In your book, what are some of the ways that your character expresses themselves through their emotions? How do they show love? Anger? Hate? Why is this important to you as a reader?

I like to be kept on the edge of my seat when I read, so the more action packed a book is the more engaged I am. I find that the more intense emotions like fear, excitement, deceit, and love-hate conflicts make for a more interesting book. Dagron Heir by Cinda Williams Chima has these emotions. Warren Barber and D'Orsay are so sure that they should be in charge of all the wizards that they are creating this intriciate web of deceit (lies). One of the mores of the wizard world state that wizards shall not fight each other. These two men are breaking that cultural rule by pitting one set of wizards against another in order to get their hands on the covenant and thereby rule all wizards. I can't wait to see how they trap others in their web of deceit and possibly strangle themselves in it.

One part of the web is how Warren Barber is forcing Leesha, by threat of death, to trick Jason into giving her the Dragonheart (magical stone) and help Barber get his hands on Jason. Leesha is terrified of Barber so she pretends to be Jason's friend to get him to trust her and Barber ends up finding and almost killing Jason. Well, Jason's friends, Jack and Kate, figured out that she was lying and threatened to kill Leesha if she didn't confess to where Jason was. When Leesha is scared/terrified she acts snotty and dares the one who scares her. On page 246, as Kate presses a sword to Leesha's throat, it says, "She conjured up her most patronizing (superior) expression." Late,r on the same page it says, "Leesha drew herself up to her full height...." and then she says, "I don't answer to you. Now, why don't you run along and hone your weapons or rattle your swords or whatever...." I think Leesha is completely out of her mind! There is no way I would dare someone who has a sword to my throat. Then again, if I was protecting myself or one of my daughters, maybe I would.

Through the web of deceit and the strong feelings of terror and hate, Cinda Chima has definitely engaged me as a reader by helping me connect to the characters and start cheering for some of them against the others. It was very important for Chima to do this or I wouldn't keep reading!

Mores is the word of the week.