It’s been a delight to unwrap so much wonderful story. As I said above, when you write the way I do you’re never quite sure what’s going to happen. So it’s really exciting when fantastic scenes pop up out of nowhere. Developing the covers has been another thrill. Angelo (Rinaldi) has done a fabulous job with the artwork, which has become iconic. My favorite cover is The Fire Eternal (love the planet in the eye), closely followed by Fire World. Someone jokingly suggested that I couldn’t write any more books because we’ve run out of colors! Pink dragon, anyone? Maybe not. If I had a low at all, it would be the feeling that over a period of years, books like these tend to be taken for granted. People see three, four, five come out and assume they know what they’re getting. My answer to that would be, read Fire World. How many series take a complete sideways step, six books in, and manage to pull it off? I’m sometimes told as well that the plots are confusing or complicated. Yes, they are, probably because of the way the books are written. And maybe it’s partly due to the fact that my two favorite television series were The X Files and Twin Peaks, which had so many layers of intrigue that it was virtually impossible to finish them conclusively. I learned a lesson there. I think The Fire Ascending does have a strong conclusion, one which brings the whole series together.
I’ve lived with these characters for over ten years. It’s going to seem odd not writing about them. I’ve always felt happy in Wayward Crescent and will miss visiting the kitchen at number 42. I can see Bonnington at his food bowl as I type this. More than anything, I will miss the Pennykettle dragons. Their innocence and humor and occasional mischievous behavior was always a joy to experience. I used to believe I was better at writing domestic dramas than full-on fantasy. Part one of The Fire Ascending has changed my mind about that. But although I could see me writing another book about dragons, it almost certainly wouldn’t be about those dragons. There is a degree of sadness about that. But no matter what else I do, I will always be associated with David, Gadzooks, and the Dragons’ Den, which is fine by me. They have made me what I am and I would miss telling their stories at school visits — not that they’ll ever let me ignore them (they’re hurring in my ear even now …).
Writing a lengthy series like this brings its own kind of pressures. To keep the momentum going, the books have to be delivered regularly. That has not always been easy. I could have written a different ending to Dark Fire and quit the series there, but it would have left too many unanswered questions. I could never have put the Chronicles away without feeling entirely happy about the ending. Other than that, I don’t think there’s anything I would miss. These books opened me up to a new genre. They have taken me to places in the world I might never have visited otherwise and brought me into contact with lots of wonderful people. But I guess the last word should go to the fans. I’ve had thousands of messages over the years from boys and girls (and, yes, many “grown-ups”) who’ve told me the books are amazing and even life changing. That’s a humbling feeling when you get right down to it. I want to thank them all and say I hope you enjoyed the conclusion. One day, we will get a movie (or three) for you. Then you can say you were there at the beginning, before the whole world knew the meaning of hrrr!
Chris d’Lacey
January 2012
Scrubbley station sign © Chris d’Lacey
Housing available ad © Orchard Books
Anatomy of a Pennykettle Dragon © Chris d’Lacey, permitted for use by Val Chivers
Boley the polar bear © Chris d’Lacey
The Library Gardens, Scrubbley © Orchard Books
Val Chivers © Chris d’Lacey, permitted for use by Val Chivers
Nutbeast collage covers © Orchard Books
Nutbeast cartoon cover © Tania Hunt-Newton
Original fire tear design © Orchard Books
Unused rough for Dark Fire © Angelo Rinaldi
Line drawings from Japanese editions © Take Shobo
New Walk © Chris d’Lacey
Conker’s sanctuary © Chris d’Lacey
Scuffenbury in dragontongue © Orchard Books
Nine bears on ice pillars © Orchard Books
“G” © Orchard Books
Mark of Oomara illustration © Orchard Books
Grockle in chains © Orchard Books
Scuffenbury Hill © Orchard Books
Isenfier tapestry illustration © Orchard Books 2011
Photograph of David Rain © MW Pinsent
Gadzooks © Chris d’Lacey, permitted for use by Val Chivers
School report © Orchard Books
The Fire Within — cover of Czech Republic edition, permitted for use by Jiri Cerny – Vydavatelstvi Vikend
Icefire — cover of German edition, permitted for use by Coppenwrath Verlag
Fire Star — cover of Japanese edition, permitted for use by Take Shobo
The Fire Eternal — cover of UK edition, permitted for use by Orchard Books UK
Chris and Jay d’Lacey are the authors of Rain & Fire, a companion to the New York Times bestselling Last Dragon Chronicles. Chris d’Lacey is the author of many highly acclaimed novels for children and young adults, including the books in the Last Dragon Chronicles: The Fire Within, Icefire, Fire Star, The Fire Eternal, Dark Fire, Fire World, and The Fire Ascending. He is also the author of the early chapter books series The Dragons of Wayward Crescent. Chris and Jay are married and live in Devon, England.
To learn more about Chris d’Lacey’s books visit www.scholastic.com/LastDragonChronicles.
Text copyright © 2010, 2012 by Jay and Chris d’Lacey
Cover illustration © 2010 by Angelo Rinaldi
First published in 2010 in Great Britain by Orchard Books.
Orchard Books is a division of Hachette Children’s Books, a Hachette Livre UK company.
All rights reserved. Published by Orchard Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, New York, New York 10012, by arrangement with Scholastic Ltd. ORCHARD BOOKS and design are registered trademarks of Watts Publishing Group, Ltd., used under license. SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
d’Lacey, Chris.
Rain & fire: a companion to the last dragon chronicles / Chris and Jay d’Lacey. — 1st Scholastic ed.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-545-41453-1
1. d’Lacey, Chris. Last dragon chronicles — Handbooks, manuals, etc. 2. Fantasy fiction, English — History and criticism — Handbooks, manuals, etc. 3. Children’s stories, English — History and criticism — Handbooks, manuals, etc. I. d’Lacey, Jay. II. Title.
PR6104.L27Z58 2012
823'.92 — dc23
2012014374
First Scholastic edition, October 2012
e-ISBN 978-0-545-46995-1
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.
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