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The Crackledawn Dragon by Abi Elphinstone is an adventure novel set in a magical kingdom.

Abi visited Authors Live to read from the book and talk about how she wrote it. Whether you have read the book or not, in this article you can:

• find out more about the story and its main character
• learn about the theme of a story
• hear how Abi created the setting for her story
• try inventing a setting for your own story

You can tell a lot about a book even before you open it!

Examine the title and cover illustration of The Crackledawn Dragon by Abi Elphinstone.Try and answer these questions:

• What can you predict about characters, setting and plot?
• What type of story do you think it is?

Watch this clip of Abi Elphinstone explaining what the book is about.

The blurb is information on the back of a book. A good blurb tells you enough about the characters, plot and setting to make you want to read the book, but not so much that you know what happens.

Try writing your own short blurb about The Crackledawn Dragon. If you haven't read the book, listen back to what Abi said about it.

Can you say something similar in your own words?

All stories have a plot. The plot is the series of events that happen in a story.

But most stories will have at least one theme. A theme is a big idea or subject that the story explores

One of the themes of The Crackledawn Dragon is climate change.Watch this clip of Abi Elphinstone talking about this theme, then try and answer the question below.

The setting is where and when a story takes place. It can also be a way of creating the atmosphere or mood for part of a story.

The main setting for the story is the Kingdom of Crackledawn but it begins in New York.

Watch this clip of Abi reading an extract from the start of the book and try to answer the questions below.

Travel and visiting different places can give you lots of ideas for stories and settings.

Abi Elphinstone has been lucky enough to travel to some amazing places, and these have been a big influence on her writing.

These photos are from when Abi travelled to Mongolia where some people live by hunting with eagles. They hunt wolves and foxes for their fur, which is used to make warm clothes that are needed to survive the harsh Mongolian winters.

The photos show Abi with a young woman called Aisholpan - the only female eagle hunter. Abi based the main character of her book Sky Song on Aisholpan.

Norway is another country which has influenced Abi's writing, particularly its marine life. While on holiday in Norway, Abi spotted humpback whales and basking sharks. In her novel Ever Dark these became silver whales, who can blow shapes of dragons and castles, and the basking sharks became fantastical ghost sharks.

Watch this clip and listen to Abi explain how trips to Norway inspired her writing.

You don't need to have travelled to far away places like Mongolia or Norway to create an exciting or interesting setting.

Anywhere you've visited can be a source of inspiration for your writing. It could be somewhere you've been to on holiday. Or maybe a school trip or somewhere you went for a day out. It could even just be your favourite park.

Use a place you have visited to create a story setting:

Think about what happened or happens there. What did you do? Who else was there?

• Consider all five senses. What did you see, hear, feel, smell or taste?
• Note down some words and phrases about these

Now think about the atmosphere you want to create.

• Think about what time of day or year might fit with your atmosphere
• What type of weather will add to the mood
• List some words or phrases that match the atmosphere. Try using these to describe your setting. See if you can link them to what you sensed.

These ideas should help make your setting seem real. But it doesn't have to be realistic. Changing some of the details could turn your setting into a magical, fantastic or futuristic place.

It can be tricky to invent a setting. Even a writer like Abi can struggle to get her first ideas down onto a piece of paper.

Another way to start is by drawing a setting.

Watch this clip and hear how Abi uses drawing to get her ideas flowing.

Now it's your turn:

• Think about a place you have visited, or one you have seen in a film, game or on TV.
• Try drawing some of the things you remember about this place.
• Make some changes to these images or ideas to match the atmosphere you want to create - they can be as colourful, scary or weird as you want!

Now you have drawn your setting, imagine what a character would see, feel or do there.Write some simple sentences about this.Then try adding some descriptive words and phrases to add atmosphere and drama.

Have fun and enjoy the world you are creating!