In the distant past, during the Great War of the Dragons, Queen Dragon's fiancŽ disappeared through the Eye in Time, never to be heard from again. Now Lily Quench has discovered a clue to his whereabouts, and she must accompany Queen Dragon to find him. They arrive safely in a magical place known as the Valley of Eydelen, land of the dragons, ignorant of the fact that, back home, the unthinkable has happened: Gordon the Black Count has finally returned to reclaim the Black Empire! With Queen Dragon and its Chief Quencher away, the fate of Ashby looks grim. . . .
Prior was born in 1963 in Brisbane, Australia, where she also currently lives with her husband and daughter. Her first fiction book, 'The Amazing Adventures of Amabel', was published in 1990 and her internationally successful children's fantasy series, 'Lily Quench', has been published in more than twenty countries. Prior's work has been a finalist at the Children's Book Council of Australia Awards as well as being honoured and named as notable. Her work, 'Fireworks and Darkness', won the 2003 Davitt Awards for best young-adult novel and her work, 'Lily Quench and the Lighthouse of Skellig Mor' won the 2003 Aurealis Award for best children's short fiction. She has also been nominated for an Aurealis Award on three other occasions for best short fiction, long fiction and young-adult novel.