BRBC week 2: Dragon song

This week we read chapters 6-11 of On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness. Chapter 10, "Leeli and the Sea Dragons," is my favorite chapter to read aloud. I think today I'll introduce you to the dragons.

Hidden in their cleft of rock, Janner forgot about the Fangs. He forgot about their desperate need to find their grandfather and mother. And, like Tink, he forgot the precariousness of the edges of the high cliffs as he leaned out over the empty air and felt his heart ache. ...In the churning white waters at the base of Fingap Falls, a long, graceful shape burst from the surface. Its skin caught and magnified the light of the moon. The sea dragon was easily twice the height of the tallest tree in Glipwood Forest. Its reddish body glimmered like a living fire. The head was crowned with two curved horns and its fins spread out behind it like wings. Indeed, it looked as if it might actually fly, but the dragon wheeled in the air and crashed into the sea with what must have been a sound like thunder but was inaudible over the constant roar of the waterfall.At that moment, the dragon song rose into the air on a bright wind and filled the people gathered on the cliffs with a thousand feelings—some peaceful, some exhilarating, all more alive than usual. ...The song continued, and more dragons exploded out of the water. They spun in the air and hung there for a moment before slamming back into the sea. Scores of horned bull dragons, amber and shimmering gold, swam circles around the thinner and more sleek mares that burst out of the water and over them in an intricate pattern. Now even the roar of Fingap Falls was not as loud as the crash of the many dragons into the Dark Sea. The strains of the song entwined and followed one another until a haunting melody emerged. Janner thought, as he thought every summer the dragons came, that there could be nothing more beautiful in all the world.

Discussion: Janner sometimes feels something he thinks of as homesickness, a joy that hurts. Have you ever felt that? What made you feel that way? (You may answer this here, or in the forum.)

Who do you think threw the rocks at the Fangs? What do you think will happen next?

What was your favorite snippet of this week's reading? Post it in the comments!Activity: Make up your own version of handyball or another of the games played at Dunn's Green and play it with friends.Bonus: Listen to the beginning of "The Ballad of Lanric and Rube" right here. :-)

Writing 4 Your Life

If you're a writer, you might like to know that in a couple weeks Andrew will be presenting at a conference called "Writing 4 Your Life." You can find out more about that here. The folks from the conference posted a short interview clip with him where he talks about what led him to write the Wingfeather Saga, and I thought you might be interested in that, too. :-)

This week, Madame Sidler will be reading chapters 6-11 of On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness. Read along this week, and come back on Friday to discuss it together! You are more than welcome to hang out in the forum with me and other readers all week long. :-)

BRBC week 1: Excerpt and discussion

Welcome, readers! Before we dive into this week's book club conversations, I thought I'd answer a couple of questions about how the book club works.

  1. "How do I sign up?" No need to sign up! The book club is open to anyone who wants to pop in and participate at any point this year.
  2. "How do I participate?" Every Monday I'll let you know what chapters we're reading during the upcoming week, and on Fridays I'll post an excerpt or other activity right here on the blog. You're welcome to chime in right here in the blog comments. We also have a discussion forum, and you're welcome to post new threads or respond to existing ones.
  3. "How does the forum work?" The forum is divided up into subforums, which is where all the conversations happen. For right now most of our conversations will happen in the Book One subforum, but there are also subforums for the other books, for the whole series, for the animated series, for Wingfeather Tales, and for other conversations. Some of the discussions started a long time ago, but you are welcome to post anywhere.

Please let me know if there are any other questions! I want to make sure everything is clear. Sorry for any confusion. Now, onward to this week's excerpt!I really enjoy the introductions, and the last two paragraphs of the first one especially stood out to me this time around. If you've seen the animated short film, you'll probably hear these words in Oskar's cheerful and dramatic voice. He is such a good reader. :-) Here is the entirety of "A Brief Introduction to the World of Aerwiar."

The old stories tell that when the first person woke up on the first morning in the world where this tale takes place, he yawned, stretched, and said to the first thing he saw, “Well, here we are.” The man’s name was Dwayne, and the first thing he saw was a rock. Next to the rock, though, was a woman named Gladys, whom he would learn to get along with very well. In the many ages that followed, that first sentence was taught to children and their children’s children and their children’s parents’ cousins and so on until, quite by accident, all speaking creatures referred to the world around them as Aerwiar.On Aerwiar there were two main continents divided by one main ocean called the Dark Sea of Darkness. By the Fourth Epoch, the harsh land east of the sea had come to be known as Dang and has little to do with this tale (except for the Great Evil that came to exist there and waged a Great War on pretty much everybody).That evil was a nameless evil, an evil whose name was Gnag the Nameless. He ruled from high atop the Killridge Mountains in the Castle Throg, and of all the things Gnag despised in Aerwiar, he most hated the High King Wingfeather of the Isle of Anniera. For some reason no one could guess, Gnag and his wretched hordes had marched westward and gobbled up the Shining Isle of Anniera, where fell the good king, his house, and his noble people.Unsatisfied, the Nameless Evil (named Gnag) built a fleet that bore his monstrous army westward across the Dark Sea of Darkness to the continent of Skree. And he ravaged that wide land, nine long years before our adventure begins.
Discussion:Where are you in your family? Oldest? Youngest? Middle? Have you ever felt like Janner does in chapters 3-5?Janner wants to see the world. If you could go anywhere, where would you go? (Followup question here.)What was your favorite part of this week's reading? Post it in the comments! And then come introduce yourself in the forum. :-)

Welcome to the Ban Rona Book Club 2018

Can I help you?I’m Madame Sidler, the librarian. Are you here to join our book club? Wonderful! Let me show you how to find the discussion forum. See that signpost, right over there? The one that says Stories with Bittersweet Endings and True Stories (If You Dare)? Head that direction, and you’ll see a Ban Rona Book Club sign, and under it, a cozy little meeting room. No need to sign up; just go right on in. I’ll be there in a minute. I think I see someone who needs some help.::disappears::

This week, Madame Sidler will be reading chapters 1-5 of On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness. Come back on Friday for some tea and discussion! Meanwhile, make yourselves at home in the forum. The whole site is wide open for anyone to participate (old threads included) and we are glad to have you. :-)

Ban Rona Book Club 2018: The Details

Can I help you?This is Madame Sidler, the librarian. Last Monday we announced that we’re relaunching our online book club. I hope you’re as excited about this as I am! Here’s how it’ll work.All four fanned outI will be making my way leisurely through The Wingfeather Saga all year long. This works out to about thirty pages, or five chapters, each week. (You’re welcome to read at a quicker pace if you’d rather.) Each Monday, I'll publish a blog post as usual—fan art, review, news, or something like that—and let you know what chapters I'm reading that week. Each Friday, we'll talk about the reading. Most weeks I’ll post an excerpt from the chapters we read, and invite you to post a quote of your own in the comments. Other weeks might include a discussion question or an activity instead. And all week long in the discussion forum we'll be talking about what we loved, what made us think, what confused or bothered us, what made us cry or laugh, and the ways our lives intersect with the story we're reading.I love these books, and I love you readers. I'm so excited to get this book club started. :-)See you next week!

Team Featherhead: Our short film is now listed on IMDb! We're looking for viewers to add their own ratings and reviews. This helps with visibility and gives interested studios important data to take into account as they consider whether or not to join the Wingfeather family. If you've seen the short film (links here) and want to see more, we'd appreciate your review! You can also add a review on Amazon. Thanks for your help!

Ban Rona Book Club 2018

 Can I help you?Welcome to the Great Library of Ban Rona. I’m Madame Sidler, and I’m the librarian here. I’m excited to announce that we’re relaunching our book club!If you're just discovering The Wingfeather Saga through the animated short film A Crow for the Carriage and cannot wait for the next installment to know what happens next, we're here to help! And if you've already read the Saga but are ready for a re-read, me too. :-) Pull up a squishy chair, pour yourself a cup of tea or tanjerade, and get ready for some fun conversations. Our hope is that you'll enjoy experiencing the story together and make a few friends along the way.The book club officially starts on Monday, January 22. I’ll be back with more details next Monday.Meanwhile, if you need me, I’ll be around.THE STORIES ARE TRUE.::vanishes::

2017 and the year ahead

It seems like I might be forgetting something... what is it?... OH YES. The WINGFEATHER SAGA ANIMATED SHORT WAS RELEASED.
Amazing. What a wonderful year.What will happen next year?We hope for greater and deeper community. More joy, and more sleep. More opportunities to serve you readers, and the Maker, with the art that we make. We're hoping to find the perfect studio to help us continue the animated series. I can't wait to see the Florid Sword comic Andrew's going to be working on, and to hear the album he'll be releasing this spring. I'm planning to create a book club kit for The Monster in the Hollows. And later this month, we'll launch a brand-new Ban Rona Book Club readalong, and you'll be invited to read the whole series with us week by week, all year long. (Details next week!)We love you readers. Onward to 2018!

The stories are true.