About the Book
Book: Drandar the Dragon Knight
Author: Terrie Hellard-Brown
Illustrator: Rachelle Brown
Genre: Chapter book for Middle Grade Readers
Release Date: February 12, 2025
Drandar is the dragon that has been prophesied. He will help the king build a strong, safe kingdom as one of his faithful knights. But Drandar doesn’t seem to fit what a knight should be or even what a real dragon should look like. He’s what Seraphina calls a “late bloomer.” Drandar is droopy, discouraged, and doubting. Will he ever become the knight he’s supposed to be?
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About the Author
Empowering families to disciple the next generation every day and everywhere is Terrie Hellard-Brown’s mission. Sparking Everyday Discipleship, the podcast hosted by Terrie Hellard-Brown focuses on discipleship in the 21st Century, great books, and sparking important conversations with our children. Terrie is a writer, speaker, missionary, and mom with a BA in sociology and psychology, an MA in education, and is currently working on her DMin.
Her books include:
- Up, Down, and All Around: A Handbook for Discipling Our Children Based on Deuteronomy 6
- Building Character Through Picture Books: 25 Family Devotions Based on Favorite Picture Books
- A World of Pancakes (a picture book on flexibility and culture and including recipes from around the world)
- Izzy’s Notebook (a picture book about forgiveness, Harper and Izzy, Best Friends Forever Series: Living the One Anothers)
- Drandar the Dragon Knight (chapter book about being who God created us to be).
Terrie creates jewelry, bookmarks, and mini books (décor) with biblical and literature themes.
Her writing has appeared in Starlight Magazine, Upper Room, and Inspire Christian Writers Anthologies and blog.
Author Interview
Can you tell us a little bit about what readers can expect from your books?
For parents, I let them know that all my books have a discipleship focus. Discipling our children is the most important thing we do as parents. Plus, one of my editors is dyslexic, so I use fonts that are typically easier for those with dyslexia to read.
For kids, they can expect a story that includes humor, a little silliness, but a big message they can figure out. Kids are smart. In Drandar the Dragon Knight, for example, it is an allegory. Children see the Biblical truths without us pointing them out. They often ask if the king represents Jesus. They get it. I love that.
What is the greatest advice you have ever been given about writing?
The best advice was to write, even if it is terrible, write. Get your ideas on paper. You can always edit it or throw it away, but if you keep writing, you keep being creative, and that’s how books are born.
What book made you fall in love with reading?
So many wonderful books caused me to love reading. But the one that comes to mind is Little Women. I loved that book as a child and read it many times. I wanted to write stories like Jo.
Can you share 5 random facts about this book?
1. It took sixteen years for this book to finally be finished.
2. My daughter is the illustrator
3. Even though I wrote it, I still laugh at the thought of geese following Drandar around honking with him. And I can picture him rolling his eyes (he would face palm if he could) each time.
4. I first wrote it as a picture book series, but editors and professional critiquers told me it needed to be a chapter book.
5. It’s the first in a series. We weren’t sure if it would be a series, but after we finished this one, God put another story on my heart, and it should be out next year. Rachelle will illustrate that one too.
What was the inspiration behind it?
My daughter who has autism inspired this book. She is so wonderful and is an amazing artist, but she had a hard time with perseverance when she was young. She loves dragons and illustrated the book. I wrote it when she was much younger to encourage her to keep trying and that God has a purpose for her life.
Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. Before you go, where can readers keep up with what’s next?
Readers can reach me and learn about my books, podcast, and everything at terriehellardbrown.com. They can even download a free Drandar Christmas story there. We just published a companion Bible study for Drandar called Discovering the Knight’s Code, and the second Drandar chapter book will be out next year.
Blog Stops
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, September 12
Simple Harvest Reads, September 13 (Author Interview)
Texas Book-aholic, September 13
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, September 14
For Him and My Family, September 15
Library Lady’s Kid Lit, September 16
Fiction Book Lover, September 17 (Author Interview)
Artistic Nobody, September 18
Stories By Gina, September 19 (Author Interview)
Jodie Wolfe – Stories Where Hope and Quirky Meet, September 20 (Author Interview)
A Reader’s Brain , September 21 (Author Interview)
Guild Master, September 22
A Modern Day Fairy Tale, September 23 (Author Interview)
Vicky Sluiter, September 24 (Author Interview)
Mary Hake, September 24
For the Love of Literature, September 25 (Author Interview)
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Terrie is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon Gift Card, signed copy of the book and Bible study that accompanies the book, three stickers, a dragon velvet bookmark, and an armor of God necklace!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
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