The Legend of Wild Horse Beach by Bronwen Webb

Sciathie is present only early in the book but Zebedia’s love for her drives his unpredictability throughout the story.īronwen Webb (Bron) lives with her husband in Adelaide, South Australia and retired in 2013 after a long career in the health and higher education industries in Australia. The dragons, Zebedia and Sciathie, were the easiest characters. Raven is “a protector of little things” and a quiet, but strong fighter.

Llachar is a pacifist, understanding the need to fight but refusing to kill. Kilin is next in line to be king and an impatient warrior, terrifying to look at.

His sister, Wenna, and her cute little foal, Sparrow, are kind, but great warriors. The unicorn king, Arius, is focussed on only one thing, saving his herd, and this means he is cruel in the way he holds children hostage to that task. The unicorn characters were probably the hardest to develop. Kate is the youngest and just wants to go home. Millie and Adam are the foils that keep the group together. Lucinda and Tom are constantly at war with one another, with Tom blaming Lucinda for the terrible predicament they are all in. The oldest child, Lucinda, was the first to “arrive” and the others, Millie, Kate, Tom and Adam soon followed. How Did You Come up With Your Characters? The story idea of children finding what they think is a shell, but is actually a unicorn horn, then led to lots of “what if?’ questions and the story evolved. Amongst a pile of shells I found one that looked like a tiny unicorn horn. Inspiration came one day on a walk along Henley Beach in South Australia, close to where I live. I had written several short stories and had them published, but wanted to write a children’s fantasy novel. Targeted Age Group:: Middle grade, 8-12 years Will the children overcome their differences in order to survive in a hostile world and return home? The dragon, Zebedia, grieving and unpredictable, joins the desperate children in their quest but has his own agenda which adds to the danger. The children soon discover there is no way back to the human world without permission from the unicorn king, but that permission has a price that must be paid. After learning that another child, Adam, disappeared from Wild Horse Beach in similar circumstances three years before, Millie, Kate and Tom decide to try to save Lucinda and Adam and travel through a magic gateway into a world where unicorns and dragons battle terrifying enemies. What is the legend that Millie, Kate and Tom discover at Wild Horse Beach? Millie’s older sister, Lucinda, who is seen as a pest by the younger children, disappears from Wild Horse Beach in mysterious circumstances, revealing the true identity of the wild horses that give the beach its name.

The Legend of Wild Horse Beach by Bronwen Webb