The Dragon of Never-Was

Ever since she was caught up in a magical whirlwind of dragons, spells, and wizards, Theodora Oglethorpe has been doing her best to put the Events of Last Summer behind her and go back to her life as a normal twelve-year-old girl. But no matter how hard she tries to forget about magic, it always seems to find her — even when she's on vacation! When Theodora's biologist-dad is called to the Scottish island of Scornsay to study a scale believed to be from a previously unknown species, Theodora is thrilled to be invited along. A nice vacation is just what she needs to forget all about wyverns, demons, and magical tunnels through time.

But as soon as Theodora sees the scale, she knows it's not from a fish, a reptile, or anything known to science. It's from a dragon, and as Theodora knows all too well, wherever there are dragons, there are wizards, and then there's sure to be trouble. Before she can solve the mystery of the dragon's scale, Theodora will have to confront her own magical heritage and make a perilous journey to the wizard's limbo known as Never-Was.

The Dragon of Never-Was, the sequel to Hatching Magic, is just as funny, witty, and richly imagined as its predecessor. Filled with eccentric characters, crafty dragons, dazzling spells, good friends, and a feisty heroine that readers will root for, this is a middle-grade fantasy to be savored.

Publishers Weekly

The star of Hatching Magic, Theodora Oglethorpe, returns in The Dragon of Never-Was by Ann Downer. After her adventures with Wycca in the previous book, Theodora hopes to put wyverns, wizards and all things magical behind her on a trip to an island off the coast of Scotland with her biologist father, who goes to investigate the origins of an exotic scale. Instead, Theodora recognizes the scale as belonging to a dragon, and must confront her magical heritage. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Ann Downer grew up in Manila and Bangkok in the late 1960's and read many mysteries...until she discovered the rich and wonderful world of fantasy.

Returning to her native Virginia, she began to spend afternoons at the local library reading all the fantasy she could get her hands on. Soon she was inspired to begin a fantasy novel of her own, and so began her career as a fantasy author. She has written The Spellkey, The Glass Salamander, and The Books of the Keepers.

Ms. Downer combines her writing with a full-time career as a science editor at a university press. She lives with her husband, their son, and a large marmalade cat in Somerville, Massachusetts.