Dance with Clouds

A Dragon's Guide to Destiny #2

by C.M. Barrett

Malvern Frost, the crafty villain who tried to overthrow the leadership of the land of Oasis in Big Dragons Don’t Cry, has escaped from prison and fled to Dolocairn, a mountainous land where drug lords threaten the rule of the priestess cult. They join with Frost to bring both Dolocairn and Oasis under their domination. As part of their scheme, they’ve used amnesiac and possibly fatal drugs to engineer Frost’s escape and incite a race riot. Phileas, Guardian of Oasis, realizes that the drug lords could also stop the flow of recreational and addictive drugs into his country to create the specter of addicts cut off from their source. The air dragons of Dolocairn, no longer honored in human worship and troubled by their own fears of the powerful drug cartel, come to Oasis to seek assistance. In response, Druid, Water Dragon of Destiny, Tara, the Chosen Kitten, and Serazina volunteer to go into that dangerous land and uncover the intentions of both the big-time pushers and the mysterious High Priestess. Now, when alliances in that icy land seem to be shifting as easily as snow slides down a mountain, and Frost takes every opportunity to convince the people of Dolocairn that Oasis is their enemy, conditions could hardly be more dangerous for the trio of spies. They will be lucky to get out alive.

531 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 10, 2011

About the author

As a child, C. M. (Connie) Barrett was enchanted by her grandmother's stories about life in Ireland: the challenges of rural life, the dangers of civil war, and the wee folk who were often invisible but capable of causing much trouble if not treated well. As a result, reality and fantasy merged for her, and it's probably her grandmother's fault that she became a fantasy writer.

Her first book was an illustrated volume of retold Greek and Roman myths that she wrote for her brother. Her first public recognition for writing came in eighth grade, when she was an award for a Good Posture Awareness Day slogan.

Since then, she had many articles, short stories, and reviews published. Sometimes she even got paid.

Because Connie was busy doing other things (working as a typographer, counselor, running a metaphysical store in Greenwich Village) writing took a back seat until early 2011 when self-publishing movement began to take off. Over the next 18 months, she published the first three volumes of A Dragon's Guide to Destiny, a literary novel, and two holistic books.

Most of her books have cats in them. Because she has to spend so much time thinking like one in order to write A Dragon's Guide to Destiny, and to survive in a home run by feline overlords (currently ladies), she sometimes forgets that she's human. The cats encourage this until it's time for a run to the pet store.

Because she continues to be comfortable merging reality and fantasy, she didn't mind the fictional cat, Tara (a main character in the Dragon's Guide Series) dictating a book of advice to cats. Cats in Charge: A Guide to the Training and Education of Humans should be published in April 2013, if the cat stops making corrections.

Connie is also working on the fourth book of A Dragon's Guide to Destiny and a new series, Dystopia in Drag.


Series: A Dragon's Guide to Destiny
Big Dragons Don't Cry
Dance with Clouds
House of the Moon

Literary Fiction
Gone to Flowers (Sex, Drugs, and Rock n' Roll)

Nonfiction
Animals Have Feelings, Too: Bach Flower Remedies for Cats and Dogs

Renew Your Life the Natural Way: Balance Your Chakras with Crystals and Essences