I’m very pleased today to welcome The BBNYA 2026 Semi-Finalist Spotlight Tour for Ashley N.Y. Sheesley’s Child of the Dragon! This book made it to the semi-finals, so you know there’s something good going on–but before getting to this Spotlight, let’s start with a word about BBNYA.
BBNYA:
BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists (18 in 2026) and one overall winner.
If you want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA Website https://www.bbnya.com/ or take a peek over on Twitter @BBNYA_Official.
Book Details:
Title: Child of the Dragon by Ashley N.Y. Sheesley
Series: Pact of the Ancients
Genre: Fantasy, Contemporary Fiction
Age Category: Young Adult
Format: Paperback, eBook
Length: 435 pg.
Publication Date: March 10, 2026
About the Book:
Our only hope is the hope we forge ourselves.
Kat always thought her grandma’s stories of Rhaegynne—shapeshifting dragons—were just fairytales. But that all changes when her grandma is killed, and she learns that not only are they real, but she is one.
A prophecy and a curse set in motion ages ago, have now turned Kat’s quiet senior year into chaos. What was supposed to be a gift becomes a tool for breaking a curse that forces others to serve tyrannical kings who will use them to wage war and destruction across Earth.
But hope . . . is more stubborn than a curse.
Fighting alongside friends new and old, Kat must learn to harness the heart of the dragon in order to break the curse, destroy the kings, and save the dragons. All before succumbing to the curse herself.
Honestly? It’ll be a breeze compared to calculus.
What is the opening line? Nowhere in my plans for Friday night did I anticipate hiding behind a steel crate in a shipping yard with a dead body at my feet.
What’s a fun fact about the book? I initially started this book when I was in high school 15 years ago. At the time I was experiencing chased-by-dragons levels of stress, and wanted an escape, so I wrote about a girl in high school who could actually fight real dragons (and turn into a dragon because that was dope). That book has evolved so far over the years, but the initial idea came because, given the choice between dragons and high school drama…well…I think we’d all choose the dragons.
What food or drink pairs best with the book? Dr. Pepper
Book Links:
Amazon Canada ~ Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Bookshop.org ~ Goodreads ~ The Story Graph
About the Author:
Ashley N.Y. Sheesley is an aroace and disabled author, scientist, animal lover, and a big fan of all things fantasy. In fact, she is only a scientist because she can’t figure out how to be a wizard in real life. She lives with her husband and her small army of animals—a bearded dragon, a bunny, and three cats. Her writing can be found in Artifice & Access: A Disability in Fantasy Anthology, Why Aren’t You Dead Yet?: A Disability in Dystopia Anthology, and with her award-winning debut YA contemporary fantasy, Child of the Dragon from Inked in Gray Press, the first book in the Pact of the Ancients series.
She is represented by Kaitlyn Katsoupis at Belcastro Agency.
Website ~ Bluesky ~ Instagram ~ Threads
My thanks to The Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Award for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials they provided.
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