Clap Along if You Feel....

...very happy or medium happy, or little happy.  Clap along even if you don't feel happy at all, because believe it or not, happiness is also a matter of personal will. One can work to feel happy. Now, if you're the kind of person who is happy being sour, then by all means, suit yourself and be HAPPY!

I have too many news so I'm gathering them all under VikLit badge for her Friday meme. (I know, bad dragon sucks and always forgets - but not today.)

Let's start clapping then!

FIRST, I want to announce the winner of Yolanda Renee's giveaway from her visit to the Cave two weeks ago (I should have done this last week, baaaad dragon.) An Ebook copy of  Murder, Madness & Love  was the prize for one of the commenters. The names were put in Pancholin's hat and then innocent Milin took one name out. And the winner is...

Melissa Maygrove, who by the way, asked me if she could have her name written in Dragon's breath. For you, dear lady. Here it is your name and Yolanda will make sure you have your Ebook copy. Congratulations!

SECOND, S.K. Anthony's book, Kinetic, is a hot release. I and my dwarves prepared this to celebrate her happiness because we just like her that much. Check her site, there are giveaways and plenty of interesting stuff.

LOUDER CLAPPING FOR THE THIRD SUPER CELEBRATION....

For the first time in history, a dragon will receive the knighthood. No, your eyes do not deceive you. David Powers King offered Father Dragon a place in the order of the Cosmic Table and Father Dragon has graciously accepted.

I invite you to drop by the Cosmic Lair and join the celebration. You'll witness this once-in-a-lifetime event. (Even though I was already friend of knights, I don't think Sir David can find anymore Father Dragons around.) There are no armors that fit my XXX Dragon Super Large Size but I get to receive an armor nonetheless. It will be placed in the Chamber of the Treasure and polished daily by Sancho Pancho Panza, my squire.

Sir Father Dragon, knight of the Cosmic Table, head of the Order of the Dragon, master of the Silly Dwarves Cheering Squad, Writer of the Flames and Mighty Keeper of the Virgin Snack Jar, salutes you!  You can call me Sir Dragon for short.... or you can just hug me. :)

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, Sir Dragon also got a job. I am very happy to say I am a productive dragon once more. I might even recover the dwarves I left on the pawnshop. I promised the squad another zero on their monthly checks. 000000. Six figures. They feel rich already!

As always, I leave you Dragon Hugs for the weekend and until next time...that would be Wednesday for the IWSG.

Celebrate....Salted with Fire

Celebrate the small things is the brilliant idea of VikLit. Each Friday we post something we wish to celebrate achieving or doing during the week. It can be writing/reading or life related. You can find the list and join us  here.

Honestly, this Friday caught me with a troubled heart. I've handled trials on many fronts since my last post. On top of it all, due to the worst hail storm in the year and a tree, I and my dwarves have spent the last four hours getting icy water out of the cave. Fire dragon doesn't like icy water. Dwarves are chilled to the bone and my back is killing me. All this and a headache that has persisted for three days don't help the celebration mood. Nonetheless, I'll still celebrate two things.

1. Today is Mother Dragon's birthday. I'll make my best to make of this a special day for her in spite of everything else.

2. Today I have Nancy LaRonda Johnson as my guest. This is her first stop in the blog tour for her book Salted with Fire. She prepared something special and I would have loved to have something special for her but sometimes not even dragon magic seems enough to take care of everything. Please help me in making it special for her by giving her a warm welcome. I leave you with Nancy and many dragon hugs.

Salted With Fire is from Mark 9:49-50, in which Jesus directs that we must continually transcend ourselves to be more like him. We all go through trials, but we should never lose the “salt” or flavor that makes us who we are. Instead, through the formative forces of these trials, we must become more as God made us to be while maintaining peace in our hearts toward ourselves and each other.

This book is a representation of how this process shaped my writing. Starting from stories meant only for entertainment, my writing later expressed how I began to move toward God’s outstretched hand.

I was fortunate to have church as a foundation in my youth, and have always had a strong feeling of God in my life. My favorite books at that time were a ten volume set of Bible stories. Yet, it took decades to understand how much God was with me and loved me, even while I yearned to know who he was during my difficult pre-teen and rebellious teen years.

Writing, however, was a good way for me to look into myself and give those confusing emotions a voice. Journaling thoughts, goals, dreams and poetry helped to keep me sane, as they were an outlet for the turmoil that raged within.

Story writing came later, along with my interest in reading books that were too adult for my young, impressionable mind, including the sexually explicit books by Jacqueline Susan and Harold Robbins, the violent worlds created by Mario Puzo, and the salacious and entitled lives of  Sidney Sheldon’s characters. Still, the creative flame was lit, a flame ignited long ago by God and that is still being stoked by him.

My understanding of God’s will for me as a writer has been long-coming. My endeavors into story writing were first represented by developing the craft, including expounding on emotion, creating a concise storyline, fine-tuning dialogue, and of course, the never-ending journey of grammar and flow. Despite the technical part of it, creating lives in stories was magical and fun.

Then came God’s nudging me to write for his honor. This meant writing stories that bring people a greater understanding of his love, of life and of others. Although my writing often has a dark edge to it, I believe God allowed me to develop that interest to reach those who otherwise would steer clear of Christian theology.

I am still God’s work in progress. Salted With Fire, with its myriad of flash fiction pieces and poetry, is a journey of my growth as a storyteller and sometimes poet. Starting from writing what was for pure enjoyment, to me opening my ears to God’s directives, later came my desire to write about God’s influence in the lives of those who reach out to him.

As a growing child of God, I am constantly salted with fire, for he never fails to mold me into who I am meant to be – someone who pleases God.

Nancy LaRonda Johnson
 

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Anticipation of the Penitent & Salted With Fire

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Friday Fun at the Dragon Cave and More Celebrations

I'm hosting part of Martin Willoughby's amazing Friday Fun. It's not that he suddenly ran out of space. This is part of the blog tour for his first book, Tempers Fugit.

If you haven't been at From Sand to Glass, you're missing the chance to get plenty of smiles in your day and meet an author with a wonderful sense of humor. After you're done here, please go there for the other half of the fun and make friends with Martin.

Martin Willoughby has performed on stage in comedy, drama and pantomime and makes people laugh wherever he goes, sometimes deliberately. Tempers Fugit is his first book, published by Bubble Books and is available as an ebook on Amazon, and will soon be available as a paperback.
Links
Blog:  http://mwilloughby.blogspot.co.uk/
Twitter: @Willabywriter
Alan Ayckbourn clip: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/hardtalk/9709576.stm

FRIDAY FUN

Good News Stories

In Ethiopia, the land of famine according to the aid agencies, people are starting up tech companies.  (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23086014)
In Manchester, UK, a museum allows visitors to unwrap a mummy. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23045904)
Still on the subject of mummies, a statue of one is moving by itself....as far as anyone can tell.  (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23029507)
Lastly, how would you like your arm returned to you after it was amputated. One Vietnamese man waited forty years for its return. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23124347)

Youtube audio of an eight year old Irish girl making a prank call. She wants a local building firm to knock down her school, preferably with the teachers in it.

Celebrate the small things is the brilliant idea of VikLit. Each Friday we post something we wish to celebrate achieving or doing during the week. It can be writing/reading or life related. You can find the list and join us  here.

It's 11 pm as I type this part. A recent phone call is having me struggling hard with disappointment, sadness, hurt pride and some annoyance too. Gosh! My dragon size pride is quite a sting when hurt. More so over 50 cents of a dollar. It sounds idiotic if not because there is a story behind the 50 cents. Aside from this, earlier this week I realized a very stupid mistake I did (for my lack of patience) resulted in two lesions. Due to these lesions, I have to interrupt my therapy of exercise. (Pity, we were doing so well.) There's no one to blame on this but me. 11:22 pm and my Zen is seriously messed up. I feel bad about feeling bad. I'm far better than 50 cents. I'm far wiser than tripping on the same stone for a second time. And I'm far stronger than allowing my low emotions have a field day with my spirits.

By the Higher Powers and my Dragon Ancestors, may all my scales fall off if I don't celebrate today and the whole weekend with fireworks and smiles (even if I have to force them) and sunshine. May my magic fire disappear if I don't dance all around the garden in gratitude for the permanent chance to become a better being. Every obstacle, every mistake, every concern, every fall hides in it a chance of choice. We all have the choice to be more patient, more forgiving, more brave, to have more faith, to believe more in ourselves, in our capacities and our gifts.

I am not able to choose when storms will come but I can decide whether I will allow the rain to ruin my day or not. I cannot control many of the things that happen around me but I can select what kind of thoughts I'll allow into my mind, and what kind of feelings will reign upon my heart. I cannot stop someone from giving me shit, but I am the one who decides if I'll take the "gift" and let it infect me or I'll just pass. No one can upset you unless you get in their game and let them. I deserve better than the shit game. I am deciding to attune with the beautiful things I've got. Attune with flowers, with birds, with breathing, with friends and loved ones, and with all those things that put a smile on my face. This is my choice and no one can take it from me but myself. And I would be a fool if I waive this right.

11.56 pm. Let's celebrate choice!

  
Choice is your right. Use it! Choose the smile, choose the sunshine, choose love, and choose to be happy. Dragon hugs for you who bring smiles to my life.

Here Comes the Ninja and Celebrate Super Blogger Award

He's the Master of Blogging.
He visits hundreds of blogger buddies and leaves nice comments.
He helps to promote books, blogs, cover reveals, tours, bloghops and anything else that inspires him.
He reviews movies, he plays guitar, he is the successful author of CassaStar, CassaFire and soon-to-be-released CassaStorm.
He is the founder of the very successful (and growing) Insecure Writer's Support Group.

And none of the above is the reason why I am including Captain Ninja Alex J. Cavanaugh in the cave's Hall of Fame as part of my Dragon's Eleven. Don't take me wrong. It is all great. Alex is Da Ninja. He deserves all the recognition he gets. I don't believe there are many in the blogsphere who can do as many things as he can, and stay sane. If dragons wore hats, I would take off mine.

But the truth is, the first time I ran into his blog, I clicked on all tabs, checked the very long blogroll and noticed the high number of followers. I thought, "this guy is very popular and successful. Good for him!" And I moved on. I didn't believe we had much in common. I came from another world. I am not into rock. I rarely go to the movies. I am no author so I have no published or seeking-to-be-published book, and I had no idea what a bloghop/blogfest was. Lastly but not least, I had always been reluctant to join support groups (regardless how much they say I might need it). To me, dragon and ninja were different "genres", so to speak.

The only way to find out if there was common ground between us was through actual conversation, beyond comment and reply. Fat chance, I thought. Having such a tight agenda, why in the name of the Ancestors, would he care to converse with a dragon? He started by making me laugh. Surprise, surprise. There just might be something in common after all. Then he showed me he paid attention to what he read and not just understood it, but remembered it as well. And finally, he did care for conversation, even if it had nothing to do with blogsphere, books, hops and fests, rock or movies.

I'm including him because of a one-to-one approach. Neither the ninja left the suit behind, nor the dragon his scales, but they did walk on common grounds. Laugh and heartfelt conversation got the Captain Ninja into Father Dragon's heart. That's why his name will be in the Eleventh's wall for as long as Father Dragon writes.

Alex, this friendship has been a joy and my pleasure.

Celebrate the small things is the brilliant idea of VikLit. Each Friday we post something we wish to celebrate achieving or doing during the week. It can be writing/reading or life related. You can find the list and join us here.

Mother Dragon and I decided on celebrating doctor's good news with Italian food and red wine. Too drastic a change for a vegan stomach. It protested with fire (as dragon's stomachs do) so I spent three days pondering on the benefits of small and progressive "permissions." I'm celebrating my stomach forgave me already for my impulsive feast. (The wine was heavenly sweet, though. 8D)

On Monday, I was interviewed by Alex at Blogging from A to Z. He did a wonderful job putting the interview together and I had fun answering the questions. If you have not dropped by, check it out. (You'll get the chance to witness something completely unbelievable and extraordinaire. The one and only, the official Anti-A to Z, Gary Pennick, was there! Now I can say I've seen it all. Thank you for your sacrifice, Gary! ;))

On Sunday, sweet S.K. Anthony awarded me with the Super Blogger Award. This is a brand new award created by another blogger friend  of mine, Mark Means at Left and Write. The rule is: Take the award for yourself, and then pass it along to someone who inspires you or you just think is 'super' one way or another. Tell us why you think this person is super and deserving. Now, all the recipient has to do is reveal one small secret about themselves and pass the reward to another person.

Thank you very much for the award and for your kind words, S.K. You made me smile and float several inches above the ground, humming...

Those were the dwarves. They also thank you for mentioning them. There are many inspiring super cool bloggers, but since "there can be only one" I pass this award on to Jeff Hargett at Strands of Pattern. A dragon story should include a knight. Just this knight is not up to kill the dragon (thank goodness). Jeff was my very first blogger friend, critique partner and beta reader. Hidden under his cloak, I got the courage to enter this community and make this blog. Thanks to him, I've met awesome people I've come to cherish and who make my life richer. Tassin, Pancholin, Milin and Sessin owe their life to Sir Jeff.

To the Guardian of the Book, the Keeper of Secrets, Knight of the Order of the Red Dragon and my dearest friend, this award is yours.

Dragon's secret: I collect parrots. I have plush parrots, clay parrots, battery parrots, parrots in puzzles, in posters, and in hangers...and a Mr. Potato Head. The secret? I still play with Mr. Potato Head. (Long live the Inner Child!)

Buy an ice-cream to your inner child and have a marvelous weekend! I leave you dragon hugs.

Empty the Cup to Renew its Content and Friday Celebrations

Improve life quality
Improve as a thinking individual
Improve health
Improve writing skills
Improve sociability
Improve...

This is part of my list. I bet you all have lists similar to mine. One wishes to obtain something and makes his best to get it. We wish, we seek, we desire and we chase. Our main focus is in getting our goal. Few times we take time to consider whether or not we want to make space for those things "to enter" our life. I want new furniture for my home but I don't want to let go of the old one. I want health but I don't want to let go of the bad habits. I want to write a good book but I don't want to let go of the parts that don't work. I want to change the things I don't like about myself but I don't want to let go of the erroneous ideas that have been ruling myself for centuries. In the name of the Dragon Ancestors, can someone explain to me how is it possible to fill a cup that's already full?

If you pour the purest water into a cup filled with rancid coffee, it won't taste to Swiss water (and here we question the quality of the water). If you get new furniture for your house but don't take the old furniture out, you'll not get a pretty house, but a cluttered mess (and it's not the new furniture's fault.) If you write new brilliant scenes for your old manuscript but don't get rid of those that don't work, you'll get a book the size of the Encyclopedia Britannica (but no one will read it.) Most of the time we resist to get rid of things, habits or words because they are impregnated with sentimental value. Whether the sentiment is good or bad, the benefit of clinging to said thing, habit or word is still questionable.

I was raised under the premise true love doesn't exist. The premise says there is always a known or unknown interest behind what people know as "love". An expectation of retribution, like a negotiation of sorts. The premise concludes true love is not conditioned. It is given without any expectation whatsoever. Therefore, true love does not exist in this world.  Don't freak. Dragons are odd creatures. Anyway, my point is not the true nature of love but an example of how we can cling to things for the wrong reasons. I recently accepted I don't like that premise. I clang to it because I respect and look up to the dragon who taught it to me. It has hurt me for centuries and yet, I am finding difficult to let it go.

In the search for my miracle, I've changed many things because they didn't work anymore. This week, I changed my Internet service provider, my old email account, my WiP (so much I'm not sure if I changed it or just dumped it to start from scratch). Most importantly, I've changed moods, priorities and beliefs. New ideas, habits and hopes were welcomed but I failed to make room for them. I got cluttered and conflicted because my cup was still full (of shit, but full) when I chose to pour purified water in it. My inner voice is getting louder. "Empty the cup and let go..."

Please do take notice the dragon has migrated from yahoo to gmail. Now you can contact me at fatherdragon1 at gmail dot com. Hopefully gmail works better and my messages don't get lost in cyberspace again. I was starting to believe I suffered from random and inexplicable cases of ostracism... until I realized there was a pattern with that account. (Duh!)

Celebrate the small things is the brilliant idea of VikLit. Each Friday we post something we wish to celebrate achieving or doing during the week. It can be writing/reading or life related. You can find the list and join us here.

1. This week I had an appointment with one of the two specialists that treat me. Dragon is improving!!! This is a picture of what was once an impossible dream. Minutes at the left, miles at the right. My miracle is taking shape.

2. I turned my manuscript into confetti. Yes, I'm actually glad of this. I have the tickling feeling it will be reborn from its ashes into something better. Or maybe that's just Pancholin dusting the confetti off my scales. Anyway, there's a saying around here. "Renovate or die." I'm going for the first.

3. Mina Lobo at Some Dark Romantic shared with me the Inspirational Liebster Blog Award. Thank you for thinking on the big old dragon! (Yes Alex, I still take pride on being much older than you. ;))

 Mina didn't ask any questions (probably she knows I break the rules every time.)  Yet I'll tell you 7 things this time.

1. I'm going to turn 802 in August.
2. I've never had a big birthday party with all my friends.
3. I plan to have one big on-line birthday party with my dragon friends (who will be cloned so their absence is not noticed at their homes.)
4. Sessin and Milin are working in a cloning machine based on observations of a working one.
5. Sessin is working under the influence of Jezebel's punch "Bebida de fuego para derretir enanos." (She sent him some bottles.) One can only guess what the result will be.
6. It will be a Disco party, with a show of Disco Dwarfs, Disco Knight and Disco Ninja. (Don't ask. I can't deny or confirm any rumor. We don't want to give them chance to change their mind.)
7. I still don't like chocolate.

I nominate Cherie Reich because she plans, she writes and she delivers at an amazing speed. And she's good. To me, visiting her blog is like a nudge to get at least one of my plans done.

Have an excellent weekend.  I see you next Fri... Wednesday for the IWSG. Does anybody else feel days are passing a bit too fast?

Daring a Field of Dreams and Celebrating Small Big Things

Field of Dreams

My grandfather, Father Dragon "The Great", taught me many Lessons of Life. Two were with baseball, the king of sports and his favorite one.

Lesson 1. "The Game is not Lost until it is Over." In baseball, one should not celebrate a victory or cry a defeat before the end. It doesn't matter who's winning because the score can still change drastically at the last minute of the game. My grandfather used to tell me that regardless how bad things may look in my life, I should never consider myself defeated. There is always the chance "to hit a home run" at the last possible moment and one should never quit trying. I'm a Pro in this lesson.

Lesson 2. "Let Go of the Ball." When you have the ball in your hands, you decide what to do with it. You do your best effort and your best call. You can control the ball while you have it. However, you can't control it the whole game. You can't clutch the ball in your hands and walk with it to the place you want it to get. If you don't let go and trust the other players to do their job, the game doesn't move on.

I get D- in this almost forgotten lesson. I'm one of those creatures who wants to control everything. I want total control on what depends on me (my thoughts, my actions, my feelings) and on what doesn't depend on me but has a direct impact on my life. When things don't happen as I expect, it could officially qualify as little less than a catastrophe by the levels of anxiety I can reach. I fear things that are beyond my control because my brain is programmed to believe it's more than possible something (or everything) goes wrong for me.

The problem is not me believing I am the best "baseball player" around because I'm not. I just believe that if I drop the ball, it will hurt me less than if someone hits me with it. In other words, I have problems with trust. Be it people or Higher Powers, I insist on clutching the ball even in the many situations it is no longer in my claws. The great revelation of centuries-distilled wisdom? I've had enough.

My grandfather was right. If you don't let go and trust the other players to do their job, the game doesn't move on, nor do you. It only gets extremely frustrating and exhausting as you circle the field, playing alone as catcher, pitcher, batter, umpire, ESPN reporter and fans. Absolutely NO fun at all.

I'm opening my Field of Dreams. I'm trusting the Higher Powers will come out of the corn field to show me how to be a good player.

Who knows? Maybe then people will come and see the dragon "hit a home run" and put the ball in the sky...

Celebrate the small things is the brilliant idea of VikLit. Each Friday we post something we wish to celebrate achieving or doing during the week. It can be writing/reading or life related. You can find the list and join us here.

1. Last Saturday I told my friend Jeff I was going to ask Dragon Santa for a tablet this year. But Melissa Sugar at Have You Heard saved Dragon Santa the job as she informed me on Monday I am the winner of the iPad Mini she was giving away in her 500 Fab Followers Rafflecopter contest!!! I've never got a request answered that fast before. :) This is quite a huge gift for me as it will not only help me big time with my artistic projects but it will also make it easier for me to read all the e-books I have not been able to read yet. Thank you, Melissa! My eyes and my muse will be forever grateful.

2. Lovely Laura Eno heard about my eye problem due to the computer and offered to send me a physical copy of her book Jewel of Shaylar. I just got it! I'm happy for that. She also was kind enough to send me back my dwarf Sessin, son of Tassin, after he managed to survive an interview with Mistress Snark. I am not happy with him having interviews and divulging my secrets behind my back but I am happy I don't have to seek for a cheerleader replacement.

Since the badge says "I had tea..." I am keeping the badge. After all, I am the boss. Otherwise, people may start to believe we're changing the name of this place to "Dwarf Sessin Writes" and would be false advertising. Anyway, what could a dwarf have to charm his way to Mistress Snark's parlor first than a big, red, dashing-looking, cuddling, awesome, gentle, fire dragon? Any idea? (Absolutely no dragon star pouting here. I'm just wondering.)

3. It's Friday! I have to celebrate I'm talking to you. Dragon has missed hearing from all the bloggy friends so much I've started making sketches of you.  That's either a sign of a great idea I'm concocting or a bad side-effect of blogaddiction withdrawal. You'll find out soon enough. In the meantime, dragon hugs and have a wonderful week!

Time to Be Actively Still, New Schedule and Celebrate Good News

I have been without internet connection for 15 days. My last post barely got through using a "stolen" signal. There I talked about turning the poison into medicine and the option of praying with action. Many things have happened since that day and not all of them good. Some of them have tested my temper enough to make my health falter a bit.

For some reason, each time I declare some new life-altering determination something happens to make my path more difficult. I'm close to believe it is a dare game between me and Life. I say "I'm going to stay balanced through the storm" and hail starts to strike my scales. I say, "No matter, I'll seek shelter in my cave," and a flood comes. I say "Dwarves, block the entrance!" but dwarves are already floating downstream along with the whole treasure (yes, the dragon's treasure is gone.)

I close my eyes, cover my ears and keep repeating "Inner peace, inner peace" as I struggle for the inner inferno not to kick in. I can feel, oh so clearly, how my stomach squeezes, my guts tighten, the muscles twist like cords and the acid flows. My whole body responds with stress signals to over-pressured systems. Eye pressure, heart pressure... and here I am madly working the relief valves in order to prevent a dragon disaster.

But Father Dragon doesn't take his word lightly. I said that I would work a miracle and that I would adjust my formula until I got the results I wanted. I said I would pray with action and that I would replace anger with love and friendship. So far, I've shared with you my ideas, my experiences and my falls. Today I offer you this thought.

Not all action has to be physical, and staying still doesn't necessarily mean you're not active. A day came that I was left with absolutely no option to move forward. I could either feel helpless, blast my rage against the rock to no avail (except giving me some days in bed) or I could sit down, trust everything to Mother Dragon and the Higher Powers and focus on actively keeping my insides (and wits) together. Honestly, it feels like doing nothing. Only paying closer attention I realized exactly why reaching inner peace takes sages a lifetime to attain. It's HARD work, make no mistake.

Life just reminded me there's a time for everything. Time to fight and time to step back. Time to fight outside and time to bring peace inside. Time to take the straight road and time to look for alternative paths. I know deep inside there is also time to win and time to lose. There is even a time to quit... but it is NOT that time yet!

However, it is time to let you know that I've chosen Friday for my regular posting day. Passing from three to one post a week is a difficult adjustment for me (I've become deeply addicted to you) but it is necessary. Besides, without treasure I can no longer pay such a large minion staff. I've set aside a handful of dwarves and taken the rest of them to the pawnshop for fantastic creatures. I was assured they will be well fed.

I'm still in for the occasional bloghop and I will be delighted to keep promoting my friends' books, set the fireworks for their cover reveals and have them as guests here. Good thing about fire dragons is that they always have fireworks available.

This meme is the brilliant idea of VikLit. Each Friday we post something we wish to celebrate achieving or doing during the week. It can be writing/reading or life related. You can find the list and join us here.

My celebrations are:

1. My butchering parrot made it against all odds!!! I am extremely happy and grateful for this. It has lifted such a tremendous weight off my heart. He ended up very thin but I'm sure he'll be back to his normal shape soon.

2. My friend Sir Jeff kept his word and met his deadline. Yes, I'm doing the dragon happy dance for that. Just imagine what I will do the day he gets published. I am convinced great victories are made of many little conquests and each of them deserves to be acknowledged.

3. Internet connection was reestablished yesterday morning. I'm crossing my talons it will stay like this but a few more days of instability are possible. Anyway, I'm glad I could work on this post in peace and I could also start visiting some of you.

4. My beautiful friend C. Lee at TheWriteGame awarded me with no less than the Dragon's Loyalty Award. What kind of dragon would I be if I didn't have the Dragon Award? You're right, Lee. The cave would not be complete without it. Thank you very much!

Now Father Dragon talking about dragon's loyalty gives this award an additional meaning. To me it also means that the dragon will be there for you, to the best of his capacity, in good and bad times. Problem is the rules limits it to seven and those for whom I feel this way are many more than seven. So I'll keep the award and prove my loyalty to you with action. Deal?

Now seven things about me. Hmmm, I'll tell you three but big ones.

1. I dropped my laptop just fifteen minutes ago and it didn't break. (And that's a break!)
2. Mother Dragon is my mother. (I stated it before but it was when I had like 3 readers. Have not clarified ever since.)
3. I'm not married. (Centuries-long war with Dragon Slayer and dragons going nearly extinct makes difficult finding a suitable mate.)

Bonus. I am happy to be able to talk to you again! Already told you that? Well, I've suffered severe withdrawal here so I'm going to go all cuddling and leave you dragon hugs! (Not that I will not keep seeking for victims if connection allows. Stay alert because you might be suddenly tackled by a big red scaly hugging force. :o))