The Blood of Faeries
The Allison Lee Chronicles Book 2
by Dan Rice
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
Allison Lee wilts under the bright light of celebrity after being exposed as a shape-shifting monster. She’d rather be behind the camera than in front of it. Being under the tooth and claw of her monstrous mother is even less enjoyable. All she desires is for everything to go back to the way things were before she discovered her true nature. But, after she accidentally kills a mysterious man sent to kidnap her, she realizes piecing her old life back together is one gnarly jigsaw puzzle.
When Allison’s sometimes boyfriend Haji goes missing, Allison and her squad suspect his unhealthy interest in magic led to his disappearance. Their quest to find Haji brings them face-to-face with beings thought long ago extinct whose agenda remains an enigma.
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“Tranquilize her! Now!”
I tear my gaze from Mauve to the five paramilitary types spread out around the room. One holds a huge gun that wouldn’t be out of place in the first-person shooter. Two carry short-barreled rifles aimed at me. Gore stands on the far side of a coffee table and creamy white sofa. He is not as cadaverously gaunt as I remember. Next to him is a petite woman with Asian features and quavering lips. White-hot anger not entirely mine pounding through me, I charge Gore.
Cracks echo in the room like the report of gunfire but softer. Something whistles past my face. I’m stuck in the neck by a needle. I paw at my neck, tearing away a syringe fletched with red feathers, tossing it aside without consideration. If I can capture Gore, his minions will surrender and release Mauve from the strange netting ensnaring her.
I leap onto the coffee table. Gore’s leering face distorts like a reflection in a funhouse mirror, and my limbs are as heavy as diving bells. A second dart punctures my thigh. No worries. My body will metabolize whatever drug they’re dosing me with before it takes full effect.
I leap, soaring over the couch, stretching my hands toward Gore like the talons of a raptor. His thin lips curl into a sneer.
“Kill them!” he shouts, backing away and pointing toward the condo’s entrance.
My trailing foot catches against the couch, and I plummet to the floor, landing with a bellyflop.
Dragons Walk Among Us
The Allison Lee Chronicles Book 1
Shutterbug Allison Lee is trying to survive high school while suffering the popular girl’s abuse. Her life is often abysmal, but at least her green hair is savage. Her talent for photography is recognized by the school paper and the judges of a photo contest. While visiting her friend Joe, a homeless vet, Allison’s life irrevocably changes after an attack leaves her blind. All her dreams as a photojournalist are dashed as she realizes she’ll never see again. Despair sets in until she is offered an experimental procedure to restore her vision. But there are side effects, or are they hallucinations? She now sees dragons accompanying some of the people she meets. Can she trust her eyes, or has the procedure affected her more than she can see?
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Allison Lee is the protagonist of my debut YA urban fantasy, Dragons Walk Among Us, and possesses a deep-seated need for belonging. In part, her yearning is no different than anyone else’s. She wants to be part of something greater than herself and be surrounded by people who accept her. These desires burn exceptionally bright in her because she has never known her mother, who she believes abandoned her at birth. Allison’s need for acceptance hits overdrive when she starts seeing or, perhaps, in reality, hallucinating dragons. When her best friends make it clear they believe she is delusional, their bonds of friendship begin to crack.
Allison is a passionate photographer with dreams of becoming a photojournalist. Her pictures of high school sporting events around Seattle are published weekly in her school’s online newspaper. She combines her love of photography with civic-mindedness, often documenting climate marches and social justice issues. When an unprovoked attack leaves her blind, Allison feels like her life has been flushed down the toilet and fears she will never photograph again.
I’m a big believer in the adage to write what you know. It allows me to inject verisimilitude into the story. For example, Allison is an avid photographer, often out and about with her camera in hand. Details on composition and exposure for different situations are sprinkled throughout the narrative. These details are accurate because I’m a shutterbug. I think these details are just enough to characterize Allison Lee, be interesting to readers, and add a sense of realism to a story that is, after all, a fantasy.
Dan Rice pens the young adult urban fantasy series The Allison Lee Chronicles in the wee hours of the morning. The series kicks off with his award-winning debut, Dragons Walk Among Us, which Kirkus Reviews calls, “An inspirational and socially relevant fantasy.”
While not pulling down the 9 to 5 or chauffeuring his soccer fanatic sons to practices and games, Dan enjoys photography and hiking through the wilderness.
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