After a discussion with my agent, I'm switching my primary project from Cog 2 to Dragonfire. If Cog sells and there's interest in the other proposed four books of the series, then I'll quickly switch back. Dragonfire was the next thing I wanted to work on anyways.

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This is my current description for Dragonfire.

In the western mountains, chaos demons and the sickness they inflict have crept into the world, spreading strife and fueling war. Only one great wizard stands before the darkness that threatens all the world like an all-consuming storm–the very same wizard that fourteen-year-old Trine has vowed to strip of his power.

Driven from her mountain home by the incursion, Trine finds an inhospitable welcome in the strange new lands she finds herself in. Enslaved, she’s forced to work tending to magical creatures destined to slaughter. Trine has a way with animals who, unlike people, don’t find her need for routine strange and don’t overwhelm her with talking and emotions. When she comes across a baby dragon who needs her help, she realizes why the once mighty dragons are being hunted to extinction–they’ve lost their fire.

Trine sets out to restore the dragon’s fire, collecting an unlikely army along the way: a lost elf-child, a failed wizard’s apprentice, an exiled princess with a penchant for tavern brawls, and a mischievous dog. The path puts her and her friends up against the most powerful and beloved wizard in all of the five lands along with his army of heroic knights. Of course, she also has to deal with pirates, slavers, and all the kings and queens who see the wizard as their only salvation to hold back the demons. Perhaps most difficult of all she has to deal with her own odd compulsions and inability to communicate with people.

Nobody wants Trine to succeed and bring back the dangerous beasts’ greatest weapon, but if she doesn't, then the world will learn that the dragons have kept more than the chaos demons at bay. The demons are only one half of the threat, and the other half is secretly on the move.

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I'm excited about this MG project.

That sounds great, Gud. I'm especially interested in the exiled princess with the penchant for tavern brawls!

I've got to be honest, the mischievous dog made me wince. It puts a bit too much "Oh, how cute" into a story that sounds serious and significant. The rest of it sounds like "how do we counter this wizard, who everyone loves adn trusts and depends on but who may not have our best interests in mind," then it goes "aw, look at the cute doggie." Is the dog a significant part of the plot, or more of a simple companion? Maybe call it "troublemaking" or even "rambunctious"?

Oh, this whole thing sounds horribly nitpicking, but there it is, for what it's worth.

Actually, I think that's a very good point. If I needed to make a real pitch, I'd take your advice. The dog is a serious character because he's really the only being (for lack of a better word) the protagonist is comfortable talking with at first.

If the dog is more than cute comic relief, it's fine, I think. Think of the dog in The Stand. He mattered.

Also, it is for kids. Kids like cute, and it's okay to give it to them sometimes.

I'm good with the dog, but it's the difference between Benji and Cujo.

the difference between Benji and Cujo.

1 point in Scrabble?

I'm good with the dog, but it's the difference between Benji and Cujo.

And like I said, sometimes cute is okay, especially for kids.

Think of the dog in Harlan Ellison's "A Boy and His Dog."

The only problem I had with the Mischievous Dog was where he was listed. The list of companions was like, Build, Build, Build...Fizzle. I thought maybe that was purposeful, and going for funny, but I'm not sure it quite worked. But listing the dog first, then building to a Brawling Princess? I'm in.