Cover by Alison Hunt

Art by Alison Hunt

Art by Alison Hunt

Art by Alison Hunt

Art by Alison Hunt

For those who have read or looked into my Legends of Windemere series, you probably recognize the little guy in the pictures.  You also know that there was no other character who could be the mascot for this project.  For those who don’t know, let me introduce you to:

FIZZLE

Fizzle is a species from Windemere called a drite.  They are a small type of dragon with dragonfly-like wings.  Their body is about 2 feet long and their tail is longer than that as well as being prehensile.  They tend to be guardians of nature and stay invisible when people are around.  Fizzle wasn’t the best at this because he was always curious about the warrior academy that was built in his territory.  He didn’t cause any trouble being the headmistress talked to him first and supplies him with apples.  Fizzle LOVES apples, which is an understatement.  Like the rest of his kind, he possesses powerful magic and a hallucinogenic gas breath.

One thing that made Fizzle get so many fans was the way he talked.  Tradespeak (English) wasn’t his original language.  He learned it from a child who routinely visited the area in the past.  This means the 200+ year old drite spoke like a human child, but with a slightly better vocabulary.  There were times he used magic to communicate with his true voice, which was deep and guttural.  Yet, most of his page time was spent speaking in adorable sentences and getting a little confused.  It didn’t help that he hadn’t left his forest until the adventure began, so he wasn’t really worldly either.

All of that combined to turn Fizzle into my mascot.  I could never find a way to make plushies or any type of worthwhile Fizzle merchandise, but he was the character people loved to see.  Even if he wasn’t a favorite, most people had a soft spot for him.  It probably helped that he was more than his cuteness and was a helpful ally.  So, you knew he could hold his own in a fight and look adorable doing it.

Needless to say, I didn’t have to think very hard on what to do in regards to the interior art for Do I Need to Use a Dragon? since Fizzle exists.  Once I saw that I was going to be doing sections and needed interesting breaks, I considered ways to use him.  This was a daunting task too.  I’m really happy with what Alison created here and it’s better than I ever imagined.  Fizzle’s personality really comes through in all of the pictures that she made.  It makes me even more happy to have him as a mascot.

So, feel free to check out Beginning of a Hero if you want to see Fizzle in action.  If you already have and want to know more about the process that birthed him, grab a copy of Do I Need to Use a Dragon? as a 99 cent eBook or a $20 paperback.