On a sleepy bayou in southern Louisiana, a hidden school of magic--and dragons.
Life is hard for most fourteen year olds. Bodies are changing, relationships are changing, and they are freshmen on the bottom of the high school pecking order. But for Roby James--orphaned, undersized, and living in Ohio--it's all worse than usual.
His foster brother framed him. His foster parents sent him off to a military-style reform school. And everyone thinks he's weird because he can talk with animals. But then one night a fast-talking man with a Southern Louisiana accent shows up in his dorm, throws him into a flying car, and carries him off to a school somewhere between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. The food is magical, the friends are real, and there are dragons.
And a cat, big and brown and fluffy. A hungry sea monster in the closet. And a very enthusiastic half-cockatrice.
As Roby makes friends and navigates the challenges of his first year at a literally magic high school, others around him test their boundaries, explore their options, and fall in love. Yes, it's as much a story about teachers as students.
Read the prolouge here, for free!
Listen to a reading from chapter 2 here.
Watch the trailer video here.
Published in English
? pages
$150,000 US Kindle or EPUB, $1,000,000 print. (Really? No. These are placeholders.)
2026 hopefully
Kindle and print versions available at Amazon store. If not in the US, search for code at your country's Amazon Kindle store.
Dead Fish Books is an open, affirming press, home to stories and authors of all genders and sexual identities.
