"What I enjoyed about this was simple. It was a world. It was a world through the eyes of a young one, soon to be not-so-young--a world of discovery, beautiful and painful all at once." Nikkita Pierrottie, author of The Redford Files on The Waters of Nyra
My work is a conglomeration of the literature I loved as a kid. Like many mixed-bags, it has trouble fitting into any one place. Some have called my books "for children" because my protagonists are animals. Other call it "crossover" because it speaks to the reader maturely. Most of my readers are adults who are nostalgic for the animal fiction they loved as children, but every so often I'll hear from a young person (and few things make me happier).
Never an ordinary dragon, Nyra grew up forbidden to breathe fire or fly. Like her mother before her, she has only known a life of enslavement, held in thrall by mountain dragons, which need Nyra’s ripening wings to secure hunting for the future.
But at the cusp of her first flying lesson, new rumors whisper through the herd. Mother pursues friendships in forbidden places, blurring the succinct enemy line. In a whirlwind of realization, Nyra uncovers a secret in plain sight, one thought unknown to her enslavers and putting her at the focal point of rebellion should it come into play.
And come it does, but through an ill-timed accident, killing the slaves’ last chance of escape... or so it seems. To survive, Nyra must overcome old lies and terrible truths, each weaving a war she was never meant to encounter.
"The Waters of Nyra is a perfect novel for dragon enthusiasts. What’s more, it’s perfect for readers who enjoy novels which leave humanity behind and focus exclusively on the animal point of view, be it dogs, owls, cats, or in this case, dragons." --Good Book Alert
After braving the ocean, Nyra finds herself incarcerated on the other side of the world. The would-be saviors are in the midst of civil war, and her presence inflames their rivalry. Caught by the Sorja herd, Nyra is held prisoner with Olieve; a Royal as garrulous as she is blind, neither friend nor foe, but essential to the young dragon’s escape. Yet even escape has little promise, as the opposing Raklisall herd has a poisonous outlook on Agrings, so potent it reawakens an old scandal of superstition and murder. At the crux of deceit, scorn, and prejudice, Nyra must unearth new weapons in her natural repertoire and learn the identity of a mysterious hero. Only then can she return home, and at long last free her downtrodden kin.
"I think I became so involved in the action and the interplay of the characters that I forgot they weren't human people. Very few authors have that capability. Ms. Baker is definitely one of the few." --Stephen Drake, author of Displaced