NEW RELEASE

MY DEAR FRIENDS I want to thank you for connecting with me. I just returned from the wonderful Imaginarium Convention in Louisville, Kentucky, and as I connected with fellow creatives in the flesh, so to speak, I became aware of something profound. We need face-to-face human connection, shared experiences and stories.  In a world where information is literally bombarding us from all sides, all the time, where we have no way of knowing whether the images we see are real–or not, people feel less and less connected to humanity. Many people have told me that they are struggling to cling to something that is real, a band with real people in it, playing a song on real instruments, art that was made by a real paintbrush in the hands of a real person, a story that was handed down by a real grandparent, not an AI generated image of some elder telling us a story (I see those on social media all the time), but a real story with real family connection and real depth to it. When I started writing, I felt like my voice was a whisper in the wind. It was soft in a world full of people who were shouting. I felt it was ignored, bypassed for those who were shinier and brighter, but now I understand. It’s always been an archive for what it means to be human. Yes, I write stories about other worlds, but the things that my characters deal with are real. Their feelings are real. Their struggles and triumphs are real. I believe that human connection is more important now than it’s ever been.  So, I’m writing this to you, real people who’ve reached out to me or whom I have met in person to tell you about my book Before the Dragon Wakes. It’s a science fantasy novel, the second in The Zhandarian Chronicles and a sequel to Rise of the Dragon’s Heir. Kamna (Cam Nah) is a young man who has inherited a throne he never wanted and along with it, a non-human parasite that inhabits his body. This parasitic symbiot calls himself The Dragon. He took his identity from a misplaced piece of ancient scripture that he found in a crashed ship and built an entire religion and society around it. Now, Kamna wrestles with suppressing an indwelling monster before it destroys the love of his life, Daneela (Duh Nee Lah). But when her brother, Josef (Joe sef) is abducted and stripped of his identity, Kamna must face the dragon within to save him. It’s a story about holding on to who you are when the world around you keeps trying to turn you into something else, while the darkness within attempts to snuff out your light and annul your higher purpose.  My Website If the struggle to remain human in a non-human world is something that you appreciate, then maybe this book will speak to you. Please come check out my website, leave me a book review on Amazon if you decide to purchase a copy of either book or of any of my other books. I also have free art for download on the sight. I try to answer all of my emails (well, all the ones from REAL people) and I honestly appreciate every ounce of communication from my readers. My readers are music to my soul.  Darlene

A SPECIAL NOTE TO MY BLOG SUBSCRIBERS:

Soon, my blog will be moving to Substack (https://substack.com/@darlenecampbell2). I ask that you please go there and subscribe. I will be offering free art downloads, blog posts, poetry, all the things here, but plus a little more. I hope to see you there.

Darlene