecting King Arthur to modern day people is a very interesting plotline. You even have a great deal of epic battles and swordfights, and did I mention Excalibur?

There is also the factor that these books are not strictly fantasy, there is also a little bit of sci-fi thrown in that gives it a very interesting flair. If, on the other hand, you are not a sci-fi sort of person, I assure you that you will still enjoy these books. I will tell you a secret, I rather hate sci-fi myself, or at least I used to (I’ve very recently delved into a bit more now), but that did not waver me from my love of these books in the slightest.

One of the biggest things that kept my interest was the fact that these characters are not actually on Earth throughout the entire series. You read that right, there is actually a number of most intriguing places they visit all throughout it.

There is just so much fascinating material in this book that I could probably go on and on about it, but as to not completely spoil it I will stop here.

Characters
Personally, I think that when writing one should make their characters strong, lovable, and all around liked by the majority of your audience. I have to say, Bryan Davis did this better than any author I have ever known. There is not one character in this entire series of books (and there are many characters) that I do not like, no, let me say love. Each character, though completely different and utterly unique, is just as lovable as the other. Their strong faith and love for one another makes you cry every tear they cry, sympathize with their losses, and smile at their victories. Not once have a read a fictional book with such endearing characters as these.

As mentioned before, this series has quite a few characters throughout it. Like most books, it does not have just one or two main characters. Nearly every character introduced eventually has quite a large part within. Though Billy and Bonnie are the main characters from the start, others take the limelight as the series moves on. The entire series is not from the point of view of a single character. Throughout it nearly everyone gets their point of view. Most of them are often in different places and adventures of their own, so this keeps it exciting, while also keeping the reader interested and not growing bored.

Other Material
What I really love about this series is its messages. Being a Christian series it brings much heartwarming and faith rising. The love and faith of the characters helped strengthen my own love and faith. It taught me many great things and helped strengthen my relationship with God. There are such great messages woven through it without it sounding the least bit preachy.

Length
I am probably not the best judge on lengths of books. I like long books and series. I am the kind of crazy person that thinks Lord of the Rings is a perfectly fine size and love its length. I want things to be long, especially if I love them. Personally, I think this series is the perfect size. Each book ranges roughly around 100k words each, with 8 books in the series. It is probably not something you will read just within a couple of days, yet it is also not something you are probably going to spend a year reading either. I say for an epic series like this, they are the perfect size—not short, but not so long that you are growing utterly wary of reading them and ready for something new.

Appropriate Ages
There are quite a few battle scenes and many swordfights within these books. Evil villains, dangerous creatures, and hazardous scenery throw the characters into many death defying perils. While these things make the books greatly exciting, I would not recommend them to younger children. Not to mention the complicated plot and length. In the first book, the characters are 14 years old I believe (but do grow older as the books go on), and that would probably be the youngest I would read them.

Though the series is made for teens, I personally believe adults will also adore these books just as much as their children. These are no little kiddie books or silly teen novels. This is an in-depth story that can tug the hearts of many.

In conclusion, around 14 and up would be my suggestion.

Conclusion
With its complicated plots, lovable characters, excitement, and amazing adventures, the Dragons in Our Midst/Oracles of Fire series is worth every penny and more. You will find yourself delving deep into the adventures, caring greatly for the characters, strengthening your faith and relationship with the Lord, and wanting to read these books over and over and over again. Bryan Davis is an astonishing author that can weave a story like no other.

If you are looking for something to read, this series would be my number one pick.

If you are interesting in this series the books go in the following order-

Dragons in our Midst-
1)Raising Dragons
2)The Candlestone
3)Circles of Seven
4)Tears of a Dragon

Oracles of Fire-
5)Eye of the Oracle
6)Enoch’s Ghost
7)The Last of the Nephilim
8)The Bones of Makaidos

And trust me when I say, you are going to want to read them in that order.

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I recently read this series for the third time through because Bryan Davis has started a continuation of this story and characters’ lives that takes place some years after these end. My excitement upon hearing this may have resulted in jumping up and down and squealing like a four year old. This new series is called Children of the Bard and the first book, Song of the Ovulum, has already been released. Once I have read it, I hope to write a review.

This was my first book/series review to write, so I hope it was helpful and made sense. If you like how I sectioned it or think I should add something please let me know. Comments are always welcomed.^_^