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Are you looking for young adult books that inspires as it entertains? The Falcon Chronicle delivers Noblebright Young Adult Fantasy. Skip the smut and keep the adventure and the reality of life.

Words hold so much power.

Bio:

A reader of epic fantasy and new worlds, Azalea Dabill loves grand adventure and a satisfying, happy ending. Noblebright characters, the fate of the world, and character tension fascinates her. How to shape words so they hold meaning is something she will always explore. Words wield the force of a well-aimed arrow, for good or ill. Her debut Noblebright historical fantasy novel was released in 2015. When she isn’t writing her next series you can find her growing things, raiding bookstores, or hiking the wild.

Falcon Heart and my other books are written for everyone who enjoys Noblebright fantasy with threads of myth, romance, and mystery.

History:

Since I began Falcon Heart, I’ve attended conferences and devoured how-to books from James Scott Bell to Sol Stein, including Deborah Chester’s The Fantasy Fiction Formula. While writing the Falcon Chronicle, I helped critique the fascinating stories of my writing group, Fantasy for Christ . I enjoy many authors traditionally and Indie published.

Immersive fantasy adventure like Falcon Heart and the rest of the Falcon Chronicle series releases the imagination to the beauty of new worlds within the familiar. Worlds that hold fast in the face of evil, that explore the forces of love, fear, hatred and hope.

Blurb for Falcon Heart:

Falcon Heart is the first book in the Falcon Chronicle. You can sign up and check it out free here.

When slavers seize stronghold first daughter Kyrin Cieri from the coast of Britannia, Kyrin finds a mystery, martial skill, and friendship closer than blood.

A falcon pursues her through tiger-haunted dreams, love, and war in the Araby sands. With a strange dagger from her murdered mother’s hand, an exiled warrior from the East, and a peasant girl, Kyrin faces the sword that took her mother. Caught in the caliph’s court intrigue, she must outwit deadly treachery to save those she loves, and overcome more than the blade. Love against hate, dagger against sword.

Readers who love the non-magical fantasy of Jaye L. Knight in The Ilyon Chronicles, the richness of The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley, and the delightful romance of Melanie Dickerson in The Healer’s Apprentice, will be drawn into a world of thrills in this inspiring adventure series. Kyrin Cieri and her House fight to guard the light they hold for Britannia, and Kyrin will spend her blood to protect her friends and her stronghold against those who would destroy them.

Fans of the immersive action of C.J. Brightley and The King’s Sword in her Erdemen Honor series will be entranced by the martial art fantasy and coming of age adventure in Falcon Heart.

A fast-paced, character driven debut novel.

The first young adult historical fantasy in a family friendly book series.

Includes discussion questions for book clubs.

A great book for readers ages 13-18 and the whole family.

You can sign-up here and read the first book to see if it’s for you.

What bars you from wonder, from courage, and saving those you love? Is it fear of the unknown, fear of pain, or fear of other things? Follow Kyrin’s journey to overcome fear and find the key to overcoming your own.

Don’t miss this epic, historical new world of family friendly books.

Crossover: Find the Eternal, the Adventure.

If you wish to contact me about Falcon Heart or my other novels for a book review or for more information, please email me:

azaleadabill@gmail.com.

Thank you!

Azalea Dabill – Dynamos Press

Interview – 11 Author Q and A

Q 1: You write clean YA fantasy adventure—what is that?

A: Words hold the power of life and death. The adage “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me” is nonsense. Words that damage the mind, heart, and soul impact the body too. The wounds may not be immediately apparent, for they can be insidious.

But fantasy has a peculiar power to tap into unseen facets of life that is harder to show in some genres. And I have never found enough Noblebright fantasy on digital or physical shelves. By Noblebright fantasy, I mean adventures with a sense of the mystery of life, the beauty of worlds known and unknown, and the wonder of our Creator, who gave life to all of us. Clean fantasy in this genre always has a kind of attraction, and I don’t mean the expected romance thread. I mean attraction in the old meaning of the words “a Romance” – an awe-infused sense of the supernatural, the heroic, new facets of our mysterious world. I want to add more of this kind of Noblebright epic romantic fantasy to our entertainment.

Noblebright fantasy releases our imaginations to new worlds. In a new setting we see hope, despair, weakness and strength by contrast; we find kingdoms won and lost under suns near and far. Such stories weave human experience into a myriad adventures and explores the indomitable force of true relationships forged in the face of evil.

For the clarion cry of great fantasy adventure is hope. Hope despite the wrongness in the world and in ourselves, despite fear, death, and life challenges. Indeed, Noblebright fantasy shows us how to overcome our challenges, how to use our difficulties as stepping stones to love and joy, perseverance and strength.

Q 2: What is Falcon Heart about?

A: Falcon Heart is an immersive YA Noblebright fantasy with threads of wonder, romance, and mystery. Fans of Anna Thayer’s The Traitor’s Heir in The Knight of Eldaran series, CJ Brightley’s Erdemen Honor series, Patrick Carr’s The Shock of Night in The Darkwater Saga, Andrew Peterson’s The Wingfeather Saga, and Jonathan Renshaw’s Dawn of Wonder may also enjoy Falcon Heart.

This is a medieval tale of Kyrin Cieri, stronghold first daughter, who fears a blade after her mother is murdered and seeks the courage to win her freedom and her place. Kyrin’s dreams of a tiger and a captive falcon lead her into a deadly conflict of intrigue, revenge, and compassion between a slaver, the Caliph’s court, and those dearer to her than blood.

The Falcon Chronicle is an epic tale of friends and assassins, war and betrayal, love and honor. Kyrin grapples for her freedom, her people, and her kingdom. If you enjoy Young adult historical fantasy, The Falcon Chronicle is for you.

Q 3: Kyrin Cieri journeys from Britain to Arabia in Falcon Heart. Did you find the research daunting?

A: Reading Wilfred Thesiger’s account of Arabia, among others, was so interesting I did not have time to think of being daunted. Other books about early Britain also drew me in deeply. They were fascinating.

After a lot more research, when Falcon Heart was going to my editor, readers brought a few questions to my attention. I admit the research felt daunting then, as if Falcon Heart would never be finished.

Q 4: Medieval Tae Kwon Do (Soo Bak Do) and weapons and warfare play large roles in Falcon Heart. Where did you learn about these?

A: I have practiced martial arts and archery in the past, and I’ve also worked with hand weapons a little. The fight scenes in Falcon Heart are a combination of that and research.

Q 5: How long did Falcon Heart take to write?

A: Before college I started writing on a different novel, but I stopped after a few chapters. Later, I realized I gave up too easily. Then when Falcon Heart began to grow in my mind, I told the Lord I would not quit until it was finished. Unless he made it clear he wanted me to stop. So I wrote around school, life, and work. And work, life, and school, LOL.

With my Noblebright novel at four hundred pages and growing, Jeanette Windle, author of The DMZ, helped me see that I had drawn the bones of Falcon Heart AND a second book, the sequel, Falcon Flight. The first half of the manuscript went to my editor soon after as Falcon Heart.

Q 6: What was your most difficult obstacle in writing Falcon Heart?

A: Two things threatened to stop me: uncertainty that Falcon Heart would reach readers beyond my family and friends, and my conviction that this sentence or that word could be tinkered into better shape.

Q 7: What is the theme of Falcon Heart?

A: One theme is overcoming fear. Our uncertainty, fear of loss, fear of love and the vulnerability it brings. In contrast, this brings out hope.

Q 8: What inspired you to write a Young Adult Noblebright fantasy of fear, struggle, and hope?

A: Don’t laugh! When I was young, I saw some early Xena, Warrior Princess episodes and Kyrin’s story sprang from what Xena stirred in my imagination. Xena fought evil and was brave, though not invincible. I admired her for that.

Xena, Warrior Princess also made me sad for how much deeper a character she could have been, for how much she missed as a person, falling for vague lies about the meaning of her own life and the world. Kyrin’s story has similarities, mostly on the subject of martial art, since her Subak ability does not require suspending gravity. 🙂 Her story pertains to real martial arts, LOL.

If you like Noblebright fantasy adventure, you can find a free ebook of Falcon Heart at www.azaleadabill.com.

Q 9: Are you writing more fantasy novels like Falcon Heart and Falcon Flight?

A: The companion stories to finish out the Falcon Chronicle series are published as of January 18, 2025. Gathered under one title, Falcon Dagger, where Kyrin makes a cameo appearance, they continue her story of courage, the conclusion of the mystery of the falcon dagger, and the fate of Cierheld through her companions.

As far as a new series, I currently I have a file of lined story cards (converted recipe cards) where I jot down scenes and story ideas. Most of them are fantasy, not in the same place or time as Falcon Heart. Sign up for my News Letter for up first reader opportunities, new releases, and reader swag of various kinds.

Q 10: Falcon Heart’s characters live rich, varied lives. Are Kyrin, Tae, or Alaina modeled on real people?

A: Yes, but based on more than one person, blended. Because all people play more than one character role. And no one’s personality is simplistic.

Kyrin’s fears and her battle to overcome them in order to live well and heroically resonate with me and many people. Also, facets of the lesser characters and their struggles in Falcon Heart are things I either have direct knowledge of, or enough knowledge and imagination to extrapolate from. Which is an author’s business.

Readers may glimpse facets of themselves in the story. That is what a good book does. All the characters we travel with reflect us in some way, unless they are completely alien. And even aliens in Sci-fi are not usually that alien, or we put the book down because we can’t relate to them.

Q 11: Do you plan to write more Noblebright fantasy, or fantasy stories in other worlds?

A: Noblebright fantasy means any story with fantastical elements that includes the timeless things our spirits thrive on: truth, loyalty, sacrifice, and love, a sense of the mystery of life and joy, without getting into the unnecessary details of muck, evil, and immorality. It is a gleam of light in the night.

To my mind, most fantasy adventure reflects something of the epitome of sacrificial love in our history that showed us what love is. In Falcon Heart this reflection springs from the mystery and power behind the peregrine falcon that becomes a symbol to Kyrin. The bird’s brave sacrifice is an idea that works inside Kyrin herself, and is revealed when she answers the final call to grasp a falcon’s courage.

As to writing more Noblebright fantasy, I don’t think I can avoid it. Fantasy adventure enthralls me. I write facets of what I see and daydream about. I see truth active in many ways in this world, and my written worlds extrapolate from ours. I think this is true for every author.

On a finishing note, I don’t define the word “fantasy” as some do, as a kind of story-telling that creates deception or delusion. I use it in the sense of C. S. Lewis’s “Mythic Fantasy” as he says on page 66, 67 in An Experiment in Criticism:

Surely the author is not saying [about Mythic Fantasy]‘This is the sort of thing that happens?’ Or surely, if he is, he lies? But he is not. He is saying, ‘Suppose this happened, how interesting, how moving, the consequences would be! Listen. It would be like this.’ … The raison d’etre of the story is that we shall weep, or shudder, or wonder, or laugh as we follow it. … Admitted fantasy is precisely the kind of literature which never deceives at all.”

And as J. R. R. Tolkien says in On Fairy-stories:

When we can take green from grass, blue from heaven, and red from blood, we have already an enchanter’s power—upon one plane; and the desire to wield that power in the world external to our minds awakes. … The peculiar quality of the ”joy” in successful Fantasy can thus be explained as a sudden glimpse of the underlying reality or truth. It is not only a “consolation” for the sorrow of this world, but a satisfaction, and an answer to that question, ‘Is it true?’.

Yes, with Tolkien and Lewis, I believe good fantasy adventure contains truth that points to absolute truth, to reality. Great Noblebright fantasy reveals spiritual truth that leads us into adventure, into mystery, and into untold delight.