Timothy and the Dragon's Gate - out today!

Yes ladies and gents, I am just utterly thrilled to announce that my book, Timothy and the Dragon's Gate, the sequel to Alex and the Ironic Gentleman, is out today!!!!!! I am just so excited and well . . . just really really excited . . . and I do hope you all enjoy it. And if you do enjoy it (I have mentioned this in my sidebar already), I would be so grateful if you wouldn't mind popping over to Amazon, or Barnes and Noble, or Chapters etc, and writing a little review. My books would be nothing without their readers, and your reviews truly are helpful.

At any rate. . . may I present to you . . . .

TIMOTHY AND THE DRAGON'S GATE

" . . . the tale’s snarky dialogue, sudden twists, authorial asides and daffy characters will keep readers turning the pages." - Kirkus

"An exciting read that's action-packed from cover to cover." - KH, The Magazine

"Kress has the knack of writing child characters who could be my next-door neighbors . . . Like Alex and the Ironic Gentleman, Timothy and the Dragon’s Gate charmed me into staying up way too late to finish it. No syrup here. Instead, there’s adventure, derring-do, attitude, and danger. All wrapped up in a clever and fascinating take on the reluctant hero, courage, loyalty, and—of course—dragons." - Alice Loweecey, Buddyhollywood.com

SYNOPSIS

With a father who can’t control him and a mother who is always out of town, Timothy Freshwater has finally been expelled from the last school in the city. As if that were not enough, events conspire to ensnare him in an ancient quest.When he meets Mr. Shen, a mysterious Chinese gentleman who is a mailroom clerk at his father’s office, Timothy finds himself deeply entrenched in a rescue operation centuries in the making.

It turns out that the diminutive, elegant Mr. Shen is a dragon, banished and forced to take human shape for a thousand years until he can resume his true form by scaling the Dragon’s Gate during a festival for the 125th year of the dragon. Until that time, he is sentenced to enslavement by the holder of the golden key. It is, of course, Timothy who finds himself the latest keeper of Mr. Shen. The boy too smart for his own good is reluctant to assume the task, but tackles the challenge, after being stalked by a stealthy ninja and chased by a menacing trio of black taxicabs. When Mr. Shen falls into the wrong hands, Timothy is flailing in treacherous waters, literally. And then a strange-looking black brig with red sails, called, for some reason, the Ironic Gentleman appears on the horizon.

Relying on his own ingenuity and an annoying new ally, a girl called Alex, Timothy must face up to his responsibilities and rescue the dragon from a fleet of Chinese pirate junks. Above all, he must have enough faith in himself to take on that fleet’s commander, the Man in the Beige Linen Suit.


And now a sneak peak excerpt never before read online! oooooooh . . . . .

We find Timothy and Mr. Shen hitching a ride in a sixteen wheeler truck (named "Daisy") driven by who Timothy has dubbed "the crazy man". Suddenly three black taxi cabs that Timothy and Mr. Shen have already encountered once before - and who seem pretty intent on bringing about their demise - appear, and a chase ensues . . .


"Here we go!"

The crazy man spun the wheel and drove directly into oncoming traffic, passing two sports cars and a minivan before pulling back into his own land out in front of a Rolls Royce, the startled driver of which honked his horn as a means of pointing out the fact that Daisy had pulled out into oncoming traffic and then had almost run right into him, in case the crazy man hadn't realised what had happened.

"This isn't working!" shouted Timothy over the roar of the wind and traffic. The cabs were much smaller than Daisy and could weave through the cars with much greater ease. One was racing parallel to the crazy man, and another was inching its way up next to Timothy's exposed side.

"You're right!" The crazy man slammed on the brakes. There was a loud screech and the smell of burning rubber as the truck spun sideways to a stop. Two air bags popped open helpfully, as Timothy, Mr. Shen, and the crazy man were flung forward and then back as their seat belts braked. The sound of rushing wind stopped instantly, as did the roar of traffic, and was replaced by a symphony of honking horns, each expressing a different emotional state, from slightly put out to angry to the point of white-hot rage.

The black cabs, who had not anticipated this sudden change in the chase, had flown past, and were now regrouping a mile down the road and starting to head back their way once more.

Timothy turned to Mr. Shen and the crazy man with a look of utter shock on his face. He was completely speechless. Though he attempted to say something, all he could make was a small, ip sound.

The crazy man fiercely nodded his wholehearted agreement with this sentiment and then added, as he popped off his seat belt and rose in his seat, "Quick, everyone! Into the helicopter!"