My Readers Rock! Thank you for Cool Fantasy Characters in Master Mage!

Your Cool Fantasy Characters!

You rock! I love my readers! I ask and you deliver, time and time again! Together we’ve created some cool fantasy characters for Master Mage. Since I wrote Dragon Strike, I’ve asked for character’s names. Sometimes, dragons, sometimes, pirates, sometimes shady characters in dark alleys! For Dragon War, you suggested 601 names! That’s a LOT of characters! And a LOT of readers who’ve suggested names for cool fantasy characters over the years!

Master Mage clocked in at 177,000+ words! Yes, that 672 printed pages, the size of three short novels!! A lot of scope for characters to come and go.

Master Mage has been an incredible journey. When I wrote Dragon Mage (Riders of Fire Dragon Masters, book 2) I realized Giddi’s story was a lot longer than I’d anticipated. Dragon Mage tells of his young teenage years. I created Master Mage for his journey from teenage hood to adulthood (and falling in love with Mazyka).

If you’d like to start the Riders of Fire Dragon Master series, the first book is Anakisha’s Dragon.

With many more after…

Master Mage Cool Fantasy Characters

So, who are our cool fantasy characters in Master Mage? And who did you name this time? let’s look at our cool fantasy characters…. Please keep in mind that some of the characters that appear were named by my readers in previous books!

Mazyka

Mazyka was always going to be ambitious and headstrong. I didn’t realize she and her mother, Maryssa, would actively campaign for women’s rights through their attitudes and actions. I’ve enjoyed slipping this aspect into a medieval world. I named Mazyka in 2009 in my very first draft of Ezaara, although her name has changed since then. She was originally Magyka, because of her strong magical powers. I like Mazyka a lot better!

Maryssa

Maryssa popped up, out of the blue, sneaking out of the house to visit Balovar in his cottage one night as I was writing. I loved this scene full of passion, pain and regret, and it provided a great backdrop for Maryssa to repress Mazyka’s powers. Maryssa is a wonderful character who’s living a life of regret, but vows to teach her daughter to be wiser.

Giddi

I know many of my readers love Giddi. In Riders of Fire, he’s wise and funny, and a little cynical and jaded. He’s been through a bit already when we start Master Mage, and I’m sorry to inform you, that he hasn’t yet been fully shaped in the forge. He has plenty of fiery trials to come yet in future books. Sorry, Giddi, but hey, it’ll make for grueling, heartbreaking, exciting adventures we’ll all love!

I named him after Giddi, a nickname for friend I used to know in Switzerland years ago, whose actual name is Giddeon.

My Readers Rock! Have I told you how much I LOVE my readers? Let me tell you again!

Our little online community is thriving, and people are building friendships as they hang out online having dragonly, fantasy fun. Join us in my Facebook group or pop over to TikTok, where I’m sharing fun videos. Or grab my free books when you sign up here.

Who did you name in Master Mage? Check out your huge cast!

Dragon’s Lair

Jackie T. named Myron, the beefy man in the Dragons’ Lair who leers at girls. Indora, the flirtatious Naobian in the tavern was named by Jeremiah Crouch.

Who named our mages?

Trisha Budhai named Lumeley, a young nerdy Spanglewood mage. This poor guys suffers during the mage trails, but luckily he’s rescued. His friend Diza, a friendly mage at the trials with the blonde braids, was named by Ann Abdelzaher. We have two more mages from Spanglewood named by readers. Both are Giddi’s friends from childhood. Vanus was named by Barbara Laing. Liz Tolland named Lief.

The notorious twins, Chuckle Head and Knuckle Head, were named by David Kuraria on two fun Facebook posts that had over a hundred entries! Those posts are well worth reading – there are some brilliant suggestions for derogatory names that rhyme!

I told you my readers are cool. Such amazing imaginations!

Melikor, the young Naobian mage who teases Giddi when they arrive at Dragons’ Hold was named by Charles Hoge.

Healers

Thanks to an anonymous reader, we have a name for Master Healer Catarina at Dragons’ Hold. Catarina will play a bigger role as the series goes on, so I’m excited to finally have a name for her! Crystal Rowley named Thalia, a Naobian healer who accuses Giddi of indecent behavior. The last thing he needs in a crisis! Poor Giddi!

Ship

Thanks to Charles Hoge for naming the Chipped Fang!

Family Names

We swept our way through Anakisha’s Dragon and Dragon Mage without naming the main characters’ family members. A sneaky move on my part! We were naming so many characters at the time, that I didn’t want everyone to have name overwhelm. We’ve now remedied that.

Thanks to the following readers for naming:

Giddi’s mother: Peluma — Kelle Shaw
Mazyka’s father: Jorem — Trisha Budhai
Yanir’s mother: Fenella — Sara Downs
Yanir’s father: Petey — Susanne Galley
Yanir’s eldest sister: Tori — Jan Cantle
Yanir’s second sister: Keesha — Scotty Bhoy
Yanir’s third sister: Noelani — Sara Downs
Yanir’s youngest sister: Sky — Carolyn Helm

Animals

Let’s not forget our furry, feathered, scaled and four-footed friends!

Nicola Wilkinson named Topaz, Giddi’s valiant horse who takes Mazyka on a wild dash. Andrew Agnew named the ice ravens in Great Spanglewood Forest at night, and Barbara Laing named the snowy kestrel. Vancil Clayton Thomas suggested a barred owl, and me and my readers looked into night birds and decided upon the nightingale and the common loon!

Shadow Stalker & Dragon Rider

Tiriaston, is a Shadow Stalker in Naobia, prowling the streets and creating trouble. He was named in a Facebook post, but I haven’t been able to track down who named him! If it’s you, please let me know and I’ll amend this list!

Darian, the young dragon rider who shackles Giddi and Mazyka, is named after Darian Smith, a New Zealand author and dear friend of mine. Yeah, he’s awesome. You can check out his books, here.

Dragon Captain

Rusty, the heroine in Dragon Pirate, is getting her own book!

Rusty was named by AJ Ponder, my buddy and co-author. She has a new series out, Into Faerland, with dark Fae, sword sand demons… and a new audio book of Omens, too … check out her books here.

I hope you like the stunning cover for Dragon Captain! Rusty and Ustoria, her sea dragon, will be hunting down the Scarlet Hand, joined by an all-female crew! Look out, Scarlet Hand! They’re coming for you!

You’ll have lots of chances to name cool fantasy characters again soon as we crew Rusty’s ship… By the way, her ship has no name yet, so there will be more chances to have fun coming up soon!

Thank you to my readers and reviewers. I LOVE my readers and the indie community, so come and hang out! Drop by my Facebook reader’s group Riders of Fire: Eileen Mueller’s Fan Zone for lots of fantasy fun. For free books, join my newsletter at www.EileenMuellerAuthor.com and come and hear my weird kiwi accent on TikTok!

12 July 202112 July 2021

Riders of Fire Complete Box Set #483 on Amazon

Riders of Fire Complete Box Set hits

#483 in the ENTIRE AMAZON KINDLE STORE!!!

#483!!! Who worked this magic while my back was turned?

This has never happened to one of my books before!!! My Riders of Fire Complete Box Set is smashing through the ceiling! Can you hear me yelling and squealing all the way from New Zealand?

If not, take out your earbuds!!!

I’m happy to be rubbing shoulders with the Darkblade overlord Andy Peloquin in classic fantasy books, and with Tolkien, Cordelia Castel , JK Rowling, Elise Kova, The Witcher and all the other cool fantasy authors and characters out there!

If you haven’t seen the video, here it is! Turn up your sound!! It’s worth every tone!

Do something crazy to celebrate. And if you haven’t grabbed this beauty of a box set yet, go for it. All downloads and reads in Kindle Unlimited would be treasured! (I get paid for every page you read!!) Thank you for being awesome. Thank you for supporting me and my little family. It’s a tough world out there, but thanks to you, we have food on our table.

I am so thrilled. A huge shout out to very author who has shared my book in their newsletters, on their social media pages, in their Facebook groups or via book promotions. I thank everyone in the indie fantasy community for working together to celebrate each other’s cool books.

Rankings are fickle. ‘Tis but for a fleeting moment, so lets’ enjoy it!

Here are stacks of cool pictures to celebrate:

Bestseller Rankings:

#1 Teen Young Adult Mythical Creatures ebooks
#1 Teen Young Adult Myth & Legend ebooks
#1 Teen Interactive Fiction ebooks
#1 Classic Fantasy ebooks (with Andy’s Darkblade as #2)
#2 Fantasy Anthologies and Short Stories
#3 Metaphysical Fantasy ebooks
#5 Sword and Fantasy ebooks
#7 Coming of Age Fantasy ebooks
#1 Teen Young Adult Coming of Age Fantasy ebooks
#13 Epic Fantasy
#17 Teen Young Adult Fantasy ebooks
#59 Fantasy ebooks

What are readers saying about Riders of Fire?

★★★★★ “The best Dragon Rider series I have ever read!”

★★★★★ “The details are so vivid, I feel I’m in the stories. I can’t get enough.”

★★★★★ “I felt like I was there, soaring the skies on dragonback with the other riders as my best friends!”

★★★★★ “I couldn’t put it down, unless it fell out of my hands when I got too tired to see straight anymore.”

★★★★★ “I was enthralled the whole way through.”

★★★★★ “A complete tour de force! Dragons, magic, adventures, what more could one want – except more!”

★★★★★ “The best books I have read in many years.”

★★★★★ “You’ll find yourself immersed in the dragonverse of Eileen Mueller and her wonderful characters. What a wonderful place to be.”

Now, for the heartwarming screen shots. Hear me grin!

#1 Teen Young Adult Mythical Creatures ebooks:

#1 Teen Young Adult Myth & Legend ebooks:

#1 Teen Interactive Fiction ebooks:

#1 Classic Fantasy ebooks (with Andy’s Darkblade as #2):

#2 Fantasy Anthologies and Short Stories:

#3 Metaphysical Fantasy ebooks:

#5 Sword and Fantasy ebooks:

#7 Teen Young Adult Coming of Age Fantasy ebooks:

#7 Coming of Age Fantasy ebooks:

#13 Epic Fantasy:

#17 Teen Young Adult Fantasy ebooks:

#59 Fantasy ebooks:

Ezaara, Riders of Fire book 1 – excerpt

Stepping into the sunlight, Ezaara stooped to pick arnica flowers. The ancient piaua, half as thick as a cottage, rose before her at the edge of the clearing, its bark pitted and gnarly. Blue berries peeked from its dark foliage. As a tree speaker, her mother often talked to the piaua whenever she collected its sacred healing juice. Placing her palm against the bark, Ezaara strained to feel a whisper. Nothing—again. She sighed. Not a tree speaker, then. What would her vocation be? Ma was happy as a healer and herbalist, and Ezaara didn’t mind helping her, but she wanted something more. Excitement. Adventure. Maybe love.

The owl-wort vines grew among the knobby piaua roots. She parted the undergrowth and plucked a handful of leaves. Rising from a crouch, she opened her pouch.

A strange tingle ran through Ezaara, then a shadow fell over her. Something swished, a sudden breeze stirring her hair. She jerked her head up.

A dragon was circling the treetops. Ezaara recoiled in fear. With a snap of fangs or a swipe of talons, it could kill her. The owl-wort fell from her shaking hands. She tensed to flee.

But hesitated.

Sunlight played across the dragon’s iridescent scales, making them shimmer. Its graceful wings swished ever closer, rippling with color. This beast was beautiful—beautiful, but deadly. She had to escape. But the tingling grew stronger. The amazing creature circled down toward her. Foliage rustled in the downdraught from the dragon’s wingbeats.

A voice hummed in her mind. “Ezaara,” it crooned.

This creature could talk to her?

“We’re mind-melding, sensing each other’s thoughts and emotions.”

She held her breath, drawn to the dragon. Rich colors cascaded through her mind. Sunshine poured into her soul. Ezaara wanted to soar. She glimpsed a vision—her riding the dragon, flying above the forest, over the Grande Alps and into the blue.

“This is your destiny, to ride with me.”

Warning cries reached her—villagers. If only they knew this dragon, they wouldn’t be afraid.

The dragon’s hum built to a roar inside her. It dived.

Familiar faces shot into her mind. Her family! She couldn’t leave them.

Ezaara’s love for her family was swept aside as energy rushed through her. She was enveloped in a prism of rainbow-colored light, like reflections in a dewdrop. Music from the purest flute filled her heart. For the first time in her life, she felt whole. The energy coiled inside her and she sprang, lifted by the wind, hair streaming out behind her. In a flash of color, the dragon’s scales were beneath her. Ezaara landed on a saddle in a hollow between its wings. She wrapped her arms around the dragon’s spinal ridge, hugging it tight.

It felt so right.

The dragon regarded her with yellow eyes. Ezaara could’ve sworn it was smiling. “I am Zaarusha. You were born to be my rider,” it thrummed. The beast turned. Its belly rumbled and flames shot from its maw.

They flew off, leaving her home and loved ones behind.

Thank you!

If you read this far, thanks for celebrating with me.

Enjoy my adrenaline-fueled dragon rider adventures. Take to the skies and soar with Riders of Fire!

1 March 20211 March 2021

Enchanted Kingdoms for Kids’ Autism

☆ ☆☆‿➹⁀☆ 99c for 20 novels ☆‿➹⁀☆ ☆ ☆

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ Support Kids with Autism ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

☆☆☆Only 99c for a few more hours! ☆☆☆

Oh WOW!!!! We’ve made 6722 sales for kids’ autism in 6 days!

This is amazing. We’ve hit many bestseller lists, including:

☆#1 in Fairytales in Amazon

☆#1 in the Nook store

☆#1 in the ibooks store

☆#131 in the entire Kindle Store!

Phenomenal results from enthusiastic readers who are supporting a great charity!

If we can get a few more sales, we may even hit the USA Today bestseller list! That would the the biggest type of AWESOME ever! Can you help us? Can you donate a dollar for charity? Can you share this post?

20 action-packed novels with rave reviews…

Over a million words to read from best-selling authors!

Go on , give Enchanted Kingdoms a chance!

☆.•°°•.☆ ENCHANTED KINGDOMS! ☆.•°°•.☆

YOU’RE INVITED to the ball. ESCAPE from the witch’s tower. ENCOUNTER a dragon or three! STEAL AWAY with Robin Hood into 20 tales you know all too well…

Or so you may have thought… Enchanted Kingdoms puts a new twist on old tales.

20 novels for $0.99 for a limited time! 100% of proceeds will be donated to Puzzle Peace United, a charity for children with autism.

Get in quick before the clock strikes and the 99c spell fades away. ACT NOW!

24 best-selling authors and a support team have been working for over a year to bring this collection to life and propel it up the charts to raise funds for Puzzle Peace United.

Enchanted Kingdoms contains 20 brand new retellings of your favorite fairytales in one stunning box set, all for just 99c with 100% of the proceeds supporting Puzzle Peace United, a children’s autism charity.

But the price goes up soon, so get in quick!

"When the pied piper stole the children, she was left behind."

Explore

a world of your favourite fairy tales twisted into new and enchanting tales

Rediscover

20 fairy tales you loved as a child

Experience

20 happy ever afters from over 20 best-selling authors

Enchanted Kingdoms is available on Apple, Amazon and Nook here.

International Team Spinning Fairytales for Autism

An international team of best-selling and award-winning authors from USA, Canada, UK, New Zealand, Australia and Sweden, have pooled resources to help children with Autism. Fueled by their enthusiasm for supporting a good cause, these authors are putting a new twist on classic fairytales in Enchanted Kingdoms, an e-book box set of twenty novels. All funds from this venture will be donated to Puzzle Peace United, a New Jersey-based charity that supports children with Autism and their families.

If readers are hoping their fairy godmothers will grant their wishes for fantastical adventures, they’re in for a treat. For 99 cents, they can plan an escape to Enchanted Kingdoms and enjoy the fairytales they loved as children, now twisted into bewitching stories that will transport them to new worlds. Handsome princes, spellbound princesses, kick-butt heroines, dragons, shape shifters and beasts join the fundraising effort in Enchanted Kingdoms.

The effort is spearheaded by J. A. Armitage and Rhianne Parkes, directors of Enchanted Quill Press, and J.A. Culican, director of Dragon Realm Press, small independent publishers who’ve had online success, including their books hitting the USA Today bestseller list multiple times.

On its first day on sale, the Enchanted Kingdoms box set has become an international bestseller, hitting #256 in the entire Amazon Kindle store, and #5 on Apple iBooks.

Armitage says, “We’re delighted to support such a worthy cause and know Puzzle Peace United makes a real difference to the families of autistic children. With the Enchanted Kingdoms box set, we’ll add some magic to their lives by enthusing fantasy readers around the world to support their cause.”

Rhianne Parkes adds, “We’ve had a lot of readers purchase this 99c box set of twenty novels because they have family members who have Autism. It’s great to see everyone get behind the project.”

J.A. Culican, who is both a USA Today Bestselling author and president of Puzzle Peace United, is thrilled the authors have chosen to raise funds for the non-profit organization. Culican holds a masters in special education and has taught students with Autism for over fifteen years. She also has a daughter on the autistic spectrum.

“We work with parents, teachers, schools, businesses, community leaders and families to enhance the lives of children with Autism,” Culican says of Puzzle Peace. “It’s wonderful to add an international team of authors to our support crew. I hope everyone gets behind this initiative and helps Enchanted Kingdoms to succeed.”

As well as J.A. Culican, many of these fantasy authors have worked in the health arena or have friends or family members with Autism. Some are former nurses, mental health workers and one is a transformational life coach, but they all have something in common — compassion for those on the autism spectrum, and a desire to help readers escape to other worlds.

Their tales span a variety of genres that reflect each author’s passion — traditional high fantasy, epic fantasy, paranormal romance, urban fantasy, historical fantasy and fairytale retellings. All of the novels are suitable for young adults.

NZ AUTHORS SUPPORT THE CAUSE

When local award-winning New Zealand authors Eileen Mueller and A.J. Ponder heard about the initiative, they were thrilled to join the cause and teamed up to write a retelling of Snow White and Rose Red, using modern fantastical characters.

“We both have friends or family with Autism and wanted to be part of an intentional effort to make a difference,” says A.J. Ponder, who writes fantasy for children and young adults.

Eileen Mueller, author of the bestselling young adult dragon series Riders of Fire, of which two books hold NZ Storylines Notable Book Awards, adds, “We couldn’t resist adding dragons to our story. Snow and Red is a paranormal romance in an urban fantasy setting with dragon shapeshifters, street gangs and mages. Our teen advance reading team loved the story so much we’re developing it into a series, The Dragon Shifters’ Hoard, which will launch in 2022.”

“It’s been a lot of fun,” says Mueller. “Just the sort of virtual adventure the world needs during these covid-stricken times.”

Ponder adds, “We’re very happy with the international reception to Enchanted Kingdoms and hope Puzzle Peace does well.”

Fairytale retellings include:

Alice in Wonderland by J. A. Armitage and J.A. Culican
Cinderella by Kimbra Swain
Snow White and Rose Red by Eileen Mueller and A.J. Ponder
Beauty and the Beast by Beth Hale
Aladdin by Zara Quentin
Rumpelstiltskin by Craig Halloran
Sleeping Beauty by Stacey O’Neale
Wizard of Oz by Amanda Marin
Snow White and the Seven Dwarves by Lacy Sheridan
Red Riding Hood by May Dawson
Rapunzel by Anne Stryker
Robin Hood by Jacque Stevens
Little Match Girl by Lee Ann Ward
The Snow Queen by Laura Burton and Jessie Cal
Little Mermaid by Nadira Golde
The Pied Piper by Alice Ivinya
Mulan by Charlotte Daniels and Charlie Daniels
The Girl without Hands by Daphne Moore & D. Fischer
Nix of the Mill Pond by Astrid V.J
Thumbelina by Robin D. Mahle and Elle Madison

Look at all the gorgeous covers!

27 June 202027 June 2020

Riders of Fire Dragon Masters – new prequel series announced

Sea Dragon Riders of Fire book 6 is live, completing the Riders of Fire series! I absolutely love this cover from Christian Bentulan. He’s done a beautiful job. I’m so excited to let this story swim out into the wide world. So far, feedback from my readers has been great, and I hope you enjoy Sea Dragon too!

Many readers asked what happened to Ithsar, the assassin whose fingers Ezaara had healed when she was being held captive by Ashewar, the chief prophetess—Ithsar’s mother in the Robandi Desert.

Due to their questions, Sea Dragon was born. The story has grown, also encompassing another young girl who hadn’t been seen since since she made her debut in Dragon Hero (all those moons ago). The two girls strike up a friendship, with remarkable results, and as those of you who’ve read Dragon War will know, Ithsar is able to help turn the tide of battle. (Sea pun intended).

Sea Dragon fleshes out some details that have been omitted from Ezaara’s adventures as the new Queen’s Rider, and concludes the war against Zens, rounding up some threads that readers may not have realized I’d deliberately left hanging. But wait, Riders of Fire isn’t over yet!

Riders of Fire Dragon Masters is an exciting new series that features the events leading up to Ezaara’s birth. Some of these books were originally planned as books 7-9 of the Riders of Fire series, however, new readers may like to read these adventures in chronological order. Splitting out the prequels into a separate series allows people to do this.

Here are the two series below, so you can see the gorgeous covers. I’m excited about working on the new stores for Riders of Fire Dragon Masters and hope you’re looking forward to reading them.

Riders of Fire

YA epic fantasy adventure. Series link here.
Book 1: Ezaara
Book 2: Dragon Hero
Book 3: Dragon Rift
Book 4: Dragon Strike
Book 5: Dragon War
Book 6: Sea Dragon

Riders of Fire Dragon Masters

YA epic fantasy adventure:
Book 1: Anakisha’s Dragon
Book 2: Dragon Mage
Book 3: Dragon Spy
Book 4: Dragon Healer

Riders of Fire Dragons

These prequels, can be read in any order:
1. Bronze Dragon (free novelette)
2. Ruby Dragon (short story)
3. Silver Dragon – free novelette only available here.

These are shorter stories about how many of the dragons and riders found each other. I hope to expand on this series as time permits.

Thank you

A big thank you to my readers. Your energy and enthusiasm for my stories keeps me writing. I love your emails, messages and having fun with you on social media. It’s wonderful knowing you’re waiting for my stories! If you’d like to hang out in my Facebook group and have fun, pop over here.

4 October 20164 October 2016

Amazon Bestseller

Amazon Bestseller #5 & #8

I woke up to a text at 6:25am this morning from my diligent publisher! It was worth hopping out of bed for! Mystic Portal is #5 and Dragons’ Realm is #8 on the Amazon bestseller list in UK kids interactive fiction.

And Mystic Portal is #1 in hot new releases.

Exciting stuff. But then again, so are these You Say Which Way adventures, where you get to choose how the story goes. Kids love saying which way to go. They choose their story. They find out how clever they are when things go their way. Or they test dangerous decisions that lead to tricky outcomes – all from the safety of their own homes.

Fun. Adventure. Great mountain bike rides. Weird creatures. And good laughs.

Mystic Portal and Dragons Realm are on Amazon.

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