I’m hard at work on the as-yet untitled third book about Theodora Oglethorpe. The next entry in the series that started with Hatching Magic (2003) and continued with The Dragon of Never-Was (2006) will find Theodora back home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She’s doing her best to keep her ghost dog, William, out of trouble, while solving the mystery of her mother, who might or might not have shared Theodora’s talent for magic. But who is the new kid at school, Zam, how does he seem to know all about her talents for Delving and other wizard stuff, and is he really what he seems? Stay tuned to find out.

Some of the action of the book will be set at the Higgins Armory in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Here is a picture of a suit of dog armor, modelled by a dog mannequin, in the lobby of the Higgins Armory in Worcester, Massachusetts. Dogs wore this kind of armor during boar hunts, not in battle.

I'm trying to find a way to get Theodora's ghost terrier, William, loose in this armor in the museum!

 

You can read a short sample from the current draft here (127kb)

I'm also playing around with some early scenes for a fourth book about the characters in the Spellkey series, tentatively titled The Summoner King. This installment in the series will feature the further adventures of Caitlin and Binder's son Bram and his changeling brother, Grimald, and will introduce readers to the mysterious northern culture of the shape-changing Longaevi.

Dragon graphic
© Copyright , Ann Downer credits