… I wonder if their mothers will tell them bedtime stories tonight about the lone griffin, and how it fell behind the rest of its troop.
If he were to make up a story about Balkind, he would call it "The Naughtiest Griffin". Ribbons of streams connecting one village pond to the next widened, collections of thatched roofs became more frequent, but otherwise, the landscape barely changed. They flew on, the steady swish swish of Balkind's wings against the air faded into the background. The boy wasn't concentrating on anything much, apart from concentrating hard on not thinking about what Romulus would have to say about "The Naughtiest Griffin Lad". Despite being alone and flying an inexperienced griffin over unknown territory, the boy fell into a daydream: Balkind headed in the right direction, they were far out of reach of any threat from ground, and nothing in the air – apart from another griffin – would dare attack. An experienced griffin rider knows better; an experienced griffin rider knows that danger is always present. Nothing in this world or any other competed with the thrill of soaring through the skies on a griffin's back. A thrill sharpened by the knowledge that one wrong move, one lapse in concentration could prove fatal – as the Boy was about to discover.
Chaffing at the bit to find out what happens next? You can download "The Griffin's Boy" from Amazon on July lst. To win a very special advance reader copy, with a unique dedication on the title page, zoom on over to Charlie Plunkett's site & enter her free fun contest. But hurry - entries close 17th June and the winner will receive their advance copy a week before publication date.