The Villain Keeper (33 page)

Authors: Laurie McKay

M
y sincerest thanks to Jocelyn Davies, my editor, who gave me so many great ideas with so many great exclamation points, and who helped me write a better book; and to my agent, David Dunton, who supported me and kept me sane throughout the year. And thanks to everyone at HarperCollins who helped turn my story into a real, not-imagined, paper-and-ink novel.

Also, I'd like to say thank you to my family for being there for me: my mom, Pat; my brother, Orren; my sister, Sarah; my brother-in-law, Stephen; and my nephew, Edward, and niece, Marie; as well as thanks to all those beachy Balls who read it for me, especially Sandy, Terri, Donald, and Jenn.

Lastly, I'd like to acknowledge my office mates Adrienne and Amy, who read and gave me feedback, and Janie, Erin,
Angel, and Lisa, who were always supportive; thanks also to my writing buddies Kat and Chelsea for brainstorming with me, and my friends Lorrie, Krista, Laura, Charlie, and Sam.

About the Author

Photo by Sarah Ball

LAURIE McKAY
lives in Durham, North Carolina, with her family and her two dogs. She earned her bachelor's degree in biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her master's degree in biological oceanography from North Carolina State University. She's taught at the Chesapeake Bay Governor's School for Marine and Environmental Science and in the North Carolina community college system. When she's not dodging students and prepping lab activities, she's sitting at a local coffee shop and daydreaming about all things fantastical. Follow her on Twitter @McKayLL and visit her online at
www.lauriemckay.net
.

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Credits

Cover design by Bob Steimle

Copyright

THE LAST DRAGON CHARMER BOOK
1:
VILLAIN KEEPER
. Copyright Â© 2015 by Laurie McKay. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text 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 HarperCollins e-books.
www.harpercollinschildrens.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

McKay, Laurie.

The villain keeper / Laurie McKay. â First edition.

pagesÂ Â cm. â (The last dragon charmer ; book 1)

Summary: Nothing is more important to Prince Caden of Razzon than slaying a dragon, but his quest proves more difficult than he thought when he and his nemesis, the sorceress Brynne, are unexpectedly trapped in magicless Asheville, North Carolina.

ISBN 978-0-06-230843-6 (hardcover)

EPub Edition Â© December 2014 ISBN 9780062308450

[1. PrincesâFiction. 2. HeroesâFiction. 3. DragonsâFiction. 4. MagicâFiction. 5. Asheville (N.C.)âFiction.] I. Title.