I read Dragon Keep by Janet Lee Carey some time back and loved it. Today I’m very happy to host her as a guest blogger. Hope you all enjoy reading the post and the book as well.
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About the Book:
Beware the dark moon time when love and murder intertwine
All Uma wants is to become a healer like her father and be accepted by her tribe. But when the mad queen abducts her and takes her north, Uma’s told she must use her healing skills to cure the infertile queen by Dragon Moon, or be burned at the stake. Uma soon learns the queen isn’t the only danger she’s up against. A hidden killer out for royal blood slays the royal heir. The murder is made to look like an accident, but Uma, and the king’s nephew Jackrun, sense the darker truth. Together, they must use their combined powers to outwit a secret plot to overthrow the Pendragon throne. But are they strong enough to overcome a murderer aided by prophecy and cloaked in magic?

~In the Time of Dragon Moon is a story of courage and romance that readers will not soon forget.~ VOYA

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Uma learns early to harden her heart in order to survive. She buries parts of herself; her girlhood, her English side, to reach her dream of becoming a healer in her Euit tribe like her revered father.

Her dream is tested when the English queen gives her the opportunity to serve as her personal healer. Of course she’s wanted to prove her skills, but not this way! Not to heal the very queen whose army holds her people captive. Having no choice (she’ll burn if she refuses) Uma hardens her heart and does her work. Uma’s determined to find a way to survive on her own in Pendragon Castle until she meets Jackrun.

Jackrun is a royal with dragon’s blood. He sees potential and power in Uma that others do not see. Jackrun also suspects someone powerful is trying to overthrow the Pendragon throne through magic and murder. When they meet in secret, Jackrun asks Uma to trust him. Uma’s father warned her saying, “Never trust the English.” Jackrun is not only English; he’s the king’s nephew. Dare she trust him?

As they try to track down the hidden killer, Uma’s growing feelings for Jackrun go against everything she’s fought for all her life. She cannot be the first female healer of the Euit tribe and also be with Jackrun. How is she supposed to follow her heart?

The word courage comes from the French word coeur, meaning “heart.” She must “take heart” and find the courage to follow an arduous and unusual path, the path leading to her innermost dreams.

What does she choose? You’ll have to read In The Time of Dragon Moon to see

About the Author:
Janet Lee Carey grew up in the bay area under towering redwoods that whispered secrets in the wind. When she was a child she dreamed of becoming a mermaid (this never happened).She also dreamed of becoming a published writer (this did happen after many years of rejection). She is now an award-winning author of nine novels for children and teens. Her Wilde Island Chronicles are ALA Best Books for Young Adults. She won the 2005 Mark Twain Award and was finalist for the Washington State Book Award. Janet links each new book with a charitable organization empowering youth to read and reach out. She tours the U.S. and abroad presenting at schools, book festivals and conferences for writers, teachers, and librarians. Janet and her family live near Seattle by a lake where rising morning mist forms into the shape of dragons. She writes daily with her imperious cat, Uke, seated on her lap. Uke is jealous of the keyboard. If Janet truly understood her place in the world, she would reserve her fingers for the sole purpose of scratching behind Uke’s ear, but humans are very hard to train.

Visit her website here