About this book
Feeding the Fires came from watching the world burn and realizing how quickly we move on once the smoke is no longer in our own sky. Wildfires are often treated as isolated disasters, but they are never only that. They are the result of climate change, land use, political choices, failed management, drought, misinformation, and a long human habit of thinking nature can be controlled without consequence.
In this book, I wanted to look at fire differently. Fire is not the villain. Fire has always been part of the Earth’s systems, part of renewal, part of balance. The danger comes when we interrupt those systems, suppress what we do not understand, dry the land, ignore traditional ecological knowledge, and then act surprised when the flames return with more force than before. The dragons in the Draconim series are not here to solve the problem for us. They are witnesses, and through them the young characters are forced to see what adults too often refuse to see.
This is also a story about grief. Not only grief for people and places lost to fire, but grief for species, ecosystems, cultures, and futures being damaged by denial. Jacob, Hannah, Anne, and the others are ordinary young people carrying extraordinary awareness. Their courage does not come from being fearless. It comes from staying present when the truth is painful, and from understanding that action begins with listening.
I wrote Feeding the Fires for readers old enough to understand that climate stories are not distant warnings anymore. They are already here. For educators and librarians, I hope the book opens conversations about wildfire ecology, Indigenous knowledge, climate anxiety, misinformation, identity, and youth-led environmental action. For young readers, I hope it says something more personal: your fear is not weakness, your grief is not overreaction, and your voice matters before the next spark catches.
