Caelin Bragg
Advertising & Distribution Manager
Author Elana A. Mugdan visited El Dorado’s The Next Chapter as part of a tour for her new book, “Dragon Speaker.”
“Dragon Speaker,” the first of five books in the young adult “Shadow War Saga” series, follows Keriya Nameless, a girl who is the only person in the world without magical abilities, as she is sent by the god Shivnath to save the last remaining dragon in the world.
“We sold a bunch of books,” Mugdan said. “And we had a lot of activity in the store, and it was really nice to see the community come together and come out and support [The Next Chapter], and also, my book, which that was really nice. I liked that.”
The book signing, held on Saturday, Jan. 26, was at The Next Chapter Books and Novelties. Errin Moore took over as the owner of the bookstore (previously known as The Book Grinder) summer of last year, and this is the second author event she has held, with M. Earl Smith being the first in November.
“So far, the authors have come to me, and they’re seeking a place to showcase their work, get their name out there [and] have a chance to sell some books,” Moore said. “For me, it’s a perfect opportunity because I want to have events and things for the people of El Dorado to come and enjoy, and so it kind of works out.”
All five books in Mugdan’s series are finished besides minor work that still needs to be done. Mugdan cited her own frustrations with other authors’ series, which have had large hiatuses between books as her reasoning for waiting until the entire series was written before publishing.
“I’ve gotten it reviewed from a number of accredited institutions, that’s all part of the marketing process, you have to do that, but I have been very lucky that I have gotten five-star reviews from them, so that is good,” Mugdan said jokingly. “They’re not guaranteed to give you a good review, it’s always a crapshoot, so that is lucky. And I’ve got a lot of younger kids who really have enjoyed it and it seems to have impacted them.”
Many members of the El Dorado community came out for the event during its two-hour run and had copies of their books signed while chatting with Mugdan.
“It was awesome to have Elana Mugdan come and personally sign her ‘Dragon Speaker’ book,” El Dorado native Salem Cairns said. “My boys are excited to own their very first signed book. I’m excited to see all the extra things that Errin Moore has been doing with the bookstore here.”
Book two of the “Shadow War Saga” will be released on Tuesday, May 21, with book three having a tentative release date of late 2019-early 2020.
