Jason and the Draconauts

Fifteen-year-old Jason Hewes is a fairly ordinary kid, with fairly ordinary problems. He’s more interested in dinosaurs and fantasy role-playing games than sports, making him a target for local bullies, and his dating successes are best described as sporadic. He’s just another kid struggling to get through life in a small rural town in Montana. Nothing exciting or exceptional ever happens to him.The impact of something heavy crashing into the ground of the Hewes’ family farmhouse shakes the house and Jason’s life. Whatever hits the ground scurries into the barn, followed by a frightened but curious Jason. Jason has just discovered a creature out of legend; a beast which all logic tells him should not-could not-exist. Some kids might run. Others might scream or faint. Instead, Jason befriends the ancient creature, and in doing so learns an entire mythic species is emerging from a centuries-long slumber.Jason isn’t the only one to notice large, leathery-winged beasts taking to the skies of modern Montana. A powerful and long-forgotten evil is watching his newly-revived enemies closely. He’ll do anything to destroy his bitter foes and their new-found allies-allies that now include Jason Hewes. Paul Smith’s debut novel, Jason and the Draconauts is a witty, funny adventure story where an ordinary teen finds himself in an extraordinary situation, and in doing so, finds himself capable of performing the impossible.

Paul Smith lives in upstate New York with his wife and two sons, where he works with emotionally disturbed and mentally ill children. He earned a master’s degree in social sciences from Binghamton University in 1999. A lifelong love of science fiction, fantasy, and superhero stories influences Paul’s writing. His most recent work was a popular weekly online series that generated over 20,000 views. Jason and the Draconauts is his first novel.