My contract with AMG Publishers for Dragons in our Midst included four books, and I provided the titles for use in the contract, though I didn’t know what all the stories would be about. A candlestone was heavily involved in the first story, and I had started writing the story by the time I signed the contract, so I knew The Candlestone would be an appropriate title, but Circles of Seven and Tears of a Dragon just popped into my head, so I used them for contractual purposes, knowing that I could change them if needed. It turned out that these titles worked quite well.

Because of the success of Raising Dragons, AMG Publishers decided to print 8000 copies of The Candlestone for its first print run, a big number for this small publisher. That entire run was sold in pre-orders, and they had to go to a second printing before they shipped the first one in October of 2004. Now in its twelfth printing, The Candlestone continues to sell well.

This book introduced Ashley Stalworth, a genius teenager who became a beloved character throughout the rest of the series. I had a great time with the scientific aspects of the story as well as with the further development of Bonnie Silver as a deeper, more sympathetic character.

Feel free to add a question or comment about this book.

(The contest clues for this post are the letters s and p.)

Categories: Miscellaneous