SCALES
Digital Assets
Title: SCALES (Spirits
of Chaos, #1)
Author: Nicole
Conway
Pub.
Date: March 5, 2019
Publisher: Owl
Hollow Press
Formats: Paperback,
eBook
Pages: 300
When
New York City faces the threat of an ancient evil, a teenage boy must use a
magical bracelet to transform into a monster-slaying dragon superhero.
Koji
Owens is the new kid … again. As the only son of an Air Force F-16 pilot, he’s
learned to adapt and survive every time they move. It’s not easy starting over
with new friends and schools every two years, but when the Owens family makes
their final move to New York, Koji finally has hope for a normal high school
life—that is, until he finds a strange bracelet in his locker.
Transformed
into a storm-summoning dragon warrior, Koji finds himself caught up in a world
of ancient powers, secret identities, and colossal monsters threatening to
destroy his new home. But these awesome powers come with strings attached, and
revealing his true identity could mean losing everything he loves. With his
family and friends now in mortal danger and New York City in flames, Koji must
find the courage to become the hero they need and face down an enemy hiding in
plain sight.
A comic-obsessed
teenage misfit embraces his inner hero in this action-packed adventure that
will leave you ready to get your scales on!
CHAPTER 1
Ever had a bowl of cereal call you a
loser?
That’s how my day started.
Sitting alone at a table in the
hotel lounge, I stared down into my bowl of Alphabet Puffs. There it was, plain
as day. L-O-S-E-R. The soggy cereal bits floated innocently in my milk, like
none of this had been planned ahead of time. Talk about bad omens.
I tried to ignore it. It was
probably just a coincidence, right? I mean, who ever heard of divining the
future out of a bowl of cereal? Cereal wasn’t going to ruin this day for me.
“Morning, Koji,” my dad called
across the lobby as he strolled through the revolving glass door. His outfit
drew a strange look from the receptionist as he made his way over to join me at
the table. He wore his standard, olive-green flight suit with matching green
combat boots—the same uniform I’d seen him in since…well, as long as I could
remember. Tucking his navy blue flight cap into the big pocket on the leg of
his suit, he flashed me a quick grin as he sat down. “Got everything packed
up?”
I nodded to the two giant rolling
suitcases next to my chair. “Yup. Ready to go.”
“Excellent.” Dad sat back and
yawned, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “The traffic is murder out there. It’s
going to take some getting used to. Good thing we’re close enough to your new
school you can walk. It’ll take me an hour just to get to the university. And
that’s on a good day.”
“Did you see our new place?”
He smiled again. “Sure did. I think
you’ll like it. Your room has a great view. And, hey, no more sharing a
bathroom. You’ve got your own this time.”
“Sweet!” I sprang out of my chair
and seized one of my rolling bags. “Let’s go.”
Dad followed, chuckling and rolling
my second bag. After checking out of the hotel, we made our way into the
chilly, early morning air and caught a cab. It took a minute or two to cram my
stuff into the trunk, but then we were on our way, headed for Yonkers, where
our new life was supposed to begin.
The streets of New York churned and
buzzed with early morning activity as they slid past the back window of the
cab. I caught a glimpse of the cabbie eyeing my dad curiously in the rearview
mirror. Dad had been getting those kinds of looks basically since we stepped
off the plane. Growing up as a military brat, I’d always seen Dad wear flight
suits. It was the standard outfit he wore to work every day. In fact, it was
weirder if he wasn’t wearing it.
My dad flew F-16s for the majority
of his twenty-year career in the Air Force. Basically, that meant two things.
One, we moved a lot—more than ten times in all. And two, Dad worked nonstop.
He’d always come straight from work to catch the end of my soccer or basketball
games, to PTA meetings, or to pick me up from a friend’s house after school. He
was usually late, but I didn’t mind it much. It wasn’t because he forgot or
didn’t care. Dad worked hard to keep things going for us.
But here, Dad had promised me things
were going to be different. This was going to be his last post, his “twilight
tour,” before he retired from the Air Force for good. As the Detachment
Commander for the Air Force ROTC program at his alma mater, he was supposed to
have a much less stressful schedule. That meant no more long night-flying weeks
when we didn’t see each other because he couldn’t get home before three in the
morning. No more weekends spent doing my homework in the squadron bar, eating a
lunch of jalapeño popcorn and guzzling down Gatorade while he caught up on
whatever mission he needed to plan to fly the next day. No more being babysat
by my grandparents or living as an awkward houseguest with another family in
the squadron while he went on TDY trips to Alaska or was deployed somewhere
overseas.
This was our chance to finally get
comfortable, get into a routine that would last, and build a life that I
wouldn’t have to say goodbye to in a few months.
Not that my life had been the norm
for a military kid. All I had to do was take a look around and see that things
were… different for Dad and me. Nearly all of the other families in our
squadrons had moms at home. They brought in food and fresh meals for everyone
at the office, hosted big parties over the holidays, cooked delicious dinners,
came to every school play and sporting event to cheer on their kids, and made
sure the family landed on their feet after the chaos of every move.
I didn’t have that.
It wasn’t all bad though. And it’s
not like I was bitter about any of it. This was the way things were, and I was
comfortable with it. Sure, the moves were rough. We ate a lot of fast food,
lived in hotel rooms until we found a good place to rent, and I had to overlook
the few minutes here and there where Dad might come dashing in late because
he’d gotten hung up at work again. I had to start over every time with a new
school, new teachers, and try to build some semblance of a social life from
scratch. But I knew Dad had always done the best he could on his own. We were a
team. And things here were going to be different—that’s what he’d promised me.
This time, there’d be no looming
expectation of another painful goodbye when it was time to leave for the next
base.
This time, it was forever.
About
Nicole
MY
NAME IS NICOLE CONWAY and I love to write stories! I've been writing books
since I was very young, and am blessed beyond measure to be able to do it now
as a full time career. Although I sometimes step out into other genres, I
primarily write Fantasy for teens and middle graders.
I
graduated from Auburn University in 2012, which is also where I met my husband.
As a military family, we move frequently and have lived numerous places all
around the world. We have one very energetic son, Ethan. We also have two dogs
(French Brittanys) named Joey (currently 5 months old) and Phoebe (4 years old)
and a ball python named Noodle Nagini.
For
inquiries on how to book me for a school visit, presentation, or interest in my
future or current projects, please contact my amazing literary agent, FRAN
BLACK, of Literary Counsel.
Giveaway Details:
2 lucky winners will win
a finished copy of SCALES, US Only.
Tour
Schedule:
Week
One:
3/4/2019- BookHounds YA- Excerpt
3/5/2019- Descendant Of Poseidon Reads- Excerpt
3/6/2019- Lisa Loves Literature- Spotlight
3/7/2019- ❧Defining Ways❧- Excerpt
3/8/2019- Shortie Says- Excerpt
Week
Two:
3/11/2019- Ya wonderlust blog- Review
3/12/2019- Lone Tree Reviews- Excerpt
3/13/2019- Smada's Book Smack- Spotlight
3/14/2019- Elley the Book Otter- Excerpt
3/15/2019- Kelly P's Blog- Excerpt
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