Q&A with Tony Chandler and Virginia Chandler discussion

My personal favorite is Beowulf. I added a book I've read three times over the years. This warrior fought and defeated Grendel... but he also fought a fire-breathing dragon! Have you read Beowulf yet? ( maybe saw the latest CGI movie, which was pretty good too )

FYI, although our Q&A does not officially begin until DEC 21, I just thought I would kick things off. My sister is the dragon GURU in our family --- but we realize there are many great books about dragonslayers and we look forward to hearing about your favorite. You may have questions about dragons in general. My sister may be able to answer. Virginia is well-versed in all things DRAGON! Not to mention, an avid SKYRIM player.
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Virginia Chandler has been studying dragon lore for over 20 years, reading legends and myths that stretch from the Far East, across the Caucasus, north to the frozen lands, Europe, and even North and South America!

Tony wrote: "My personal favorite is Beowulf. I added a book I've read three times over the years. This warrior fought and defeated Grendel... but he also fought a fire-breathing dragon! Have you read Beowul..."

i must say that i am fond of Bard from The Hobbit, Farmer Giles of Ham, Beowulf, and many more. dragons are just cool!

Mark, thanks for mentioning them. When you have a minute, upload the first two books to our Book Shelf for this group, others may want to read them soon. Yes, Bard is up there too! The Hobbit was a great read for me, back when I was a teenager, many moons ago.

Beowulf, yes, the epitome of dragon tales! Or, should we give that accolade to Sigurd? Trivia: Beowulf is the first written text (and possibly oral tale) that features dragonslaying...

And for the record, best game that features dragonslaying: Yep, gotta be Skyrim! (Dragon Age was pretty cool, too!)

Hmm. I would have to say my favorite is Wiglaf from the Dragon Slayer's Academy book series. =P LOL

Angelique wrote: "Hmm. I would have to say my favorite is Wiglaf from the Dragon Slayer's Academy book series. =P LOL"

Angelique! Kewl! I am not familiar with these books. Please upload a cover to our book shelf so we might add to our TO READ list! Thank you! Check out the awesome 'dragon fighting' photos my sister uploaded!

Virginia wrote: "Beowulf, yes, the epitome of dragon tales! Or, should we give that accolade to Sigurd? Trivia: Beowulf is the first written text (and possibly oral tale) that features dragonslaying..."

Where did Beowulf originate? UK or Northern Europe? And... what is the SECOND oldest tale about slaying dragons, oh wise one versed in dragon lore? he he he

Beowulf is an Anglo Saxon tale that was brought to the UK and finally written down in the 7th century. The oldest dragonslaying tale (slaying...not just dragons) is probably Sigurd and the Dragon...second oldest? Perhaps the tale of St George and the Dragon? Adopted by England, but the tale is actually Lebanese in origin!

There is a Wiglaf, of course, in Beowulf as well...:)

I would love to post it to the bookshelf... if you would be so kind as to explain how to do so. =)

Angelique wrote: "I would love to post it to the bookshelf... if you would be so kind as to explain how to do so. =)"

Click on GROUP HOME then scroll down and click on BOOKSHELF and you will see a Search/Add Book

Tony wrote: "Angelique wrote: "I would love to post it to the bookshelf... if you would be so kind as to explain how to do so. =)"

Sorry, go to GROUP HOME, then scroll down to bottom of BOOKSHELF and you should see ADD BOOKS link

thank you! There is actually 20 in the series, but I have only read up to 17. They are very cute books and every easy reads. I just love how he 'slays' the dragons completely by accident!

the dragonslayers academy is a cute series. lots of humor for the kids (and big kids like me! lol)

So, one of the first things that Tony and I discussed, 20 years ago!!!, as Last Dragon was born one evening, without magic...with just brain and brawn...how would one actually slay a dragon? We quickly determined that the dragon's size was paramount to the slayer's success: the bigger, more mature a dragon was, the less likely one is to succeed. We knew that our book would have no magic, no wizards, no "easy" way...

Ah yes, I recall that moment 20 years ago, over a few beers I think it was. Virginia does pose our NEXT QUESTION to the group - How could men and women slay a dragon with only normal weapons - sword, bow and arrows, spear etc. And although a mature dragon could fight tooth and nail as nasty as a T-REX... it can also fly and worse... breathe fire...

Friends... put yourself there, a cold night with the stars above your head... and in the night you see a large movement and hear the breathing of a dragon coming toward you... how would you slay it???

By trying to outsmart it and using its weak spots against it.

So, I just finished The Last Dragon of the North, and I have a quick question. What happened to the dragon eggs in the mountain cave that the green dragon escaped from? The ones that Edlund and Erik found? I am quite curious.

:) Angelique...Tony and I have kept rather quiet about those eggs; yet, you are not the first to ask us if we forgot about them or...is there a sequel?

Honestly, when we finally published Dragon, I had no thoughts of writing a sequel. I wanted to write a prequel, an anthology of tales about The Northern Band, but neither Tony nor I had a sequel on our schedules.

However, as I've been writing The Northern Band, I've been sending excerpts to Tony as a sort of prod and poke, and with The Hobbit's release last week, I just don't think that he can resist anymore :)

I won't steal his thunder, though; I'll let him share with you what he plans to do with Owain Armstrong...

I won't leave you hanging either; I've written (literally) about 50 words of what will be my sequel, and I'm tentatively calling it "A Nest of Greens"...

We are planning a DOUBLE sequel... I don't think that's ever been before?? Virginia will take Edlund and they are off... and Owain, Katja and "new" characters take off for the Russias... The Black Dragons of the East!

So, let's put it like this: You got to choose ONE dragonslayer to go with you on a dragon hunt...who are you taking? Bilbo, Sigurd, Edlund, Owain, Wiglaf, Beowulf? Who would it be? And don't forget your poison pouch!

sweetness! i am a-looking forward to all THREE books! if i had to take just one dragon slayer with me on a dragon hunt, then i would have have a tough choice on my hands. what sort of dragons would we be hunting? i'm going to have to think this over...

It is a RED dragon, fully mature. And a female, so she's around 35 feet long. She's battle tested... and angry!

Run away! Run away! (Best Monty Python interpretation!)

If running away is not an option, and I said only one fellow dragonslayer, I gotta go with....

i would have to say Owain then. he is the only one battle tested against a red (that i have seen). heck even the northern band didn't know about the disorienting crossbow bolts he uses. so i guess he's the one i would choose.

I see Wiglaf isn't an option. LOL I would also have to go with Owain, since he is the red dragon expert.

“Quickly, the dragon came at him, encouraged
As Beowulf fell back; its breath flared,
And he suffered, wrapped around in swirling
Flames -- a king, before, but now
A beaten warrior. None of his comrades
Came to him, helped him, his brave and noble
Followers; they ran for their lives, fled
Deep in a wood. And only one of them
Remained, stood there, miserable, remembering,
As a good man must, what kinship should mean.”
― Burton Raffel, Beowulf

Wiglaf FTW!!!!