Mt. Vernon Register-News

Local

August 4, 2006

Former resident pens 'The Dragons of Candlewood'

By APRIL TOLER

april.toler@register-news.com

MT. VERNON — Former resident Ellen Newton Driscoll enjoys traveling from her Texas home to the King City to visit family and this weekend, during a trip to spend time with her great-aunt, Driscoll will be doing more than chatting with the family; she will be signing copies of her first book.

“The Dragons of Candlewood,” is the first of a series of books Driscoll is writing and she will be signing copies of her first novel Saturday at B Dalton book store in the Time Square Mall. The books are being published by Wordwright International.

The novel centers around the kingdom of Candlewood and the dragons the people of Candlewood raise to protect their kingdom and themselves. Driscoll said the dragons each have distinct personalities just like the five royal children who inhabit Candlewood.

“The whole book is about loyalty, friendship and love,” Driscoll said. “Candlewood is a place where loyalties come first.”

An editorial review of the book on amazon.com stated “Magic and dragons are real in Candlewood, and you can live there, when you read The Dragons of Candlewood.”

Driscoll said the idea for Candlewood came years ago when she was playing with her then 3-year-old nephew, whom the book is dedicated to. With his help, she began writing the book but set it aside to focus more on her family.

“I found the old manuscript and decided to finish it,” Driscoll said of the time it took to publish the book.

The 172-page book is aimed at young adults and features characters such as Master Magellen, a teacher, Alamando, a Master Dragon handler and Magellen’s brother, and Prince Kevin, the oldest of the royal children who along with his dragon, Fire, learns lessons about loyalty, life and deception.

“It’s called a book for ‘young adults,’” Driscoll said. “But is a hit with children in second and third grades, teenagers and adults.”

In fact, a number of her reviewers on sites like amazon.com and Barnes and Noble are adults.

One reader wrote, “As I read each chapter, I felt like I was right beside each of them on every adventure and I felt all of their emotions too. This is a book even the adults will love!”

Another reader wrote, “This book was great for me as well as my children. It has it all: excitement, suspense, love of parent to child and love of boy to his beloved dragon. It even has a smidgen of romance.”

Driscoll has almost completed the third book in the at least, six-book series and the second, titled “The Haunting of Candlewood,” is currently being published.

Other works by Driscoll include, “When Christians Divorce: A guide for Victims of Divorce,” which she cowrote with her mother Barbara Newton and will be released next month, and a poem titled “A Field of Strangers.”

“I love Candlewood and I hope everyone likes it as much as I do,” Driscoll said.

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